Inspiring Conversations with Hugo and Meredith Nolasco of Elite Human Performance

Today we’d like to introduce you to Hugo and Meredith Nolasco

Hi Hugo and Meredith, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Our decision to become coaches ultimately stems from a desire to help people and a passion for self-empowerment. It’s a career that emerges us in a growth mindset on a daily basis, where we meet our own limitations and learn to raise the bar (literally). As former competitive athletes, we naturally find the gym as our second home, and enjoy creating the same welcoming environment for clients. We often like to say we merely expose potential. The gym offers incredible opportunity to experience adversity and triumph within the same hour. It fosters the very attributes we often desire, to face life experiences: confidence, discipline, resilience, and grit, and we are grateful to sweat through that journey with folks on a daily basis. Our people are our purpose.

With nearly 30 years combined experience, we are incredibly grateful for extensive experience in the commercial and private sector. Our journeys eventually led us to the heart of Manhattan working with other industry leaders at a flagship club on the Upper Eastside. Fast forward through a pandemic and an opportunity to return to Durham and establish Elite. It was a decision and vision that evolved over many walks down the streets of New York. We knew Elite was going to be equal parts New York chic and Bull City hospitality, and officially opening our doors in 2022 was an incredible moment.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Opening your own business is about as smooth as a gravel road. You’ll get there, you just have to stay persistent and perhaps pack a helmet.
Our vision naturally evolved into what you see as ELITE today, but it wasn’t without some bumps in the road. The build-out process takes time, resources, and can quickly put you in a position of waiting.
That was tough in moments when we were very eager to get doors open and welcome clients that were graciously willing to temporarily train with us at a satellite location.

A saying comes to mind,…“count on it taking twice as long and costing twice as much.”
Smooth? Not exactly.
But the struggles just create opportunities for us to figure it out, pivot, and come back to the table with better ideas.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Elite is a personal elevated training experience.
Everything we do as coaches is designed to optimize health, performance, and quality of life for our clients. It is exclusively one-on-one coaching that begins with an extensive assessment to cover medical/injury history, current lifestyle and exercise regimen, nutrition habits, and goals to best game plan for the journey ahead.

What sets us apart are our coaches. The level of attention to detail and commitment to the overall client experience in the gym is unparalleled.

It’s more than sweat.
It’s more than discipline.

We combine 30 years of coaching experience to meet clients where they are, but not leave them there.

Elite is a commitment to growth and progress.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Every endeavor involves risk. We like to think of it very much like we explain behavior and habit change with clients. There are 3 main categories: things you can control, things you influence, and things you cannot control.
Taking a risk, and in this case opening a business post-pandemic, is very similar.
We became very intentional about optimizing the things we could control (timing, mission, business model, aesthetics). We leaned into the areas we could merely influence (exposure, network, relationships). And we let go of things out of our complete control (community response, what other local gyms were doing, etc). It doesn’t eliminate the risk, but it certainly gives perspective to the amount of effort and intentionality a successful journey requires.

The service industry is ultimately betting on yourself. It’s a calculated risk that you’re placing more focus on your ability to “figure it out” along the way than on a precise, predictable outcome.
We felt every bit of this. Even with decades of experience, establishing very accurate KPIs from the start was a guess at best.
We were making a dicey move by opening a brick and mortar in a new city, post-pandemic, in an industry that was first to shut down and often considered a luxury and not essential. But there were also wins along the way. Being able to maintain our New York, Connecticut, and DC clients with virtual training was an unexpected blessing from the pandemic, and we are thankful to still offer that service.

Truth is, there is no guarantee you’ll make it. In fact, the survival statistics for any small business are bleak to say the least.
But we often go back to the idea of betting on yourself. Put yourself in position to sink or swim and you’ll discover you develop incredible swimming skills.
We are certainly grateful and proud of our current vantage point and the story ELITE continues to write.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://elite-human-performance.com/
• Instagram: _elitehumanperformance