Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Nicole Weaver. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Nicole, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Back in 2005, my husband, Bryan and I (Nicole) were living in Southern California, running a group home for extreme troubled/delinquent boys ages 7-18 years old. We lived with these boys for two years, while also raising our toddler boys, at the time. It became incredibly more dangerous having our family living in this home 24/7. It became apparent that we could no longer stay – as we found out severe sexual abuse was happening between 3 of the 6 boys in the home during the night staff shift (the 7 hours we were allowed to be “off”). The morning we found out, we gave our 2-weeks notice. However, we had no idea what to do, or where to go. We just knew we had to leave this employment. Bryan had recently read a Forbes article on Boise, ID, and how it was one of the 5 best places to live in the country. We had never even been to Idaho, and honestly, I did not even know where it was on the map – (Ohio? Iowa? Where? Idaho?). However, it was the safety of our two toddler boys that made us agree to moving there, sight unseen.
We packed up and were on the road in two weeks. We had no job, no home, knew no one in Boise, and found out on the drive that I was newly pregnant with #3. So, also no insurance for pre-existing conditions.
We arrived in Boise and lived with a mutual friend for 10 days. Bryan found a job that barely made ends meet working with young people with autism and other severe disabilities. I should mention Bryan has a 4-year Masters Degree, and this was the only job he could find. However, he was great at it, and it met the needs we needed at the time.
Within three months, we were able to purchase our first home. It was a wonderful two-story yellow house that we made into a home with our growing family. To say the move was smooth and easy is about as far from reality as one can get. However, our move allowed so many amazing things possible.
Two years later, in 2007, we were able to start our own business of health, fitness, and fun – at the time called Gym On The Run. It was never on our radar to start/own a business, it just kind of fell into place because we wanted to help others. I feel Idaho has been so good to us with that philosophy. In 2009, we changed from Gym On The Run, adding youth sports leagues because we were unable to afford youth sports on our own. We were now called Brayge Sports and Fitness, . We thought if we just found 10 other families, we could make t-shirts and form two soccer teams.
It is now 2023, and we offer soccer, flag football, basketball, self defense, PE classes, and fitness training for over 2,000 kids/adults in the Treasure Valley. Though, there were many challenges, we grew in all ways, together as a family, and are so grateful for the life we have here in Boise, ID.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Brayge Sports – Our story. For some who have asked about our name – Brayge (rhymes with age), it’s a combination of our own kids’ names – Brock, Haydin, and Sage.

Brayge began in 2009 when we personally couldn’t afford youth sports. We did not have a lot of time or money for their initial experience into team sports. Our goal is to offer something less complicated and geared toward busy kids and families who want to get active and have fun.

We currently serve 2,000 kids annually in our Brayge Sports and Fitness leagues and classes.
Within our Brayge, Inc. non-profit, we have scholarshipped kids in recovery from illness, hardship, emigration, disabilities and other challenges life has thrown at some families. And, we continue to celebrate ALL kids!

We will always be grateful to our past, present and future Brayge ballers!

Our MISSION STATEMENT

As a family focused organization, we wanted to make a more convenient way for families to experience community sports.
Brayge Sports will make a conscious effort in making sure all youth, with the desire to participate, are allowed the opportunity, without regard to prior experience, athletic ability or size.

We hope to instill courage, sportsmanship, integrity, discipline, respect, leadership, and commitment in our young athletes. We believe these virtues are important for their growth in becoming active members of our community and society.

We will instill in our youth the challenge of competition, the joy of victory, learning from defeat, the importance of commitment, and the spirit of community. These goals will be achieved through organizing our dedicated volunteers, caring parents, and business associates who wish to partner with our Brayge Sports program.

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

Because our intent was never to start our own business, we did not go into Brayge Sports and Fitness with a business mind-set; Meaning we did not start the organization with the intent of building customers and making money. We started Brayge Sports and Fitness with the intent of helping friends and family. We were personally not making much money for anything extra, so we understood others in the same position. We started the youth sports side of Brayge (at that time called Kickin’ Kids Scoccer) because, at the time, we could not afford any local soccer league for our own kids. We just wanted to get a group of 10 other families and make our own league with fun t-shirts.
I believe because we went into it all with the mindset of family first, we have resonated with like-minded others in our community. We still carry that family owned/run philosophy. Our business name switched to Brayge to stand for our kids – Brock, Haydin, and Sage – hence, Brayge.
We have run Brayge Sports and Fitness as a family with the 5 of us, since 2007. We have since added to our Brayge staff, but the mission remains the same.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

We can absolutely attest that these books and authors have significantly impacted our thinking and philosophy since Day One: The Bible
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Franklin Covey
Outliers by Malcom Gladwell

Contact Info:

• Website: www.Brayge.com
• Instagram: @braygesports; @braygefitness; @braygexplore
• Facebook: facebook.com/BraygeSports; facebook.com/BraygeFitness
• Linkedin: Nicole Weaver
• Youtube: @braygefitness; @braygesportsfitness6112