Connecting the Dots
Welcome to "Connecting the Dots," a podcast where each episode is a journey through the weeks of our lives. Last year, I embarked on a personal project, "My Life in Weeks," documenting weekly milestones with a simple dot on a wall planner. This year, I'm diving deeper into the world of podcasting by connecting with intriguing people who also prioritise infusing their lives with positive experiences. Each week, I chat with a guest about their "week" or "dot," sharing stories, challenges, and triumphs. We explore how these moments shape our paths and discover the power of connecting the dots together. Join us to find inspiration in everyday lives and perhaps add more good things to your own life along the way.
Connecting the Dots
Connecting the Dots...with a ball of energy (Nic Shires)
This episode features Nic, a former colleague with a zest for life and an impressive fitness regimen. Listen as we discuss her transition from real estate to fitness, her approach to staying motivated, and how she inspires others with her relentless positivity.
Got it. Week 24. Week 24. Since I turned 49, I get to chat to people I find interesting or I want to know more about. Or in this case, somebody that's just full of energy. One of those people that just never seems to have a down day. They're always pumping you up, pumping the people up around them, are pumping themselves up. they're into fitness. They're just into enjoying life, enjoying people. And so it was, it was good fun chatting to her and asking her more about her. I knew parts of her story because we used to work together. So that's how I came to know about her various little hobbies and what she's doing now. So I reached out to her and said, bring some of your energy here and let's have a chat. So let's go meet her.
Speaker 2:This is Nick. Now, you're probably, I think you're the first person I've chatted to who actually has, I've worked with. You've worked with me at the Commercial Guys for a period of time. Wasn't your only venture into real estate. And that's one of the questions I want to ask you. Well, one of the reasons I wanted to chat to you is You've done a few different things.
Speaker 3:I've, I've got a very, I guess what you'd call diverse career history.
Speaker 2:So let's get into that, but where do you want to start? Do you want to go chronologically or work backwards or just randomly throw jobs at me?
Speaker 3:Oh, I could just, I'll start from the start. I guess my first job was strawberry, strawberry picking on the family farm. All us, all nine grandkids have that very diligent workers back then, according to my grandma on all of our references.
Speaker 2:Where was the farm?
Speaker 3:In a limber. Okay. So, very local and have remained quite local to the area. Love it here. So from there I progressed and I became a pharmacy assistant and I was, that was my first proper job outside of the family. Absolutely loved what I did there, had a boss there who, I shaped a lot of decisions moving forward and he's, yeah, someone I often chuckle about when things happen still and that was, you know, we're talking. two decades ago now. And yeah, so fond memories there and had a stint at uni thinking that teaching was going to be the career I wanted to do. Originally it was going to be, I wanted to be a PT. That was, that was the goal coming out of school. I want to be a PT in the armed forces. And my dad being an engineer went fitness career is a dead end industry. It's going nowhere. Which I look back now and He was, he was somewhat right. The only gyms back then were the ones in the aquatic centers or PCYC. So I saw his point and I went to uni and went, oh, next best thing's a PE teacher at school. That didn't last long. And from there fell into a, into a role with a property developer. It was, challenging. Every day was different. Shifted across into real estate. Worked with Ray White as one of my first sort of corporate jobs. And I was an executive assistant there to Paul White. And I was in the rural sector. section, I guess. Rural and livestock. So lots of adventures out West really dived into that sort of rural aspect of farming and, you know, my upbringing. And yeah, from there went and stayed in, in real estate, but looked for something that was going to challenge me a little bit more and allow me to have a bit more independence. So I found myself in asset management or property management and kept with that. Very much prefer the commercial side of it as to the residential side. For me, it was went into Collier's retail leasing and that's where I went. Yeah, the commercial side is definitely where I found it more exciting, more challenging and great area of opportunity just for, you know, my mental space. Thanks. Stint in Resi. And then I landed with you guys at the commercial guys and loved it. Loved the environment. For me, it was still challenging, still exciting, but I'd hit a point in my career where I went, I feel like I'm almost doing it because it was easy. It was, it was, yeah, it was still challenging, but for me, it was the routine. I was quite comfortable in it and I wanted to challenge myself further. And that's when I stepped into fitness full time. I was doing it part time for a few years. And you gracefully allowed me the opportunity to go into it as a part time. And then I moved in full time and I haven't looked back in the last nearly five, over five years now.
Speaker 2:I follow you on Instagram and it fits like a glove. It fits you like a glove. And you get to well tell, tell me, I mean, you are often traveling, so tell me about, you know, is it the job or is it the, your own personal fitness in there that gets you traveling?
