Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Montesanti.
Hi Nicole, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I started off my journey as a college athlete. I played four years of college softball and after my 4th year, I had one more year to finish some credits for my bachelor’s in Biology with a minor in Biochemistry. My original goal was pre-vet. I actually wanted to work with animals, but out of college I was offered a great position as a lab technician in the formulations department of a dietary and nutritional supplement company. I had so much fun making and learning about all kinds of supplements that I now use today. From there, I guess you could say my journey really began.
I started “working out,” but only was doing what I knew from softball. When it came to nutrition, I was eating healthy, but I knew I wasn’t eating “right” to achieve the body I had envisioned for myself.
That’s when I decided to pursue my NASM CPT to learn more for myself, but also to set myself up for the possibility of side income, which I never actually considered yet. It was only when I began training myself that I really grew a passion and respect for everything about fitness. As I started getting more into it, that passion for fitness turned into a passion for helping others learn, and in turn transform on a physical and mental level.
With that, I decided to quit my career, move back home, and pursue “something” in the fitness industry. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I just knew how my journey made me feel, and I wanted to help everyone feel the same.
Shortly after, I decided to go into competing, starting off with NPC, but after a few shows, I had completely shot my thyroid and gained a binge eating disorder. I had lost everything I had worked for physically, ruined my digestive system functionally, and put my mental health in a boat that was lost at sea.
Over the years, I took the time to re-train my mind, body, and digestive system. I tried many of the fad diets out there and came to find out that SIMPLICITY wins.
After feeling good about where I was after all the work I had put in to re-train and re-learn, I felt like something was missing. I knew I needed something to prove to myself that I had truly made a transformation to my mental health, so from there, I decided to go back into competing. I never thought I would step on stage again because my goal was to just be happy, but I realized that complacency was creeping back in. I was an athlete, therefore I will always be an athlete, so this is the year that I not only LEARNED FROM MY MISTAKES but also got to take home my WBFF PRO CARD and win my pro status as a pro bodybuilder.
This journey I’ve been through has been the exact reason I coach the way I do today. My mission for myself and all my clients is to DO THE BEST YOU CAN WITH WHAT YOU HAVE, stay consistent, and grow from there.
I never expect you to be perfect, but I do expect you to be better than you were yesterday, and together?
We make that happen!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road was NOT smooth whatsoever. I made tons of mistakes, which led me to make some bad choices. I lost some friends, which led me to make some new ones. I trusted many people I shouldn’t have trusted, which led me to take things slower with all my relationships. I lost my apartment for a brief moment living out of my car and not having anything to turn to. I fell into a toxic relationship or two and let love take over my mental health, which led to me sabotaging many things towards my success. My empathic personality has gotten me in a lot of binds but has also done quite the opposite.
I’ve lost, but I’ve won.
I’ve fallen, but I’ve gotten right back up.
I’ve felt like my soul died at one point, and through it all, I’ve risen.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
My business is in the “health coaching” field. What this means is that you are guided through your journey from YOUR first decision to make a change to your health. This entails getting you on a structured plan/program that I cater to your life and complement with your goals. I provide you the tools you need to achieve your goals physically and nutritionally: workout plan and nutrition plan; But I also teach you the “what’s” and “why’s” behind it, so you always feel like you’re making progress towards your goals.
I am the queen of SIMPLIFICATION and IMPLEMENTATION, so wherever you’re at in life, you CAN start now.
I meet you at a level above where you are now and hold you accountable to stay consistent towards your goals. We review progress along the way, make changes as need be, and coach you through this journey as it will always be a roller coaster.
We can control everything in our program minus the things that life throws at us, so AWARENESS and INTENTION are key to our success.
I am known for a few things:
– Simplifying things and breaking them down to help you understand
– Implementing actions to make progress towards always taking forward steps
– Correcting form and optimizing muscle breakdown
– Isolating muscles and sculpting YOUR body for YOU
I would say my energy is the game changer. As an empath, I specialize in meeting you where you’re at, whether you are inquiring or not. I listen and ask questions make sure you are at your upmost comfortable state because that is when we start making progress. I am a proud health coach in knowing I can give you all the tools you need, but I take pride in the coaching I do to help you understand how to use the tools that you’ve been given.
In my brand, I offer two types of coaching: competition coaching and lifestyle coaching. Both programs come with the fitness and nutritional tools, but the lifestyle program starts off with the nutrition being a bit more detailed. All programming is done online. I also offer personal training sessions where you can really learn how to optimally activate your muscles. These can be done in person or via ZOOM. I do offer a la carte: fitness programs, nutrition programs, and sessions. These can be purchased with or without programming.
Wherever you’re at in your journey, there will never be a perfect time to start, so just start and get better from there!
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
My thoughts on risk taking are the exact opposite of what I used to think. I used to play it safe. It felt better to know I am safe rather than not know what’s going to happen. The problem was that as life went on, I realized that you were NEVER really safe. Once that hit me, I thought about the times I felt scared to take risks, and I realized the time that passed due to me prolonging a decision. Of course, there are smart ways of taking risks to set you up for success; But at the end of the day, your body is going to try to keep you “safe.” I mean literally our body’s job is to maintain homeostasis.
Understanding that gives us that extra push to take a risk or a “chance.” If you want to live a life you look forward to everyday, not just “your weekends and holidays,” then you know that life is waiting for you on the other side of fear.
Taking the risk to leave a stable career wasn’t easy. I thought about it for about five months until I moved back to my mom’s to achieve a fitness career. I never thought I would be where I am today, but I still fight for what I want to this day. I’m not perfect, and I experience anxiety on a regular basis (many would never guess); But what keeps me going is two things:
1. Changing verbiage from “RISK” to “CHANCE.” – Changing verbiage is huge, not just to me, but it helps all of my clients. If our own worst enemy, can we learn to be our own biggest fan?
2. Thinking about how I would feel after the fact. – Motivation is FOR THE BIRDS. You will never always be motivated, so instead, I think about how I would feel after the fact. I don’t always want to workout, and it doesn’t miraculously change when I start working out. What I do is push and keep going because when I’m done, I know I will be proud.
Pricing:
- $300-$500+ (programming to personal training sessions)
Contact Info:
- Email: nf.nikkifitness@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikkii_fitness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikkiifitness
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8XAubLka5HqHFdG4iLLWwg
Image Credits
Brian Converse Matthew Santiago
