07/01/2026
🌸 "She Bloomed, Anyway" 🌸 - the kick-off film for the Bloom Conference 💜 Here is the story behind it:
The title has intentional quotation marks around it, as it was the title of my mother-in-law, Amy's, speech! She even played the lead role in the film! 🥰
Amy, alongside many others, came together to bring a vision to life. So first off, I'd like to thank every single person that was a part of the team that made this happen! Y'all are amazing! 💜
When Laken first came to me brainstorming about a video that had something to do with blooming and how she wanted something like, "Beneath the dirt, roots shifting and growing, and a flower rising up from the dirt," it quickly became apparent that I needed to either become an expert in Hollywood-level special effects 😂, or I could do the best I can with what I have (expert advice from Aaron Spragg with his company Storied Rivals Sports Media that changed my life).
So I kept coming back to Laken with bits and pieces of ideas that just didn't land. Finally, out of nowhere, I had one idea: to make this big, dark, empty space that represented a place inside where a woman that had been through it all was tending to a flower she had spent her lifetime blooming. The song "Awesome God" playing strongly in the background. I didn't really know how to make that happen. (Good thing my best friend, Paul Raymond, is an incredible videographer with YouTube awards and all. He taught me how to make that room and how to light it. He's also taught me most of what I know when it comes to editing. Massive shout out for all that you've taught me bro)
The questions were then raised: "How did she get there?" "What did she go through?" I'm a man. I will NEVER get it. I will never understand the weight of the scenes in this film. The team came together to talk about some of the heaviest, most relatable things women go through in their lives. I don't think anyone at the table saw it that day but me. After just a few seconds of conversation, and me being the only man at the table, every incredible woman on our PassionFIT team went completely silent. With blank stares on their faces, I just watched as all of them replayed the weight of what they had all been through in their own minds.
Flashbacks.
Pacing in front of a whiteboard, I had to put myself in some tough shoes and imagine what it would be like to live out a pain I'll never know. Infertility, divorce, abuse, and lack of self-confidence and self-worth. Each time I got to a place where tears were rolling out my eyes, I knew that had to be the scene we film.
Then came another question: "What could set off these flashbacks?" As you'll see in the film, the woman who bloomed has a great life, but she's still surrounded by things that remind her of what she's been through. The phone ringing, the papers slamming, overcooking dinner, getting ready to go somewhere. All of these little moments that set off life-changing events.
So what was the point of all of this? "She Bloomed, Anyway." Things don't all have to be perfect right now. By the grace of God, you've made it through every single one of your worst days, and you are stronger because of it. Your testimony is a light for women EVERYWHERE that are wondering if they are going to make it out the other side.
At the end of the film, a young girl finds herself walking into a PassionFIT class crying. The main character, Lexi, takes notice and walks over to check on her and is met with the girl, in tears, saying, "My whole life is falling apart." She knows what that's like.
She hands her a seed, tells her it's all going to be okay, and closes her hand around it. Then class starts. If you know PassionFIT, if you've ever been to a class, if you've been going to classes since the beginning... You know what I mean when I say that PassionFIT is an incredible space to starting healing. To start blooming. To keep blooming. To "tend to your flower." To be a part of a community of women who just want to cheer you on and support you.
The girl finds herself in that big, empty place with the song "Awesome God" faintly playing in the background. There is a little terra-cotta pot sitting there empty. She's a bit confused. She's never been there before. God is there with her. Always has been. This is where she stars blooming.
The woman who "Bloomed Anyway" gave her a seed and told her it's all going to be okay. That interaction, in a moment, symbolized her sharing her testimony with another woman that needed to hear, "It's all going to be okay."
If you made it this far, put a "💜" in the comments 🥰
