Meet Nicole Nies | Powerlifter, coach, mentor, and success enthusiast

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

Hi Nicole, what do you think makes you most happy? Why?
What makes me happy is helping others accomplish their goals. It is really gratifying when people are able to realize success when they didn’t think it was possible. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to see the potential in others and there is nothing better than helping someone see that in themselves.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I fell into my career out of college by happenstance. I had aspirations of working as a researcher in a laboratory coming up with new and exciting products for the nutraceuticals industry. Instead, I found myself in manufacturing. I started out in food and beverage as a QC Chemist. Shortly after I landed my dream job as a QC professional in a dietary supplement manufacturing plant. I thought this will get me to R&D! But the universe had other plans. Fast forward 23 years and I’m still with the same company but in an operations leadership role. I call it the accidental leader. As a shy, introvert I never dreamed of leading teams of up to 130 people and they actually followed. Through lots of trial and error, learning, training and failures I have learned so much about people and about how important good leadership is for an organization.

I think the thing I am most proud of is when I saw an opportunity to move from Quality management to plant management. I had no prior experience in operations, but I just knew I could make an impact when a position opened up. I wrote a letter to the owner asking for a chance. The next thing I knew I has the manager of an entire manufacturing facility. I was shocked, scared, and excited all at once. This opportunity allowed me to prove myself. A few years into my tenure as plant manager I was offered an opportunity to take the sole spot in a corporate-sponsored leadership training course that took me to Europe for a 3-year crash course in all things leadership. I had never been to Europe and felt completely out of my element. I overcame a lot self-doubt but in the end am so grateful to have had that experience.

What I would want the world to know about me is that I don’t give up even when it feels impossible. Dreams and goals evolve over time. I never thought I would be where I am today if I hadn’t given myself a chance and had encouragement and support along with the way from others. It is my new goal to pay that forward and help others realize this in themselves.

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.
This is a tough one. There are so many great places in our beautiful state of CO. I would have to say some hiking or snow shoeing (depending on time of the year) would be in order. A trip to Rocky Mountain National Park followed by shopping in Estes Park. After that we would head to Boulder to meander Pearl Street and grab some appetizers at Brasserie Ten Ten and Gemini.

At some point we would grab a workout at X Gym and Iron Titan Gym. Some mexican food to refuel would be in order. A smothered burrito with green chile.

We would take our 3 miniature dachshunds to Wash Park Weenies meetup. We volunteer and have adopted many weenies from Denver Dachshunds Rescue. Twice a month there is a group that meets at Wash Park to walk our dachshunds around the park together. Quite the site to behold!

There would definitely be coffee shop stops involved. Most likely we would go to Otis, Ozo, Wolf and Honey, Pine Grove and Summer Moon for good measure.

A concert at Red Rocks or Fiddler’s Green would be a must.

We would probably take a couple days to go to CO Springs to Garden of The Gods, walk Manitou Springs, and have a nice dinner at The Rabbit Hole or the Warehouse. A stop at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo would top it off after walking around the Broadmoor.

Finally, we would relax at a hot spring and have a final meal at one of my favorite old school steakhouses, Bastiens.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
It’s really hard to narrow it down to just one. First and foremost, I would like to shout out to my husband Carlos. He has always been my number one fan and supporter. No matter what it is I want to do he’s in my corner.

Secondly is my brother Jackson. He always has my back. He’s my best friend and always encourages me to never give up.

Thirdly is my friend, Alexandra. She has been nothing but love, encouragement and support from the moment I met her. We are the true definition of swolemates. We met at the gym and our friendship formed over our mutual passion for health and fitness. She has boosted my confidence more than I thought possible. She’s been there at my lowest and my highest.

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-nies-12a1a8b0/

Image Credits
Phone pics