Meet Sean, Our Co-Founder and COO

I’d like to officially introduce myself. My name is Sean Penchoff, and I’ve been working with Jake on and off since 2013 when we met at the Vanderbilt YMCA. About a year ago we decided to make the leap into business together. 

I will be handling the business side of things; paying the bills, keeping the lights on, cleaning, managing the website, posting content, making sure there’s toilet paper. You know, the important things. I’ll also be helping out a lot with scheduling and billing. If you have any problems with that stuff, please let me know: I’m a friendly guy despite outward appearances.

I am a big foodie, and can’t wait to incorporate lots of killer food and nutrition content and programming into Nicely Fit Co. I promise I’ll be sharing my recipes and thoughts on food and local food systems as often as I can! You can check out my food Instagram @connieandvis in the meantime. I’m open to any and all requests!

Prior to me beginning my fitness journey with Jake in 2013 I had basically never set foot in a gym more than once or twice. I played a bit of tennis, hockey, and golf as a kid but was never all that into it. Athletics and fitness just didn’t excite me all that much. On top of that, I struggled with my weight. I still do, in fact. What got me in the gym was this photograph:

Was that California or Tatooine?

When I graduated college, I had awful time finding "my first real job". I had gone through a rough breakup. I was living at home. I peaked at around 250lbs. I had gone to a friend's wedding in San Diego and when I got home I saw the photos. I looked like a sausage. That was my tipping point. I was sick of feeling like garbage, looking like garbage, and treating myself like garbage. 

I started with the elliptical. Just 30-45 minutes on the interval setting, but I did it regularly. I had finally landed a solid but super stressful job in finance so I was able to start working with a trainer at the Vanderbilt YMCA who just so happens to be our buddy Jake. He put me through a rigorous process of building up my strength, flexibility, and endurance. 

Like I said, I had never really worked out before. I was like a veal cow. I sat around, fed, and never moved. I had no muscle mass whatsoever. And I was overweight. Bad combination.

After a while, and by a while I mean at least a year or two, I went from 250 to 215. I started getting really into compound lifts. Bench, deadlift, squat, overhead press. I learned form. I pushed myself hard. I set and hit goals. I discovered that I was good at it. I gained 20 pounds of muscle and my body was transformed.  

In January 2017 I started a new job where I worked longer hours and was more stressed than ever. The workouts started slipping, I didn’t feel a connection to what I was doing, and I felt like garbage again. 

When I could get to the gym, my lifts were way off. Every time I worked out I left feeling disappointed. Not only was I feeling like garbage at work, but I would go try the thing that made me feel good and it made me feel bad instead. I think a big part of this was due to the way I would motivate myself in the gym. When I started I would mentally yell at myself, pushing myself by saying “come on fatboy”. I was super negative with myself. Well, when I was seeing results and feeling good, this pushed me along. But when the results dropped off, it was just more piling on of negativity. 

In September 2017 I lost my job and struggled to find a new one. Things weren’t clicking. The move to the new job in 2017 was supposed to be a pivot. A chance to do something different, utilize my degree, and develop my career. Instead it was a nine month trip down the wrong path for myself. One would think being unemployed and having a ton of time on my hands would be an ideal time to workout. It was not. I could not get out of my own way, and felt awful about myself. It took a ton of self reflection, lots of hard work, the guidance of an amazing coach (more on this in another post), not to mention a supportive family and a partner who stood by me and kept pushing me to be my best self

Now, 7 years after I began my journey into fitness, things have changed. My whole life I’ve wanted to start a business. It’s been an unyielding passion and goal of mine. When Jake approached me about working with him on Nicely Fit Co. it was a breath of fresh air. Working with Jake I transformed myself once and achieved things I never thought I could. I figured, if there is anyone to do this with, it would be him. We put in a ton of time and effort to get up and running and it has been exhausting. I’m literally more tired than I’ve ever been in my entire life. The thing is though, I love it. I wouldn’t change a damn thing. And it’s funny, even though I’m exhausted I’m getting the workouts in. My lifts are coming back and it FEELS GOOD.

Unlike last time, I have a lot more tools at my disposal, a lot more insight and experience, and a great support structure with Jake and my partner Sophia. Here is what we're doing do differently: 

No more negativity. I’ve fought hard to realize some of my biggest dreams in life and now they’re coming true, I need to honor that. No more calling myself fatboy, no more putting myself down. No more punishing myself for not hitting my numbers.

Instead, we are going to work to create sustainable, positive lifestyle changes that focus on Moving Better, Feeling Stronger, and Living Nicely - the core tenets of the Nicely Fit Co philosophy. 

So what does that mean for me? 

Moving better is being more flexible, being able to have a greater range of motion, being able to go on long, multi-day hikes in the summer without it being miserable. It means being able to jog a 5k, and not be in pain. It means not sitting as much, it means wanting to move, and it means no more back and knee pain. 

Feeling stronger is being able to physically move my body in ways that I want. It means being able to lift heavy, it means feeling powerful again. It means my body is doing what it likes to do. I love lifting heavy weight. It just works for me. When I can’t, it gets me down.

As one of my role models, Henry Rollins puts it:

“The Iron never lies to you. You can walk outside and listen to all kinds of talk, get told that you’re a god or a total bastard. The Iron will always kick you the real deal. The Iron is the great reference point, the all-knowing perspective giver. Always there like a beacon in the pitch black. I have found the Iron to be my greatest friend. It never freaks out on me, never runs. Friends may come and go. But two hundred pounds is always two hundred pounds.”

Finally, Living Nicely is about being positive, establishing routines, and consistently taking care of myself. It's about minding my mental health, not putting myself down, and being a friend to myself, not an adversary. It is also eating happy, healthy foods that are good for me and the environment, getting enough sleep, cutting out the booze, and helping others.  

At the end of the day starting Nicely Fit Co is more than starting a business. It’s taking the first steps down a path in which I am taking control of my life and my health by making the conscious choice to live independently while being of service to others. I also hope that you follow my posts on here as a resource, whether for inspiration or for information. Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can. 

I can be reached at sean@nicelyfitco.com.