The Jenny Schatzle Movement
BY MELISSA WALKER
Infectious and Inspiring
It’s a chilly Sunday morning at the spacious Jenny Schatzle studio on a main street leading to the heart of downtown Santa Barbara. The central location is empty of participants, except for a few rows of treadmills and shiny new weight stations.
Schatzle, a petite blonde, blue-eyed woman, wearing her trademark headband, opens the door and welcomes me with an infectious smile and a warm hug.
“Sorry about the mess,” she says while wiping beads of sweat off of her brow. “We are preparing our next six-week boot camp, and I just finished working out!”
I smile because this is no surprise – Schatzle is a powerhouse of energy and confidence, embodying an endless drive that radiates in everything she does.
Her office is bright and a bit cluttered, but it’s the walls that command your attention – adorned with a mass array of “thank you” letters, from clients who have taken the grueling, but extremely rewarding, six-week boot camp.
“These letters are my most precious possession,” she says, and spreads her arms wide in loving acknowledgement.
This is another fitting sentiment, as Jenny is all about empowering people, supporting and enriching community, and inspiring whomever she encounters in-and-out of the gym.
Schat.zle.ism
1. A motivational mantra – at times serious, at times blunt, and at times made to make one laugh – that captures the unique spirit of the Jenny Schatzle Movement.
At, 35, she is a brand name in Santa Barbara – a fitness guru, entrepreneur and motivational speaker.
Schatzle has received a variety of awards and accolades over the years, including the 2015 Woman Business Owner of the Year at the Bravo Awards presented by NAWBO-Santa Barbara, and received the 2015 Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award in Health from the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Foundation.
Jenny’s slogan, “Don’t just change your body, Change your Life” is the cornerstone of the six-week boot camp that offers a unique series of challenging workouts, a variety of nutrition recipes and guidelines, and a hearty dose of daily motivational exercises.
All of this effort is aimed to break the physical and mental barriers that prevent a person from reaching his or her full potential.
Schatzle understands firsthand about the challenges of self-love and the rewards of evolving into the person you aspire to be.
Growing up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, as the youngest of three siblings, she was a chubby, insecure child, but credits her mother who encouraged her to step outside her comfort zone, instilling a “Can-do” attitude in every facet of her life.
When she reached junior high school, Schatzle was heavily into playing sports and dance, and had lost weight. Yet, she still struggled with self-confidence and a negative body image until one day she read a note pinned to a message board that changed her perception.
“I read a quote that said, ‘if people don’t like you for who you are, it’s their loss,’ and it changed my life,” Schatzle said.
“At that point I decided that I was going to be authentically me and if people didn’t like me for who I was then it was their loss. And by high school I was voted rowdiest female in the school yearbook.”
Follow your passion and you will find your purpose. – Jenny Schatzle
Schatzle’s training and fitness career started in 2000, where she covered the front desk at Gold’s Gym in Santa Barbara.
She took fitness classes during her free time and this enthusiasm and passion for fitness stood out so much that Schatzle was asked by the fitness director if she’d like to learn how to teach a fitness classes at the gym. She jumped at the chance.
After seven years of leading fitness classes at the gym, Schatzle decided to become an independent contractor, starting her own personal training business and teaching an outdoor boot camp every Saturday for $5 per person.
“Anybody could come to my boot camp,” she exclaimed. “You could bring your friends, children, grandparents, your children, and my class was open to everyone.
“It grew from 10 people, to over 200 people, in just over a year. About a year later we moved into a facility, and I started the Jenny Schatzle Program. We are changing people’s lives and it’s amazing.”
Schat.zle.ism
2. An infectious saying that you can’t get out of your head that motivates you to be the very best you can be.
The Jenny Schatzle Program is not only a social movement and fitness program – it’s quickly becoming a brand name.
Schatzle is an entrepreneur by every sense of the word, and shows no signs of slowing down.
She has created her own brand of green smoothie, a line of fitness wear, and has recently launched an online YouTube Channel, the Jenny Schatzle Movement, to further expand her brand globally.
“The Jenny Schatzle Movement channel is all about transformation, and rewiring the way that you think about nutrition, fitness and yourself,” Schatzle said. “It’s about loving who you are, what you have, and to truly start believing in yourself.”
As Schatzle became immersed in supporting the community through local nonprofit activities, she noticed that even though Santa Barbara is an active community, there are still people struggling under the radar.
She began speaking about the importance of health, fitness, nutrition and self-love, at fundraisers and events, such as the Domestic Violence Solutions of Santa Barbara County Run/Walk, and the American Heart Association Central Coast Go Red for Women luncheon as a keynote speaker.
“What inspires me is helping people change their lives,” Schatzle said. “I can’t change your life, but I can help you change your life.”
“You’re the only person that can do it, but I can provide you with motivation, with inspiration, with techniques, with community, with positivity – because when it come down to it, that’s what we are all about.”