We recently connected with Nicolas Sotomayor and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicolas, thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

My parents made the journey from Chile to the US without speaking the English language and carrying a 2-year-old. That decision must have taken great courage. I couldn’t imagine doing that myself, but I also knew I wanted to leave my comfort zone. The very least I could do is move across the country to find love.

I met Maki 10 years ago while we were separately touring Germany. She was a traveling tattoo artist and I was on my way to Oktoberfest. I remained her client throughout the years and we became friends. On my last visit to Los Angeles in 2022, I decided to take her on a proper date. We had amazing conversations about our life goals and ambitions so I knew I had to make a major decision when I returned home to New Jersey.

After 5 years of establishing myself as a sound practitioner in my own community, I decided to pack my bags and start a new chapter with Maki. Not only was moving across the country for love a crazy idea, it was also risky because I was leaving my community and clients behind. I had to rebuild a new network.

Today I feel grateful for being able to host sound bath meditation experiences all over LA. My wife and I have an amazing Japanese Zen-inspired Tattoo & Meditation studio, Inked Zen in Beverly Hills. We created our own style of “Zen Healing”, which combines Irezumi, Japanese culture, and the therapeutic benefits of sound and vibration. I also get to travel to the east coast quite a bit, working with various venues and wellness studios in the NY/NJ area and reconnecting with clients.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I facilitate meditative sonic experiences for groups and private clients. These are more commonly referred to as “sound baths”, although I hate to use that term. It’s a combination of meditation, breathwork and a full body listening experience, all with the purpose of creating a safe environment for healing.

I am a certified sound practitioner and meditation teacher with over five years of experience. My meditation practice stems from Buddhism at the Soshimsa Zen Center in New Jersey. I have studied the effects of sound therapy and auditory stimulation at The Integrative Sound and Music Institute Program in New York under the tutelage of Sara Auster and various other instructors. I then completed my training at the Atma Buti Sound and Vibrational School with a certification in Singing Bowl Sound Therapy.

Meditating in silence can be challenging for most people. I play my instruments in a specific sequence that promotes a consciousness-transforming experience. A massage for the nervous system while lying flat on your back. What makes my work unique is my background in audio engineering as well as traditional meditation. By combining all of these elements, I am able to speak on the different modalities and benefits of sound therapy in both esoteric and scientific terms.

Have you ever had to pivot?

I was working as a financial analyst, feeling stuck in a cubicle when I had my “ah-ha” moment. This definitely was not the way that I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I owned my own place, had a nice car and checked all of the boxes that society wanted me to check. Yet, I was unfulfilled and I knew that my destiny was not to be sitting in front of a computer screen looking at spreadsheets all day. I was not happy with my situation so I decided to change it before it was too late.

Most people in my position likely continue their education with a Masters degree to further their career goals. I decided to go back to school for something completely different and went to pursue a Bachelors degree in audio production. I had no plan or any idea what would result from it, but I knew I wanted to work with my ears.

All of a sudden school had a new meaning to me. Now I was studying for courses that I was genuinely curious about. I canceled plans with friends to learn about sound frequencies and waves. I reached out to aspiring musicians for opportunities to record them. I was almost embarrassed to tell anyone, so I kept it a secret until I graduated 18 months later. Upon graduating, I quickly began an internship as an audio engineer, working part time on top of my full time job, and I was thrilled. The decision to pivot my career into the world of sound was one of the best choices I ever made and I will always support others who are pursuing their passions.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I learned very early in life how to blend in with others. My “self-mirroring” personality allowed me to make positive impressions on the people I met. Although it was completely unintentional, I discovered that mimicking the attitudes and opinions of another person during social interactions was a good way to build relationships. As an introvert, it allowed me to make friends and network more successfully. However, I learned much later that being a chameleon all the time does not allow you to attract the right people into your life.

As the saying goes, “your vibe attracts your tribe.” It wasn’t until I began introducing myself in social gatherings as a sound practitioner or breaking the ice with something I felt passionate about, did I truly understand the meaning of that aphorism. I had to unlearn the constant need to fit in. Once I started being myself and following my own path, opportunities and people slowly presented themselves. It felt as if I found my voice and I didn’t have to pretend to be someone else or try to win their approval.

My earliest memory of this was at a house party where I met one of the guests and the typical question was asked, “what do you do?”. That was when I decided to stop introducing myself or identifying as my occupation at the time, a financial analyst. I told the gentleman I had just graduated with a degree in audio production and I was extremely passionate about sound and music. He immediately introduced me to his son who coincidentally happened to be an audio engineer and operated his own recording studio. Being my genuine self allowed me to unintentionally make a new friend. A few months later, I was given the opportunity to record my first sound meditation at his recording studio. That recording was my first single released on Spotify and Apple Music – Moment of Zen vol. I

Contact Info:

• Website: https://campsite.bio/ninjanic
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninjanickels/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soundbathofbeverlyhills/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NinjaNickels
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ninjanickels

Image Credits
Chris Santillan, Luis Rodriguez