Nina
I became a beautician after finishing school. I love making people feel good and I love the glamourous side of beauty.
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I haven't always been in beauty, I moved to London from Kent for five years to act as a band liaison at Ronnie Scott's, the famous Jazz club. I also played the piano and sang. Whilst working in London I was introduced to pole dancing by a friend. I fell in love with the athletic side of the sport and the strength involved in the moves. I trained for more than three hours a day as a pole aerialist and competed for many years. During this time I also trained in Yoga. Again, I loved the strength and beauty of the sport.
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I met Stacey a year after my dad died. She came to a Pole Fitness Class that I was teaching and we got chatting. She too had lost her dad so we both supported one another becoming good friends. She took me paddle boarding one day and we were just sitting there on the boards and I said: "We should be in business together!" That is how Girl Viking came to be.
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Girl Viking allows me to combine my love of Beauty, Pole and Yoga as my studio now sits alongside our beauty rooms in the pretty village of Aylesford, just outside Maidstone.
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The other love of my life is my budgie called Shanti, meaning inner peace.
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Stacey
I worked in hospitality for many years before deciding to coach gymnastics and dancing, a first love of mine.
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I have struggled with anxiety since experiencing a traumatic event as a youngster. This anxiety sadly only got worse after the birth of my son. I was looking for ways that I could help myself; self care became a big part of my life as it helped me to manage my symptoms. I experimented with the more holistic therapies and researched eastern medicine and practices because I felt they treated the person as a whole.
I was lucky enough to really reap the benefits of such therapies and I decided to add some more strings to my bow, learn these therapies and help others who might also enjoy their benefits just like I had.
When I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia about five years ago, my journey of self-care became even more important to me. I am still very much on that journey and learning new things along the way.
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Paddle Boarding is the only place I feel I can meditate, be at complete peace, and clear my mind of its busy thoughts. Nina and I are always bouncing ideas off each other so it was no surprise that we came up with the idea of setting up Girl Viking whilst out on the water. Our minds were clear and we were ready for new ideas to pop into them!