Since I was a kid, health and lifestyle have always gone together. As a wrestler for much of my life, I found that the typical ways of living a healthy lifestyle did not always work for me. Through a lackluster childhood beginning and a mildly successful high school career I struggled to find what being in good health meant. I focused on outcomes rather than process and was frustrated quite a bit. When I got to college, I joined one of the winningest teams on the planet, winning 3 Division 1 NCAA Team National Titles, 2 Individual National Titles, and making the US National Team in the Tokyo Olympic year. Obviously I was on to something, but what was it?
Surrounded by incredible people, including multiple Olympic Champions everyday, I noticed something. Everyone was successful, though no one did everything exactly the same. I came to the conclusion that doing things for yourself, in a way that is honest to yourself, was a key to success. It seemed to me that this could be applied to overall health. From someone who has never put much thought into their lifestyle to people who make a career of it, there is no one way to improve your health or live a healthy lifestyle.
I contribute much of my success (and likely much of my failures) to consistently being myself. While there have always been challenges and temptations, I have done my best to be unwavering in my values and personality. The feeling of self empowerment is something I want to share with the world to let people know that no matter what stage of life you are in there is a way to improve your health and lifestyle your way.
This brings me to Wakinyan, and what it means to me. Wakinyan is a Native American word describing a thunder spirit, or a sky spirit. Over the course of time, much on the ground has changed including culture, people, and values. The forces above have always stayed powerfully the same. To me, Wakinyan symbolizes freedom and the power of being yourself.
I hope that Wakinyan and the products we provide will inspire a generation people to think of health and lifestyle in an empowering way. Not as part of a trend or fad, but as individuals who want the best for themselves. I believe that everyone has the potential to be great in their own way, and I hope that Wakinyan can help them find it.
Nick Lee - Co-founder of Wakinyan