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BY WENDY KING W hen young entrepreneurs from around the world meet this May for the G20 YEA (Young Entrepreneurs Alliance) Summit in Fukuoka, Japan, there will be one Manitoban among them: Kurtis Fox, the owner-operator of Rise Athletics and Wellness. Fox says that as a small business owner, being invited to the summit is an exciting prospect. "It's a good reminder that the size of the business, or the kind of sales that you do, don't necessarily apply to the type of influence or impact that you can have," he says. Fox, a former Winnipeg firefighter, was born in Altona and now makes his home in Winkler, where he runs his business. "I was a firefighter for seven years, and I started doing personal training on the side. I am a certified personal trainer," he says. "That's what led me into this new passion." That love of one-on-one training is the business model for Rise Athletics and Wellness. In a regular gym setting, clients are largely left to their own devices — great if you're already a fitness freak, but not so much if you are just starting out, or if you're a kid who needs fitness in place of sports, or a senior seeking functional mobility training. At Fox's facility, all clients work purposefully with a trainer, either individually or in a group setting. As a result, the business has grown. "Just this year I've transitioned into managing the business, so I don't really do any more coaching," he says. "My eight-member team are the experts now." Fox sought assistance from Futurpreneur Canada when he started his business. "They offered some start-up loans, business mentoring and other resources," he says. That connection led to Fox being selected as one of 30 Canadian entrepreneurs (and the only one from Manitoba) to represent Canada at the G20 YEA Summit, which promotes youth entrepreneurship as a driver of economic renewal, job creation, innovation and social change. "They said to me, 'Here's an application,' and I thought, 'Oh, this is way out of my comfort zone,' " he says. But two weeks later, he was selected as one of the delegates. "At first I felt like I was really in over my head, but there have been a number of training days leading up to it, so I'm comfortable with the role." The summit's theme is Imagination Economy for a Sustainable Future. "We'll be looking at the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and how an imagination economy might line up with that," he says. RISING TO THE OCCASION Young entrepreneur represents Manitoba at global summit RISE ATHLETICS AND WELLNESS CONTINUED >>

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