Story by Liesel Schmidt | Portrait by Jonathan Thorpe
As the owner and founder of Balian Springs Social Club for Wellness, Stephanie Chon’s life focuses greatly on wellness—how to achieve it, how to maintain it and how to encourage it in others. “Building greater human connections within a community has immense benefits, which is why we strive to create a safe space for everyone to explore their own wellness and self-care,” she says. “This mission is important because we, as a society, are more stressed and more unhappy than ever before. We prioritize everything but our own self-care. Self-care is not selfish—it’s essential.”
Chon’s work comes from a personal place, making it a passion project. “I wanted to give an option to anyone like me who struggles with mental and physical health.”
“A few years ago, I was diagnosed with [a] leaky heart valve, which caused my heart to flutter and my blood pressure to drop suddenly. I realized anyone is susceptible to heart complications, no matter how well we think we are taking care of our bodies. The heart is the powerhouse of our body, and for us women to continue to be the powerhouses of the world, we need to prioritize our physical and mental health.”
- Stephanie
As challenging as being a business owner is, she takes inspiration from her family. “We've been through the best of times and the worst of times together,” she says. “My parents inspire me every day by how far they have come. I listen to their stories as immigrants, navigating a new world and an unknown language and starting from the humblest of beginnings. They push me to keep going every day because of the life and the opportunities they have given me, all because they took on all the struggles themselves in order to make our lives better.”