We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Nicole Woodard recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dr. Nicole thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

I was working full time and what should have been a dream job and opportunity. I was working full time as a physical therapist in sports and orthopedics and I had created a 5.8 million dollar facility and plan for the most elite sports performance facility in our region. On the side I was running my own business working with professional Crossfit and Ironman athletes. Most days, I was exhausted being a mom, business owner, and high level professional and felt that this was the hustle. I would get the elite status and be able to take a break soon. At the end of July 2019. I was competing at Ironman 70.3 in Ohio. I had finished the swim and was in the first 5 miles of the bike when an athlete in front of me lost control of her bike resulting in a bike verse semi collision. I immediately threw down my bike and ran to provide CPR and any aid I would render. She lost her life on that course while expecting a PR and to go home and celebrate with her team mates and husband.
I took 3 weeks off work and even then when I returned I was not myself. I was distracted and struggling with my mental health. Almost overnight my husband and I decided, I would go full time entrepreneurship and leave my full time job as sports performance coordinator and doctor of physical therapy. I had no plan and yet I felt better than I had in years. I learned life was short and while you are hustling and waiting for success, you might not come back alive. I learned the value of life and the value of death. I went to counseling, became a trauma informed business, a trauma certified life coach and now I serve leaders who are taking care of everyone and everything else and are ready to find success without the hustle, trauma, burn out and overwhelm. I became who I needed.

Dr. Nicole, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I decided I wanted to be a physical therapist when I was 10 years old and never stopped til I had my doctorate in 2010. I have a love of learning and continued to grow and gathered over 44 certifications. During my time as a physical therapist, I found that clients would get better with me even if another therapist was doin the exact same exercise and manual techniques. I realized the root was the openness that clients had with me, they would share traumas, dreams, and secrets and I would hold space for them without judgement. I decided I wanted to hone this skill and provide an even more safe space and become certified in neurolinguistic programming, hypnosis, and trauma informed care. I work with leaders all over the world now. Leaders in athletics from olympians, Crossfit Games athletes, and elite Ironman athletes as well as business owners and innovators. I specialize in leaders taking care of everything and everyone else and are ready to find success without the hustle, trauma, burn out and overwhelm.
I am most proud of the people. I would not have any of the success I have without clients opening their hearts, minds, and bodies to healing through vulnerability. Each client I see has all the answers within them, they need a guide and they were willing to look for me. I am also really proud of moving my physical therapy business online and truly changing traditional medicine by treating the whole body, running retreats, and providing services and communities in the online space. I was terrified to change tradition and buck the system and I found courage to do it anyway and that is why my success rate is over 90%!
I am also really proud of my education I have invested $10,000-40,000 per year in my quest to be the best clinician and coach. I used to hide all my certifications and diplomas thinking it was standard and this past year I found how proud I am of the privilege to participate in these resources and share a highly educated and safe space with clients.
If you are feeling stressed, burn out, overwhelmed. Finding yourself constantly questioning. Having things in life like the job or money or family but it is not all coming together and feeling like contentment and peace instead it feels like more expectations. If you feel like you are losing yourself mentally, physically, emotionally and question if you need to work harder or rest or what to do. There are solutions and hope and I love being a part of that plan for people.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

(Trigger warning) I was running a successful in person practice inside of a Crossfit gym for about 1 year. I loved the gym community and the methodology and it gave me a space to call my own. One day following a workout, the manager of the gym asked to speak with me after class ended and everyone had left. He berated me, screamed, towered above me and made me repeat statements about how he was smarter than me and admit my doctorate meant nothing.
This was the first time I was scared to be a woman. I sat trembling scared if I moved or didn’t comply that there would be physical violence.
That night I went back and packed up all of my stuff. I left the gym and left my practice overnight. 1 week later, I pivoted into the online space and within the year was traveling to the Crossfit Games and watching 3 of our teen athletes take podium spots.
It was in this moment I knew no matter what that Mobility Athletes was my business, my brand and I would pivot, scrap, claw, learn, and process anything to grow this business and change the world of leadership and health.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Relationships. My true speciality isn’t physical therapy or life coaching. It is listening and remembering. In the online space, I answer all of the DMs and any personal emails. I love communication. Inside my programs I offer unheard of depth including neurotransmitter panel testing, 1:1 coaching via text apps daily, working with top physchologist, breath work coaches, and human design readers, neuroscientists to bring exclusives to my coaching programs. In the online world, 20% of people who purchase a program will complete in. In our signature program (which is in its 5th launch), 89% of all clients complete the program and 70% sign up to do another round or join our mastermind. When you create for your audience, you listen to them, and truly care I believe that will always build you reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mobilityathletes.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mobilityathletes
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-woodard-b11068196/
• Other: My Podcast Mobility Athletes Radio will be relaunching with brand new content in January 2024.

Image Credits
I have purchased all images submitted.