006 | Training Those In Need at CKO Kickboxing & Body Brain Train | Local Business Breakthrough Podcast - Local Business Breakthrough

Episode Transcript
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Brian Davis (00:00):
Nikki, so I am super excited to have Nikki with

(00:09):
us today on the Local BusinessBreakthrough podcast. You're
somebody that's been involved inthe community, not only with
your business, but also withyour organization, and you're
somebody that I think uniquely,has been very intentional in
trying to make a difference inthe lives of people in our
community, that it's really easyfor for people not to not to

(00:32):
see, you know, for those thatare, that are that are hidden.
And so I'm excited to have youhere.

Nikki Lian (00:38):
Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.

So take us back.
Take us back to a younger Nikkiwho is making that decision to,
like, get into business herself.
Like, where were you comingfrom? What were some of the
influences or motivators thatyou had?

Nikki Lian (00:55):
I feel like just my life journey kind of led I've
never thought about being abusiness owner. When I was
growing up, all I wanted to dowas be a basketball player. I
know I went to college, d1college, did my thing, and it
kind of was too much of abusiness for me, and I just kind

(01:15):
of fell

out of love with it, like, What do you mean? Too
much of a business. So

Nikki Lian (01:19):
you know, when you're young and you're playing
stuff, it's play, and you have apassion for it, but then it
becomes work when they're payingyou to do something, you know,
and you have to be there, andyou have to show up, and you
have to, like, I rememberwatching tapes at like, five in
the morning, trying to hold myeyes open, and, like, going to
two a day practices, and it justwasn't fun for me anymore. So

weird, yeah. So, yeah, what do you I just want to
dig a little bit more into that.
What do you think was funoriginally about it? Um,

Nikki Lian (01:52):
I, I think, well, of course, like, I was really good
at it, so obviously you're gonnahave fun just being good at it.
I'm not a competitive person, soI don't know if that's what it
was. I'm not really a team sportkind of girl. I'm kind of a
loner. But I don't know. I justit's a great question. I never

(02:13):
even thought of thinking aboutit's just something that I was
good at, and I just really lovedoing, and I get super pumped
about, and I just love thesport.

Was it, was it more, the practice? Was it more
the games? Was, I think it wasthe

Nikki Lian (02:24):
games. It definitely wasn't the price. Nobody likes
running sprints, right?

I did, you did, yeah, I was one of those rare
ones in high school where Ijust, for whatever reason, loved
running, yeah, and every day inPE we had to run one lap, and I
would run four.

Nikki Lian (02:40):
Wow. Yeah, okay, I don't meet people like you.

Yeah, breed, that's great. I don't know what
happened, though. I got to getback into the running. Well,
they

Nikki Lian (02:53):
say that like marathon runners, which I've I'm
a marathon runner. I've done oneand I barely, oh no. I did two,
and I barely made it. But theysay, like, you get that to the
point where you get that highfrom it, I've never gotten
there, no, no,

never, ever. What, like, is there something
equivalent to basketball, likethe that high, I don't think pay
off, right? It's like, it's kindof like emotional or like
psychological, kind of maybeeven physiological payoff,
right, that you got from beinginvolved in the basketball
games. I think

Nikki Lian (03:27):
it was very because basketball is a contact sport
like so I think just me beinggrowing up, being a bigger girl,
and just learning to use that,as opposed to, like, getting
teased about it and being thebiggest one, you know, in class
or and finding like, somethingto do to empower me. I think I

(03:52):
was always the tallest and thestrongest until I got to
college, of course, and then youget, like, a wake up call, yeah,
like, Oh, this is LA. I thinkthat had a lot to do with it
too, kind of being able to usemy quote, unquote, physical
gifts too. I mean, I don't knowthat's I am going to journal

(04:12):
about that, because that'sreally interesting. It

was kind of like a mind shift, right? Yeah, I grew
up. I grew up playing icehockey, and I was always one of
the best, best, now, one of thebiggest guys out there. And when
I first started playing, like Iwasn't physical at all, and had
coaches, it would be like, dude,use your size. Use your size,
right, right, right. And like, Ididn't get it until later on,
like they're like, Okay, like mysize is an asset. Like I could

(04:36):
actually use this and leverageit.

Nikki Lian (04:38):
I never had problems. Like hitting people
felt good always. Maybe that'sprobably why I box now, well, I
don't you know, I hit the bag,but it just felt like, like, I
don't know, you get dopaminekick. I don't know. I don't
know. Yeah, like, like, using mybody to, like.

I don't know, to affect the things around you in
a very powerful way right now.
Totally, totally, I get it. Sothen that was your that was your
basketball journey. So that was

Nikki Lian (05:11):
my most of my childhood, kind of towards the
end, I kind of got into thispassion for professional
wrestling, where I wanted to getinto that eventually. So like,
by junior year in college, I wasjust checked out, and I was kind
of like, all right, I'm justgonna work towards my next goal.
Yeah, and treat this like a job,like, like I felt like it was
and and I did, and I got mydegree, and they don't put your

(05:34):
GPA on your diploma. Thank God,that is nice. And, you know, I
would, I don't think I had thesame college experience as a lot
of people. I just I didn't likeschool. Yeah, not a school
person. Yeah, I could have wentan extra year because I had red
shirted one year, and I justdidn't, I didn't want to play
again. I was done after that. Itwas a long time till I picked up

(05:56):
a basketball my last gameplaying for 18 years, or
whatever it was, and then justfinding something else, it was a
lot. Had

you so But how had you already gotten to the point
where, like you feel like yourreal last game had already been
played, and that last game, likeyou really weren't walking away
from anything? Or was that stilllike, kind of like a hard

Nikki Lian (06:19):
It wasn't hard. I think when you replace one
passion for another, it's a loteasier. So when you have, like,
goals or something else you'refocused on, it's a lot easier. I
didn't not play. I had my bestgame, my last game of my quote,
unquote, career. Oh, yeah. So itwas, it wasn't a matter of that,
like it still felt good. I justwas done with the coaches and

(06:43):
the teammates all that, and itwas just a lot that I was done
with, and I just wanted to toleave and kind of not look back,

and you'd already found something to kind of fill
that void right that would havebeen left if you didn't have
something.

