FARGO - Not long ago, Sara Mozingo decided that after years of running Icehouse Fit, that it was time to try something new in her life.
Meanwhile, Elli Feist came to the same conclusion. But she wanted to own a fitness facility.
Together, they have worked out a deal.
Mozingo will close Icehouse at 1620 1st Ave. N. after a morning workout session on March 25.
On April 11, Feist will open Empower Mind/Body/Soul in the same facility.
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Feist said Icehouse was already transitioning toward “this new perspective of what health and fitness is really all about. And diving more into the mindset of things.”
The philosophy of Empower will be to not only help get members into great shape, but “focus on how we think about our thinking, how we approach things,” Feist said Friday, March 17.
“When’s the last time someone asked you ‘When is the last time you thought about your thinking?’ It’s crazy that we are never taught these things.
“Our question of the day is: If you had a friend who spoke to you the way you spoke to yourself. How long would you be that person’s friend?” Feist said.
The idea is to help people rewrite the “stories that we grew up with, thinking the way we were thought. Rebuilding that structure, being more positive, and self-realization,” Feist said.
Mozingo - Coach Mo to many at Icehouse - is the sole owner of the company, having bought out a business partner a few years back.
The fitness center started in north Fargo in 2015, then moved to its current location in 2017. It was a crossfit center for the first four years, then Mozingo decided in 2019 to move away from the crossfit philosophy.
“We took a different turn into looking at the whole person, into looking at the mindset, the fitness, the nutrition, all of it,” Mozingo said.
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“I believe the future of fitness is very different. It’s looking at the emotional and the spiritual. The Big T and Little T trauma side of life. And helping people take that deep dive,” Mozingo said. “That’s what we started. And Elli’s going to take that and run with it. And that makes me really excited.”
In the meantime, Mozingo will coach at Empower and help out with some classes, while she figures out the direction she wants to move next.
Over the three years of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mozingo said she did “some deep diving into myself” and realized it was time for a change in her life.
“As far as the ending this time … I’m not moving, there is no next line in the stars right now, I woke up one day and I had that gut feeling of there’s something different, and I truly believe in following that,” Mozingo said.
“This is the first time in my life where people say the world is your oyster, and it’s really exciting,” Mozingo said.
The coming closing of Icehouse was announced in a Facebook post on Thursday, March 16.
“This chapter of life has been more than I ever expected it to be and I want to thank all of you. Whether you were a member here or simply followed along on our social media, thank you!” Mozingo wrote.
“This isn’t a sad ending though, it’s the beginning of something awesome. I have the opportunity to support my wife @ashleyrieck on her newest adventures and the Icehouse building is going to transform into @empower.mindbodysoul opening April 10th, give them a like to follow along," she wrote.
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“I truly believe when you follow your passion amazing things happen. It takes courage to change your course and that’s something I’ve been coaching people to do for eight years at Icehouse. It’s time for me to do the same. Thank you Icehouse community, it’s been a really fun adventure!” Mozingo wrote.
Feist had been a member of Icehouse since 2016.
Her full-time job is being a project manager for a clinical trials company based in Pennsylvania.
In her fitness journey, she learned crossfit “was not my jam.”
The pair threw back their heads and laughed at that.
“I did it for a few years and realized, ‘this sucks!’” Feist said. “Fell in love with the Olympic weightlifting movement and became a Level 1 certified weightlifting coach and started coaching on the Olympic side of things, and have fully transitioned into working in our fit classes as well.”
With the closing of Icehouse, Mozingo said she’ll enjoy the moment.
But the moment won’t be long.
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The new venture will need attention - and a lot of paint.
“I have a lot of work to do. We have work to do," Feist said. "We will be repainting the building. … We are planting the seed for this new beautiful thing to grow. Everything Icehouse will be gone.”
Empower Mind/Body/Soul has an Instagram account at empower.mindbodysoul .
Feist looks forward to Empower’s opening.
“I’m very excited to bring this type of fitness center to Fargo. This is something brand new. I hope this helps drive other gyms to bring the focus to the mindset,” Feist said.
““It’s going to be an epic thing, that we are able to focus on this for people and create a safe space for them to feel comfortable to come to us to talk about all the things, and for us to help them change the way they think,” Feist said.
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