Wellness consultant and Founder of Barrecore, Niki Rein is well qualified to advise on how to take care of your body. If you’ve ever been to a Barrecore class, you’ll know that Niki knows how to get results! We spoke to Niki about her journey in wellness, building Barrecore, and her personal approach to wellness. Keep reading to find out what she said…
You focus on wellness business consulting – please can you tell us about your journey and what led you here?
With a 24 year spa and fitness career in brick and mortar and with 10 years in digital wellness, I feel like I have experienced nearly everything…good and unpleasant! And, as a person who likes being of service, I really enjoy sharing and helping others hack their way to success. I have always loved the wellbeing industry even from when it started its boom with day spas, single owned yoga studios and big box gyms to where it is now with health tech, studio conglomerates, mental wellness apps as well as a new method for nearly everything physical and metaphysical. It has been and always will be a dynamic and growing industry. Like, when we were told that a high carbohydrate low fat diet was the healthiest diet and then found out that it was all wrong. Everything as we know it is bound to shift and change as we learn more, which is extremely exciting! The wild thing, in my opinion is that we really don't know that much about our overall health, brain and the frequencies beyond our bodies that surely affect us. Humans as a whole are progressing at a rapid rate so it will be very interesting to see where this 4.5 trillion dollar industry grows to, even in the next 5 years. With that, I am thrilled to use my experience to help entrepreneurs and businesses navigate their way through this incredible industry!
Can you describe your typical day?
I wake up between 5:45-6:30 -no alarm needed! We have two wild little girls jumping on us to get out of bed. I sip coffee while we colour and read books together before I have to chase the girls around to get ready for school. At 8:30 I start work at my home office. Slide in a workout at around 10am. Around 4:30 I do the after school pick up on my mummy bike and the girls and I will usually go to the park. Then we have an early family dinner at 7pm followed by the girls' bedtime. At 8:30, I pick up the last bits of work and organise for the next day so I have time to read or watch a series with my partner before hitting the bed at 10:30.
What would you define ‘Wellness’ as?
Activities, routines, rituals that take you or keep you in your centre and/or allow you sit with yourself long enough to learn something new or spark a new desire or purpose.
What challenges have you faced building wellness brands?
Building brands have many and varied challenges. For me, with Barrecore, it was more about the operational obstacles that I struggled with at first. At the time when we were trying to grow and open more sites it was a struggle to find the balance between being commercial and keeping a personal engagement with clients as well as employees. Learning to delegate and not control all of the details when having so much passion for a brand can be a huge struggle for many.
You previously started and grew Barrecore. What made you want to create Barrecore?
As like most businesses come from a personal need or desire, when I moved to the UK from the US, I couldn't believe there wasn't any sort of dance based fitness, especially barre fitness. I waited and waited as I really wasn't interested in opening a studio myself but I kept having the ´itch´ so I finally did, then opened 10 more. At the time, I did't have all the skills of opening a business, especially in a new country, but I just knew it would succeed and, lucky enough, it did!
Has becoming a mother changed your perspective on healthy eating and exercise?
Definitely. I am much more relaxed and I actually feel a lot better in my body in all ways. Putting little humans (aka kids!) at the forefront has taken a lot of pressure off and released me from self-judgment. Plus, having a new found parental-busyness has definitely taken a toll on planning and cooking my meals with the detail I used to!
In your opinion what makes a good fitness instructor?
I feel VERY strongly about this. There are so many great instructors out there, especially in the UK. However, some instructors are deemed ¨good" simply because they have a good teaching personality. Although this is important, there are a ton of other nuanced factors that make for a great fitness instructor. Some key elements of good teaching are: Reading the room - which client needs more guidance & and who needs to be pushed. Learning to speak/nudge/nurture everyone in the room at the same time is a massive and important skill to hone. Hands on corrections - A simple turn of the hips or a gentle pull of the leg can make all the difference to a workout and results. Finally, good teachers use people’s names - If an instructor says ¨Well done, Sara! Now, can you go a little deeper into your squat?¨ not only will Sara feel amazing because she had personal attention but the rest of the class will drop into their squat deeper and immediately. The entire class then knows they will also be seen by the teacher and they aren't just a number in the room.
What is your number 1 pet peeve when it comes to weight loss and dieting?
´Calories in equals calories out´ and ´You need to do long bouts of cardio´…..Such rubbish! I prefer - ´You are what you assimilate´ or ´You are what you ate - ate´ and ´Muscle burnout causes fat burn off´
What advice would you give to someone wanting to embark on a fitness journey?
First, decide what you would like to achieve (not what Instagram tells you to). Then, decide what you are willing to do and let go of and what you are not willing to do or let go of. Once you have these 3 things sorted, your mindset is organised towards attaining your goal without feeling like it's not achievable.
What is a quote that you live by every day?
¨You've got this!¨ I always get stumped with something I don't know about but what I do know is that I can find a way to get there. What it doesn't mean is that I do it all alone. Asking for help and guidance is the key to success in anything!
What message would you give your younger self?
Start now and go for it….. but don't forget to enjoy, celebrate and just ´BE´…. stop ´DOING´ so much. You don't have to be busy to be successful.
Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to start a wellness brand?
Yes - Go for it! That's the hardest part. Ignore your inner fraudster. You actually DO have something to offer that is unique and the perfect thing for a good number of the 8 billion people on this earth. Now is the time you can reach nearly all of them since we are digitally connected, so don't be afraid. Just promise yourself one thing, always be your authentic self. If you remember this…you will not fail.