Judi Sheppard Misset of Jazzercise: How Turning Students Away From The Mirror Created A Global Fitness Empire

As a part of our series about women who are shaking things up in their industry, we had the pleasure of interviewing Judi Sheppard Misset.

Judi Sheppard Missett is a fitness and business icon, having grown Jazzercise, Inc. from a class of 15 women in 1969 to today’s largest dance fitness company globally. At age 25, she discovered her purpose — blending the art of dance and the science of exercise to make dance fitness accessible and fun for everyone. Five decades later, Judi and her daughter Shanna Missett Nelson continue to manage and motivate 6,400 Jazzercise franchisees to achieve their dream of independent business ownership, inspiring millions of customers worldwide to live happier, healthier lives through fitness.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?

At just three years old, I discovered what would become my lifelong passion in my first dance class. Throughout my childhood, teens, college years, and early twenties, I lived to dance. Through very hard work, I created a successful career as a professional jazz dancer, actor, and singer, moving from one show to the next. It was a tremendously fulfilling career but never a business that could be grown or scaled. I discovered my greater purpose at twenty-five years old, teaching my adult jazz class.

Jazzercise was born after I recognized that students in my adult jazz class would try a few lessons but then quit. Many of them wanted to look like professional dancers without learning some of the more complicated skills. I created a class based in traditional jazz dance but taught with a teacher at the front, cardio-fitness class style, with easy-to-follow steps and a great playlist. Turning them away from the mirror allowed me to be their mirror. I stopped correcting them and started encouraging and motivating them to enjoy the movement simply. What began as a single class in 1969, taught in a tiny studio near Northwestern University in Chicago, became a global phenomenon.

Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?

Making fitness FUN and sustainable was and remains a disruption. Walk into any gym, and you immediately feel self-conscious or isolated. Other fitness programs solely focus on burning you out and never even learn your name. When you arrive at any Jazzercise studio around the world, you’re warmly welcomed as you are — you don’t have to be the best and you don’t need dance experience. You just have to show up and have fun. At first, people may feel timid about moving their body in a way that almost feels off-limits in fitness. After you let go and just enjoy the hour, you’ll be back for more because it feels like a party, plus it’s effective! You’ll also find that there is no sense of competition amongst your peers. The Jazzercise community cares about you and dances with you in harmony, which feels like a very unusual experience in the fitness industry.

One of the most important ways that Jazzercise has “disrupted” the industry is that it progresses feminism. Our customers, primarily women, are learning about their own bodies, their health, their well-being, and how to be stronger not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. They make connections with other women who are supportive and inspiring. It progresses the idea that women have the power to go beyond limits placed on them.

Our corporate structure also progresses feminism because it gives women the opportunity to own their businesses. As a franchise business owner, they can become their own boss and build something they thought they could never do. When I was just beginning Jazzercise, I enlisted the help of other women around me. Business groups weren’t readily available at that time, so I relied on the women in my everyday life. As my classes grew and I needed help with the business, I reached out to the people who knew it and loved it most: the women coming to class. The woman who became our Vice President of Operations was a 4th-grade teacher. She never had business experience but was incredibly bright and capable. Jazzercise gave her the opportunity to explore and stretch different skills. Another woman was a gifted marketer. She didn’t have a college education or professional marketing experience, but she spoke to the 1984 Olympics committee and convinced them to include Jazzercise instructors as a performing group for the opening ceremony. It’s always been about giving women the opportunity to do amazing things and building that confidence. This other woman who became the COO, Margret Stanton, was a regular customer of the early Jazzercise classes as well. She was her husband’s secretary then, but I knew she wanted to do more. I asked her to come and help me! She did so many things. We registered the name Jazzercise together. She became the go-to person you needed to talk to to get something done. The opportunities for entrepreneurship for women have grown extensively in the 55 years Jazzercise has been growing and evolving, and I see that mark we’ve made. Inspiring women to be the best they can be and believe in themselves to do something they never thought they would — that’s what disruption truly is.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?

One of my top mentors was my Mother. I say this because as I was growing up, she was instrumental in giving me the dance instruction I needed. She recruited dance teachers from the larger city near us, in Omaha, Nebraska. She went there and asked teachers to come to our smaller town to teach dance. She set it up the way I set up Jazzercise in the beginning, by finding a place to hold the class and then managing the teacher, the classes, and the studio. She would also help with the recitals and was a beautiful seamstress. Structuring this way gave teachers the freedom to be creative; she took the business part away from the teachers. I mirrored that as I began. In the early days, none of us had our own dedicated studios. We were in different rec departments and spaces. That’s how I built my business.

