Moving and Grooving with Nicole
Moving and Grooving with Nicole.on.the.go
As Nicole.on.the.go, Nicole Cooper is all about inspiring women to be on the move, to be active, and to participate in life. That includes golf.
We met up with Nicole at her home course at the Hidden Valley Country Club in Salem, VA. She was hilarious, thoughtful, and full of energy.
Nicole lives in Roanoke, VA, at the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley, and she loves it here. As she put it, “We’re working so hard to build up our outdoor community and invite people to come and enjoy all things outdoors, including golf, hiking, and mountain biking.”
Nicole used to be a teacher who taught children how to use and embrace technology, and she now applies this same skill set as a digital creator, making a buzz on social media.
During the pandemic, Nicole got the idea to spearhead a women’s group named “The Sports Broads,” where she encourages women to find joy in fellowship, being active, and keeping moving.
“We know it sounds like ‘sports bra,’ and that’s not by accident,” she said. “It’s all about full support! The term ‘broad’ is a broad term, and so we are welcoming, accepting, and supportive. We have no diet talk, no weight loss talk. It’s just movement. It’s just joy.
“When I first started to golf—and I’m still a terrible golfer—I shared photos of myself out on the golf course,” Nicole continued. “Representation matters. Nearly every time I would come out and share a photo on my social media of me on the golf course, I got responses, direct messages, comments and sub threads, and text messages saying they saw me out here.
“These women would say, ‘I want to golf with you sometime,’ or ‘Can you teach me?’ or ‘I haven’t played in so long.’ So it’s really important for me to continue to share being out here, not because I’m great, but because it encourages women to come into this space and play this game.
“My feeling is golf’s survivability depends on its adaptability,” Nicole told us off-handedly. “I was for a long time notoriously anti-golf. I used to have this idea that golf was a stuffy, old man’s sport, but now I’ve found that it isn’t like that when I show up to do it.”
Beautiful, intricate tattoos lace Nicole’s arms and legs. She shared how important these have been in her journey to loving herself and her appearance.
“My first real tattoo was on my upper arm. I chose that because I was always subconscious about my arms and my body, and so I took ownership of my body. I wanted to not be ashamed of my arms. I decided to start decorating them. I kind of reclaimed them with every tattoo. I decided I’d celebrate my body and decorate it.”
Nicole gets tattoos to document her adventures while celebrating herself—New Orleans, Azores, Ragnar races. Even a brilliant mermaid queen adorns her shoulder. She proudly calls them “souvenirs that don’t need dusting.”
As we wrapped up our lovely day over a meal at the Village Grill, Nicole gave us some words of wisdom regarding using social media to uplift and inspire.
“When I go for a walk, I’ll look to take a picture of something along my way,” she said. “Since I walk the same route every day, I find that setting the intention of taking a photo gives me a chance to look for things that I haven’t seen before. It helps me see things from a different angle. I always find something and do something that I didn’t expect. It’s all about staying authentic and positive. I try to never ‘yuck on anyone’s Yum.’
“This is how I do my social media. It keeps me accountable and keeps me connected, which I think are really important if you are making movement a priority. Stay connected to your communities, and stay curious!”
To learn more and be a part of this movement, follow Nicole on Instagram @nicole.on.the.go and check out the Sports Broads on Facebook. Stay curious and keep moving!
