Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendra McLeish.
Kendra, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m Kendra, a San Diego girl, born and raised. I went to La Jolla High, but my childhood looked a lot different than people might assume. It was turbulent and lacked stability, and although it was a tough upbringing I am grateful that from a young age, it gave me the strong urge to build something better for myself. I always knew I’d have to create my dream life on my own, and I spent years imagining a big, beautiful one.
That drive took me up the corporate ladder, doing everything I thought I was supposed to do, until I realized I wanted to build something of my own. So I left and started my real estate business. Within a year, I hit $15 million in sales.
On paper, I’d made it. In reality, I was running on empty– nervous system shot & feeling unfulfilled and it led to my crash out. I’d been so focused on achieving that I’d completely lost touch with myself. So I did something that scared me: I packed my bags, moved to Park City, Utah, and went on what I called my soft girl sabbatical. No work for 6 months & just time to focus on healing my nervous system, getting my health back in check & finding my true purpose.
That season changed everything. Slowing down opened the door to my wellness journey, learning how to regulate my nervous system, listen to my body, and actually heal. Building community, traveling and pilates all became the center of it. I started training as an xformer instructor in Utah, and when I came home to San Diego, I completed my mat and reformer certifications. It became so much more than a workout. It was how I reconnected with myself and met linke minded women through wellness events.
Through that process, I fell in love with creating spaces where women feel safe enough to soften and strong enough to grow. That’s what led to Literally Just Girls, the women’s wellness retreat brand I co-founded with my business partner Ashtyn. We met at a wellness event in San Diego and instantly connected over wanting to create the kind of experiences we’d been craving ourselves. Our retreats bring women together in beautiful locations across Europe. We create a space for women to reset, realign, and reconnect through Pilates, a shared love of travel, and the kind of vulnerability that only happens when you’re surrounded by women who just get you. We just hosted our second women’s retreat in Mallorca, Spain, and we have three amazing locations planned for 2027: the South of France, Spain, and Italy. My favorite part is watching women arrive as strangers and leave feeling like they’ve found their people.
The next chapter is one my best friend and I have dreamed about for a long time. In 2027, my best friend of 20 years, Alley, and I are opening House of Haven, a boutique wellness club in Rancho Bernardo. It’s more than a Pilates studio. It’s a space centered on intentional movement and luxury wellness, where women can heal, build community, and truly feel at home. And we aren’t waiting for the doors to open to start building that community. We’re hosting a wellness series of Pilates and wellness pop-ups around San Diego, so by the time we open, it already feels like home.
We named it House of Haven because that’s exactly what we want it to be: our house is your house. It’s everything my own healing taught me, brought home to San Diego.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all, but I am grateful for the journey. At first I was ashamed of my childhood and I worked very hard to upkepp a persona to keep up with my peers. I think that’s the part people don’t always see. Growing up, I was surrounded by kids whose lives looked so much easier than mine. Watching that lit a fire in me. It gave me a competitive edge and a drive to go above and beyond to create a beautiful life for myself. I believe that fire is a big reason I’ve accomplished what I have.
But it came with a cost. I believed that if I just worked harder, I’d finally feel safe. I tied my worth to my productivity, overworked constantly, and pushed past every warning sign until I crashed out. From the outside, hitting $15 million in real estate sales in my first year looked like success. On the inside, I was running on survival mode.
Walking away from that pace was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. There was so much fear: fear of losing momentum, of what people would think, of starting over. Learning to rest without guilt was honestly harder than any business goal I’ve hit.
Building something from scratch comes with its own challenges, too. Launching retreats and now a wellness club means a lot of uncertainty, a lot of learning as you go, and a lot of moments where you have to bet on yourself before anyone else does. There have been setbacks, doubt, and long hours working towards a business i don’t know will succeed.
But every hard season taught me something. I’ve learned to keep the fire without letting it burn me out. I don’t have to choose between ambition and peace. I can build a big life and still take care of myself while I do it. That’s the foundation of everything I’m creating now. And I believe that House of Haven will be a space where women learn the same!
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Literally Just Girls Wellness Retreats ?
I have two brands that come from the same heart: creating spaces where women can come home to themselves.
Literally Just Girls is the women’s wellness retreat brand I co-founded with Ashtyn. We host retreats in beautiful destinations where women can reset, realign, and reconnect through Pilates, travel, and real vulnerability, surrounded by women who just get you.
What sets us apart is that we’re not just planning a trip. Every retreat is designed with intention, from the movement to the meals to the conversations. Aside from the meditation, sound bath yoga and other programming — Ashtyn and I lead daily pilates classes as well as wellness workshops– spanning anywhere from guided intention setting circles, “becoming her” journaling and manifesting meditations, and nervous system regulation practices. It’s woven into how the whole experience feels. And we create the kind of environment where women can drop the performance, be honest about where they are in life, and leave with real friendships. A lot of women come alone and leave with a group chat and plans to visit each other across the world, it is so beautiful to see new friendships grow!
House of Haven is the boutique wellness club I’m opening in Rancho Bernardo in 2027 with my best friend of 20 years, Alley. It’s centered on intentional movement and luxury wellness, with reformer and mat Pilates, a sauna, and red light therapy. Our classes follow what we call the Haven Method, designed to help women build strength, move with intention, and regulate their nervous systems, not just get a workout in. Before we open, we’re hosting a wellness series of Pilates and wellness pop-ups around San Diego, so the community is already built by the time the doors open.
What I’m most proud of is that both brands grew out of my own healing. They aren’t built on trends. They’re built on what actually helped me heal, feel safe, strong, and at home in my own life, and I get to share that with other women.
What I want readers to know is that there’s a place for you here. Whether you join us abroad, at a hosted pop-up in San Diego, or at the San Diego wellness club (launching soon) you don’t need to have it all figured out. Just come as you are. Our house is your house and I will be your biggest hype woman/supporter through every journey of your life!
Follow along at @literally_justgirls and @houseofhavenn
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
That a life that looks good and a life that feels good are not the same thing. For years, I chased the first one. I thought that if I hit enough goals, made enough money, and proved enough people wrong, I’d finally feel accomplished. But the feeling I was looking for was never going to come from the outside.
The real shift happened when I stopped running and started listening to myself. I learned that softness isn’t weakness, that rest is productive, and that the stability I craved growing up was something I could create from within.
I also learned that I didn’t have to do it alone. For so long, I believed I had to build everything by myself. But some of the most healing moments of my life have come from the women around me. My best friend of 20 years is now my business partner, I met my retreat co-founder at a wellness event, and I’ve watched strangers become sisters at our retreats. Strong female friendships have held me up in ways no achievement ever could.
That’s what I carry into everything I do now. I want other women to know they don’t have to burn themselves out to earn a beautiful life, and they don’t have to build it alone. Find your people. Let them in. That’s where the magic is.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.literallyjustgirls.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kendramcleish/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/literally_justgirls/