Nikki Lian (06:57):
I always I feel like I have to be working towards
something. So I was already,like, working towards something.
They're

very, very motivated, yeah, and pick it up.
So, wrestling,

Nikki Lian (07:06):
yeah, wild, yeah. So

what was the so

Nikki Lian (07:12):
I decided after college that I would pack my
little Jetta drive across thecountry, because I'm from New
York originally, and attend awrestling school here in
California. So I wrestled forabout 13 years on the
independent circuit. I traveleda lot so,

but like, what, what was the draw was? Did you
come out to California for thatwrestling? For

Nikki Lian (07:36):
that reason? Yeah, I saw it in a documentary, and
then I kind of contacted some ofthe students, some of the
instructors super welcoming,like, I needed to leave if you
don't leave, like, even livingin New York City, it's like, oh,
you're from a big city. Well,you know, it's not like a small
town where you're moving out of,but I feel like the plate, like

(07:57):
I couldn't grow if I didn't moveaway from where I grew up that
makes sense, or move away frommy family and have that security
blanket and all that, I justneeded to

go. You really needed to become your own right,
like find your identity right,not rooted in where it is that
you have been

Nikki Lian (08:15):
right, and then you have less help when you're out
there. So that means you have towork harder. So

it all comes down to you, right? So what was that
like? Did you, did you have anytype of support system when you
moved out here? Or were you justlike, Nope, I'm going,

Nikki Lian (08:27):
well, I contacted, I kept in touch because I stayed
the summer just to work and earnextra money in New York. And
then I, I was in touch with thetwo instructors at the wrestling
school, because I already, like,signed up for it and everything.
They were a WWE territory atthat point, so it was like a
developmental School for theFed. So that's another reason

(08:49):
why I made the trip. But the twoinstructors were awesome. They
helped me find an apartment, andI like instant friends and
introduced me to everyone. So Ikind of that was like my support
system when I moved out here.
And

so then, how was, how was that different than your
experience playing basketball?

Nikki Lian (09:08):
It's weird because it's almost like you find like,
it's a little weird what we do,we what we did, and finding like
your group of weird people to bewith is a lot more comfortable
than just kind of like theexpectations of the college
student, like you have to, youknow, get good grades, go to
your classes, you have to hitall the cool parties, you have

(09:30):
to hit all your practices, allthat. But like transitioning
into that environment whereeveryone's a little crazy, like
the things you do, they're alittle nuts. I think I just felt
more comfortable being with, youknow? So

it was a bit more.
It was more like your tribe,yeah, yeah, like you found a
place that you belong, right?
And so what, what happened withthat? So it

Nikki Lian (09:56):
just kind of evolved from there. I mean, I, I like to
learn as much as. I can learnand then move on again. My so at
the time, this was like 2022,years ago, when I started what
they were looking for. And Iit's so funny, because now I
look back, I just watched thisdocumentary on Vince McMahon,

(10:17):
and I'm like, I can't believe Iwanted to fucking do that, like
work for this guy, like, he's ahorrible human being. But, like,
back then it was very Hooters,models and, you know, this and
that. And then I fell into thatwhole, well, I'm too big. My
body doesn't fit, like, allthese, like, and I developed
body dysmorphic disorder likethat. But there's all these

(10:40):
other outlets, wrestling inMexico, wrestling in Japan, like
the Japanese love big whitegirls, you know. So there were,
I didn't know about that stuff.
So anytime I went to train orwork with whoever or whatever it
was, I just started learningabout all these other doors that
that were open. And I got to seea lot of places that I don't
think I've I would see, yeah,like, what? Like, I'm half

(11:03):
Lebanese, and I've wrestled inLebanon, so I don't ever go,
like, even attempt to take atrip out there now, but just,
you know, being in Shinjuku andTokyo and just the fans out
there, and then being in Mexicoand just learning so many things
that I didn't think my body wascapable of. So to,

like, while you were in these moments,

Nikki Lian (11:29):
like, what, what did it feel like? Which particular
moments like,

like, any, any one of these moments, like, where
you're a part of this thing,because you're coming from this
experience, this basketballexperience, where you're just
like, completely over it, youknow, now you're in another
experience, you know, and, andI'm imagining that you're
wrestling in these different,you know, in these different

(11:53):
locations and stuff. And, youknow, in a sense, like, I mean,
you're wrestling for people fortheir for their entertainment,
whereas, like, basketball,you're also playing basketball
for people's entertainment. Sothere's this whole, you know,
crowd dynamic all the you know,like, I'm just wondering if
there's, like, a moment whereyou're there experiencing this

(12:15):
in the middle of it, andthinking like, like, I'm so glad
that I'm here and not on abasketball court, right?

Nikki Lian (12:23):
I It wasn't even like that, though. It was more
like because once I stoppedbasketball, it just kind of
like, I always think of my lifeas lifetimes. So like my
childhood, and then basketballwas there, and then my wrestling
career, quote, unquote, and nowit's my, my entrepreneurial, you
know, stage. So I never, I mean,I never felt bitter about

(12:44):
basketball. I actually, like,four years ago, I joined an
adult League, and it was soembarrassing, because I didn't
realize how conditioned I wasn'tcollege and then a little
different.

This was just four years ago, right? And I loved
you comparing yourself to yourto your teens and your, yeah,
right.

Nikki Lian (13:00):
And I loved it, and I loved every minute of it. I
was dying, but I was like, Istill love it, you know, but it
just wasn't, I guess, thesurroundings, like I can go play
in a park and I'd be fine, youknow, but with wrestling, with
the reason I got into it isbecause I love the theatrics of
it, but I also love thephysicality of it. So that was,
like, a combination. I couldnever do theater in high school

(13:22):
because it was always sports. SoI feel like I had that, you
know, in me to come out. And itwas, I mean, it was a really
cool experience, like I said, Imet a lot of great people. I met
a lot of terrible people. I it'sfunny when you go backstage and
you start doing that stuff, andyou see some of the stars that

(13:43):
you grew up watching, and you'relike, you're just like, Okay,
it's a little it's kind of sad.
But like I said, I met a lot ofgreat people. I've done things
that I never would have thoughtI could do, but it's another
business where it was superegotistical. I mean, the girls
were cutthroat, yeah, it wasjust like, don't leave your bag

(14:06):
in a locker room. Someone willshit in it, you know? Like, it
was like, like, certain lockerrooms, you know what I mean,
like, but I was becoming aperson I didn't like. So that
was a big thing too, because ifyou're not being that person,
it's like, not so now I'm a fan,and I go to my friend shows in

(14:26):
Chatsworth every week. And Ijust saw this girl last week who
was like, so much fire, like,young, like, just in the
business. I went to up to her.
She had no idea who I was, but Iwent up to her after, and I was
like, Wow, you're so great,like, I made her know that she
was fucking great, becausenobody probably tells her that,
you know, so like, as a fan, andI'm having so much fun being a

