How old is judi missett shepherd

This year they were joined by a third generation — Skyla, who became an instructor when she turned 18 in August. Judi — whom Skyla and Sienna call "Jami" — "gave me a big hug," adds Skyla, "and said she was going to be the first one at my first class. A dancer was born, and Judi later realized that other women — especially mothers — could benefit from group dance classes.

People Exclusive. FB Tweet More. Missett's lawyers advised her that it was time to franchise the company, a decision she was at first unsure of but now counts as one of her best bets.

Financially, it paid off fast. For a time Jazzercise was the number-two most profitable franchise in the nation, right behind Domino's Pizza. But the model also elped other women like Missett build their own businesses—women, Massett says, "who never thought they would do that, but discovered they had a talent for it.

I recently did a beautiful song by India. Arie, and I let my body go and I just had a routine by the end of the song," Missett says. Jazzercise is now in its fifth decade and helped give rise to the boutique fitness revolution, one of the fastest-growing segments of the exercise industry today.

There are 8, Jazzercise franchises, across 25 countries. Together they hold approximately 32, classes per week, worldwide. And their C-suite is made up of all women. Missett's daughter, Shanna—who grew up in the studio with her mother—is its president. Yet Missett is as involved as ever.

She still teaches three classes a week, and still shapes the moves. But as dances have changed to incorporate more hip-hop, techno, and modern influences, how does Missett keep up? I get a lot of ideas from watching them, and I go to their competitions, so that's very inspiring. I also watch a lot of videos, not that I steal movements, but it [helps me] see what's going on now," she says. Missett, the Jazzercise matriarch, has hired three generations of women to work for her.

Are you still doing what you did in the '80s? We wouldn't have survived if we had kept doing what we did back then. We've updated our instructor communications with every shift in technology: from videotape to CDs to DVDs to streaming. We've developed all kinds of special classes, including high-intensity interval training, core, and fusion, which mixes cardio and strength training. I still create and send to franchisees new choreography and new music every 10 weeks to keep things fresh and exciting.

My daughter, Shanna Missett Nelson, became president of the business in We kind of run it together. I don't think of all these new fitness programs as competitors. I think of the couch as my competitor. More than 80 percent of all adults don't exercise enough, so there are plenty of potential new customers for all the fitness programs.

Any company getting people to move, in my opinion, is great. When we were starting out, I remember applying for a line of credit. We didn't need it, but I thought it would be good to have. The bank president looked at our numbers, and he looked at me, and he said, "I think this is a fad.

You're just exercise girls. Top Stories. Top Videos. By , Judi was successful in having over instructors who were working all around the country teaching the classes of Jazzercise. This idea was very new at the time but Judi felt this was the most appropriate one considering that some of the instructors were only doing it part-time as a hobby while others were working full time. A franchise model helped to make sure that people were rewarded as per the amount of work that they contributed.

Jazzercise was getting bigger and bigger as they would be part of the Olympics opening ceremony. However, the journey has not been completely smooth sailing either. The business had a hard time in during the recession with many franchises starting to look at newer options that were coming up such as yoga and pilates. However, the key to her success has been the ability to adapt according to the situation and providing relevant fitness programs based upon it.

Judi is married to Jack Missett who previously worked as a TV news reporter. Their relationship has been strong throughout the different ups and downs of life having been together now for 5 decades. Today they live in their home in California even which has its own Olympic size swimming pool. Judi is a pioneer of fitness classes which today have become a common part of millions of people all around the world. Her Jazzercise classes are still very popular and have spread to different parts of the U.

This has led to Judi building a huge fortune over the years with today there being more than franchises of the company. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.