Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Peszek.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Samantha. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was a gymnast for 21 years and I was able to reach the highest level. I became an Olympic silver medalist with my team and a 3X NCAA Champion at UCLA. When I graduated I wanted to help the next generation of gymnasts. I reflected on my journey and what unique advice I could give young athletes. Like most gymnasts, I had a lot of fear and on beam specifically. I had so much fear that I almost quit the sport because of it. Since gymnastics is the most difficult sport in the world, I knew I had to teach myself how to be confident, how to love beam and how to embrace the challenges. It was a long journey, but beam ended up being my favorite event, my best event, and the event I have two national championship titles on. I thought back on what made me this mentally tough elite athlete when I started as scared young gymnast and I realized that there was a direct correlation between success and confidence. I decided to create a traveling Beam Queen Bootcamp that would help gymnasts improve on the event and with their confidence. Imagine a female empowerment conference disguised as a little girls gymnastics event. In less than two full years of Bootcamps, we have had 35 states and four countries represented at our events. I bring a staff of Olympians, NCAA athletes, NCAA coaches, judges, choreographers, and anyone that I think will inspire these gymnasts to follow their dreams and believe in themselves. We created a community that stays connected through social media. They post training updates and I continue to remind them that they can do anything they set their mind to. It’s more fulfilling than I ever thought could be possible.
Has it been a smooth road?
It’s way harder than I thought it would be and I work way more hours than I thought I would. There’s not a minute in the day that I’m not thinking about what I should be doing for my company. I’ve read all of the entrepreneurial books and had amazing mentors, but nothing can prepare you better than just doing it. A lot of my struggles came from “inventing the wheel.” No one in my sport has ever done a camp like this for only one event. I had to create the business model, design the registration site, brand the events, and choose staff all based on intuition. Ironically, I realized that a lot of the messages I was preaching to the gymnasts was what I needed to remind myself in business. I really had to work at keeping the same level of confidence I had as a gymnast to being this young female entrepreneur right out of college. There were a lot of days where the hardest thing was just making a decision. As a perfectionist, I wanted to make the right decision in business. It’s good to be calculated, well-educated, and prepared, but at a certain point, you just have to make the decision, know you have good intentions and hope it’s the right one.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into Beam Queen Bootcamp story. Tell us more about it.
Our Beam Queen Bootcamp is unique because no one has done a camp for just one event before. I also wanted to add confidence training because it’s more of a mental sport than physical and that’s the aspect I felt like gymnasts were missing. We offer a new perspective on the most difficult event in the gymnastics. Our approach is to uplift, encourage, and motivate these athletes. I’m really proud that we’re able to give gymnasts the tools to succeed on beam and in life.
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
Believe in yourself, trust yourself, and figure out how to give yourself the best dang pep talk because you will need it… often. I did a pretty good job of this, but something that I wish I was better at is appreciating the small victories along the way. That’s important. I try to remind myself, “last year at this time, I would have killed to be where I am right now.” That is a special feeling.
Contact Info:
- Website: BeamQueenBootcamp.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @BeamQueenBootcamp @SamanthaPeszek
- Facebook: Beam Queen Bootcamp & Samantha Peszek
- Twitter: @SamanthaPeszek @BeamQueenBC
Image Credit:
@Sharondelaophoto
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