(14:49):
fan now, I you know, women haveto support women. I think it's a
different energy now there, andwe're just in the world in
general. But man, it was I wasturning into someone I didn't
want to be. So it was time togo. That's when I moved away
from that. Was

that a self realization? Was there something
that happened, that wassomething that

Nikki Lian (15:12):
happened that I don't talk about a whole lot,
but it was an aha moment of, Idon't know if I can get into it
time wise, but yeah, I was aschool teacher at the time, too,

elementary, junior high, and I

Nikki Lian (15:27):
had so I had one of the girls in the industry and
the wrestling industry takephotos and stuff off my
Facebook, which was private. Myit was, it was never a problem.
Yeah, I never did anything mymom wouldn't be proud of, yeah,
but she sent it to thesuperintendent of schools saying

(15:50):
that it was a concerned parent,and she cut all this stuff out.
And I didn't get fired. I had togo to teacher jail hear that it
doesn't exist anymore, but it'slike, oh, this teacher might
have done something, so I'mgoing to stick you here and pay
you, but I can't fire you, butyou're not in

the class I was getting paid. I'm just

Nikki Lian (16:13):
sitting in a cubicle. And it was just
ridiculous. So I decided then Iwas like, teaching was not for
me anyway. How long were you in?
Teacher, Joe, just a coupledays. And then they sent me
home, and then they didn't renewmy contract, so I didn't get
fired. I I'm not on any weirdlist, like, I can still teach if
I wanted to, but the aha momentwas, wow. Somebody hates me
enough in this industry to dothat to me. Wow. So how did I

(16:35):
like and then I would reevaluatesome people in my life, like,
well, I know this girl that Ihang out with. She doesn't have
anybody that hates her. She'ssuper high energy. She's on
another frequency, like, shelike, why? Like, I had to really
dig deep and question, like, itcould be jealousy and this and
that. But that was, like, anextreme thing that happened. So
I was like, There's got to besomething wrong with me, you

(16:59):
know. So I just, um, after that,I kind of, I actually had my
best year. I traveled the mostin in wrestling, and I had the
most fun. And I just that waslike when I started to dig deep
and kind of separate my ego frommy, you know, intentions. And so
that was no moment there

was something in that situation where it just
kind of like held up some formof a mirror, yeah, right, or
kind of gave you a differentperspective, and you're like, I
don't, I don't want this in me,and I don't want to have a part
of this.

Nikki Lian (17:35):
Or, what am I like?
How? What am I portraying? Whatam I sending out there to make
somebody target me like that?
Yeah, that's a lot of work todo, you know, and that's a
really, like, screwy thing to doto someone, but it was the best
thing that ever happened to me.
Did you ever, did you ever talkto this person? No, I didn't. I
like, forgive her from afar. Shewouldn't even go into the same
lock. She was afraid that, and Iwasn't. I'm not. I mean, that

(17:58):
was really my Zen moment. I'mnot. I'm like, All right, I
don't, I don't really get madanymore, because after
overcoming that, it was kind oflike, and it changed my life so
much for the better, yeah. And Ithink it had a lot to do with me
taking it and, like, analyzingthe situation that everything
happens for you, not to you,right? Yeah. So I think that was

(18:21):
a blessing in disguise. I kindof sat with it. I was okay with
it, but I was like, wow. Like,this person really doesn't like,
like, why does this person notlike me? And she had issues,
whatever it was, but at the endof the day, you know, you always
have to, as a business owner,you always have to be

(18:42):
accountable. So in life, too,it's the same thing, yeah,

so then you get this revelation, and then you
have the best year, right,right? In wrestling, you spoke
of your life, kind of in life,lifetimes, or chapters like, how
did this? How did this? How didthe wrestling chapter close? And
how did you transition intoentrepreneurship?

Nikki Lian (19:06):
So I kind of stayed, I mean, obviously I had to make
a living, so I kind of stayed inteaching for a little bit. I I
did, like, long term subbinghere and there, but it's you
make your own schedule. So thatwhole summer, I was off
somewhere.

Was that like you're traveling something so,

Nikki Lian (19:24):
oh no, well, yeah, so you go to like, different,
different, different

schools, you're all part of the same district,
right?

Nikki Lian (19:31):
And or they have private companies that kind of
send you out to differentplaces. And I didn't, you know,
wasn't the kid I hated teachingso much. I hated my life. I
hated teaching so much, but itwasn't the children, it was the
administration that and I'm sureyou like, it takes a special
person to be a teacher, and Iwas not that person. I mean,

(19:51):
they go above and beyond whatthe system this it's like being
in a hole and trying to climbout and just people. Throwing
dirt on you. Like, that's whatteaching is like, I hope, like,
if someone's listening that hada great experience with
teaching, that's great. I alsotaught in East LA, so that was
like, hard, but it was never thekids. It was always like the

(20:13):
admin, and I'm like, How am Isupposed to help people? How am
I supposed to, you know, be abetter person myself, if I, if
I'm just like,

Was it like they were like, tying your hands
behind your back type of thingyou couldn't do what it is that
you wanted to do, right? Like,it's

Nikki Lian (20:29):
okay. So, like, being outside, think I was,
like, covering a class one dayand watching PE and these girls
are walking like you're supposedto be running your mile, and
they're walking around thetrack, and they have lollipops
in their mouth or eating chips,and the PE teacher is the one
that's like, selling them thisshit. So, like, I'm like, What?

(20:52):
What is this? You know, or itcould have been like, I had this
really cute outside area outsideof my classroom, but I couldn't
take the kids out there. Whycan't I take the kids outside
for fresh air to teach class?
And remember, this is back inthe day, so you know this, times
have changed, but just littlestupid things like that, having
to follow standards, having toteach kids like I mean, now
there's so many neuro divergentkids that aren't aren't set up

(21:16):
to be in a classroom. They'rethey're different learners. It
doesn't make anything wrong withthem, yeah, but they get clocked
as special ed because they can'tsit still, and that's not their
fault. All of that put together.
And so, like,

there was this, like, certain, like, mold,
right? That, right? All teachershad to fit, right? And you're
just like, This doesn't makesense for me or my students,
right?

Nikki Lian (21:39):
And it didn't make sense for me, because kind of,
how I see the world, and how,you know, it was seen through
the eyes of a principal as,like, completely different,
yeah. And I think that's why Ihad problems in school growing
up, in general, I just, it justwasn't, wasn't for me. So, yeah,
so then I kind of, I mean, thenI, you know, I wrestled up until

(22:01):
I opened the gym. So when youagain, leaving, like one passion
for another, yeah, but when youyou know, like you're on, you're
a business owner, it's like yougot to show up. So if I, you
know, break my arm or leg in amatch, or, you know, hit my
head, I can't show up. So it waseither, you know, don't open a

(22:24):
business, or you got to leavethis behind. So, and it was
another kind of transition whereI was done like I did what I
wanted to do, and was time tomove on to my next lifetime.

