Conversations with the Inspiring Sydney Smith and George Peterson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sydney Smith and George Peterson.

Sydney and George, please share your story with us. 
The idea of Nourish first developed when we were living in Southern California. Both were native New Englanders, we were exposed to concepts and ideas that were thriving out west but were not as developed back home. The most intriguing concept we were introduced to was creating a space that integrates multiple ways to achieve overall well-being. For us, these were in particular yoga, meditation, and nourishing food!

During this time, George was teaching yoga and meditation at Deepak Chopra’s Center for well-being and I was diving into the flavors of not only the West Coast but healthy eating habits in general. While in California, we decided that our focus would be to absorb as much knowledge and energy there and in turn, use our experiences to add value to our community back home.

Then, in the Spring of 2016, we moved back to my hometown to grow some roots! We decided to start our business locally on Cape Cod for a few reasons. I grew up on the cape, and if you talk to people who grew up on Cape Cod, they will tell you that there is “NOTHING” to do in the off-season! Secondly, with George being an individual in long term recovery, we wanted to provide a platform for people to thrive, especially in a place that has struggled with addiction problems. Ultimately, we wanted to create something fun and different for the community to do and simultaneously bring their body’s into balance. So, we decided to start a pop-up event company. Each event includes 3 habits that we believe can shift your mind and body into balance: yoga, meditation and a 3- course plant-based meal alongside quality conversation. This concept brought us excitement and we were anxious to dive right in!

So, as George entered the yoga community on the Cape, we tested out our concept to see if this was actually something that interested people. Sure enough – people were super excited! By late winter of 2018, we had our first 3-hour event. After that day, we had people interested in holding private parties as well as attending our public- ticketed events on and off Cape. We are super excited to have a business that can potentially take us anywhere – allowing anyone at any time to participate in self-care and have fun!

As of right now, George and I are extending our roots to Rhode Island! We bought a home in Providence are super excited to expand our community. We think it is a great middle mark to reach people from Boston, Cape Cod & New York!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth journey! For the past 2 years, we have been living with my parents to save money and really focus on Nourish. Sometimes, it feels like a setback, sometimes, it feels like motivation! We both also have full-time jobs and trying to find time to run events, develop a website, create merchandise, test recipes and market the company can become overwhelming- fast. This year, I have really focused on setting goals and getting out of my comfort zone. It’s easy to try to play out every single concept in your mind, but continuously taking action takes much more courage and stamina. I would suggest to someone who is just starting their journey to just DO IT! Everything happens exactly how it is supposed to, overthinking it and trying to make it perfect is just putting more stress on yourself than necessary. If you are really feeling stuck, find people who are already successful and ask questions. Nine times out of ten they have already done it and can help you get over the bumps. As Jim Rohn says: “success leaves clues” – really get into the mindset that you are already successful and that confidence will propel you forward. When I am stuck in self-doubt or discouragement, I try to remind myself that every single person on this earth has something unique to offer and it is a NECESSITY that it is spread to the masses. I believe that once more people realize this and do it, we will create true peace and abundance from the inside-out!

What should we know about Nourish: A Mindful Experience? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
At Nourish, I would have to say that I am the creative half of the project. George has his way of moving the masses verbally, while I am the person behind the scenes decorating, cooking and marketing. The concept of cooking professionally is something new to me. I grew up in a large Italian family, there was always food around – I was making homemade gnocchi’s at the age of 5, but producing food for people to not only pay for but enjoy, is super unfamiliar to me. Even though my journey into the chef’s coat is unconventional, I am proud to put food into people’s bodies that I am confident about and that can help them thrive.

One thing that I have often seen is people who are meat-lovers enjoy a fully plant-based meal. It can be such an obscure idea for a lot of people yet – it’s just fruits and veggies! For people to gain control of their own health is an extremely powerful thing- seeing people surprised to feel energized and satisfied after a 3-course meal that strictly plants, is super exciting. You can see people challenging themselves which means they are going through some sort of transformation, which is really cool to see.

I think what I am most proud of, however, is the community we have created. During our meals, we allow a dialogue to happen. These people may or may not know each other, yet it becomes an open forum for people to feel safe to ask questions, tell stories, share laughs and learn. George and I have found in our own lives that the more meaningful conversations we have with people, the better quality of life we have. We have noticed, once our guests have done yoga and meditated, they sit down at the dinner table and feel open, settled and ready to bring more good stuff to the conversation.

The concept of Nourish is super unique because we are always mobile. We bring everything to you, all you have to do it show up! I think people are starting to realize that without proper self-care, we can create some serious harm to our bodies. With a space like Nourish, they can partake in a wellness retreat – in just 3 hours! We feel as though this amount of time is enough for your body to shift into balance without having to commit the entire day to us.

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I feel like it has become an innate behavior for women in our society to question themselves, let their ego or fear get in the way and pause their dreams. One of my mentors, Marie Forleo tells stories about when she first started her business. She challenged the way her corporate profession was set up for a female and decided to change it. This was super risky but necessary – and it paid off! She is now one of the most successful female business entrepreneurs out there. Nothing is set in stone, just because the social norms of our culture creates barriers, does not mean they can not be challenged. Every single action in life is a choice – positive or negative. Unfortunately, there have been unjust choices towards marginalized groups and that creates some major setbacks. But I feel like if we bring these issues to the forefront, talk about them and realize that they are there – we can make a change. It’s okay to be challenged, but once you have confidence within yourself that your presence is valuable, then you can move the masses, and kick some serious butt in your industry. We have some powerful females making moves currently, but if more and more come to the forefront, that energy is contagious, that barrier will crumble sooner than later.

Pricing:

• Pricing for each event changes depending on the location & the meal but will range somewhere from $50.00-$100.00 per person

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nourishcapecod.com/
• Email: sydney@nourishcapecod.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Nourish.capecod/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nourish.capecod
• Other: https://www.georgespeterson.com/

Image Credit:
Samuel Earp, Nicholas Norton

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