We recently connected with Nicole Nahed and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Nicole thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

Fitness became a big part of my life after suffering from a bad ankle injury when I was just 15 years old that led to 2 reconstructive surgeries, a year in a cast, and years of physical therapy to relearn basic skills such as walking and running. Not your typical journey… but the recovery process changed the way I thought about my body, both mentally and physically. I spent years after frustrated and struggling with body image, weight loss, disappointing diets, you name it. My passion for fitness started after years of rehabbing my injury and learning everything I could about fitness and nutrition to heal my body.

Throughout my journey, I struggled to find a place where I felt comfortable to get the support I needed as a beginner. Traditionally, fitness has been a male dominated industry and portrayed in many extremes, leaving beginners feeling unsure about where and how to start. When I began working as a trainer, I was shocked by how many women had never reached out to a trainer before because they weren’t able to find one they felt would understand their needs. There are so many mental and physical hurdles you have to overcome when you start your fitness journey and our bodies as women are very unique. This inspired me to create a space where women could come and feel welcomed and supported by other women who’ve been through similar journeys!

There were a few things that were important to me when creating Sculpt Studios. Firstly, eliminating all intimidation for people, especially women, at the gym and creating a space that is not only empowering, but takes an understanding and forgiving approach to health and fitness.

Secondly, creating a nontraditional gym design – why does a gym have to look like a gym? Sculpt Studios was meticulously curated to evoke the bright and sunny vibes of California and the uncompromising attention to design and detail seen across Beirut, where my family is from.

Lastly – Education! I wanted to provide women with all the knowledge I could about fitness and nutrition because knowledge stays with you forever! We not only offer personal and small group training, we’re committed to teaching clients about their body and dispelling myths about weightlifting.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

I am a personal trainer and nutrition coach that specializes in helping women uncover the underlying mental and physical hurdles that have stopped them from reaching their goals.
For so many of us starting our journeys, there is so much self discovery that we need to do internally before we can hit our external goals. Your mindset – the ability to believe you can accomplish your goals – is one of the most determinant factors in you doing so. What has made me so successful as a coach is that I spend so much time working with my clients on their mindset and helping them build a new internal voice. I value self-awareness and education so much and try to teach my clients all the tools they’ll need to be able to do this on their own one day!

Nothing makes me feel as proud as making sure every single woman knows how powerful it feels to be confident and happy in their skin. Over the years I have seen many of my clients transform physically but it is the mental transformations that are the most rewarding. I can’t tell you how rewarding it is to see women who’ve walked in on their first day saying, “I won’t be able to do this” hit goals they didn’t even know were possible.

Sculpt Studios was built on the premise of empowering women to become the most confident versions of themselves and for many women, this may be the first time in their lives they’ve felt this way. It impacts all aspects of their lives including their careers, relationships, and mental state!

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

I originally went to the University of Michigan to study Business with a specialty in marketing. While in school, I became a part-time group fitness instructor at a local gym. It was my first time ever teaching and I loved it! After graduating, I continued into a corporate marketing position and had to give up teaching due to time constraints but then the pandemic hit and it gave me a unique opportunity to spend some time exploring what a career in fitness could look like.

I started posting about fitness on my personal instagram and hosting online workout classes, which led to people reaching out about personal training. From there, I started pursuing fitness much more seriously and using my Instagram as a platform to share my knowledge and reach new people. As things started growing, I decided not to return to corporate and I found a small space to rent where I spent about a year growing the business to a place where I was able to hire a time and build my own space, which is now Sculpt Studios!

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

When I started my business, I was so passionate about helping as many women as possible to reach their goals! I worked so closely with every woman to help them understand their bodies better and to build confidence both in their workouts and mentally! This requires a lot of trust and truly caring about each client as more than just a client in order to build an environment for them to feel comfortable sharing about their journey.

People could really feel the care and commitment that I had to helping them achieve their goals. I always believed that if you treat people with care and not just as a client, the business success will follow! I made sure that everyone I hired had the same outlook on helping others and it created an amazing environment where clients feel safe and comfortable! Word spreads fast and people can sense genuine passion!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sculptstudios.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sculpt.studios/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sculptstudios?trk=public_profile_topcard-current-company