Speaker 3:For me, I don't travel as much anymore. I've moved out of the head office space into, into a location, but the travel was my own personal drive and it was one of those things I stepped into. I managed the Aspley. I stepped into Aspley as a part time coach within a few months was promoted to their manager and managed that to be the top five location or one of the top five performing locations over the, you know, three and a half years I managed it. An opportunity presented itself to come into the HQ office with Fitstop and I took it with both hands. I went, I can, I saw it as an opportunity to recreate what I created at Aspley everywhere. And that was my role was working with the new opening locations. And it was brilliant. It was incredible. There wasn't too much at that point. Wasn't too much travel in my role. But I was working a lot with South Australian locations and I just kept getting feedback from the owners that, you know, us in Queensland didn't know the market. We didn't know South Australia. It's its own little world. I just called the CEO one day and he was in the States. Looking after our US franchisees, and I just went, I want to spend a month in South Australia. I need to get to know this market. I need to get to know these people. And he went, yeah, sure, let's organize it. So that sort of kicked off more of the travel aspect for my role, but also other people in the office. So I did that stint. A very different world, and daylight savings was awful. For someone who gets up at four o'clock in the morning, it was, 10 degrees and pitch black, but I also get a bed at eight o'clock and it was beautiful. Bright midday sunshine. So it was that was the month of November I spent down there. Amazing opportunity. So really strengthened my relationship with that network and saw the opportunity to do that further. So that's when I started traveling out to more locations and having that face to face interaction, because what we do in the fitness industry is very intimate. It's very personal, but to do that sort of stuff, I was business coaching people online and I'm like, I can see your emotions. But I can't feel them. I can't, you know, interact with them on the way, on the level that I wanted to. So I started traveling more out to our WA locations, but even just within the Queensland network. I wasn't their direct contact, but the more I got out to, the more I got to see how they did differently. And I guess the catch 22 there was it made me miss being in location. I missed being around people. And I guess I stole a little bit of all these little things that I was helping build with everyone. And the opportunity came to be closer to home, have a bit more of a settled life with all the things my partner and I have got planned for a house and that sort of thing. So we went, opportunity came to be nice and close to home and I did. I've got a great relationship and always have with the owners of Fitstop North Lakes. So when they said we're looking for a manager, I jumped at, jumped at the chance and I just love it. I love what I do. Awesome.
Speaker 2:Tell me what your number plate is.
Speaker 3:Yeah,
Speaker 2:it, it I see you occasionally when I'm running through Northlake, you're obviously traveling around the place there and I see that little, cause I love those little Suzuki's. She's cute. And the number plate stands out and fits you well. It's, it's Fitnik. You're a bit of a rev heft too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, a little
Speaker 2:bit. Yeah, tell me about your car.
Speaker 3:Well I Not the Suzuki, obviously. I now have a Suzuki Jimny. I previously had a Skyline. The purists will not say, not agree it's a Skyline. It was the V6 version, so not, not the original. Speeding fines were the reason I got rid of that. You know, it's one of those things I just needed to mature a little bit and changing my vehicle helped with that. But my partner's very heavily into drifting and I have the drift wife life of following him around and helping, helping there. I also have a Datsun. My cute little project Datsun. She's almost ready for paint, which is amazing, which she's sort of been ready for paint for like five years. But we're in the middle of a shed build so that we actually have space for all our projects. So there's the Datsun to get finished. And then my partner and I have a old Bedford truck that we're going to build together as well. But that's our, our long term project. Kids are not in the equation for us. We've got two dogs and for us, it's. doing what we love and you know, there'll be lots of learning in that for me. I'm not, I have a certain amount of mechanical mindedness, but I think this one's going to be a big challenge for me. I can't wait to see it. I think
Speaker 2:you were quiet while we were working together. So yeah, we did.
Speaker 3:It was one of those ones I saw on Facebook and went. Well, let's just go have a look at it, and we brought it home. So, that's been sitting there. We have dismantled it, so it is just the cab now. Because having a 3. 5 ton truck parked in the backyard wasn't anyone's doing anyone any favours. So we dismantled it, we've got it to the cab now. And then once all the rest of the projects are out of the way, that'll be our sort of sideline build. We'll keep trucking away at that until we finish it, but. Yeah, big plans for that one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, awesome. What's FitStop? If somebody was to say, is FitStop a gym? Is it, what, what is, what is FitStop?
Speaker 3:Well, I'll give, the tagline is, we're the home of functional fitness. For me, I've been a coach for many years. Coming into FitStop, you know, I sort of had the, it's group fitness. I've been able to immerse, I've been lucky enough to immerse myself in it and, It is more than just a gym. So when they, you know, we do talk about it is more than just a gym. It's, you get your own individual workout in a group environment, but we are very big on that community aspect as well. So the programming can accommodate anyone, any fitness level any experience level or any goal. You've got a very, Broad program that allows you to progress through strength goals, but also a any sort of cardio endurance goals as well. And yeah, it's that for me. The programming, you know, I embrace it and I love it and I can coach as if I wrote it myself. And which is what I encourage all my coaches to do. It is you come in, you own the room. It's you do your thing. Cause everyone's going to be unique. You're in a group of 35 people. You're going to be some people's cup of tea. You're not going to be everyone's. So for me, it's just being able to embrace what Fitstop does. It's community and it's That home of functional fitness. So anything that you do in the gym should compliment what you do at home. Give you the facility to say yes to doing more. And that's an idea we were playing with not so long ago in head office was we want our members to be able to say yes to doing more. And that's just really highlighted itself in all these events coming up. High Rocks, Turf Games, Paladin that was on the weekend. I myself just changed my training and now train solely at Fitstop. And I myself have been able to say yes to doing more. You know, I am still in my thirties, but I am acknowledging that my body fatigues. And it has, it has its moments where it reminds me I'm not 20 anymore. But having that training there, I'm like, Oh, you know, I can do that without having to go through an extensive training program to do something. But I just love how everything at Fitstop just embraces. that community aspect. Everyone's there to support each other. Everyone's there to get a great workout in. The workouts facilitate people working together and cheering each other on, which fits me to a T.