So, but why? Why open a business? So how did, how
did that get on your radar? So

Nikki Lian (22:42):
through when I was wrestling, I had a boxing coach,
and he would keep me in shape. Iwas in the best shape of my
life. I didn't know it at thetime, but I was and then he's
like, you're you're too good.
Like, you have to fight. Youhave to fight. And like, let's
just like, have you spar. I'mlike, okay, so I was 34 I'm
like, nobody starts their careerat 34 years old, right? So he is
takes me to this gym like itwas, like, Burbank or something,

(23:07):
and he puts me in the ring withthis girl half my size, she's 19
years old, and she beat the shitout of me, like she she had 21
fights under her belt, wow. Andit was enough for me to say I'm
tired of getting hit like I'mtoo old for this, but I love the
workout so much so thisfranchise.

Did he ever say why? Like he put you in the
room? I

Nikki Lian (23:33):
know, but I know it was just to probably break my
spirit a little bit. I don't. Iwasn't

so that he could break you and then rebuild you.
Sold for it.

Nikki Lian (23:42):
I was over it, and I it was just weird. It was weird
because I wouldn't, I wouldnever, you know, even we have
people come through the gym. Wedon't spar in our gym. It's
strictly fitness because it'ssuch a great workout. It's for
everyone, right? We have our 90year old clients. We have our
kids, yeah? But if they come inand ask me, oh, or do you spar
in here? Or whatever? I justkind of like, Are you sure you

(24:03):
want to do that? Like, we don'tdo it here, but are you sure
anyway, it's, it's, it was thetime was, like, I don't have the
energy for this. Like, I don'thave the time and energy. If I
was like, 19 again, and I cameacross boxing great, but I love
the workout. So CKO is afranchise. There's one in
Brooklyn. So when I we used togo home to Brooklyn, my brother

(24:26):
told me about this place. I wentto take a class. There was one
in San Diego. I actually droveto San Diego. He's like, You
love this gym. You should openone of these gyms, like so
that's what happened. I went toSan Diego. And of course, like,
money doesn't appear out ofnowhere. So it took me about two
years to kind of make mybusiness plan, find a spot, even

(24:46):
find the money, then find aspot. I mean, I wasn't intending
on opening in Simi Valley. Itwasn't my first place, but it
was, you know, I landed here,yeah,

yeah. So is your brother. Uh, entrepreneur

Nikki Lian (25:01):
as well. My brother owned a supplement store next to
the CKO gym out there. So hewould always see people come,
come through. So, uh, he's,like, this place is always
packed. Like, I know theworkouts great. Like, you should
really look into it so thatthat's what happened, yeah.

So he, he kind of like, was coming from this
mindset of, like, having hisstore and then seeing the
success of C, K, O, yeah. Andhe's just like, man, Nick needs
to get in this.

Nikki Lian (25:32):
Because at the time I was training people, and I was
using somebody else's space, itwas this little warehouse gym,
little boxing gym. Where's that?
Look, North Hollywood, okay,this former priest, like, opened
it up and he let all theneighborhood kids like, I mean,
I know it's not like thegreatest thing for liability
issues, but he'd let the kidswork out for free, and he let me

(25:53):
train like people there for freefor a while. My boxing coach,
okay? I found, I think I foundmy boxing coach on Craigslist.
Isn't that wild,

and I didn't get murdered. Oh, my goodness, he
was, he was

Nikki Lian (26:10):
interesting. But through him, I found that guy,
because that's where we wouldtrain. Okay,

Craigslist. I get, I get scared, like my wife, she
loves selling stuff on Facebookmarketplace, and just like, what
you're gonna have people showup, right?

Nikki Lian (26:25):
I always tell people to, because we were selling some
stuff, some equipment off, Ialways tell people to come to
the gym during, like, gym hours.
Yeah, that's I would never tellsomeone to come to

my house, no. And so then, like, I have to make
sure that I'm there so that mywife and because I got all
right, all females at home,right? Yeah, and it's just like,

Nikki Lian (26:48):
but that's yeah, you got to be careful. Yeah,

you really do. So I'm glad that you had a good
experience on Craigslist. Yeah,that one yes, never again. I

Nikki Lian (26:57):
don't. I mean, I don't. We didn't have social
media back then. So it wasn'tlike, you know, Craigslist was a
thing and it was hit or miss. Ihad found a few clients on there
too to train, because peoplewould put out there. They needed
personal trainers. Now, Ihaven't been on Craigslist in
years. No, I can't believe it'sstill running.

It is, I don't know how. So then you get in, you go
down to San Diego, you're like,Yeah, this is incredible. How do
you transition into like, okay,yes, I want to open one of
these. And then, of all places,land in Simi Valley,

Nikki Lian (27:30):
I didn't know anything about business. I
didn't even read a book aboutbusiness. I had no idea. So I
think I really tried to lean onthe franchise. And then the
other owners of the other CKOowners that were out here, was
super helpful. I it took me along time, like it took me, like
I said, about two years, to evencome up with the money make my

(27:50):
business plan, and then lookingfor a place in Los Angeles I
wanted to open in LA andeverything was either too
expensive, or if, if therewasn't, like, the parking
things, weird, yeah, so I needed10 spaces for every 1000 square
feet. It was just a lot. And Ilearned a lot. I remember we

(28:13):
were negotiating a lease inGlendale, and I kept tough,
having to go to the city ofGlendale to like, you know. And
it's funny, I remember, like,the guys that were in charge,
they're like, you know, you haveto do this, you know. And I'm
like, I didn't know. Like, youhave to hire an engineer. You
have to hire an inspector, youknow, all this stuff that wound
up falling through. And thenfinally, I mean, I was

(28:36):
negotiating for maybe threemonths, and I had to do this
parking survey where I sat outthere, and I would like, count
how many cars were out there,because if I hired someone to do
that, it was like 10 grand. It'slike, No, I'm gonna do this
myself. And then the it justwhile the lady was getting so
shady, and she kept increasingthe price, and I was just done.
So I think that's when I startedmy my commercial real estate guy

(28:58):
was like, why don't you lookinto Simi Valley? I'm like,
where is that? I don't knowwhere to see me. What's that?
And it's literally, I lived inthe valley. So it was like, it's
20 minutes, 15 minutes away,but, yeah, but nobody drives up
here. I hiked out here a fewtimes, sorry, um, but that was
it. And then even when we cameout here, it took a good six
months. It was, it was a longprocess, but I have the best

(29:23):
landlord. He's been so great.
We've been open almost nineyears. He got me through the
pandemic. He he's just really,like, pro business support,
like, I want you to stay open,yeah. So we landed in the right
spot.

