OUR STORY
Hey! I’m Kat
A former special-education-teacher-turned-entrepreneur, proud wife to an incredibly supportive husband /business partner and mom-to-be who has an unshakable desire to help others reach their full potential.
Born and raised in a small town in Southern Ontario, I grew up riding dirtbikes with my brother (as my Mom watched, hands clasped over her anxious face), fishing and farming with my Dad, building forts and spending as much time in the wilderness as daylight would allow. Growing up with an older brother with Autism, I learned very quickly how cruel the world could be to those who communicated, walked or processed information differently. I saw my brother as a hide-and-seek extraordinaire and quick-witted comedian who possessed a lot of the same qualities as my Grandfather. Unfortunately, many with limiting thoughts or experiences in grade school saw him as different and, in turn, had a tough time looking beyond his limitations to see just how empathetic he was, or feel the warmth of his bear hugs.
This realization fueled my passion for helping those who, like my brother, had an abundance of potential but lacked the opportunity to utilize their unique gifts. I did my undergrad in English Literature at an Ontario University then got accepted to teachers’ college and was able to land a job teaching in an ASD classroom very soon after.
I loved many aspects of being a special education teacher. I very quickly learned that my strongest muscle was my mind. When my physical body said “no more,” my mind enabled me to do things I never thought possible. Along with this, however, came an intense perfectionist mindset, and I found myself increasingly frustrated by the confines of the public education system in Ontario. I had all these grand plans for my students and knew in my heart that these experiences would help them reach new heights in regards to their mental and physical development, but I continually received push back from decision makers who had not spent any time in the classroom. My cortisol levels continued to soar along with my levels of frustration, and I found myself trapped on the thin line of a tightrope, delicately trying to balance the demands of my career, family and health.
I quickly started experiencing a multitude of skin and digestive issues that I had never experienced before. I went to the gym regularly, and my defined muscles gave a false appearance of health as I battled internal discomfort and physical pain. I gave 110% to my students during the day, then had little left to give to my family or myself at the end of the day. Weekends were spent in 1 part recovery mode and the 2 parts planning mode to prepare for the week ahead. At the time, my husband worked Saturdays, so we only had Sunday to spend together, and we were also in the middle of a total home renovation at the time. We sat down one Sunday evening, looked each other in the eyes, and said “something has got to change”. Little did we know at the time, that that “something” would be just about every aspect of our life. After the renovation was complete, we put our first home up for sale and promised ourselves that we would not get into any more debt by purchasing a larger family home. In Ontario at the time, housing costs were at an all-time high which was great for selling our home, but meant that getting another home in our desired country location would be increasingly difficult. We discussed our options: do we build on the family farm and live with our parents in the meantime? (insert further heightened cortisol levels). Do we move to British Columbia so we could be by the mountains and live a more balanced lifestyle with increased outdoor activities? But the market is just as expensive in British Columbia and we would have to work the same hours, if not longer to make ends meet- scratch that idea.
Do we move outside of Canada where our money can go further and we can place a priority on our health rather than careers?- That seems crazy and scary and daunting!
Fast forward 3 months and we were en-route to Costa Rica after selling our newly-remodeled house, taking unpaid leaves from our “great” careers and selling most of our “prized” possessions. We landed in the land of “Pura Vida” (Pure Life), and instantly felt a sense of calm. We did not have a long-term plan, but we knew we were going to make the most of our new adventure. Our stress transitioned from our careers and never-ending cycle of debt to finding a local market to get fresh fruit, or deciding which waterfall to explore first. We both thrive on routine, so we knew that we needed to turn our passion for helping others and combine it with our shared love of adventure. We now lived in a little piece of paradise on earth and were surrounded by so many like-minded individuals.
We spent almost a year researching, learning, reading and testing different strategies to become the marketing agency that we are today. We quickly learned how much of an emotional roller coaster ride entrepreneurship can be, but remained laser focused on our goal of remaining authentic while providing the best possible service for our clients. Pura Vida (Pure Life) Digital was born after months of deciding what clients/businesses we wanted to work with. When we stepped back and realized at what obstacles or adventures happened along the way to get us the point we were at, we very quickly noticed that working with clients who pride themselves in going against the “status quo” or being passionate with whichever brand they may have is the direction we wanted to go. Working alongside a health coach and Naturopathic doctor who prided herself in the same values we kept closer to our heart we had an epiphany. These are the clients we want to work with on a daily basis: Health coaches, Naturopathic ND’s, functional fitness coaches, Natural clinics, holistic health practitioners, and lastly but most importantly any business, client or brand that has the determination, motivation, positive energy, and excitement to inspire the world one day at a time. PURA VIDA!!
So here’s to chasing the vision, remaining authentic, serving with integrity and ultimately trusting the process. We look forward to chatting with you soon!!
-Kat and Cory Lukach, founders of Pure Life Digital Marketing
Our Mission
When you make the decision to partner with our team, you will notice that we do not just have short consultation meetings and get you to sign on the dotted line after a brief chat. Just like how you take care of your clients, we step back and look at the big picture of what is going on within your business, not just the surface issues that may be wreaking havoc now. The last thing we want from you is to spend thousands of dollars on ads but NOT have the right sequence in place to provide you the results that you want to achieve.
We strongly believe in deep market research and giving each one of our customers a personalized plan. This level of customization and attention to detail is how we get such a high return on investment for our clients. By the time we get done studying your entire business we will know EXACTLY what your ideal patients want so we can create ad campaigns that truly deliver results (backed by data) rather than simply guessing what the best approach should be.