A WOMAN has been nominated for a prestigious award almost a year after starting a business in Flintshire.

Karen Turton co-founded Tribe Fitness on Flint’s Church Street with business partner Ethan Brunt last year and has since been selected as a finalist for the Welsh Businesswoman of the Year award at the National Business Women's Awards.

She said: “I was absolutely amazed to find out I’d been considered as a finalist.

“I had completely forgotten about it as I put an application in a while ago after someone drew my attention to the awards. It’s a big national award but it really does focus on the actual women in various sectors making their own mark on the business world.

“With what we have had to face in the last year at Tribe as a start up business, not only with establishing our brand but coping now with the lockdown.”

Tribe Fitness Studios opened on Flint’s as a way of looking to bring life back to the local high streets by offering something different that cannot be bought online. Karen’s work to with the business utilises her skillset of empowering women and helping them find the confidence to fulfil their potential.

The classes and services provided not only work on physical fitness but mental and emotional wellbeing.

When discussing the award, Karen spoke about how the business is preparing to get back up and running after the current health crisis has forced them to close their doors to the public.

She said: “We have a phased plan ready to go once we are given the green light for it being safe to start reopening. As soon as the lockdown is released, we are looking at restarting our running club at a reduced group size of four people to maintain the correct social distance.

“When larger groups are permitted to exercise, we have a timetable for outdoor exercise we could offer and then we are ready for when we can safely get back into the gym to how we do a much reduced class size but offer all the Tribe favourites but within the new Government guidelines.”

She told the Leader how they adapted several of their more popular classes to be virtually available and, due to positive feedback on these, Karen said the gym will look to hold these even when the pandemic allows the business to return to normal so the gym remains accessible wherever you are.

Karen will find out the results of the award later this year in November.