That's awesome. So tell me a bit about, like, the
the your internal journey,right? Because, like you said
that you were getting intobusiness. You didn't know much
about business, if anything. Andso, like, where did that? Where
did that confidence come from?
That like, okay, yeah, this issomething I could do. And then
as you were going through allthese challenges, you know, like
you mentioned, some of yourchallenges, where. You're trying

(29:59):
to find locations and, you know,you're struggling with people
raising prices on you and thingsnot working out. You know, it's
like, challenge after challenge,but like, you kept on pushing
through like, like, kind of peelback the curtain and share with
us the internal journey that youwere going on. Well,

Nikki Lian (30:20):
it's very lonely being a sole business owner and
not having a partner, and evengoing through that initial
journey without knowing whatyou're doing. It was a lot. I
mean, even when I opened, it waslike, a lot of lessons. I made a
lot of mistakes. That's why Ilove helping new business
owners, especially gyms. I'mlike, Do this, do this. Don't do
this. Do this. Or even C, K, O,is that open? I'm always sending

(30:43):
them out, like, Hey, I just hadan idea for this challenge or
this whatever, and I'll send itto them, and if they want to use
it, fine. But it was so much. Itwas a lot of trial and error and
a lot of mistakes. I think it'sjust in my personality, I don't
know, because my mom even there,I was so stressed out during the
build out with the permits andeverything. She's like, Are you

(31:04):
do you sure you still want to dothis? I'm like, What are you
talking about? Like, of course,like, what am I just gonna stop
because things are getting hard,you know? And then I didn't have
a plan B, like, I wasn't gonnago back to teach it. Like, what
am I gonna do? So kind of, youknow, you jump in with two feet
and hope for the best. Yeah, andlearn along the way, like, make
sure you're not making the samemistakes. Surround yourself with

(31:27):
good people and just keepplugging away, because it's all
about perseverance andpersistence. That's why, I think
that's why businesses fail,because people are just done
trying. Yeah, if you staysolution based, if you you know,
I remember during COVID, when weall shut down, I was laying on
my couch in like a fetalposition at my gym, and for 20

(31:49):
minutes I gave myself, and thenI got up, and I'm like, All
right, what are we doing? And soI started the online challenges
and, like, looking into, like,all that stuff, and, yeah, where
there's a will, there's a way,yeah,

I remember driving by, and I remember seeing these
white tents out there, stillenough the parking lot. I'm
like, That is amazing.

Nikki Lian (32:12):
Everyone thought we were a COVID testing site,
because

I bet it looked like that, you know? But then as
I was driving by, I was like,Oh, this people punching bags,
right?

Nikki Lian (32:20):
And it was so fun.
It was like the best of timesand the worst of times, because
those tents, we fixed them somany times, and they melted from
the sun finally, and then I wasjust like, I'm done. And pulling
those bags in and out, I had alot of help. I mean, our members
in our community are amazing. Iremember the tents like just
being done, and they the nextday, I had like, 10 new tents

(32:42):
outside my gym because themembers just came together and
either donated their tents or orbought tents. And it was just
like, I gotta keep that's whatkeeps me going, you know, like
they need this place, yeah,

yeah, community.
Oh, that was such hard times.

Nikki Lian (32:59):
But if you can get through that, I feel like, if
your business got through apandemic, like, you're fine,
like, just keep going,

that it's, I mean, there's a lot of truth to that
though. Like, you don't, youknow, you don't fail until you
quit, right? Like, if you justkeep on going, keep on trying to
find those solutions, yeah,you'll figure something out
right at some point, and like,things will work out. We might
not know how Right, right? It'slike, we don't. We can't connect

(33:28):
all the dots on this side of theexperience. But once we get
through it and we look back,we're like, okay, that makes a
lot of sense.

Nikki Lian (33:36):
And you have to act on things you can't just kind of
expect for things to happen.
Yeah,

so that's the pandemic,

Nikki Lian (33:44):
my pandemic.

Where's CKO right now? Like, where? Like, how's so

Nikki Lian (33:50):
I, you know what, this past year has been going
into 2024, I figured, I'm, like,this is going to be a year of
transition. We, you know, wehave the nonprofit. We were kind
of changing things around. Wegot rid of, you know, some of
the toxic staff that we hadduring COVID.

Tell me about, I mean, you don't have to go into
names or anything like that,but, like, what it's really

Nikki Lian (34:15):
important to I never had this problem up until then
we were Gabby. So Gabby is, uh,the head trainer at CKO, but we
also co founded our non profitbody Brain Train. And we were,
we were volunteering for anothernon profit before we opened,
where we learned a lot from, youknow, which non profit I should

(34:38):
say, you don't have to, yeah,it's just because it's not
really like a non secretanymore, like they're not
registered. I don't want tothrow them under the bus because
I don't want to be that person,but they didn't align with our
morals and values. So

at the end of the day was, but you were there and
you learned some stuff. Well,yeah,

Nikki Lian (34:55):
so the guy, so the guy there, we made him one of
the trainers for C, K, O, he's.
Great trainer, but he's just nota good person. So we had to kind
of clean that out. And it wasinteresting, because, you know,
when you're a trainer in a gym,you kind of build a rapport with
your trainer. It doesn't matterthat I'm the owner, like, maybe
you go to this person's classesall the time and you build a
friendship. Or, you know,because we used to do like, like

(35:16):
happy hour and stuff like that.
So if someone's doing this andthey're like, saying bad things
about your gym, you know what Imean? Or I can do this better,
or whatever it was, you kind ofhave to get rid of it, but you
have to also know that there'sgoing to be some, like, I don't

(35:39):
know what to call it, but, like,not retaliation, that's
dramatic, but just some blowbackfrom some of the members, or
whoever. So I was always afraidto pull the trigger on that,
because I was like, oh, what'sit gonna be, you know? But, and
I never bad mouth anyone. Solike, I won't go in and say he

(36:00):
did this and he did that, andyou have no idea, but, like, the
ones that kind of left with him,which was not a lot, it was less
than a handful, but they have noidea. They have no idea, like,
what he put us through and this,you know, and you got to keep
that quiet, because then itbecomes toxic and it doesn't
look good, and people are justwant to come to the gym and work

