Conversations with Chantal Sommerfeld

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chantal Sommerfeld.

Hi Chantal, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I don’t think I ever had one traditional career path. I’ve always been fascinated by people – what drives us, what makes us push beyond what feels comfortable, and what we’re capable of when something matters enough to us.

Fitness became one of the first places where I explored that for myself. I competed in bodybuilding, developed a deeper interest in the science of nutrition and performance, became a sports nutrition lecturer and coach. Today, I’m also an entrepreneur and co-lead a marketing management company with my husband.

Some years ago, my life took a direction I never could have planned.

My husband, Mike Sommerfeld, is a professional bodybuilder, and I began traveling the world with him while he pursued the highest level of the sport. His career is his achievement, but bodybuilding at that level inevitably becomes part of the life you build together. I support him closely throughout his preparations, while we also run our business and navigate the travel, routines and responsibilities that come with this lifestyle as a team.

We’ve experienced competitions around the world, incredible victories, difficult moments, months of preparation and memories that have changed our lives.

One of the most meaningful came when Mike won the 2025 Arnold Classic. I was standing in the audience watching him achieve something I had seen him work relentlessly toward, while knowing how much of that journey we had experienced side by side. Then he reached down, pulled me onto the stage and chose to share that moment with me.

I’ll never forget it.

Somewhere along the way, another dream of mine came back to life. I’ve wanted to write a book since I was a little girl, and for years I had been documenting our experiences without fully realizing what those notes would eventually become.

They became Whatever It Takes: Notes from the Front Row, my debut book.

While professional bodybuilding provides the backdrop, the story reaches far beyond the sport. It’s about ambition, love, sacrifice, pressure, resilience and what life looks like behind an extraordinary pursuit. I tell it from the perspective I’ve had for the past years: not from the stage, but from the front row.

Today, I’m an entrepreneur, coach, sports nutrition lecturer and upcoming author. I continue to coach, teach and build our business while traveling the world with my husband – and I genuinely love the life and journey we’re building together.

The pre-sale for Whatever It Takes: Notes from the Front Row begins August 28.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?

Definitely not, but I think some of the most important growth in my life came from learning how to navigate uncertainty.

One challenge has been learning how to build my own identity and career while sharing my life with someone whose profession naturally comes with a lot of public attention. I’m incredibly proud of my husband, and his path to Olympia has always felt like our shared mission, not just his. But alongside that, I’ve also carried ambitions of my own.

I’m an entrepreneur, coach, sports nutrition lecturer and now an upcoming author. Over time, I’ve learned that these parts of my life don’t have to compete with one another. Supporting someone you love doesn’t require making yourself smaller, and pursuing your own ambitions doesn’t diminish your support for theirs. His dream and mine have always moved forward together.

Our lifestyle also requires adaptability. We travel extensively, run a company together and structure significant parts of our year around the demands of professional sport. I’ve learned how to work, create and maintain my own goals even when life around me is constantly moving.

That lesson became especially important while writing my book. There was never going to be a perfectly quiet moment to do it. Eventually, I stopped waiting for one and learned to create within the life I was already living.

Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
I’ve never approached networking as collecting contacts. For me, the strongest relationships have developed through genuine curiosity, mutual respect and being willing to contribute before asking what someone can do for me.

Traveling internationally through business and professional bodybuilding has introduced me to people from very different industries, cultures and backgrounds. I’ve learned something from many of them.

My advice is to pay attention not only to what someone has achieved, but to how they achieved it. Titles and success can be impressive, but character, consistency and the way someone treats people tell you much more about whether they’re worth learning from.

I also don’t believe every mentor needs to formally carry that title. Some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned have simply come from being around exceptional people, observing how they think, work and respond when things don’t go according to plan

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shanisommerfeld.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shanisommerfeld?igsi=MTBuZTlvb3lrZTl6NQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr