We had the good fortune of connecting with Yazmen Nuño and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yazmen, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Coming from nothing has really made me want more for myself and my future. I was born and raised in San Diego, California – brought up by a single mom into a family of four with very limited financial resources. With my mother working multiple jobs and devoting her time to bettering the lives of my brothers and I the best she could, there unfortunately lacked a type of structure and discipline at home that she wasn’t able to provide. As a way to keep myself occupied and out of trouble I divided my energy between multiple sports which I eventually excelled in. Where we lived growing up, I saw a lot of what NOT to do – which impacted my mindset in the most positive of ways. Through these experiences and some mistakes made while growing up, I’ve always kept my faith high against all odds and told myself that I would do better, build the future I wanted and be the influence my siblings and I never had because I witnessed my mother work way too hard for me not to be great. Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Due to the lack of guidance that I needed growing up, I spent a long time working on my physical and self-development before diving into bodybuilding and creating what Gains Gang Apparel is today. I had a long way to go before I could break certain cycles in my life and knew that breaking them was a vital step in order to make room for better habits that eventually became determining factors towards building the future I envisioned. It was during this building process that my brother was diagnosed with testicular cancer and my mother with breast cancer. Thankfully they both overcame it but shortly after this, my mother was told she was prediabetic with high cholesterol and high blood pressure – This was a huge awakening for me. It was at that moment that I took the initiative to dive in and educate myself further in nutrition, with high hopes in helping her.

My whole life I saw my mother take medication after medication and nothing seemed to make her better, just temporarily fixed what was going on at the moment. I was fortunate enough to have her trust me in guiding her with nutrition/personal training and after a few months she was taken off her cholesterol medication, blood pressure was under control and she was no longer pre-diabetic. That was when I learned that food and exercise is our true medicine. Through this experience I got a lot of questions and found that I really loved helping others. Little did I know that I would have an Online coaching business years later that now is what I do for a living.

I have done this while dividing my time in creating what Gains Gang is today. My vision of Gains Gang was originally founded on the idea of striving to do better and be better. Through understanding the importance of not becoming a product of sometimes negative environments; I created a community based on lifting ourselves and those around us every day; physically, mentally, & spiritually. My vision for Gains Gang Apparel is bigger than myself and I know in my heart that God is working and slowly aligning the path for us to succeed. We may not be the next big thing YET, but our team truly appreciates the support thus far and applauds everyone in their efforts/work to improve the quality of life for themselves and their local communities.

While overseeing operations for Gains Gang, Inc in the midst of Online coaching and my bodybuilding career I’m very proud to have earned my pro card recently in the WNBF. As it was by far the most I’ve ever had to sacrifice within myself but no matter how hard things got I prayed everyday & just kept telling myself day in and day out; Everything you want is already done — time just hasn’t caught up yet.⁣⁣

⁣⁣Through this journey I got to know God, found my faith my forever people that have now become family. If I ever had the chance to do it all over, I would do everything the same. Never underestimate the true power that is within true discipline and sacrifice. I am now currently 9 weeks out from my Pro Debut and we are not looking to just come/compete, but win. Besides being excited about that upcoming show and possibly qualifying for a Worlds Championship, I am excited to launch our next series of summer clothing and go even harder on bringing my vision to life with Gains Gang Apparel.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Cafe 21 in Downtown, SD. The Gym SD – Pacific Beach. Humberto’s Taco shop on 43rd St. Sushi Deli 1 in Hillcrest. Tiki Port in Ocean Beach. Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
First and foremost; my husband and COO of Gains Gang, Anthony Nuño – for all the extraordinary work he’s put into creating the business with me. Ali Vongsathian from Lift Squad Apparel for helping me get things situated / off the ground starting with the basics of creating an apparel brand. Debbie Augustine from BPI Custom Printing for being a trustworthy contact and all-stop shop for our company since the very beginning. Coffee Crew Co & Nothing To Lose Podcast for bringing me on their shows as a guest speaker to share my story. Veronica DeLeon for honing her craft in Physical Therapy. Helping me recover – starting from working on me from her kitchen floor to now representing Thainamic Bodywork in San Diego. Nayef Amhaz, co-owner of Wholesale Nutrition Center, for all his genuine support and always being a lending hand to everyone he meets. & For the sake of having the whole family eat, shout out to HXG Detail for starting their own Car Detailing business from the ground up. – ” Y’all don’t hear me doe. ”

Recommended Books:
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz, The Third Circle Theory; Purpose through observation by Pejman Ghadimi. Relentless by Tim S. Grover, The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin.

Recommended Podcast: MFCEO / RealAF by Andy Frisella ( literally changed my life )

Website: www.GainsGangInc.com
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/YazmenNuno
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/YazmenNuno
Youtube: https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=lGrGL1qoJRs

Image Credits
Ali Vongsathian, Anthony Nuno, Nick Colvii

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