Nick Naimo is a passionate personal trainer at the MUSAC health club who loves travel and can’t start the day without a large cold-brew coffee.

Nick has worked at the gym for the past three and a half years. In his role as a personal trainer, he works one-to-one with rehabilitation and fitness clients and supervises the gym and classes. He wears many hats in between, including chatting to students and community members, giving out advice, and implementing improvements to the customer experience. He also graduated from Macquarie with a Master of chiropractic and works part-time as a Chiropractor when he’s not at the gym.

“If I’m in PT mode, I’m working with clients who have all kinds of fitness and health goals from multiple different backgrounds. I take them through their exercise routines and guide them through whatever struggles that might be going on that week,” says Nick.

He also loves to travel and is excited to get back out into the world. His most memorable trips have included visiting tea plantations in Sri Lanka, attending The Day of the Dead festival in Mexico and hiking in Canada. The featured image was taken in Joffre Lakes in British Columbia, Canada at just one of countless blue lake hikes he and his fiancé did while travelling his favourite travel destination to date – the Rocky Mountains.

1. Something you’d like staff to know about
Our small group program Mac40. It’s been up and running for about 18 months now and we’ve built a really strong community of members, including quite a few Macquarie staff, who love to stay fit and push themselves in the gym every day. The program includes a combination of weights, running, cardio machines and outdoor exercise routines condensed into a 40-minute session, 6-days a week. The classes run three times daily and include weekly workout challenges that we use as fitness assessments. To find out more, check out the website (https://sport.mq.edu.au/pool-gym/premium-fitness-programs), or simply head on down to MUSAC and ask about starting a free trial of the program.

2. Something you feel proud of
Finally getting through my master’s degree after spending way too many years at university.

3. Something people usually ask you when they find out what you do for a living
“Do you get to train all the time at work?” Unfortunately, no! To be fair, I’m not usually tempted to jump into a class we’re running or train with a client, because I secretly don’t like training that much and I find it hard to get motivated, as much as the next person.

4. Something you’ve read recently that has had an impact on you
“We are not nouns, we are verbs” – Oscar Wilde. I came across this quote recently, which was a great reminder that we’re not defined by what we do, because what we do is always changing. This is definitely true for me as it took a good 10 years to find a career path I enjoy.

5. Your definition of success
Being in an ever-changing role that’s flexible while being surrounded by like-minded people.

6. The first person you go to for advice (and why)
My fiancé Ellie. She’s great at seeing the bigger picture when I get stuck on the small stuff. She also somehow knows what mood I’m in before I do.

7. A website or app you can’t live without (and why)
Google sheets – it is invaluable for what I do day-to-day, whether it be fitness programming for clients, planning projects, or making a quick to do list.

8. Where you live and what you like about living there
I grew up in Leeton on a citrus farm, but now I live in Annandale. Annandale has the perfect balance of being super quiet but also conveniently close to lots of things. I love exploring the area which is full of historic buildings, parks and cafes.

9. A personal quality you value in others
Someone who is great at getting people together to hang out and do things. It’s so important and something I’m bad at!

10. I’m happiest when…
There are no plans for the weekend and it’s great weather outside. Sleeping in (to an astonishing 7am), followed by coffee and an unhealthy breakfast is my happy place. I love cooking something in the kitchen or eating out at one of our many local cafes in Annandale. If I’m cooking, I can’t go past making BLTs, potato hash, frittatas or an avocado toast with scrambled eggs. If I’m out at a cafe, my go-to is usually going to be the big breakfast.