Connie Stowers, also known as “The Realeskater,” has always loved connecting with people. Born and raised on the South Shore of Massachusetts, she earned her degree in communications with a minor in psychology from Merrimack College. She built her career in retail leadership before transitioning to real estate and eventually combining her new vocation with roller skating. I recently sat down with her to discuss her extraordinary journey.
Brian Shovelton (Motif): What led you to pursue a career in real estate?
Connie Stowers: I’ve always been a people person. I genuinely love talking to people and hearing their stories and helping them solve problems. Because of that, sales felt like a natural fit and I spent most of my life working in retail management until I went full-time in 2021. I always felt like I was meant to do more. I earned my RE license in 2017 – I was in the midst of a big career change, as the company I was working for was going out of business. While I closed down my store, I went to real estate school at night and absorbed everything I could. Real estate gave me something that retail never could. Instead of helping someone pick out an outfit, I get to help them through one of the biggest decisions of their lives. Buying or selling a home is emotional, exciting, stressful, and life changing. Being trusted to guide people through that process is something I never take for granted.
BS: Was roller skating something you’ve always enjoyed, or did that come later in life?
CS: I skated as a kid, like a lot of people did, but I stopped for decades. Roller skating didn’t become a major part of my life until adulthood. In 2021, I made some major changes in my life. I left retail to pursue real estate full-time. Three months later my husband and I separated. I was a first-time mom. We sold the home we had bought together. I sold most of my belongings and found myself living alone and filling the hurt with unhealthy coping mechanisms, especially drinking. On March 6 of 2022, I had my last drink. I don’t think I knew it would be my last, I just knew I needed a change. By day 32 of no drinking, I found myself looking for something to fill the space. I saw an old screen shot on my phone of an adult roller-skating night at United Skates and thought, “Yup, that’s it. I’m trying it.” I chose a skating rink over a bar that night and it changed my life forever. It became more than a hobby. It became my therapy, my fitness routine, my creative outlet, and eventually my community.
BS: Where did the idea come from to combine real estate and roller-skating?
CS: Honestly, it wasn’t a marketing strategy at first. It was said as a joke and it stuck. One night someone at the rink asked, “What do you do for work?” “I’m a realtor.” They laughed and said, “Oh… so you’re a realeskater?” BOOM. I was building my real estate business while also falling in love with skating. I had the idea to start skating through houses in my video tours. I also started genuinely sharing my life and the struggles I was going through. The good, the bad, and the ugly. People connected with the authenticity and loved the skating. Instead of trying to separate my interests, I leaned into them. Today my business is proof that you don’t have to fit into one box. Sometimes the things that make you different are exactly what make people remember you.
BS: I was told there was a significant weight loss attached to your story. Could you elaborate a little further?
CS: At my heaviest, I weighed nearly 300 pounds. I was pregnant during covid and gained almost 100 pounds in a year. I struggled with my health, my confidence, and honestly with believing I was capable of changing my life. Looking back, giving up alcohol was the first domino that made everything else possible. Skating became something I couldn’t wait to do instead of something I had to force myself to do, like go to the gym. It made movement fun again. As I learned to skate and alcohol was no longer a part of my life, I went deeper in my therapy and was able to get off anti-depressants. I also started working out at the gym (not to lose weight, but to get better at skating). All of these small changes compounded over time and after three years, I had lost nearly 100 pounds. But the biggest transformation wasn’t physical. The real change was learning that I could keep promises to myself and I could do hard things. That confidence spilled into every area of my life. From my health, to my business, to how I showed up for my daughter.
BS: It seems that you seek to motivate people through your social media. What is the inspiration behind that?
CS: I spent a lot of years believing I wasn’t capable of becoming the person I wanted to be. I thought it was too late, I was too far gone or maybe just too old. After making a lot of hard decisions to change my personal circumstances (marriage and career) and a personal inventory of how I was living my life (relying too much on alcohol) I finally realized that change doesn’t happen because you’re lucky or talented. It happens when you’re willing to take one small step after another. That’s when everything shifted. I don’t create content because I think I have all the answers, I create content hoping someone stumbles across it on exactly the day they need it. Whether that’s buying their first home, putting on skates for the first time, giving up a vice, or simply starting over.
BS: You have a significant following on social media. Did the novelty of combining real estate with roller-skating help with that?
CS: I think it helped people stop scrolling, but authenticity is what made them stay. I don’t think people follow me because I sell houses or because I roller skate. I think they follow me because they see a piece of themselves in my story. Maybe it’s the version of themselves that doesn’t feel ready. Maybe it’s the version that doesn’t feel capable. If my journey helps someone believe change is possible, then every post is worth it. There are a lot of realtors online and a lot of skaters online. I just happened to be both.
BS: After your extraordinary journey, is there any advice you would give to young people trying to change their circumstances in life?
CS: Stop waiting until you feel ready. Most people think confidence comes first. It doesn’t. Confidence comes after you do the hard thing over and over again. You don’t have to change your whole life overnight. You just have to make one better decision today than you did yesterday. Then do it again tomorrow. The life you want isn’t built in one giant leap. It’s built through thousands of small choices that most people never see.
BS: Is there any message you would like to convey to our readers?
CS: No matter where you are right now, your story isn’t finished. You don’t have to be the person you’ve always been. You’re allowed to reinvent yourself as many times as it takes. For me, that reinvention looked like going alcohol free, roller-skating, building a business, losing weight and finding a community I never expected. For someone else it might look completely different. The important part is simply being willing to start. Sometimes one small decision, whether it’s buying a pair of skates, making a career change, or believing in yourself for the first time, can change the entire direction of your life. If your next chapter happens to start on eight wheels, I’d love to meet you at SkateMate, my adult roller-skating community, where movement and mindset come together. We laugh, we fall, we cheer each other on, and most importantly, we always get back up.