Story & Lesson Highlights with Kylie Fagnano of Shaw

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Kylie Fagnano. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Kylie, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Have you ever been glad you didn’t act fast?
Hiring is a new skill set that we are developing. Thankfully, we haven’t needed to do too much of it! However, we had a wonderful trainer of ours start a new chapter in NYC and we needed to hire someone new to train his clients. This trainer had been with us for about 2.5 years and had a lot of clients who absolutely loved working with him- very big shoes to fill. When we finally hired someone, I was so unsure about all of the (very normal) unknowns that I kept thinking, “we should just end this before it gets bad”. I was so worried about controlling the situation…and not being able to…that I confused my fear with a “gut feeling”. Thankfully, we didn’t act on that because our new hire is such an exceptional trainer! He’s very technical, always on time, and he is just a lovely human being. So not acting fast in this case was a saving grace!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
DC Strength & Nutrition is DC’s one stop shop for personal training and nutrition. I’m a registered dietitian trained in Integrative and Functional Nutrition. Patients are seen for gut health related issues, gut testing, personalized protocols, and clarity on how to heal. Additionally, I see a lot of patients simply to help them learn how to feed themselves. DC is a very career-driven city. People get to a point where they realize they’ve put so much time and energy into growing professionally that they’ve left their personal growth and goals on the back burner for so long they now feel lost. Bryan leads our exceptional team of trainers in our personal training division. With over 20 years of experience in personal training in the DMV, he’s realized that the focus needs to be on technique, safety, posture, and strength. People who train with us will see body composition changes but our focus is always on strength. The stronger we help you get, the more freedom you have…for life!

A lot of gyms will claim to have “nutrition experts” but rarely have a licensed Dietitian. This sets us apart. We’re also a small, family run operation. There’s no ego (aside from some healthy and friendly personal competition of course), there’s no judgement, and our clients are all like family to us. We have curated a space where people can come as they are and you’ll receive the same first class service from us.

One of our trainers is a world class body builder having won several international body building competitions. We have a trainer who was a nurse in another life, and yet another who is trained in pre and post natal training.

Not everyone does BOTH nutrition and training. Many clients will choose one or the other as a starting point depending on what they feel the most comfortable with. We meet them where they are. Always.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
I was a competitive dancer growing up. I’ve always been very coordinated but I was always told that I wasn’t “athletic”. I grew up with 4 sisters and none of us played sports so the label of “sporty” or “strong” was never on the table. It wasn’t until I was in grad school that I started to challenge this thought. I was working at Ruby Tuesday’s and some of my coworkers were doing the program Insanity. I remember thinking, “well if they can do it, I can too!” So I did. I committed to it 100% and did not miss a single day. That was the start of a new way of defining myself. I moved into CrossFit from there and realized that I’m actually very capable of being strong and fit. Today, I train here with Bryan and our trainers and the thought that I ever felt that I “wasn’t one of those people” feels so far away. I know plenty of people who share this experience and feel this way when they come in to our gym for the first time. I see that, and I remember that feeling. Being a part of that magical change for others is one of the greatest joys of running this business.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
The beauty of honing the skill of perseverance, audacity, and consistency.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Nutrition and fitness are prime for taking advantage of people and preying on insecurities. The programs, the supplements, the pills, the diets, the fads, the quick fixes. I tell people all the time, the long term success exists in between all the extremes that you’ve tried and failed at in the past. That’s why it feels harder. The black and white “rules” of extremes makes the implementation easy…until it’s not. Once it fails, the only thing you have left to do is the thing you started with that ALSO didn’t work for you. Finding structure, stability, and consistency with what lies in the middle is the good stuff. The long term success. The same is true for strength training. Everyone has some “secrete” to sell you. The real secrete is picking something you can stick to and build on consistently. Consistency > everything else

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope that I’m living a life that will allow people to genuinely say that I was a person who cared deeply about the people around me. I hope they can talk about stories where I was kind and empathetic, where I listened to them and helped them feel seen, where I made them feel safe. I hope there are stories of me making people laugh, and stories where I helped them change their lives for the better. Ultimately, I want people to talk about how it was a loving experience to be friends with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dcstrengthandnutrition.com/
• Instagram: @kylie.dcnutrition
• Other: @dcstrengthnutrition