Conversations with Whitney Wiser

Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Wiser.

Hi Whitney, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Fitness has always been a passion in some form or another. Growing up, sports such as basketball fueled my competitive nature and taught me the ability to work with a team toward a common goal. My interest in weight training kicked off in high school.

After college, it then became a gateway to opening doors within the fitness industry from competing in over 30 Bodybuilding Bikini competitions, including the most prestigious stage in the world, the Olympia, to signing contract(s) with Top Sports Nutrition companies to helping people transform their physiques and reach their overall health and fitness goals. My belief is that anything you want to achieve, physically or otherwise, starts with a strong mindset. A resilient mindset has to be cultivated first because where the mind goes, the body follows.

In 2011, as my bodybuilding career was just on the rise, I faced a massive setback. As a result of ending an abusive relationship, I was hit and crushed under an SUV by my ex-boyfriend. This resulted in me having to undergo immediate emergency back surgery to fuse my spine together with steel rods and screws. I lost my ability to walk within a matter of moments… but could have lost so much more. I had to re-learn how to walk again and build my body back from nothing to be a competitive athlete once again. Eventually, I was still able to not only GET BACK UP but come back stronger than ever by the grace of God. It was from that day forward that I knew God had a purpose for my life – to help others overcome serious setbacks in their own lives.

This is where my passion for women comes from — after becoming a personal trainer, which is what I thought my dream job was early on, I quickly realized… it wasn’t going to be enough. As I continued competing, judging, and helping run local bodybuilding shows, I saw missing gaps that this previously male-dominated sport didn’t fill. The lack of care for the athletes and attention to detail in these shows started to frustrate me and the more “opportunities for improvement” I began to see.

It finally led to me starting Fit Life Productions LLC so that I could run my own all-female show and host events and coaching on a wider scale to inspire confidence and strength among women. This platform allows for a supportive community and resources for all women.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
HA! This question literally made me “lol”. I’ve learned that there is always a struggle when you’re pushing past limitations to create something new or different. When I wanted to start a female-only bodybuilding and fitness competition… people told me it wouldn’t work because I was giving up half my profit on entry fees by not letting males compete as well.

I moved forward and got a sanction approved through the National Physique Committee (NPC) despite the fact that there had been no successful female-only show. And despite the fact that I had no idea how to start or run a show! I had hosted a couple of small birthday parties in my life and that was about the extent of my event coordinating experience. However at this time, this business idea HAD to work, I had no other options left… I even had to borrow money to pay the sanction fee. Failure just wasn’t an option.

It was the scariest time ever in my life… even scarier than getting run over and learning how to walk again. I had no idea what I was doing and had to trust God 100% to have the faith that whatever resources or answers I needed would come to me as I needed them. He provided… but I felt like I was hanging on for dear life the whole time.

The list of struggles that I’ve encountered along my entrepreneurial journey can’t even be counted because that could easily be the entire interview.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m known for being a professional athlete in the IFBB (International Federation of Bodybuilding). Because of the length of my career and the number of competitions I competed in over the years (31 shows including 16 Pro shows and the Olympia), I have a large platform in that arena now to be able to help other up and coming athletes to be their best on stage and beyond the stage. I host workshops and coaching for competitors to teach them all the things that took me almost 10 years to learn so that they can be successful much faster than that now.

I now host retreats for women to help them reconnect to who they are and what they really want in life. I feel like so many women settle for less because they don’t know what they’re truly capable of, or maybe just haven’t taken the time to sit down and think about what they really want in their life. That is the purpose of my retreats, to create a plan to get the life you really want by being intentional instead of just settling for whatever comes your way.

I plan on continuing to grow platforms and events that inspire confidence and strength in women by giving them the direction and resources they need to be their best. This also provides the opportunity to bring women together to support each other, which fulfills the mission and vision for my life purpose.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Having multiple streams of income and learning how to pivot when the world changes is key! Hosting live events wasn’t really possible for most of last year and I learned that you can’t have “all your eggs in one basket” since anything can happen at any time.

Contact Info:

• Email: whitney@wiser.fit
• Website: wiser.fit
• Instagram: @whitneywiserfit @nashvillefitshow @wiser.fit @Herstyleevents
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/whitneywiserfitness
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NashvilleFitShow
• Other: whitneywiser.com

Image Credits
Dan Ray Photography, Amber Larkins, and Fitography Files