Monday, July 4, 2011

In the "Spotlight" with Nicol

Meet the fabulous, beautiful, talented and amazing Nicol from San Diego California!

Coming from a small town in Missouri, you are the only black girl for miles and everyone wants to tell you “no”,I quickly picked up these two words, “LET’S GO!”!  “Let’s Go equaling a challenge has been made and I can handle it!”  It’s one thing to be told “no” and you can not have what you want but when you are told “no” because you are a little different or considered a minority, that does not vibe with me!

I was born and raised in St. Charles, Missouri, a small town 30 miles away from St. Louis, Missouri (you know where that big ARCH thing stands).  Both parents worked hard to raise their 2 girls and 1 son right.  The drive to keep moving and prove that I could do what the next person was doing came from my grandmother who told me to never give up!

I majored in Apparel Manufacturing and Design at the University of Missouri, Columbia where I also became one of the top Track & Field athletes in the Big 12 conference.  My life has always been busy with a full school/work schedule and incorporating fitness to keep me in shape! I met my husband at UMC and we have two beautiful girls! We moved to California a year after we graduated from college and we are now true Californians with 16 years under out belt.

Once we arrived in California, I started my career as a design assistant, taking any job that would teach me the ropes and get me started.  I finally landed a great job a Mattel, Inc. designing Barbie.  That is where I learned “hands on” about manufacturing, management, and the design and marketing process of a product.  Six years into Mattel, I started my own company Dirty Red Gear.  Dirty Red Gear consists of women’s athletic apparel that can take you from the gym to running around town to complete errands.  The fit contours a woman’s body and feel like a glove when you wear it.

Dirty Red Gear’s name was influenced by a story my mother-in-law would share with me about my husband.  He was so fair skinned that when he would have a tantrum, his face would turn bright red and he would always be dirty from playing.  So, she gave him the nickname little “Dirty Red”.  The name was catchy and after testing it with all my friends and family, it stuck!

Currently, I am working on building a world of fitness that my clothing line has sparked.  I love everything about fitness and getting others to move.  I have built a running club called TEAM DIRTY RED and now beginning to build personal training and group fitness community that will motivate my community to move.  I am 40 years old, always mistaken to be much younger.  Women ask me all the time, what is it that I am doing? I tell them that just because Track&Field ended didn’t mean that my physical fitness had to.  I kept moving and stayed active.  

The way that I see it, your body has been built to “move”, get a little “dirty” and turn “red” when working out! There is no other way around it.  It’s a great way to keep your family healthy, motivated and happy!
-Nicol-
www.dirtyredgear.com


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