(36:21):
out and be happy and see theirfriends, and you don't want to
make it that, but it was liketurning into that, so you got to
clean that out. So we cleaned itout, and then this, like I said,
this year was a year oftransition. I've gotten so so
many new members this year, andI feel so like I've never felt
the energy so high in the gym,and just going through its

(36:43):
December now, and usually, kindof like, you know, you're here,
and then you kind of die inDecember. I mean, there's people
showing up. I mean, classes arefull, and everyone's feeling
good, and it's just, it's justlike the vibration level of the
gym is exactly where I want itto be at. So I'm looking
forward, of like, my year ofgrowth next year, to really get

(37:03):
out there and help more people.
What

do you what do you think is contributing to that?
Do you think it's getting rid ofthat toxic? Oh,

Nikki Lian (37:10):
that had a lot to do with it. I, you know, I worked
with some marketing people toothis year, so we had an influx
of a lot of new members. It wasmy job to keep them so, you
know, and a lot of people, Imean, you meet people like that
from all walks of life. Ifyou're gonna just throw up like
a challenge online and say, Hey,try us out. You know, you're

(37:32):
gonna get 100 people. But like,you get a lot of cool people.
You get some like, you know, yousee them. They come and go. But
I feel like that contributed toa lot of the energy in the gym,
you know. And there's somepeople that never thought they
would be kickboxing, you know,but they saw this ad and it was,
you know, they had to do it. SoI don't know. It's just like,

(37:53):
like I said, the vibration levelof everyone's classes are fire,
you know. It doesn't matter ifit's like a morning class with
10 people or an evening classwith 30 people. It just feels
like everyone's making progresswhen they come in. And that's
what I want.

That's amazing.
Let's say how many, how manyclasses are you guys doing a
week over there now, for CKO, we

Nikki Lian (38:11):
do we're open every day. We do Saturday, Sunday
mornings, and then we domornings and evenings. So it's
kind of opposite of somebody'sregular work schedule. Not that
people have normal workschedules anymore, but I would
say about 20 classes, 20 to 25classes. Yeah. And

how many teachers do you have? Um,

Nikki Lian (38:28):
right now, I have about five instructors. They're
very part time. They're they'reall over the age of 40. And I
say that because a lot of theyounger kids don't stick around,
which is fine, because they'realways but these are people that
love what they do. They have apassion for it, and they don't

(38:49):
need to do it. They just come inand do it. Nothing against the
younger generation of trainers,but this is just like so I've
had these trainers for such along time because they just love
doing it. So yeah, but very parttime, that's awesome. So,

like, what's, what's kind of like the typical
like experience that somebodygets when they sign up for CK
go, you know, like somebody thatdoesn't know anything about
kickboxing, like, what's, what'sthat like, kind of walk us
through the customer journey.

Nikki Lian (39:22):
So I really like to build a rapport with people.
I'll if I see somebody that'sinquiring about the gym, I'll
shoot them a text. I know a lotof people are not comfortable
talking on the phone. There'sthis weird thing with gyms
where, I mean, I tried to go toan intro class and, like, one of
the bigs box gyms, and they werecalling and calling me and
calling me. We're not pushy atall. Yeah, we just want to make

(39:44):
sure people are comfortable,because they're usually very
nervous, because boxing, you'relearning a new skill, and it's
maybe 90% of the people thatcome in have never done it. So I
always if they we have an intropack, it's two for 40, and you
get gloves. So if they sign upfor that, I'll. Always text
them, hey, this is Nikki, theowner of CKO. I, you know, so

(40:04):
they have my number if you haveany questions, if you need help
scheduling, just so they know.
So I have, I mean, I haveboundaries for myself, like, I
leave my work phone in the carwhen I go home at night. But
like, I like to keep a rapportwith them, yeah, so, so they're
just more comfortable, becauseit could be intimidating. And
then, you know, I really try toget into what their goals are
like, What Why are you here? Andthat's, that's probably the

(40:27):
biggest question. So when I'mteaching them, and I see them do
what they're doing, you know,maybe they have some injuries,
maybe they have never worked outbefore, maybe they they're just
incorporating this into theirworkout, you know. So I try to
get to know as much about themas I can, so I can kind of help
them as best I can. Yeah. So

what kind of goals like? What are kind of like the
most common goals that peoplewill say that I

Nikki Lian (40:53):
get a lot of you know, like the weight loss,
because martial arts andkickboxing is a great workout in
general, for anyone, anyone cando it, it burns the most
calories. And we get a lot ofsay, like, middle aged women
that come in and not thinkingthey can do what they do, and

(41:13):
then they just feel empowered.
So they it always starts outwith like, oh, I want to lose
weight. Or, you know, myhormones this, or my horrible
hat, and it's like, and then itturns into, like, this
empowering thing and cheaptherapy, and, oh, I needed to
come in tonight. I needed to hitsomething. So there's all
different reasons. Instead oftheir husband, right? I always
tell if a couple comes in, I'mlike, You can't hit each other.

(41:35):
You have to hit the bag. Butyeah, so there's all different
reasons. So how

is that for you to see that, that that
transformation, for yourcustomers to come in and kind of
go through that, not knowingwhat they're doing, not knowing
if they can do it, to all of asudden being like, oh my
goodness, it's it helps

Nikki Lian (41:55):
like, to not get me frustrated at the beginning, and
to remember that they're they'relearning this new skill. But I
have people that come in thatdon't know they're left from the
right, and then through two,three months later, they're just
killing it. So I love seeingthat. I love it because, like I
said, it's empowering for them.
They're getting good atsomething. Everyone likes to get

(42:16):
good at something. And they'relike, working out, but they're
getting to hit stuff. And youknow, it's a completely
different workout than justgoing into a gym that can be
really intimidating anduncomfortable. Yeah,

going into one of the big box gyms, right?
Everybody's just kind of staringat each other on these crazy
machines. You don't know what todo, worried if you're doing it
wrong or right. You know whatyou look like. What does a
typical class look like? Like?
How long is it like? Is there?
So

Nikki Lian (42:46):
we have three different types of classes. We
have a regular CKO Kickboxingclass. So everyone gets their
own heavy bag. We have 36 heavybags. 80% of the workout is on
the bag, so we're hitting andthen the rest is like, push ups,
sit ups, that kind of stuff.
Then we have a Tabata hit class.
So Tabata is like doingsomething 90% for 20 seconds and

(43:09):
then having a 10 second rest.
And for some reason, people loveit. So it's like intervals,
yeah, yeah. And it, I learnedit. I took a class at a fitness
conference, and I incorporatedit into the heavy bag, and
people love it, so I call itTabata Tuesday, and we have it
every Tuesday, and they love it.
And then we do a box and buildso we have weights, we have taro

(43:31):
cores, kettlebells, so we'll dohalf boxing and half weight
training, because weighttraining is very important too.
Yeah. So

then somebody that signs up with you guys. Do they
get access to all of this? Or doyou have different membership
plans or, right?

