Then Covid19 hit in early 2020…
Her life stopped in it’s tracks and she lost all her income. Like so many others around the world, it was daunting as a single Mum with 4 children to provide for. Toilet paper stock piling was the least of her problems… newspaper was looking more realistic!
Worried about her career and the lack of connection of friendship with her participants, she decided to bring her classes online using Zoom. Initially terrified of the new technology, she dived in head first and attracted over 80 women to her launch class.
She describes waking up one night during the first week suffering a panic attack due to the overwhelming overnight success and pressure. Within the first 3 days of launching Zumba Zoom, people had deposited over $9000 into her account. She was astounded given her payment vision was an honesty policy & donation only. Josie had suggested $4 per class. People were excitedly committing themselves for the long haul, ready for their dance fitness lockdown journey.
Every day during the 2 years of lockdown, Josie performed 14 live Zumba classes a week to women all over the World. They tuned in from Melbourne, Perth, Queensland, Sydney, England, Scotland, New Zealand, Denmark, Berlin, Texas and Canada. Some would stay awake till 1.30am in other country time zones to participate.
For those who had lost their income, Josie offered her classes for free.
Friday nights playfully became costume/makeup themed. From 80’s, 90’s themes, Drag Queen makeup, Bogan themed, Dancing on your husbands, Under the Sea Theme, Halloween, Christmas to Easter, she continued to keep the creative fun vibe and offered prizes to the best dressed.
Ladies and Kids could tune in daily wearing their comfortable PJ’s and dance/laugh up a storm from any room in their house, all awhile baking lemonade scones in the oven and holding a cheeky 9am glass of wine. There may have been strict government rules, protocols & curfews on the streets outside, but not in Josie’s online Zumba sessions.
Quite often, participants would tune in from their scenic gardens and balconies, even from in their pools holding cocktails! The negative feelings of Covid isolation were obliterated for the hundreds who tuned in to share collective joy in Josie’s daily online dancing community. New friendships and life long bonds were formed all around the globe.
Josie had gained over 2000 Facebook group members and her own YouTube channel now has almost 6000 subscribers. Josie describes the crazy day her kids came home from school to announce she’d gone viral on one of her comical puppy dancing YouTube videos that had suddenly gained 2.4 million views. She joked to her kid’s that she’d finally hit the big time…’Z Grade’ celebrity status 😉
Little did she know what was to come…
One tragic night on 9th June 2021, Josie’s community of Mt Dandenong & its neighbouring surrounds were destroyed during a 12 hour freak storm. 200 properties were severely damaged, 81 were inhabitable, tens of thousands of trees fell, blocking roads and bringing down telephone and powerlines. Many families in the community were left homeless and thousands of others left with no internet connection or power for weeks.
An enormous refuge community hub was set up at Kalorama Oval to provide around the clock home cooked hot food, a mini grocery store, children’s activities, internet access, on hand counselling support and warm fires for locals, emergency service staff and members of the Australian defence force to come together to share in their combined loss and grief. The community rallied together here for weeks for comfort & support. Small businesses from all over Melbourne volunteered and donated to assist the hundreds of affected families.
Josie decided to help in her small way. She ran free Zumba classes several times a week on the refuge oval to boost morale and cheer everyone up with happy music during these dark winter days. The word spread and the community joined her in dance. A Mum that had lost her family home in the storm days before described smiling & laughing again for the first time since the tragedy.
Karl Stefanovic and the team at Channel 9 Today Show caught wind of the good news story . They contacted Josie and she and 60 Mt Dandenong community members danced on National TV live from Kalorama Oval for a 10 minute Friday morning pick me up ‘happy’ segment.
She cheekily taught Karl and Ally and everyone in the Channel 9 studio some of her ‘infamous’ signature dance moves including ‘decorating the cake’. For months afterwards, Josie left an impression on Karl as he loved that dance move and pulled it out on TV time and time again. Australia had taken notice too – Josie started receiving videos from little kids, disabled groups, teenagers and RSL clubs all fondly showing her how they ‘decorate the cake’.
Five months later, Josie got the ultimate shock of her life. She answered her front door to the Today TV crew filming her surprised face, live across Australia. They had tried to call her by phone before knocking on her door but she innocently announced to Australia that she was doing a ‘number two’ on the toilet and didn’t answer. She was now suddenly blindsided at the door laughing with no shoes on!
She had been secretly nominated by a friend & Zumba participant for ‘The Act Of Kindness Award’ for the free classes she had offered to everyone during the pandemic. Karl and Ally presented her with $15,000 gift live on TV. Josie was in a complete state of shock with gratitude and tears. You can view the video below to see her reaction. With very little income due to lockdown, $15,000 was a game changer for Josie and her young family. She fondly remembers her 4 kids had only one wish with the prize money that magical day …they wanted McDonalds Happy Meals for lunch!
5 years on from her first Zoom class, she is still live on Zoom twice weekly dancing up a lounge room sweat with her online family.
She launched ‘Josie’s Zumba’ merchandise clothing range so everyone can feel included wearing her branded fitness clothing and headbands. Her members call it the ‘Zumba Squad’.
Post Covid, Josie is ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’ now the flood gates of social normality are open!
She travelled to the UK mid 2022 and danced in front of some of the most iconic landmarks to entertain her followers … she danced on the grounds of Buckingham Palace on the Eve of the Queens Jubilee, on the grass in front of Stone Henge, Hampton Court, York Minster, Warwick Castle, Winchester Cathedral, Big Ben, The London Eye, The Royal Cresent in Bath and the Long Walk at Windsor Castle. She got some quirky inquisitive looks from tourists and passers by. But refreshingly, more times than not, many children, teenagers and adults joined in dancing with her in front of these famous and historic locations.
Back home in Melbourne, she teaches several schools a week, regular festivals and group fitness dance classes. Feel free to give her a call if you’d like to have Josie light up your room and ‘decorate your cake’ 😉
Watch this space, Josie’s dance adventures are still on the rise ….