Gus Giordano was a jazz dance master choreographer and teacher. He recruited me to dance with his company and really influenced my life and my passion for dance. He was a great teacher and choreographer and allowed me to experiment with teaching some different formats of classes in his studio. This is where I actually made the first Jazzercise class. He gave me the opportunity to use the empty studio downstairs, and the rest is history. I’m still very close with his daughter, who now runs his studio in Chicago and her daughters.

In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?

We have been called a pioneer in the fitness industry, especially with group exercise. I see that as a valuable thing because it means that we started something that wasn’t there and continue to build on the positive legacy. Yes, it has withstood the test of time. We were pretty much the only thing out there when I first started. Now, there are many choices for women, and I can’t see that as anything but good! There has to be someone to step out and try something new to lead the way for other folks. It wasn’t just me. I had the idea, but it was all the instructors, so many women there with me — they share a great deal of the credit for that.

There was no fitness industry when I started Jazzercise, so it’s not so much that I disrupted an industry but the idea that women could move their bodies and enjoy the fun and confidence dance brings.

When you disrupt to impede progress or stop something altogether, that’s not positive, but withstanding the test of time usually means making many big and small changes over time — or constantly disrupting to continue to hold people’s attention and make an impact. Disrupting the idea that exercise is only work, punishment, something to dread — we flipped all that on its head. Of everything women can want out of exercise, I think the most important way to find success is by creating a community built on support, camaraderie, and fun.

Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.

I can share the best advice I think is essential. It’s not that someone told me, but I’ve felt it in every moment throughout my young life and professional career. I think the most important thing to remember along your journey is to follow your passion. Always think about your passion. If you give purpose to your passion, you just cannot beat that. Do what you love! If you do what you love, you will be successful, and you will get to love what you do every day. If your passion creates something good for somebody else, you give back and change lives. I love dance and movement; that was my passion, and I wanted to share that with others so they could feel the joy and love of dancing and moving your body — what more could I want?

We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?

I am fortunate to have a beautiful family that shares my passion. Now, here’s the thing: it’s vital to align yourself and surround yourself with people who lift you up! Find great people who are better than you, who are smarter than you, but who believe in your passion and will help you build on your strengths.

I have family who do that for me. My daughter, granddaughters, and nieces contribute so much to the company’s future. They have great ideas and believe in our philosophy. We also have wonderful people who aren’t family, who are just as talented and passionate, work for our corporate company, and drive my legacy, too. They believe in my passion, and it will survive.

We’re celebrating our 55th Anniversary with new classes, new programs, new platforms, and tools for our franchisees. This is a year of change for Jazzercise. We’re moving into the future on a solid footing, and that’s where we’re going as a business. That’s why we have survived for 55 years.

In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?

I’ve faced those challenges over the years. They aren’t as prominent as they used to be, but there were many times men didn’t take me seriously. I coined a name for it because it happened quite often: the “little exercise girl syndrome.” That was what they would say to me. I’d go to the bank to get a line of credit. I didn’t really need it bc never in my history of Jazzercise did I ever need a loan, but I thought it might be nice to have that money on hand. I went to the bank, and the guy truly didn’t take us seriously. “Oh well, this is just a little exercise program. I think you’re doing a great job in San Diego, but I don’t see that growing.” Well, we’re still here 55 years later. I must add that the bank closed 7 years after that interaction.

Another time I was denied money I was owed because the director of the rec department where I was teaching classes thought I was making TOO much money. He was embarrassed to go to the city council for approval. It was so much money he was embarrassed to make the request. I said look, I have a contract; I want the check by 4 PM this afternoon. If I don’t have it, I will go to the newspaper with this story, and I think it will be quite interesting. At the time, it was all about women coming out and standing up for themselves. I knew it was a good story. My brother-in-law was the publisher of the local newspaper, and I also had the mayor (female) and city council women in my classes.

There was a lot of that in the beginning.

Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?

I do not have one specific thing, but Michelle Obama has influenced me. I love her books and philosophy. I love “When they go low, we go high.” I firmly believe in taking the high road. Connecting with kids and younger women to expand my established thoughts and beliefs opens possibilities in life/future thinking. Another initiative that greatly inspired me was the “Let’s Move” initiative in the White House, which was all about getting kids to move and eat healthier.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Jazzercise became the dance fitness movement I always dreamed of!

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

I am going back to what I said earlier, but doing what you love with passion. Doing your passion is the magic. Anybody who creates purpose from their passion inspires my deep respect because they’ve experienced that. And they have a positive experience from it.

How can our readers follow you online?

@jazzercise

@judisheppardmissett

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!