Her story
How it unfolded
A gym for women in 1991. A name for a new kind of coaching in 2003. A school in 2009. A film crew in 2026. And the chapters still to be written.
In Crystal's words
I left home at fifteen.
There was no roadmap, only a young girl learning to trust herself when life gave her every reason not to. Everything I've created since has grown from that journey.
I've been the woman who gained ninety pounds with my first pregnancy, the woman who later lost a hundred and became smaller than I'd ever been, and, through menopause, the woman who watched the weight come back and had to do the work all over again. It was never really about the weight. The weight was simply how my protection showed up.
Then, in 2026, after years of feeling dismissed by the medical system, I was diagnosed with cancer. Surgery followed, and it became the beginning of what I now call my Second Act: living my next chapter in vivid colour.
That's why women trust me. I don't teach empowerment from theory. I teach it because I've had to live it.
Love you, Crystal
The timeline
Year by year
- 1991Opens Crystal's Health & FitnessA gym for women only.
- 1994Competes in the Ms. Galaxy
- 1997Begins Simply…WomanPersonal training and nutritional coaching for women.
- 2002Self-publishes the original Simply…WomanA full-colour book with a multimedia program: audio CDs, a workout DVD, a meditation and a journal.
- 2003Names her work “Empowerment Coaching”And moves from the gym to the coaching office.
- 2004Simply…Woman! · Hay HouseThe 12-Week Body-Mind-Soul Total Transformation Program.
- 2006Transcendent Beauty · Hay House
- 2007Nutritionist and life coach on X-WeightedThe same year, she launches the first Simply…Woman Retreats.
- 2009Founds The S.W.A.T. InstituteSimply Woman Accredited Trainer: one of the earliest online Empowerment Coach Certification schools, created for women.
- 2010Simply…EMPOWERED · Hay House
- 2015The Emotional Edge · Penguin Random House
- 2018Simply…Woman: Stories from 30 Magnificent Women Who Have Risen Against the OddsEdited by Crystal.
- 2021Relaunches the Master Empowerment Coach Certification (MECC)
- 2023Launches the Simply…Woman 12-Week Course for Women Over 40
- 2026A cancer diagnosis, surgery, and a Second Act
- Sept
2026The Simply…Woman Retreat: Your Second ActFifteen women in the Ontario countryside, and the cameras rolling. - NowSimply…Woman: Your Second Act, in productionThe story continues
Mentors & friends
Louise Hay and Dr. Joan Borysenko
Louise Hay and Dr. Joan Borysenko were more than pioneers in women's empowerment. They were mentors who helped shape Crystal's work. Louise published three of Crystal's books through Hay House, invited her to host her own radio show on Hay House Radio, and encouraged her to build what became The S.W.A.T. Institute.
Before Louise's passing, Crystal recorded a special interview with her for S.W.A.T. Institute students and graduates.