'Amazing' award win leaves Katie stunned
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A BUCKIE businesswoman has been celebrating scooping a prestigious honour at the Scottish Health and Fitness Awards.
Katie Duncan-Bruce, who runs Yogabellies Moray with Katie offering yoga instruction to women of all ages, was left stunned when her name was announced as the winner of the Pre/Post Natal Trainer of the Year at the awards ceremony, held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Glasgow.
She also made it through to the final of the Holistic Studio/Class category.
It was to prove quite a weekend for Katie, who is just entering the second year of running her own business.
She said: "My husband's birthday was the day after the event so we were planning on going away that weekend anyway.
"When I learned that the awards gala coincided with that we thought we'd just go to Glasgow and head for the event.
"Going into it, I honestly didn't think I had a chance, I was just delighted to be part of an amazing event. My name was the first to be read out and it was absolutely amazing, I was totally shocked. There was a sports therapist sitting at the same table who captured my reaction on her phone as she had just started filming the event, I'm lucky I'll be able to keep that forever."
Katie was nominated by a previous pregnancy client which set the ball rolling on a two-stage process that was to lead her to triumph. The first was a public vote, where she was pitted against some big national names such as Hilton. These nine hopefuls were whittled down to a final five to face an eight-strong judging panel which included TV's Mr Motivator.
She said: "I'm so grateful to the past client who nominated me and all the clients who supported me, without them I would never have got the chance to face the judges.
"When I first got the email saying I'd been nominated I thought it was a wind-up. I'm just overwhelmed that a past client decided to nominate me.
"For the final stage I had to submit a lot of information, including links to my website and reviews, evidence, future objectives and long-term strategies and qualifications as well as filling in a questionnaire. The judging panel were from a variety of different backgrounds."
Katie's award success has seen her inundated with hundreds of messages of congratulations. She also paid tribute to her fellow finalists who, she said, were quick to tell her she was a worthy winner.
She added: "I didn't go into business to win awards, I did it to help people.
"I'm just going into my second year with the business so to get an award like this is amazing.
"Hopefully with the raised profile from the award will allow me to reach and help even more people."
Katie has not been resting on her laurels. she has now joined the official Yogabellies platform as a pregnancy instructor and, later this summer, will be undertaking a qualification in yoga for fertility.
She holds both in-person classes – at the Health Haven in Portessie and also Portessie Public Hall – as well as online.
To find out more about the various services Katie offers, visit https://www.kdbenergy.com or follow her on Facebook.
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Katie is no stranger to awards ceremonies, having been a finalist in the Emerging Business of the Year category in the Moray Businesswoman Awards 2022.
