Kelly Froelich
📍 Brooklyn, NY | Co-Founder and COO of Balanced, a digital exercise platform for 55+
Why Kelly
Kelly is a friend from business school and engaged to a close friend. I’m excited to watch as she grows her fitness company!
Connect with Kelly: Instagram & LinkedIn
Kelly’s Self-Description
“Lover of movement who quit a job she loved to do just that. Recovering runner who turned to boxing gloves, heavy weights, and a bike that goes nowhere. Collector of passport stamps who will always claim New York City as the best city in the world. Early bird who runs on good books and bad TV. Aspiring bilinguist with a penchant for chilled, sparkling reds and one of each from the dessert menu. Most importantly, Macaroni's human.”
Kelly’s Recommendations
Written in her own words….
📕 Book: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
One of my favorite books of all time. It follows four classmates as they move to New York City and live their lives throughout the decades. It's heart wrenching and heartwarming at the same time, especially if you live or lived in the city. I cried reading this in public multiple times. Embrace it.
📕 Book: Dataclysm: Love, Sex, Race, and Identity--What Our Online Lives Tell Us about Our Offline Selves by Christian Rudder
For any anyone who works with data, this is a fascinating read by one of the co-founders of OkCupid that delves into the differences between what people say and what people do all using the data collected from their site. Fascinating data dive into human behavior.
🏋️♀️ Digital Workout: Aarmy
This is my go-to virtual and in-person fitness studio. The workouts are challenging, inspiring, and truly feel like a team sport. Plus, I never hit the snooze to get to class in the AM, even if I'm hauling into Manhattan on the subway at 6am! My favorite coach is Sophia :)
🧘♂️ App: Calm
The Calm app has been my go-to for meditation for years. It makes it easy to find 10 minutes each day to breathe, and the inspiration at the end of each session always seems to hit home.
🥊 Wellness Habit: Boxing
I have been very lucky to spend Saturdays at Gleason's Gym in DUMBO (Brooklyn) with Coach Scott. The boxing gym has trained the likes of Muhammad Ali - a far cry from boutique fitness - and a one-hour session of hitting heavy bags and mitts has done wonders for any anxiety or stress.
⏰ Wellness Habit: Traditional alarm clock
I charge my phone in another room and use a light alarm clock to have a gentler wakeup call. In addition (and something I just started), I put a glass of water next to my alarm clock, so when it goes off in the morning, instead of reaching for the snooze, I drink the glass of water which is enough time for me to fully wake up and get out of bed.
❌ Wellness Habit: Non-screen walks and meals
I have intentionally tried to unplug during my day-to-day. While I used to plug in a podcast to take my dog out for a walk, I have found that I am much more present and enjoy the walk more when I put my screen away. Similarly, I am trying to do more no-screen meals, even if it's just me, to take a few minutes to enjoy.
📺 TV Show: The Sex Lives of College Girls
On HBO Max, it follows four women who are suite mates as they embark on college. It's funny, but also is strongly reminiscent of growing up during college (especially with my 10-year reunion coming up!)
📺 TV Show: FBOY Island
Out of all the bad TV I watch, this is the only show that Octavio will watch with me. It follows three women as they have to choose which of the thirty or so men they'd like to continue dating and if they are a self-proclaimed nice guy or fboy. At the end, if they choose an fboy, the fboy has the choice of splitting the prize money or taking it all for himself. Nikki Glaser is the host which makes this show that much funnier.
🍷 Drink: Brooklyn Winery Wine Club
No, they don't have vineyards in Brooklyn. Brooklyn Winery is a small batch winery that produces some pretty good wine in sourcing grapes from the rest of the country. Their wine club sends 4 bottles every quarter and includes member-only events, discounts, and a free flight of wine for you and a guest if you pick up your shipment in person.
🍵 Nutritional Drink: Athletic Greens
For me, the one scoop of greens in the morning really helps in being just enough substance to kickstart my day while also not too filling. At the minimum, it forces me to drink more water in the AM instead of just a coffee.
🗺 City: Santa Cruz, Chile
I had the pleasure of spending three months there during 2021 with my (now) fiancé. One of my favorite trips we took while we were there was to Santa Cruz, one of the major wine regions in Chile. Santa Cruz is about a 2 hour drive from Santiago, Chile.
🍇 Winery: Laura Hartwig
My favorite winery in the world. They have a relaxing and intimate wine tasting option where they give you a tour of the vineyard on a horse-drawn carriage around the estate before the tasting. In addition, they do not export to the US so I highly recommend getting a few bottles and checking them in your luggage on the way back.
🍝 Restaurant: Ristorante Vino Bello - I am sure the other restaurants in Santa Cruz are good, but we never tried anywhere else. This Italian restaurant serves homemade pasta and delicious dessert while overlooking the vineyard (and a sunset if you time it right).
Sushi in Santiago...
🍣 Sushi Restaurant: Naoki
My favorite sushi restaurant not only in Santiago, but honestly in the world. Creative, delicious plates. Fresh fish. Just ask them to bring you what they recommend.
🍣✌ Sushi Restaurant: Fukasawa
The chef from Naoki recently left and opened Fukasawa which has incredible views of the mountains in addition to the (now) best sushi in Chile. Don't order off the menu - just tell the waiter if there's anything you don't like and they'll take care of the rest.
🔌 Personal Plug: Balanced
At Balanced, we're creating an engaging, inspiring, and community-driven digital exercise experience for healthy aging. As we turned digital due to the pandemic, I had Peloton, Nike Training, Obé, and so many other choices - but my mom and my grandma didn't have anything that came close. We're changing that. If you are interested in joining, try us for free for 30 days. If you have someone you love who you would like to give the gift of fitness, we are excited to offer gift cards.
Thank you Kelly!
P.S. thank you all for your continued support. Because of your support, Rambull was featured on Substack Discover. This means getting to welcome many new folks who just found us - welcome!