Today, I’m joined by Julia Nimocks, co-founder & CEO of Freaks of Nature.
Co-founded with surf champion Kelly Slater, Freaks of Nature is building performance skincare for outdoor athletes — leveraging microbiome-driven formulations for skin longevity.
In this episode, we discuss designing a technical skincare brand for the athletic consumer.
We also cover:
Why athletes are underserved in skincare
Crafting microbiome-first formulations with PhD expertise
Scaling lean with contractors over full-time employees
The Fitt Insider Podcast is brought to you by EGYM. Visit EGYM.com to learn more about its smart fitness ecosystem for fitness and health facilities.
Chapters: (00:00) Introduction
(00:46) Julia’s background and operator journey
(01:19) From Billie to Freaks of Nature
(02:20) Why skincare for outdoor athletes made sense
(03:09) Building with the Squared Circles team
(04:11) Core product portfolio and evolution
(04:41) The white space in athletic skincare
(05:52) Microbiome-driven formulation philosophy
(06:44) Sunscreen and moisturizing serum as foundation
(08:15) Expanding into deodorant category
(10:45) Kelly Slater as co-founder and brand ambassador
(13:15) Authenticity in athlete partnerships
(15:45) Distribution strategy and retail approach
(18:15) Building lean with contractors
(20:45) Revenue per employee efficiency model
(22:21) Incentive structures and team dynamics
(24:48) Protecting scrappy startup mentality while scaling
(26:34) 2026 roadmap: product launches and team growth
(27:31) Expanding “Freak Faces” athlete ambassadors
(28:21) Where to find Freaks of Nature
(28:35) Conclusion
We break down how fitness, wellness, and healthcare are converging — and what it means for business, culture, and capital.
No thanks.
A smarter way to track the future of health.
Built for founders, executives, investors, and senior operators.
Subscribe to Fitt Insider
{"head":"<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':\r\nnew Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],\r\nj=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=\r\n'https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);\r\n})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-KV7LDXC');<\/script>\r\n<!-- End Google Tag Manager -->\r\n<script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':\r\nnew Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],\r\nj=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src=\r\n'https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);\r\n})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-T7J5HFB');<\/script>\r\n<!-- Meta Pixel Code -->\r\n<script>\r\n!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\r\n{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\r\nn.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\r\nif(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\r\nn.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\r\nt.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\r\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\r\n'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\r\nfbq('init', '605118897773201');\r\nfbq('track', 'PageView');\r\n<\/script>\r\n<noscript><img height=\"1\" width=\"1\" style=\"display:none\"\r\nsrc=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tr?id=605118897773201&ev=PageView&noscript=1\"\r\n\/><\/noscript>\r\n<!-- End Meta Pixel Code -->","body":"<!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->\r\n<noscript><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/ns.html?id=GTM-KV7LDXC\"\r\nheight=\"0\" width=\"0\" style=\"display:none;visibility:hidden\"><\/iframe><\/noscript>\r\n<!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->\r\n\r\n<!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->\r\n<noscript><iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/ns.html?id=GTM-T7J5HFB\"\r\nheight=\"0\" width=\"0\" style=\"display:none;visibility:hidden\"><\/iframe><\/noscript>\r\n<!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->","footer":"<script type=\"text\/javascript\" id=\"linkedin-script\">\r\n_linkedin_partner_id = \"4087129\";\r\nwindow._linkedin_data_partner_ids = window._linkedin_data_partner_ids || [];\r\nwindow._linkedin_data_partner_ids.push(_linkedin_partner_id);\r\n<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n(function(l) {\r\nif (!l){window.lintrk = function(a,b){window.lintrk.q.push([a,b])};\r\nwindow.lintrk.q=[]}\r\nvar s = document.getElementsByTagName(\"script\")[0];\r\nvar b = document.createElement(\"script\");\r\nb.type = \"text\/javascript\";b.async = true;\r\nb.src = \"https:\/\/snap.licdn.com\/li.lms-analytics\/insight.min.js\";\r\ns.parentNode.insertBefore(b, s);})(window.lintrk);\r\n<\/script>\r\n<noscript>\r\n<img height=\"1\" width=\"1\" style=\"display:none;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/px.ads.linkedin.com\/collect\/?pid=4087129&fmt=gif\" \/>\r\n<\/noscript>\r\n\r\n<script async data-id=\"101397610\" src=\"\/\/static.getclicky.com\/js\"><\/script>"}
We use cookies
We use necessary cookies to make this site work. With your consent, we also use analytics and advertising technologies to improve the site and measure marketing.
