Meet Kiki Athanas: In-House Nutritionist at Toronto-based healthy, fast-casual concept, Calii Love

In addition to being the in-house Nutritionist at Calii Love, Kiki Athanas is also a health writer and speaker specializing in holistic healing modalities spanning nutrition, mindfulness, and cannabis for wellness. Through working with health tech startups and wellness brands over the past several years, Kiki has advanced her education and experiences in natural lifestyle practices. She strives to inspire a new way of “mindful living” that fits today’s modern lifestyle, which she shares on her blog MEByKiki.com. Today, she leads wellness events & workshops across Toronto and is in the process of natural her new adaptogenic supplements line, Kiki Naturals.

My first job ever was… Babysitting! Does that count? I got my Mum to send me a few gigs from her fellow Mom friends — she has always been a huge support and still is my biggest cheerleader in all things work & play!

I decided to be an entrepreneur because…  I have so much passion for the things I love and being an entrepreneur gives me the ability to share this passion. I also have little flexibility when it comes to not trying everything and anything, as it relates to my greater life purpose.

My proudest accomplishment is…  I’m a firm believer in taking each day as it comes and always looking ahead with an eye on the prize. I think I’m most proud of myself for living in the moment and being present to take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. If I’ve learnt one thing, it’s that when you trust in what is and have little judgement of the past, the abundant possibilities of your future are endless — that’s exactly where I wish to focus my attention!

My boldest move to date was… Without a doubt, my boldest move to date has GOT to be quitting my full-time job. All the fine-tuned details of my soon-to-be-biz were NOT sorted out at the time, so it was a leap-of-faith. A little over a year ago, I felt the calling to “go big or go home” and in my eyes, that meant saying goodbye to a comfy monthly paycheck that, ultimately, kept me from focusing my energy on my own business dreams. It’s been an exciting and sometimes frightening journey ever since, and I’ll say this: it is NOT for the faint of heart!

I surprise people when I tell them… I want to be famous. No one seems to be comfortable just flat out saying it. When I do, I find that people are a little taken aback at how outright I am about it. 

My best advice from a mentor was… You’ve got to slow down to speed up. I am guilty of wanting to do ALL of the things. I accept and embrace that about myself — it’s one of my Human Design qualities, so no need to beat myself up about it! With that said, practicing the fine art of doing absolutely nothing is a powerful ritual that I now carve out time for. I make it a habit to block whitespace in my calendar for it. 

To me, health and wellness are… Maximizing the life in your years vs. the years in your life. Finding your purpose, alongside a supportive and loving community, is basically the golden pathway — at least in my eyes — to optimal health and wellness. Yes, I love superfoods, but it’s so much more than green smoothies and an infrared session.

“Finding your purpose, alongside a supportive and loving community, is basically the golden pathway to optimal health and wellness.”

My biggest setback was… ME! Learning to stop getting in my own way and de-condition myself from anxiety and the constant worries of daily life is now allowing me to reprogram my brain for abundance. Ultimately, this has allowed me to find peace in the present. 

I overcame it by… Practice. Meditation. Acceptance. Sit with it, sit with it, sit with it.

The best thing about being an entrepreneur is…  Definitely the freedom of making my own schedule! The fact that I can book a workout class at any time of the day I choose, is the BEST. Who doesn’t love a midday Lagree session on a weekday?!

If I had an extra hour in the day, I would… Still feel like I need an extra hour in the day.

The most fulfilling thing about my job is… Getting positive messages and responses from people who read my blogs, listen to my podcasts or attend my events. Money is nice, but knowing that I am genuinely making people feel better or somehow playing a little piece in inspiring them to BE better, is worth all of the money in the world.

The hardest thing about my job is… Knowing when it’s over. Because it never is – but that doesn’t mean I don’t deserve rest and downtime.

I stay inspired by… Interacting with my business partner in SHINE @ambernaturally.

The future excites me because… It is unknown — and that’s what makes things EXCITING!!!

My next step is… Bringing out Adaptogenic Vegan Gummies: AdaptDaily as part of my Kiki Naturals launch in March 2020.