Meet Taylor Nishikawa of Costa Mesa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Taylor Nishikawa.

Hi Taylor, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My husband Daniel and I met at 24 hour fitness back in 2015. At the time, he was the number two trainer for 24 hour fitness in the US. So, when we got married in 2017 we decided to go private! We started Focus Athletics in 2017, and worked out of a private facility in Newport Beach for a few years, until Covid happened and the world shut down. We then pivoted to running our business out of our home gym starting early 2021. During that time our clients seemed to really enjoy the privacy of our home garage gym, and out of that we came up with the idea of our private pods! Fast forward to 2024, after praying and searching for the right building for over two and a half years, God finally opened up the door for us to have our first location in the heart of OC. We wanted to create a one stop shop for all things health, wellness and fitness like nothing we had every personally seen or experienced before. Aesthetic was huge for Taylor as she has a very creative background from running photoshoots out of her house, to interior design passions, personal styling, music and much more. It was important for us to create a space that when you walk into it, you feel calm, at peace and not overwhelmed. We like to say that if a Pilates and yoga studio had a baby with a gym, that that is what Focus aesthetically looks like!

At Focus, we believe that it is important to focus on all of these areas to be the healthiest version of yourself, not just one or the other. We wanted to create a community where out trainers are happy, their clients feel comfortable, and our members are getting the best experience they could have at a private gym. We created private pods which is a similar concept to renting a salon chair for a hairdresser. Personal trainers are able to rent these pods for a more exclusive one on one experience with their clients, and able to customize their mini gyms to fit their expertise and personal branding. We also have recovery services such as a private cold plunge room, two private red light infrared sauna rooms and much more to come on our second side opening in 2025! We also have our large open gym area to be utilized by other one on one trainers and clients as well as our exclusive private memberships that we offer. Community is huge for us at Focus, and we strive to maintain a fun and welcoming environment, and making sure that we only offer the best to those walking into our facility. We really are just excited to see how God is going to use FOCUS to help those in our city be their healthiest and strongest selves and hopefully help change the lives of many!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
NOT AT ALL! 2.5 years of waiting, praying, discouragement and tough decisions. From barely able to pay our bills in 2019, to the world shutting down in 2020, to every building we thought was the right fit not wanting to take a risk on a start up. Being told no for years, 2 kids later wondering if this was even the right career path for us as it just wasn’t happening. In January 2024 we gave ourselves one more year to find the right building, and make this dream come to life or we were going to sell our house and move out of state and figure out what was next. Instead, six months into that one year, God made a way when there really wasn’t a way. To say it was a miracle is an understatement. From the right business partners coming into our life, to the right landlord willing to take a chance on us, to our contractor coming out of residential back into commercial just to help literally build this dream for us… The way the details aligned is really indescribable!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Daniel is one of the owners and founders of Focus. He was born and raised on the island of Kauai! He got his massage therapy license before going onto getting his kinesiology degree, nutrition degree, and 9 other certifications on top of everything else! He specializes more on the functional side of fitness, but incorporates his massage, physical therapy and mobility techniques with his clientele. He’s known not only being an insanely talented personal trainer and one of a kind in the fitness industry, but also one of the happiest and joyful people you will ever meet. He LOVES helping people, and using his gifts and talents to help others grow and be healthy. Whether that’s training his own clients, or helping other trainers grow and succeed in their careers, he just loves to give back to anyone around him.

Taylor is the wife of Daniel and one of the other owners and founders of Focus. She was born and raised in the Midwest, and originally moved to CA to pursue her music career, and then pivoted to getting a business degree and following her creative passions alongside her love of fitness! I’m most proud of my husband and all that he has done to get to this point in his career. Watching his dream come to life is one the greatest blessings of my life. I believe our passion for the industry, our innovative thinking and our desire to combine fitness, community, wellness with aesthetic is what sets us apart!

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
We see boutique gyms, and fitness/wellness facilities becoming more prominent all over the US. People are becoming more aware that they can’t just workout and that be enough to look and feel your best. That it also matters how you are fueling your body and that you are getting the right nutrients (nutrition), how you take care of your body post exercise (recovery services), and how you train and workout (mobility, stretching, functional fitness).

We see more and more commercial gyms struggling if they are just looking to make money and not focusing on the community aspect, or the trainers and people working out of their facilities. People in general have a desire to connect, be happy, and find something they are passionate about. So, creating an atmosphere where people feel that, and feel comfortable working on themselves no matter what stage of life, not feeling judged or criticized is so important!

Pricing:

• $199/month for a private membership at our facility – includes: towel service, unlimited private cold plunge room access, unlimited red light therapy sauna sessions, and access to our open gym/cardio/weightlifting area

Contact Info:

• Website: www.focus-athletics.com
• Instagram: @focusathletics.oc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61563455175535
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/focus-athletics-costa-mesa
• Other: https://www.peerspace.com/pages/listings/66e13e9571bcfe6b6d78ebf6