Our Journey: How One Shot Wellness Was Born
By Courtney Ford
If you’ve ever walked into One Shot Wellness and wondered, “How did this place even come to be?” — this is the story. It’s messy, wild, unexpected, and absolutely guided.
Because none of this happened the way we planned.
But it happened exactly the way it was supposed to.
Where It Started: Two 20-Somethings Who Fell in Love With each other and Fitness
Long before kids, long before owning a business…
We were just two young adults who genuinely loved fitness. We both started in endurance racing, then discovered high-intensity functional training. Movement became our anchor — the thing that kept us grounded, confident, and capable as life shifted around us.
We saw what fitness could do for real people, because we lived it firsthand.
And deep down, we knew:
One day, we’d open a gym.
But we had no idea where that road would take us.
The Hawaii Season — A Dream Delayed
When we lived in Hawaii, that dream started to feel real. We were young, ambitious, and full of passion — and we imagined building a gym right there on the islands.
We took steps. We planned. We pushed.
We literally tried two times to open a gym on the island.
But every door we tried to open… stayed shut.
Roadblock after roadblock.
Nothing moved.
At the time it felt frustrating. Looking back?
It was protection.
It was timing.
It was God saying, “Not yet. Not here.”
We didn’t quit the dream.
We simply carried it with us.
The Move to Green Bay — and the Long Waiting Season
When we moved to Green Bay, we didn’t open a gym right away.
In fact — it took that first year of living here.
I needed ACL surgery and we were also getting married and that took a lot of our focus.
I worked for another gym.
Then a second one.
And over time, something inside us grew louder and louder.
A pull.
A conviction.
A “this is what we’re meant to build” kind of feeling.
It eventually became undeniable.
We weren’t supposed to keep helping build someone else’s vision.
We were supposed to build our own.
Chase already had most of the paperwork ready from his MBA — the structure, the planning, the business foundation. All we needed was the courage to stop waiting… and actually take the leap.
When God Says “Go,” Things Move FAST
It’s crazy how you can wait, wait, wait, pray, wait some more…
And then suddenly — when God says, “It’s time” — everything happens SO fast you can barely keep up.
That’s exactly what happened to us.
We found a building.
Everything aligned.
We signed a lease like 2 days later.
Momentum hit like a wave.
I’ll never forget driving to the Appleton airport a few days after signing the lease. We were on our way to spend Christmas in Florida with Chase’s family, and there we were — literally ordering our Rogue equipment from the front seat so it would be waiting when we returned.
That’s how quickly things shifted.
One moment we were in a season of waiting…
The next, we were sprinting toward our future.
Within two weeks of finding the space, we opened One Shot Wellness – doing burpees on the concrete floor getting filthy before the space was finished.
What We Wanted to Build — A Refuge, Not Just a Gym
From day one, our mission was never just “start a gym.”
It was deeper.
We wanted to create a place where:
- People feel safe, seen, and supported
- Fitness is approachable, not intimidating
- Busy parents and busy professionals can thrive, not burn out
- Community matters — kindness, encouragement, belonging
- Strength goes beyond muscles — confidence, clarity, purpose
We wanted a place that felt like home for people who often feel out of place in traditional gym culture.
And truthfully, One Shot has always been our version of “Jesus incognito.”
Not loud. Not flashy.
But a place where love, grace, and compassion quietly show up through people, community, and genuine care.
How Having Kids Changed Our Mission Even More
We opened the gym before kids were ever on our radar. But once we became parents ourselves, everything deepened.
We lived what so many of our members were experiencing — exhaustion, balance, guilt, schedules, the tug-of-war between taking care of your kids and taking care of yourself.
And it gave us even more passion to show people:
You can have kids AND stay fit.
You can take care of yourself.
You can be strong for your family and strong in your body.
We don’t just coach it — we live it. Every day.
Why We’re Still Here — And What One Shot Means to Us
One Shot Wellness is not just a gym.
It’s a calling.
A community.
A place of transformation.
People walk through our doors unsure, nervous, hesitant… and walk out stronger, more confident, more connected, more alive.
That will never stop being sacred to us.
We’re building something that goes far beyond fitness — a refuge, a family, a movement.
And we’re only getting started.
Thank you for being part of this story — whether you’ve been here since the beginning or you’re just getting curious about joining.
We built this place with intention, passion, faith, and a whole lot of love.
And there will always be room here for you. 💛
