Meet Nicolette Amarillas | Fitness Coach + Posture & Movement Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicolette Amarillas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicolette, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
I started my business at 24 years old and every day since then it’s shown me my strength and true potential through tough lessons, but also joyful moments. Ultimately though, the biggest lesson it’s taught me is that we can’t, and shouldn’t, do it all by ourselves. Collaboration has been a pillar of my businesses success, as well as my mental, physical, and personal growth.

Over the past 12 years of running two businesses, collaboration has taken many forms. When I first started training, I was eager to soak up all the information I could to improve my coaching and deepen my understanding of the body. I sought out mentorships under coaches I admired—those who were achieving great success and helping people in ways I hadn’t thought possible in a gym environment. I was excited and constantly inspired to learn and grow alongside my peers.

As my business grew, I needed the important things like a website, professional photos, and marketing help. It wasn’t cheap and, honestly, handing over the reins was a challenge for me. But one of the most pivotal moments in my business journey was when I decided to invest in experts to handle tasks I wasn’t qualified to do well. This freed up my time and mental energy to continue serving my clients at a high level and I realized that trying to do it all myself wasn’t a superpower but a path to making my business suffer. By letting others focus on what they were great at, I could focus on what I do best, and my business grew exponentially. And I never looked back!

Once my business was steady and consistently busy, my focus shifted yet again. I became dedicated to further certifications and continued education. I attended weekend and weeklong classes and seminars, connecting with other coaches and experts at these events. I was inspired learning how other coaches ran their businesses which gave me confidence and dispelled any doubts I had about my own abilities. This form of collaboration left me in a constant state of inspiration and excitement, and I am so grateful to everyone I met along the way!

All of this hard work eventually led me to become a coach on Tonal, where collaboration was a huge component of the job. For over five years, I worked on camera, teaching live and on-demand workouts to thousands of people in their homes. Being on set every day was a constant reminder of how much collaboration truly fuels me. There were so many moving parts—camera operators, sound technicians, directors, producers, writers, and more. So, for everything to run smoothly, the team had to remain open to adjusting and shifting as needed, all while maintaining a sense of fun!! It was my dream work environment, with collaboration at its core.

My business and career have taught me that doing it all alone is not a superpower. In fact, it only makes reaching your goals harder and more distant. Lean on those around you, and let them lean on you in return. You’ll learn more, become a better business owner, and offer the world an even greater experience!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’ve always loved movement. Growing up playing soccer, I realized at a young age that I appreciated pushing my body to its limits. As a midfielder and forward, I remember those days running in 90-degree heat, just to see where my limit was—or if it even existed. And still today, I love pushing myself to new thresholds. It brings me so much joy to help people find and feel their power and strength. It’s life-changing when you come face to face with this reality—the reality that, many times, you are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for.

I started training at a big-box gym when I was 23. I had worked in gyms for years as a manager, but after becoming a trainer and spending a year or two at this gym chain, I knew I could make more money and have full control of my clients’ needs and my schedule. That’s when I walked into DIAKADI in San Francisco—a high-end private personal training gym focused on bringing in highly skilled and educated coaches. I hadn’t been training long, but my long purple hair (at the time), big personality, and hastily-put-together website and programming impressed them enough to give me a chance to train in their facility. They believed in me and I’m forever grateful. To this day, it’s the best decision I ever made for my career and business. I trained at DIAKADI for over 11 years and as my experience deepened and my business flourished, I became a top-performing overall coach and the top female coach at the gym.

My time at DIAKADI was life-changing because I was surrounded by extremely smart and talented coaches who I mentored under. This gave me confidence, knowledge, and helped me develop my specialty in movement mechanics and posture correction. I knew that in order to succeed, I needed to be more than just an exercise partner for my clients. I needed the knowledge and expertise to not only help them get stronger but also help them get out of pain, move with less restriction, and recover from injuries and surgeries faster. These decisions to focus on education helped me go from barely making ends meet at the big-box gym to making six figures in just a couple of years. I was amazed at my own abilities!!

Currently, I coach primarily online, creating detailed, thorough, and comprehensive programs for clients to follow on their own, either with their home equipment or at the gym. Before clients start programming with me, we go through a 2+ hour posture and movement evaluation. I assess their static posture first, then how that posture influences their movement, and I create mobility and strength programming to address what we find. From there, I program clients for four months at a time, working toward their goals—whether it’s fat loss, building muscle, improving squat mechanics, or simply feeling stronger in everyday life. I adore all my clients, who range from busy professionals and Olympic athletes to adaptive athletes in wheelchairs or people over 80 years old.

I’m here to help my clients—and anyone who follows me or subscribes to my channels—understand and believe that they are so much stronger than they think. Strength isn’t just about the numbers you lift, and pain isn’t something to be managed but something to fix at its root cause. Feeling strong and proving to yourself that you’re strong can drastically change your life and well-being. I want to provide everyone who trains with me, or watches me, with the knowledge to feel confident in their ability to lift safely and powerfully, and to feel confident both in the gym and in their own strength.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’m a huge fan of hikes so we’d start of grabbing an iced oat milk latte or smoothie then a hike through Hollywood Hills to enjoy the views and weather. Post hike we’d stop by Erewhon because I’m sucker for all their treats and hot bar! And I love a reason to dress up and put on a cute outfit so for dinner we’d go somewhere like Laurel Hardware or Grandmaster Records.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
First, a big shoutout to my husband, who for the last 13 years has been my number one supporter and advocate. Whenever I question my value or my next steps, he’s there to reassure me and motivate me to keep going. Thank you to my parents who have never once doubted me or minimized my dreams. They have always been there to cheer me on, and their unwavering belief in me fueled my drive to become an entrepreneur at a young age. A special thanks to my mentors at DIAKADI (a San Francisco-based personal training gym) — Billy, Mike, and Tommy. Thank you to my team at Tonal who discovered me and believed in my talent from day 1. And to the CHEK Institute and KILO Strength Society for their incredible courses and education, on which much of my training is based. And lastly to all my closest girl friends, who have lifted me up, cheered me on and believed in me from day 1.

Website: https://www.nicoletteawellness.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicolette.amarillas/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolette-amarillas/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicoletteawellness

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Nicoletteamarillas

Other: Tik Tok: tiktok.com/@nicoletteamarillas

Image Credits
Ashley Batz