Kendall Toole HAS BUILT A CAREER AROUND helping women FEEL STRONGER—

PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, AND emotionally.

First introduced to millions as one of Peloton’s most quotable instructors, but long before she was leading sold-out classes and cultivating a devoted community, movement was her first language.

That same connection to movement eventually evolved into a mission. After discovering boxing in college, Toole experienced firsthand how fitness could quiet the chaos in her mind and help her reclaim her sense of power. Today, as the founder of NKO Club, Toole is expanding that mission beyond workouts, building a global wellness platform focused on fitness, mental health, and authentic self-expression. Read about Kendall Toole’s journey in her C&C 100 interview below.

What’s your earliest memory of feeling connected to fitness?

I’ve always had a great deal of energy, and fitness and movement allowed me to express myself and feel powerful. It began with gymnastics and dance as a young girl. Movement felt like a place for full expression, a freedom where I could tap into a power I didn’t feel when not moving. Ironically, I was very shy as a little girl but when I was dancing or in sport my confidence soared.

When did you realize this wasn’t just something you loved, but something you wanted to pursue professionally?

It began as a means of supporting myself in the beginning. My first job after graduating USC was creating and producing global content for a massive social media startup and after making an early career pivot I knew I wanted to empower others, especially women, through fitness. A mentor introduced me to boxing in college and what began as a workout that let me express myself physically and get beyond the often chaos in my mind turned into wanting to share that experience with other women the way it helped me. After beginning to teach boxing fitness in a. Small boutique studio in LA and watching women expand in their confidence week over week I fell in love with using movement to help serve others.

What’s a behind-the-scenes wellness habit or ritual that plays a major role in how you show up each day?

Gratitude Journaling. At my lowest, a therapist suggested the power of how the brain cannot feel anxiety and gratitude simultaneously. Waking up and “priming”/ “programming” my mind to connect to the goodness of life and this human experience became an incredibly powerful lens to live through.

Many of us were first introduced to you as a Peloton instructor. When did you know the time was right to leave that brand to start your app?

While I will always be grateful for the experience and initial platform that Peloton provided during those pandemic years, I believe that when you no longer feel challenged by a role and further begin to feel constrained and restricted by it professionally (all career opportunities and experiences beyond the role had to be approved by a committee for approval first) I knew it was time to go. Equal parts wanting the freedom to grow authentically but also wanting to commit to empowering others more directly beyond just fitness but deeper into mental health and in a more authentic way helped me confirm the choice was right.

What are the most rewarding and most challenging parts of becoming an entrepreneur?

The sheer endless responsibility daily and the sheer pressure of autonomy: knowing unless you actively are moving the ball forward a few steps each 24 hours nothing happens (objects at rest stay resting unless a force is acted upon it- entrepreneurship means choosing to be the force daily) took some adjustment. Today, it fuels me, especially working alongside an incredible business partner to build not only NKO Club but also a new unannounced COG venture and more in content and media, the autonomy becomes the best part of my life now.

“Objects at rest stay resting unless a force is acted upon it- entrepreneurship means choosing to be the force daily.”

Did you raise capital for your business—and if so, what surprised you most about the process?

I am so proud to say for NKO CLUB I did not. I took a loan from myself to build the brand (the app, commercial music streaming licensing, the studios, equipment and editing support) and my goal the first year of business was to break even. I’m very proud and humbled to say I broke even on my own investment in just four months…so we are a cash-flow positive business already. That fact, of truly BETTING in yourself and taking a risk and it literally paying itself off so quickly is one of the scariest but most rewarding experiences I’ve felt in entrepreneurship so far. This is coming from a lens of only 8 years ago, living small paycheck to paycheck in LA in a friend's “basement” off a hot plate and mini fridge/microwave to being able to invest in my own brand even more special. Financial literacy was something I needed to learn quickly and I’m grateful that both investing my money the moment I had a steady salary and began building a social media brand and voice was the single smartest decision I’ve made as a woman.

When the stakes are high and all eyes are on you, what keeps you steady and confident in those moments?

Remembering it’s not about myself but what I am here to be of service to others. I enjoy “coaching/cresting/performing” through the lens of how it can help someone else feel. That’s where that inner shy child comes out at times…to be the object of attention actually makes me deeply uncomfortable so I always try to ground those moments into how can what u do or say be assistive to someone else. Both meeting and battling for my own mental health so young alongside finding a deeper meaning in my life through my faith in God are the grounding forces though all I do. If I make my life about me it doesn’t serve, but if I put my focus on “what’s good for US” I find comfort and alignment moving from that perspective.

What dreams/goals do you have for your business that both excite and scare you?

I so look forward to growing the community globally and reaching hundreds of thousands of members, incorporating and scaling new features and technology alongside truly valuable content is key but the biggest lesson is how this all takes time. It’s humbling to begin a business and realize the sheer effort behind simply finding an operational flow let alone expansion. Staying locked in on creating the best community and incredible content to help empower the community to live strong, empowered and authentic is what matters most. I know that consistency and staying laser focused on what the NKO Club members want and need consistently will get us there- it’s being patient that building a business and brand to the level I envision takes persistence and time.

How do you define success for yourself now vs. earlier in your career?

Early in my career, especially growing up in the shadow of the entertainment industry, I thought influence and a sense of “fame” meant success. But transparently now that I have experienced both the good and bad that come with influence I see it wasn’t the attention or notoriety I was after but the IMPACT that defines success and actually provides true satisfaction. If I can impact as many lives as possible to know their value, feel safe to express themselves and be confident both in their body and mind, that's the fuel that keeps me going. I am a helper. I don’t do the healing, I am not the reason someone’s life changes but if I am able to help be a catalyst or an amplifier in THEIR journey it’s probably what makes me the most fulfilled and helps define true success.