Combining fitness, nutrition and therapy to meet your health goals!

Nicole DeWard

Nicole began her career in the fitness industry from the front row of a group fitness class in 2007. Her love for transformation was infectious. The encouragement of her class friends moved her to pursue her first personal training certification in January of 2008. It wasn’t long before she became certified in every group fitness format and received the USA Triathlon Certification from Colorado Springs. Her desire to serve at the highest level drove her decisions to continue learning. In 2011, she earned the NASM Certification, (National Academy of Sports Medicine, the gold standard in personal training), and became a Certified Health Coach with the Villa Nova School of Nursing. She also holds certifications in Corrective Exercise, Behavioral Change, and Group Personal Training, and will finish her Master Trainer Certification in the fourth quarter of 2019.

This obvious passion for education is driven by her love to serve her community. After gaining knowledge and experience in the field at big box gyms, she opened SHINE health & wellness in 2013. Her passion to create life transformation for clients and health professionals is the reason SHINE has been a light in her community for the past six years. Combining fitness, nutrition, and therapy in an intimate environment has allowed clients to gain success in their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.

Nicole has assisted hundreds of clients boasting over 7000 pounds lost and numerous lives taken back. While the weight on the scale is a merely a reflection of habits that either move people toward or keep people from living their best life, Nicole's loving accountability encourages clients to become the best version of themselves. She has also coached dozens of health professionals in growing their own successful businesses. Nicole leads a team both locally and nationally serving clients all over the country. Many of her coaches have left full time jobs replacing their income through health coaching with a laptop lifestyle It is her desire to see all people SHINE their light in their own world to inspire change in the lives of many.

Living life to the fullest is at the top of Nicole’s list. She has been crazy in love with her husband Josh for almost two decades. They have four amazing children who each bring their own flavor and zest to their family. The two middle children have special needs, the oldest is adopted, and the youngest is Nicole’s “mini-me.” Having such a wild mix of kids has brought many loves into Nicole’s world. She is passionate about integration with the special needs population, as well as serving in the adoption/foster community, and actively attending her son’s sporting events.

Nicole's world revolves around pursuing God's call on her life to SHINE her light. She actively serves in Tres Dias, (a Christian weekend retreat for spiritual renewal), enjoys working out, hanging out with friends, and watching movies. All of this is perfectly complete with a cup of coffee in hand. In 2020, her dream of opening a coffee shop will be complete as RISE coffee & tea comes to East Cobb next door to SHINE health & wellness. RISE is a locally owned coffee shop with a healthy flair that provides a bigger stage for people with special needs to SHINE their light. RISE will employ extraordinary people with special needs, like her Bekah, to impact our community in a unique way.

RISE & SHINE…. blending all her loves completes her recipe for a life well lived.

peg bullock

Peg's foray into massage began as, shall we say, an accident. She was in a car wreck nearly 15 years ago and suffers from two herniated discs in her neck. In an attempt to avoid surgery and manage the pain, she went to massage school and now, as a massage therapist, she helps other people feel better every day.

Peg particularly enjoys working on the neck and helping her clients alleviate headaches and migraines. Peg enjoys playing an active role in her family, and she is on her own journey to personal health and wellness, having lost 70+ pounds and gained fitness and health. Because her work is so personal to her, Peg relates closely to her clients and enjoys helping them SHINE.

kristen hill

Kristen has been active most of her life. Growing up, she was in competitive sports, transitioning into school sports in middle school and high school. That competitive spirit never died, but after having 4 kids, had to be redirected. She found herself in a gym taking classes every chance she could. Being the extrovert she is, there were quick friendships made and eventually she was asked to teach group fitness. It was a perfect fit until she and her family moved back to her old stomping grounds in Michigan. Although hesitant, Kristen found a new facility and was hired as a group fitness instructor immediately. Her passion for helping people had grown over the years, so she made the decision to become a personal trainer. In 2017 she became certified through NASM and began seeing clients right away. It didn’t take long for her to realize what her next certification had to be… so in 2019 she was certified in Corrective Exercise with NASM.

2019/2020 has proven to be a challenging year. Yet, Kristen’s love for people, helping them

become stronger, improve flexibility, gain confidence and have an overall better look at life, has only grown with her new role as SHINE's virtual trainer. During Covid, SHINE personal training had to look different, so our virtual training program was birthed. Kristen has taken over the program and is blowing everyone away with her consistency, passion, attention to detail and fun spirit. Being part of such a wonderful group of clients, colleagues and friends at SHINE has expanded her outlook on life even more. Now she feels at home again and looks forward to helping more people find their light to SHINE!

Claire McCool

Claire is 25 years old and has been brought up by her family to love the outdoors and being active. Before she started her fitness career path, she always played sports in school and loved to be competitive , not only with others , but with her self to see how she can physically, and mentally , push her self. Whether it’s hiking with her dogs, camping, or getting at it in the gym, she has always found satisfaction not only for the physical benefits, but because of the mental benefits. She then realized that she also wanted others to feel great about themselves as she does. She believes that staying active , not only will help you physically feel better, but also emotionally and mentally feel better about the person you were created to be. She believes strongly that having a healthy lifestyle means more than eating good and working out, but surrounding yourself with positive people and thoughts to become the best version of you.