Speaker 2:What's your favorite movement?
Speaker 3:Everyone's going to think I need to be put in an asylum, but a Bulgarian split squat gets me. I love it. Love to coach it. I
Speaker 2:think you just picked my least favorite.
Speaker 3:It's my favorite movement to coach. It's my favorite movement to. You know, include in all my training program. I don't know why it's that love hate relationship, but it's that one movement that I'm just, you'll get me happy with every time.
Speaker 2:I didn't know what they were until this year. And my run coach added them to my strength program. And While I hate them, I certainly understand the benefit of them now. You can feel the good they're doing as you're doing them. Your fitness journey has also seen you reach some heights. I've seen you You know, we're I've seen photos of you on a stage wearing those, you know, bikinis that we don't take to the water type bikinis. What was that, what was that stuff?
Speaker 3:Ah, well, I guess alongside my career diversity, I myself have had a diverse sports. I call myself the ultimate sportsman and I'm always happy to get involved in anything. Competitive hockey growing up. Moved into a bit of triathlon. I can't ride a bike to save my life. So that didn't work out too well. My very first triathlon, the elites were coming behind me and actually got off my bike and put it on the footpath and waited until they went past. And then finished. I was last in my age group, but I had a great time. Love the swim, love the run. The bike will never be friends. Which, My partner hates because he's a ex Australian Queensland BMX rider, so, and loves to go for a ride on Sundays and I couldn't think of anything worse. I'll go for a run instead. And then I sort of was just training and I wasn't training with any intensity or goal in mind. I was going through the motions. And a friend of mine had recently competed in bodybuilding and I, like most people thought bodybuilding was just buff men doing their thing. And it opened my eyes up to a completely different world of bodybuilding. So I put myself through prep or I got a coach and went through prep to do bodybuilding. Ended up placing fifth in my age division for my very first show. My feedback at the time where it was that my legs were too big which I knew growing up hockey and all those sorts of things that I was probably going to be a bit of feedback there, had an absolute ball doing it. So I loved the absolute discipline that you had to have through that training. Suits me, organized routine, having that set 30 weeks of just, One thing after another, tick the boxes and this is what your result will be. And I loved coming out of that going, yeah, cool. That's what I can do. This is what I'll do next. So I did plan to do another show after that. Unfortunately, COVID hit. I was very close to stage again was in the middle of a prep then, and the shows got cancelled. Reset myself, got into prep again, and then Queensland were having those really fun, snap, three day lockdowns. Mentally, for me, if the shows had been cancelled again, I knew I'd never compete again. So I withdrew myself. My partner was happy. He's like, great, we get to go out to dinner again. We get to have a life again. So, you know, it was, it was the right time. So I did, did that comp, dabbling with the idea of doing another one at the moment. More so a challenge to myself as a coach cause I loved the programming side of it and, and all of that. So, you know, moved into the, moved away from bodybuilding, moved into group fitness where I am now. Absolutely love what I do in that group fitness space. I still do PT as well. So I get to branch out into my coaching side where I get my creativeness. But also my own training now, I'm looking for what, what am I doing next? I trained for High Rocks and competed in High Rocks. That was pretty cool. Probably the most humbling, hardest thing I've ever done in my life and can't wait to do it again next year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, awesome.
Speaker 3:Didn't get to complete it, which I was disappointed in, but for me, I've got a back injury that was plaguing me leading into it. It flared up on the last exercise, the whole thing. So I chose to withdrew, withdraw just knowing that as a coach, if I'm out, I'm out. So, cannot wait for that to come back next year. And then more recently competed in Paladin, which was another fitness race. So I've sort of found a love for that really hybrid run movement, hybrid style training. and events. So looking forward to the next ones coming up and preparing myself for those, but also trying to challenge myself as a coach, thinking if I am to do a prep or go back to the bodybuilding stage for me, it would be, I would coach myself just to see. What I've got, what I've got as a coach, you.
Speaker 2:It's great to see you again. Thank you very much for chatting to me.
Speaker 3:No worries. Thank you. all you need is Epic program, bangin playlist and just good people around you.