Nikki Lian (43:44):
So those are the three classes that we offer to
everyone. We have, you know,typical, unlimited month to
month, year contract. We dospecials every now and then. You
know, kids classes we, you know,we have. It's kind of like
fitness for everyone. Like, Iwork with everyone, but that's
why I like to know their goals.
Like, do you need these classes?
You need these classes? Do youneed nutrition? Do you need you

(44:06):
know? So we kind of try to putit all together. That's awesome.

So I mean fitness for everyone that kind of, like,
brings us into body braintraining, right, right? Yeah,
explain. For anybody out therethat doesn't know what body
brain trend is, kind of explainso

Nikki Lian (44:22):
body Brain Train was myself and Gabby co founded, I
think it was like 2022 afterworking with another nonprofit
that geared in towards peopleliving with Parkinson's. And
you've heard, I mean, there's somany programs out there, rock
steady boxing. And, you know,like boxing in general, forced

(44:45):
intense exercise for people withParkinson's is the thing,
because, you know, it helps withtheir symptoms and all that. So
we started running Parkinson'sclasses. But then, you know,
older. People would see them andbe like, I can do that, you
know. And everything we do withour Parkinson's people, the

(45:06):
seniors need we all need it boxand balance anything that has to
do with stretching, flexibility,meditation, that kind of stuff.
So we're like, Well, why don'twe? Why don't we be inclusive to
the senior community, and thenwe can kind of like, specialize
with our Parkinson's people andpeople with neuro disorders
we've worked with traumaticbrain injury, post stroke, MS,

(45:31):
so it kind of just fell intoplace like that. But most of our
people right now do fightParkinson's. I think maybe 80%
of our regulars that come infight Parkinson's. So like I
said, most of our workouts aregeared towards that, but it kind
of, it's inclusive for anyonecan take the class, but it's,
it's the seniors need it, and,you know, the older folks need

(45:53):
it, especially the ones thathaven't moved their whole life.
Yeah, with boxing, it's likethis full circle thing. It's
like we had, we had a guy, AlexRamos, who was a professional
boxer for a while, and he wasbrought to us with traumatic
brain injury and memory loss. Soyou have him training his whole

(46:16):
life, you know, but now he'sgetting back into it for other
reasons. So it's just like, it'san amazing form of exercise. I
don't want to say sport, becauseit's a great sport, but we don't
always use it as a sport. So,yeah, it's for everyone, and
it's for, you know, I mean,gosh, like seniors will be like,

(46:38):
I can't box, you know? And thenwe have, you know, Harvey, who's
in a wheelchair and he's sittingthere and he's hitting the bag,
or John, who's cracking jokesand like, he his left side
doesn't work, but, you know, hewe get it to work, you know,
that kind of stuff. And it's,again, same for, you know, what
I said about women, it's, it'sempowering to the seniors. It's

(46:58):
like, just knowing that, wow, Ican do this. If I can do this, I
can do this, or doing exercises,you know, getting up and down.
Like we don't think about thesethings, right? We because we're
not there yet, being able toroll over in bed. How many times
you get up at night, you know,if you have to go to the
restroom or whatever it is, letthe dogs out, and it's like,

(47:21):
just nothing. You just get upand you do it. So we try to make
all that functional training,you know, incorporated into into
our workouts as well. Yeah,

that's amazing. So what, what is it like for you to
see those transformations,

Nikki Lian (47:34):
um, you know what?
Um, it's so it's supposed toslow down the symptoms. So it's
hard to say. And we, we doassess, and we hear from their
doctors, you know, I went to theneurologist, and he said that I
didn't decline. And like, that'swhat we want to hear. And then
we have people that are, youknow, seniors, that are

(47:56):
improving or never thought theycan do the things they do. We
had a someone with a second kneereplacement who never worked out
in her life, in her 80s, andrecovered so much quicker
because she was in our program,you know, for that second
surgery. So things like thatkeep us going, because it can
get dark sometimes, like, I'mnot going to sugar coat it. It

(48:18):
can get really dark, but we doeverything we can at this point,
and it's not not helping, sowe're just gonna keep doing it.

Yeah, and what would you say to somebody that
is, you know, learning aboutthat for the first time and
still struggling with thinkingthat it's not for them, or that
they can't do it for

Nikki Lian (48:42):
Parkinson's or for seniors or in general. Yeah,
that's a huge thing. Somebodyactually asked me that question
yesterday, like, why do you wantto do this? But it's really
important to understand, and Idon't understand. I'm just I try
to understand, when you getdiagnosed with a disease like
that, you feel very alone. Youfeel like there's no hope, or

(49:03):
this is just how it's going tobe the rest of your life. And I
think a really important part ofour program, too is for them to
come in, first of all, see whatthey can do, because anyone can
hit a bag, and then see thatthere's other people around
them, just like them. Ourclients are great. It's a
community. They check on eachother. If someone doesn't show

(49:26):
up, they're going to ask aboutit. You know, we have our spokes
piece, but people, we try to runsupport groups. We try to
everyone's very supportive atour gym. So for them to come in,
first of all, it's hard to getthem in. Their caregivers drag
them in. We really have to workon keeping them. Hey, just look,

(49:47):
if you just want to watch class,just watch class for today. And
they kind of get an itch becausethey see everybody going, you
know, it's a process. But justremembering from our point of
view, because we're not. Sick orwe're not dealing with what
they're dealing with, to reallyjust have that patience and
empathy, because it's it'sscary. It's scary, not just for

(50:10):
Parkinson's, but for anything,to get diagnosed with anything,
and have to come in and justkind of do these things that
you're you're not familiar with.
So I don't remember what thequestion was, but that's my No.

That's great. It's kind of like, you know this,
they weren't expecting to behere in life right now, but here
they are,

Nikki Lian (50:32):
and neither are we their caregivers. So we try to
support them as well. So it'skind of like a team effort.
That's awesome.

