I worked in, you know, restaurants through high school, through college, and I wanted to own my own chain of restaurants.

So when I got out of school, I really wanted to work for Marriott because they had the best training programs at the time.

And so I lobbied. I didn't get a job initially. And I went back multiple times to be specific 12.

From ABC, it's no limits.

I'm Rebecca Jarvis, and each week we're talking to the most bold and influential women playing at the top of their game,

trying to demystify success and what it really takes to get there.

And all of the tradeoffs, whether you're looking for answers or you just want to hear a good story, you're in the right place.

On today's episode, I always like to highlight the road less traveled.

So we're looking today at the unlikely path one woman took to running one of

the most popular fitness and lifestyle brands in the country. Equinaig's CEO, Nikki Leandakis, grew up

in Western Massachusetts, dreaming of eventually owning her own restaurant chain. She worked in her

family's diner and early on as a fry cook at Hardee's before spending many years post-college running and managing hotels.

But she got a call recently out of the blue and it set her on a completely different path.

Here she is to tell you her story.

Nikki Leandakis, welcome to No Limits.

Thank you. You are now a little over a year into the job as CEO of Equinox. Tell us about the job, why you came. Your background was in the world of hospitality. My entire career has been in hospitality. When the opportunity to join Equinox came about, I really just looked at the fact that, you know, what we do at Equinox is so closely aligned with my personal mission and my ultimate purpose, which I've become more and more clear on as I've, you know, taken on leadership roles over the years that what really gives me joy and satisfaction is

making a difference in people's lives and helping people just optimize their potential,

become their best self. And that's exactly what we do at Equinox. We help people maximize

their highest potential. Something you mentioned that really strikes me is you said you worked to find your

personal mission.

How did you get there?

What were the steps you took to really know?

...