Erin Schirack: Putting Chicago's Trainers On The National Stage via Chi-Society

A little over a year ago, the rug was pulled out from under so many fitness instructors who had relied on the traditional gym or studio model. Depending on the state and its laws, many of those trainers and instructors were 1099 contractors and weren't eligible for unemployment. As studios closed and their customers tried to figure out which room was best to sweat in, many trainers were quickly thrust into entrepreneurship without much of a safety net. That was sort of the case for Erin Schirack and her partner in creating the dance fitness brand MVFitness, Bobby O'Brien, except for one twist. MVFitness launched pre-pandemic and was hosting pop-up classes at the Essex Hotel. After The Day The World Stood Still, which is how I'd like to stylize the start of the pandemic henceforth, the pair started to create a grueling schedule of free instagram LIVE classes. You've heard this story before if you spent any time on Instagram in March of 2020. After the calamity of constant livestreams, the pair turned to The DJ Firm to create higher quality workout content - it had recently converted its space into a production studio. In their first MVFitness recording session, Schirack pitched a new business idea. She wanted to create a single platform where people anywhere could experience trainers based in Chicago. “We really wanted to create this platform with a sense of bringing the Chicago fitness community together and elevating on the national platform of all of these other on-demand streaming services," she told me. And so, the founders of the DJ Firm - Eric Sampson and Sye Young - along with O'Brien and Schirack all formed a new company together: Chi-society. You'll hear all about the why and where they want to see this company go in this week's episode of #WeGotGoals. If you love this episode as much as we do, subscribe to the #WeGotGoals podcast wherever you like to listen to podcasts, including on Apple and Spotify (and hey, leave us a rating while you’re at it!). Resources: Try Chi-Society free for three days Try MVFitness, the cardio dance fitness company, that Erin co-founded with Bobby Gouse Follow @Chi-Society on Instagram