Meet Nakia Chavez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nakia Chavez.

Nakia, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have worked in the fitness industry for over 18 years. I have managed several moms and pop’s gyms across the valley. When managing these gyms I would throw small little events to help bring some exposure to the gym. With these events, I would invite some local body building competitors and pros to interact with current members of the gym. In putting on these events I established some really good relationships in the fitness community. While doing these events it was mentioned to me that it would be cool if I could find a way to collaborate my gym’s events with another gym the same day. From that came about my 1st annual event called the Phoenix Gym Crawl. Where teams of four go around competing in timed events at five local gyms in one day. After the inaugural event, I was approached by a friend who mentioned that they had an idea about putting on a fitness fashion show that would feature some local designers.

Neither one of us had ever done anything like that before but got to work on trying to make it happen. We rented a venue in Gilbert, AZ. and were all set up to put on a fashion show in the evening. Since we had the venue all day I thought it would be a great idea to bring in some vendors to set up for the earlier part of the day. They were set up for a few hours and then cleared out to set up for the fashion show. Both events went well and we were encouraged to continue putting on the event. It was suggested to me that it would be even better if the exhibitors were able to stay set up for the whole event.

The following year we moved the event to a small hall in the Phoenix Convention Center(south building) and put on a larger event that featured around 75 vendors and the fashion show. The event was a huge learning process for me and though I wouldn’t call it a failure there was so much room to improve. After that event, my associate and I went our separate ways. I wanted to continue with the event and have it encompass as many aspects of fitness as possible. With that in mind, I changed the name to The Culture Fitness & Fashion Expo. I kept the fashion show portion as I thought it was a great platform to help local designers gain exposure. I also liked the idea of allowing local people to take part in walking the runway. I added events like power lifting, CrossFit competition, and a street calisthenics competition. That was in 2018 and since then the event has tripled in size and I have added even more events like Olympic weightlifting, jiu-jitsu tournament, strongman competition, fitness classes and over 200 exhibitors.

Has it been a smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. The original event was set up with just a handshake between two friends and did not end the way I would have liked. I was left with my name on contracts that had me owing money while receiving none of the money from our 2017 event(our first year at the convention center). Once on my own, I was approached by an associate that had been part of the event as an exhibitor in the previous years and was interested in becoming an investor. Thanks to him I was able to pay off the debt I had been left with and continue to move forward with the event.

The event takes place once a year but to pull it off I am continuously working on things with the event. Looking for sponsors, new event and trying to fill all the booths. Having so many events, exhibitors and companies involved there is almost always some kind of fire that arises that needs to be put out.

Tell us more about the business.
Other fitness expos visit the Phoenix area and what I feel sets my event apart from them is that I care about the exhibitors and business owners that take part in my event. The bigger expos come into town, charge a crazy high rate for exhibitors and then leave town. I, on the other hand, live here, personally know a lot of these small business owners and want nothing more than to see them succeed. My goal has always been to give small local businesses an affordable event that they can all take part in and hopefully it will help grow their business. This coming year I have also teamed up with United Foodbank and will be donating $2 from every ticket sold to them. Each year as the event grows I hope to include a different charity to help out locally.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
The event is just a one day event right now but in the next few years, I would love to be able to make it a two day event and add even more events to it.

Pricing:

• Exhibitor booths range fro $300 – $500
• Tickets will range from $15 – $20

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thecultureffe.com
• Phone: 480.494.3587
• Email: thecultureexpo@yahoo.com
• Instagram: The_Culture_expo

Image Credit:
Jamshed Sami

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