When I started chatting with my customer, Jaime,
on Instagram, I was like, this lady is someone I need to learn more about. Her Instagram profile reads: soulcycle + donuts. Anyone who attends as much soul cycle that she does, is in good freakin' shape. I wanted to learn more. & was curious about the donuts part :) I particularly love Jaime’s tips & tricks on how to just do it, in fitness & all aspects of life. I loved learning about her relationship with her son (Madden). When she’s not working her job in the fashion industry, she’s working out, spending time with Madden, and studying to becoming certified in PT & Fitness Nutrition. Here’s what I talked about with Jaime, a 31-year old single mom living on the Upper East Side:
What does a typical day look like for you? 6am SoulCycle, Y7, or AKT. Make a healthy breakfast for Madden which consists of somehow tricking him into a kale or spinach smoothie. School drop off. Rush to work - where my very first stop is La Colombe, for an oat milk cappuccino... because nothing in the world beats that first sip of coffee in the morning. A full work day ahead me in the fashion industry. 5:30pm SoulCycle, or Performix Bootcamp, Rumble, etc. I am home in time to make a somewhat healthy dinner, bath time, read him lots of books, cuddles and bed. Sometimes then I'll even eat one of your bars in my bed, as a sweet treat, while I fall asleep to Law & Order SVU reruns, or study. Because I don't have enough on my plate - I am taking online classes to become certified in personal training and fitness nutrition!
What part of your day do you look forward to the most? Walking my son, Madden, to school - it sounds simple. But it’s my favorite. We chit chat. We walk hand in hand. Amongst the beautiful NYC bustle, it’s just the two of us. He gives me a kiss goodbye. If I could freeze time, I would freeze those few minutes. I also know a lot of parents that aren’t able to take their kids to school because of work, so I feel really lucky that I get that time with him every single morning.
What’s the most challenging part of your day and how do you overcome those fears? Do you tell yourself something? Or do you just DO rather than dwell? I really do rather than dwell. I think for me, I feel more challenged at stuff I am not naturally good at, or something that’s new to me. Right now, it’s the studying! I haven’t studied in years. But I will set an hour aside, and do it little by little. I am really into gratitude - so I try to be super grateful for everything I have, everything I am trying to do, and it just makes it easier for me to get things done. When I said I loved life, I meant it. I don’t look at stuff like “oh I have to do this”, I look at it like “I get to do this”... and it makes getting things done easier and more enjoyable!
What workouts do you do for fun? SoulCycle is definitely my workout for fun. It’s dark, sweaty, blasting loud music. I’ve also made a ton of friends there, so it’s really so much fun for me to go.
What workouts do you do that are soul crushing but life transforming? Ones that make you a much emotionally/mentally stronger person at the end. Anything that isn’t SoulCycle haha My body is so used to riding - other workouts are truly challenging. Y7 is tough for me, I’m not as flexible as I used to be. It takes a ton of mental focus to be able to hold the positions in the heated room. And any form of Akin’s Army bootcamp - I go in nervous that I won’t be able to do it, and come out feeling so strong. Although sore for the next week!
What meaning do your practices of working out then grabbing a La Colombe before work have besides the obvious caffeine kick? I love a routine, so it’s definitely partially out of habit but I am also a huge believer in self-care. I have always set aside time for myself to do the things I love, because I know the better headspace I am in, the better I can be for my son, my job, my family, etc. It’s that trickle down affect!
What is your favorite class to take and what do you love so much about it? How does it make you feel? Sophia at SoulCycle, I leave her class feeling like I can take on the world with a girl gang of badass chicks by my side. She also knows me and really challenges me in class. Then you have Trammel, also at SoulCycle, his class is so inspiring, I could listen to him talk for hours. I also leave his class laughing my ass off, but also wanting to be a better person.
Do you ever have any hesitations before taking certain classes because you know how challenging they will be? If so, what do you say to yourself or what practices do you have to get over your fears? If not, what mindset do you use and practice to not have those fears at all? Yes absolutely! Any kind of boot camp or Fhitting Room style class. I definitely can get in my head and not want to go, or think I won’t be good once I get there. I normally try and schedule the class with a teacher I like, or bring a friend with me, or go to a class where I might know a few people. I talk to myself a little because I know how strong the mind is, I remind myself I am strong and I can do this. Especially in the moment in class, I try not to doubt myself at all - one of my other fav spin teachers, Sam Y, has taught me it’s all mental. Physically, I know I am strong enough, so I try and turn my mind off in class when it gets challenging.
What is your favorite part about taking classes versus working out on your own? Classes motivate me. The people. The sense of community. I much prefer classes!
How did you make fitness a way of life rather than a chore?It’s my outlet. When the alarm goes off at 5:40am, I don’t always want to get up... but I think about how incredible I will feel afterwards. This trick never fails me!
Did you always love fitness as much as you do now? I was an athlete in high school, I loved sports. But then I actually didn’t work out for years before I had my son. I would say the past year or two, I started group fitness classes and that’s where I found my passion again.
What is it like working in fashion in NYC? I have been doing fashion for so long, it’s a part of me. It’s everywhere. It’s not what people think, it isn’t all fashion shows and celebrities. It’s none of that. It’s much more a job about understanding your customers, the retail climate, and a ton of personal relationships. Which has made it awesome for me that with my company, I focused on a ton of health and wellness boutiques - I do product development and sales for a cashmere company and my specialty are collaborations with heath & wellness boutiques (Peloton, SoulCycle, Exhale, FlyWheel, Equinox, ShopBop lounge dept, etc). Because I work out so much, I have so much more knowledge that even my buyers are shocked sometimes. We always have a blast in meetings, we talk about work, but then we always talk about the latest classes and teachers, or trends in activewear apparel.
Why fashion? I fell into fashion. I really don’t know... I modeled for a minute in college .. I was very lucky, and my career just sort of happened in fashion. One internship lead to a job, to another, to another.
Why become certified in personal training and fitness nutrition? I just know I can do it. I love fitness especially the food aspect, and the industry is ever growing, it’s just time for me to follow my heart - and I think a certification is the first step to see where I might want to go career wise!
You have a lot of goals and make the most out of each day. What do you say to yourself on the days that maybe you didn’t have time to get in a workout or maybe you didn’t get to feed Madden the healthiest dinner possible? How do you work your way through any guilt that comes with being a parent? You read my mind. I am on vacation right now for 5 days just me and Madden, in Miami. To kind of “make-up” for any time I miss with him. While I know it doesn’t, he gets 5 days of just Mom focused on him. It’s challenging juggling it all - I try and not be hard on myself. I try and show up, every day and do the best that I can. I also try and not think about all the stuff I have to do, or else that overwhelms me, I just put my head down and do it. And to be honest, it all always gets done.
What is the most valuable lesson your son has taught you? True love and gratitude. It sounds silly, but he just really put life into perspective.
Why do you nosh and choose to live a healthy life style (healthy still includes donuts! << for mental health ;) ) And how does it fit into helping you reach your goals? When do you eat nosh bar? Why do you choose nosh bar? I'm constantly running around - so I keep your bars in my bag at all times. The goji berry is my fav. But I've tried all of the flavors. What I love about your bars over others is that I can SEE the real ingredients. Other bars are hard logs made up of mostly processed junk. Yours have fresh pieces of goji, coconut, or pistachio. And I love that your bars have an expiration date that is relative! Not to mention the adorable packaging.
Jaime, thank you for sharing your story with the nosh bar family and being a total inspiration!
Jaime works out at SoulCycle, Y7, and everywhere else that gives her a booty kickin'. She eats goji berry nosh bars. Photo Credit to Kara Nixon Photography.