Tasia Percevecz on Pivoting Careers: “It was one of the easiest decisions of my life!”
As a former three-time Games athlete, Haley Adam’s right-hand woman, CrossFit coach and a key component of the philanthropist effort at CrossFit Mayhem, Tasia Percevecz has worn many hats in the functional fitness industry. Her most recent endeavor kicked off this month, although it’s been a seemingly long time coming to step into such alignment.
Growing up as a gymnast, Percevecz didn’t feel empowered when it came to her nutrition choices, and “all I knew was trying to not eat and be small.” she said. Later in her athletic career she connected with the founder of M2 Performance, Mike Molloy, who changed the game for how she viewed food and fueling her body, and would ultimately spark her goal of becoming a full-time nutrition coach.
“I had spent a lot of my life under-eating and so I was finally starting to understand protein and carbs and fat and all these things. And just seeing how it really helped me in my CrossFit career was something that was a pivotal moment of really just recognizing the power of nutrition that we have in our lives,” she said.
“Also, realizing that there’s not much taught to us as young women or young men and women growing up…there’s so much confusion in the nutrition space. So seeing the power of it in my life as a competitor, and then also once I transitioned out of being a competitor, how my nutrition changed and needed to adjust to a lifestyle that was different than that, was really kind of the spark of just the complexity that it’s so individualized for each person.”
Leaning into this interest, Percevecz left the Cookeville training goliath to pursue her passion as a career earlier this year. And while a change of identity certainly carries its own challenges, “it was one of the easiest decisions of my life”, she said.
“I have had a passion for helping and connecting with people for my entire life,” she continued. “My own life experiences and struggles have molded so much about how I think about nutrition. I hope to empower more people to become the healthiest versions of themselves.”
In February of 2022, the Memphis-based coach started the Nutritional Therapy Practitioner program, and became an NTP on November 10th. The 10-month, instructor-led, fully online program focuses on functional, holistic nutrition and addresses a variety of factors related to social, physical and emotional health. In addition to working closely with Molloy for a long time, having a bachelor’s degree in biology and currently taking the Precision Nutrition course, Percevecz plans to continue building on her education in the years to come.
“Life is really short, it’s fleeting. And so to be pursuing something that you really care about, you really enjoy, is really a privilege and a blessing and something that I’m so grateful I’m able to do,” Percevecz said. “…There’s something really exciting about getting outside your comfort zone and trying something different.”
And while entrepreneurship requires a certain level of resilience, responsibility and creativity that may be different than being a part of a larger organization, the focus on helping others remains a constant.
“Food is something that every person on the entire planet deals with,” she said. “(I have) Just a deep desire to help people who may have gone through similar situations as me, or just want to know more about nutrition, who want to be healthy and just connecting with people is something that I’m super passionate about.”
For more on Percevecz’s approach to working with clients, working through identity changes and the challenges she’s overcome so far in building a business from the ground up, tune in to our live interview from November 11th and check out her website for more information.
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