From a passion for sports to a life in sports: Marlene Havgaard owns her own reformer-studio at 26

Marlene Havgaard launched her business while still a student at Aarhus University, quickly finding success. She is happy that she has gotten this far: “When I am 80 years old, I would like to think “I did all those things because I tried”

Eminem’s ‘Without Me’ plays loudly from the speakers and instantly sets the mood.

The anticipation is high, the motivation is higher, and the energy even more: 12 women are about to get ready for a reformer session at LAVA Studio at Aarhus Ø.

“I have an idea! We are doing burpees for our warm-up!” says Marlene Havgaard, owner and founder of LAVA Studio.

In response she is met by a sea of eager smiles, and faster than Eminem can say “it feels so empty without me”, all twelve women are doing burpees.

Falling in love with a machine

Marlene Havgaards relationship with the reformer machine was not love at first sight. Originally a fitness instructor, it was her former employer who saw the match and set her up on a date. To which she replied, “I do not think so.” But then she tried it.

“And I thought it was fun”, says Havgaard. She then got an education as a reformer-instructor and completely fell in love with the machine that was originally created by Joseph Pilates – the creator behind pilates as a form of training.

The reformer-machine provides a full-body workout that works strength as well as stability and flexibility.

But then she quit her job.

Opening her first center

But after no time Marlene Havgaard started missing it. So, with a bachelor in sports science and the self-knowledge of her not being able to sit still for five minutes, she started her own classes at ‘Tiny Window’ at Aarhus Ø.

“Tiny Window had four machines, and people could buy a workout-session with me. It was a big success!”
That was the beginning of LAVA Studio. Nowadays, Havgaard employs 17 instructors at her studio in Aarhus.

“Next up is rows!”

Having finished the warm-up, it is time to get into the main part. And even though Marlene Havgaard is there as a coach and is not really a part of the training, she kind of is.

“Time for rows!” says Havgaard while demonstrating the how-to.

Studying and ‘startupping’

For Marlene Havgaard, combining her studies and her startup proved a challenge.
“LAVA Studio took time away from what I should have been doing: studying. But it was more fun working on the company than studying.”

Despite her struggles as a student, she recommends everyone interested in entrepreneurship to do it while studying:

“You do not gamble much when you are a student,” says Havgaard, pointing out the advantage of the SU that gives you a fixed monthly income.

“I just call myself Marlene that have a job that I love and a life that I like”

Even though Marlene Havgaard fits the description of an ‘entrepreneur’, she dislikes being called that.

“Everyone calls me an entrepreneur. I just call myself Marlene that have a job that I love and a life that I like.”

A big motivator behind her decision to go all-in on LAVA Studio is that she wants to lead a life with no regrets.

“When I am 80 years old, I would like to think “I did all those things because I tried.”

The Kitchen helped her make the hard choices

At The Kitchen, Marlene Havgaard felt like someone held her hand when having to make difficult decisions. That made a big difference for her when she started her entrepreneurial journey.

Because of the business advisors having no personal attachment to her business, it helped in the guidance, says Havgaard.

“They had an outside view of things and could tackle my issues with a different perspective than mine.”

The Kitchen’s ecosystem was a perfect fit for her. She realised that the only thing that mattered was the idea and how to develop it – regardless of academic background.

“It was a space where people thought creatively and differently,” says Marlene Havgaard and hammers home the importance of her time at The Kitchen.

“I received a lot of sparring that helped shape LAVA Studio, and my advisor gave me a lot of work tools that I still use today.”

Finishing the session at LAVA Studio

The light is dimmed, the music is relaxing, and the women are winding down. We are nearing the end of the session.

“Let us get our legs in the straps,” says Marlene Havgaard with a low voice, matching the energy in the room. To round out things, the team is doing some light stretching.

“We are starting with a ‘happy baby’ pose,” says Havgaard.

The future of LAVA Studio is bright

“If I wanted, I could hire someone to run the business for me nowadays. I could not do that a year ago.”
Marlene Havgaard has many plans for LAVA Studio and its future. She is certain that she will eventually get there as the company constantly evolves.

The next milestone for her is to get to a place where working on the weekends is a thing of the past. As she says:

“It is okay to decide to do something for me that may not directly benefit the company because in the end, it does benefit the company if it good for me.”