Yeah. So what does what does like a typical class?
Does it look similar to A, C, K,O, class, or is it, are there
differences to

Nikki Lian (50:46):
come see? No, they're just a bunch of
characters. You know? Yeah, theydo their thing. It's funny
because Gabby runs a circuittraining on Thursdays, which
means you have differentequipment at different stations.
So she started making them. Setup stations like, be creative,
set up your own station. Andthey come in, they're like
little kids, like, they love it,you know, you know, we have some

(51:09):
people in wheelchairs. We havepeople doing laps where they
have to swing their arms. Butthen we have some people in
walkers, and they're justcruising around. And it's so
many different sites to see, buteveryone's just doing it, yeah?
And that's a great

part about it, yeah. So they're moving the way
that they can move, right? And

Nikki Lian (51:27):
we treat them like, I treat it like a regular class
when I make them box, because weput it up here, and then if they
need to come down here, that'sokay. But let's go up here.
Let's start up here. You know,that's amazing.

So like, I wanted to touch on just like the
community aspect, you know,because you're somebody that not
only are you helping in thecommunity, you know, with the
people that are coming to see Koand body Brain Train, but you're
also, you know, involved withthe Chamber of Commerce and
different organizations withinthe community. So like, kind of

(52:04):
shed some light on, you know,what your involvement looks
like, and kind of like what whatyou've been giving to it, and
then also what you've beengetting out of it. The

Nikki Lian (52:13):
Chamber of Commerce.
I didn't even know what achamber of commerce was until I
joined, but it was interesting,because going in there 10 years
ago and and just being there,it's it's one of those things
where if you don't work it, it'snot going to work for you. So
sticking around was important.
I've met so many great people.
And I'm not just talking aboutlike clients for myself, but

(52:34):
I've learned so much from somany people. Everyone's got
their own journey, you know. SoI've met, like I said, I met
great people. I don't know how Igot on the board. I don't know
how I got on the board. Theyasked me, and I was like, okay,
like, I've never been on a boardbefore, but okay, but it's been
super cool, like working withpeople and kind of making it

(52:54):
stronger and and I always takemyself back to how much help I
needed when I opened mybusiness, so much help that, you
know, you just kind of want tohelp people. And that's, that's
the, that's the community I wasalways looking for. Never like
the, you know, compete,competitive. I mean, I speak to

(53:14):
other gyms all the time, fitnesspeople, you know, I'm always I
try to promote any business Iuse, I try to promote as much as
I can, because we all need thathelp. But that's what it's
brought me. I mean, thebreakfast and the networking,
that's one thing, but justhaving those relationships like
I wouldn't know you if, if Iwasn't in the chamber. So

(53:35):
perfect example. So, yeah, Imean, just kind of goes with the
territory of owning a business,

yeah? And then, how's it? How's it been?
Because, I mean, I heard you saythat you're a bit of an
introvert, and I'm, I'm a totalintrovert. How's it? How's it
been for you, considering that,I mean, having it going, because
I know that, like the, you know,the anxiety that that I feel
having to walk into thingssometimes. So

Nikki Lian (54:05):
I'm like, an extroverted introvert. I guess
that's what they call it. Like Ihave, I have to talk to people,
yeah? But let me tell you, oncethose numbers leave in the door
shots, I'm like, you gotta, yougotta make sure you know, when
your social tank is empty, youcan't go to everything. So you
being part of the board nextyear, which I'm super excited

(54:28):
about. It's, you know, they aska lot of you, but that doesn't
mean you have to do everythingyou do, but you can. You know,
you welcome people you attend.
You know, last month, I didn'tgo to the breakfast because I
didn't have it in me. I am,yeah, good, yeah, yeah. But, but
it, you know, it, sometimes it'skind of like I just need this

(54:50):
day, like I can't do this today,and that's okay. But what you
put in is what you get out. And,you know. It's like, I said, You
got to take care of your youfirst, so you can't that's a big
mistake I made, especially whenI first started volunteering and
doing this, and that it's like,my business myself comes first,

(55:11):
and my businesses and then therest of it. So you have to know
when to say, no, yeah. You haveto build your boundaries, for
sure,

yeah, set the boundaries. Understand your
priorities, yeah, understandyour limits, and also be aware
of, like, where you're at,right,

Nikki Lian (55:29):
right? Because there have been days where I just, I'm
just gonna sleep in today, like,I don't feel like going to a
networking whatever, you know,but you know, then I sometimes I
feel like going, so, yeah, youjust gotta listen to your to
where you're at at that time.
Yeah, yeah,

to, like, any business or any person that's
out there that is thinking aboutgetting involved with the
chamber, like, what would yousay? I would

Nikki Lian (55:55):
say, like, I just said, like, what you put into it
is what you're gonna get outdon't just sign up if you're not
going to attend anything, ifyou're not going to, you know,
use their resources, becausethere's so much more than just a
breakfast. They're, you know,they have lunch and learns, they
have mixers, they have, youknow, you need something, call
the office, and if you need aresource or a referral, just, I

(56:19):
mean, they're there to help you.
So it's, it was one of the bestthings I've done for my
business. But it's, I, it alsotook me a little bit to get
comfortable with the, you know,like, totally the first year or
so, and kind of find my spot andthen. But it's, it's really, I
mean, it's a great place. It'sbeen evolving, you know, it's
been moving forward, and I it'snot going to do anything but
help you. So, good investment,yeah,

and Amy is fantastic, right, right? The
whole staff, yeah, yeah,everybody there, yeah, it's
amazing. So like, if somebodywants to learn more about CKO,
then tell us what's the best wayto find out more? If

Nikki Lian (56:57):
you call, I'm not going to answer. If you leave a
message, I will get back toliterally within the hour. Or
you could text the phone number.
The phone number is on ourwebsite, but I will get back to,
I promise. But texting isprobably the fastest way, yeah,
but use the gym number. That'sme, Nikki, and what's the what's

(57:17):
the website? Uh, it's CK O, seeme, valley.com

Yeah. And then what about body Brain Train? Body

Nikki Lian (57:26):
braintrain.org so same thing. Leave us a message.
We will get back to you, or youcan fill in one of those. I feel
like seniors like emails. Yeah,they do. And they like paper
stuff, and they like phonecalls, so I will call you back.
Just let me know,

yeah, if they send you a letter, yeah? Yeah. I
mean,

Nikki Lian (57:45):
when we do events like we have an events page,
okay, but let's not look atthat. Let's make flyers and them
out to the seniors, because theylike paper, and I get it, yeah,
it's in front of them, you know.
Well,

I'm excited. I'm excited to see what 2025 has for
you same Thank you. Excited tobe on the board with you. Yeah,
I'm excited so that's gonna bethat's gonna be really good.
Yeah? Thank you so much, Nikki,thank you for having me. Yeah,
have to wait. You.

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006 | Training Those In Need at CKO Kickboxing & Body Brain Train | Local Business Breakthrough Podcast

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}006 | Training Those In Need at CKO Kickboxing & Body Brain Train | Local Business Breakthrough Podcast