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Bari's On Her Way
Despite setbacks, 36-year-old Bari Beckett strives
for Intentional Health.
EDITH BROIDA SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
B
uild a better
mousetrap,
said Ralph
Waldo Emer-
son, and the world
will beat a pathway
to your door.
Bari Beckett vests
confidence in his
words. And, to win
success nationally,
she sees no need to
lop off her shiny
black bob, a la Susan
Powter.
Ms. Beckett's com-
pany, Intentional
Health Inc., aims to
build bodies along
with self-esteem. Her
slogan is: Building
your dreams through
outstanding fitness
and nutrition.
She vows that a
basic course of five
weekly, one-hour ses-
sions can affect a
significant improve-
ment in one's atti-
tude and lifestyle.
Her staff has devel- Bari Beckett: From battered woman to entrepreneur.
oped specialized
Fortunately, Ms. Beckett was
classes and workshops for chil-
dren and adults, as well as ex- not without skills. She held a de-
gree in communications from
pectant mothers.
Additional programming for California State University in
the elderly and physically chal- Sacramento and, after moving to
lenged are on the drawing board. Michigan, she managed the sales
"No one should be excluded department for an educational
corporation.
from fitness," she says.
Ms. Beckett had always
Ms. Beckett started her com-
pany in 1994. With local success, worked out — riding horses since
she envisions a chain of fitness age 8, running track in high
centers, a series of Bari Beckett school and participating in in-
tramural sports in college.
From year to year, she at-
tended many types of aerobic
classes and finally concluded: I
can teach these. Later, she be-
came a certified personal train-
er.
When the marriage came
— Bari Beckett
apart, Ms. Beckett took a job as
a waitress. While working six
videos and possibly a book about days a week at a restaurant in
Novi, she began laying the
her own professional growth.
"I know I can do this," she groundwork for Intentional
Health Inc.
says.
She needed assistance and
Though her self-esteem might
seem boundless, Ms. Beckett has found much of it within the Jew-
had her share of setbacks. After ish community. Unable to afford
three years of what looked to out- private counseling, which she felt
siders like an idyllic marriage, was essential to her own recov-
Ms. Beckett decided to leave her ery, she turned to Jewish Fam-
husband. There was violence in ily Service. Lacking financial
the seemingly perfect Farming- resources, she appealed to the
ton Hills home. Ms. Beckett was Hebrew Free Loan Association.
"Jewish people are nurturers,"
battered physically and emo-
tionally, and her two small she says. "We want to help
daughters were suffering the others."
Ms. Beckett included. She
effects.
"You have to be
intentional about
your life."
serves on a com-
mittee of The
Haven, a battered
women's shelter in
Pontiac.
As for her fitness
company, Ms.
Beckett believes it
holds value for both
men and women.
"Not everyone
can afford a per-
sonal trainer," she
says.
Although Inten-
tional Health Inc.
offers much one-on-
one attention, it
specializes in on-
site fitness and aer-
obic classes. Her
workshops begin
with exercise and
toning, followed by
group discussions
about nutrition, fit-
ness and goals.
"You have to be
intentional about
your life," she says.
That goes for
time spent in the
gym, at home and
the workplace.
"Without health and well-be-
Mg, you can't get a raise," she ex-
plains.
On her desk is the book Our
Power as Women, by Helen Lern-
er Robbins. Ms. Beckett belongs
to the National Association of
Women Business Owners. Her
corporate clients include the Uni-
versity of Michigan and Power
House Gyms.
Despite her turbulent mar-
riage, Ms. Beckett isn't a hard-
ened individual. She opposes
male-bashing, though she be-
lieves in the strength of women.
"I like being a woman," she
says. "I believe our femininity
gives us our greatest power."
Ms. Beckett doesn't deny that
her own attractive features are
a business plus — but so is her
professionalism, she says.
So far, Intentional Health Inc.
has proven successful locally, but
once she raises the necessary
capital, Ms. Beckett says she'll
be on her way nationally. Her
first infomercial will be produced
this summer.
"My father used to say that his
father had a gift and he has a
gift, but that I really have a gift.
And my mother still quotes an
essay I wrote in the fourth grade.
I wrote that I wanted to make a
difference in people's lives. That,"
she says "is my goal." ❑
CC
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