Nick Sturniolo of Space Camp Wellness: The Mindset of Radical Authenticity That Drives Lasting Digital Influence

At times it feels like wellness or elevating one’s well being, is diametrically opposed to high achievement and high performance in one’s career. The stress, mental energy, long hours, lack of restful sleep and preoccupation that result from a high-achievement life seem to directly inhibit wellness. And yet, in order to sustain the creativity, flexibility, mental acuity and resilience that are necessary for high performance, wellness and wellbeing of the mind, body and soul are also mandatory. So how do we achieve both? This is the question I’m hoping to answer through conversations with high-achieving leaders and influencers who are practicing their own philosophies about how to maintain their wellbeing.

As a part of our series about “Social Media Influencers Share Their Top Self Care, Wellness, and Beauty Tips, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nick Sturniolo.

Nick Sturniolo, best known for his comedic and entertaining content with triplet brothers Matt and Chris, all together known as the “Sturniolo Triplets,” has amassed a following of millions for his authentic presence and silly personality.

As a prominent figure in the social media space, Nick has always emphasized the importance of wellness and taking care of his mental health. For the first time, Nick is pursuing a venture of his own called Space Camp Wellness that shares this love of self-care with his audience while aiming to create a more sustainable and gender-inclusive beauty community.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory of how you came upon this career path to where you are today?

I am a very sentimental person in so many ways and growing up I constantly tried collecting memories on my ipod and posted them online. As my brothers and I grew up, I started to organize my photos into making real content like photographs and vlogs during family vacations which eventually then turned into our youtube channel. During the pandemic our YouTube channel took off and we haven’t looked back since.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Of course! There are so many people I am grateful for. Of course my triplet brothers Matt and Chris because I wouldn’t be able to do anything I do without them, my older brother Justin, and my mom and dad for always supporting our crazy dreams. When my brothers and I first started becoming something on the internet we met our manager Laura who has helped us through every part of our career since the day we met. I am super grateful for all of these people in my life and more!

It has been said that sometimes our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story with us about the most humorous mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson or take-away did you learn from that?

Luckily, I can’t think of any major mistakes! I am grateful that my brothers and I have always ricocheted ideas off of each other. We’re always working everything out together and thinning through the best case scenario.

As an influencer, you have been blessed with great success in a career path that many have attempted, but eventually gave up on. In fact, perhaps most people who tried to follow a career path like yours did not succeed. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path but know that their dreams might be dashed?

The best piece of advice I can give someone who wants to follow their dream in content creation would be to make sure they are always having fun. I truly believe my content life has been incredibly successful because I am 100% authentically myself and having fun doing it!

Can you share with our readers some of the strategies you’ve used to build an engaged, loyal, and large online community?

I am so grateful for my community. I can honestly say I don’t understand why I have been blessed with such a loyal and amazing community. My goal has always been to entertain and inspire people. I would say the best strategy is to always post content that you also enjoy equally to your community. If you like what you are creating and doing there is a high chance there are people out there who also enjoy watching it!

Ok thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview. In my work, I focus on how one can thrive and care for oneself in three areas: body, mind, and heart. You are a busy person with a demanding schedule, can you share with our readers two self-care routines, practices or treatments that help your body thrive? (Kindly share a story or an example for each.)

I love this question. Filming videos, laughing with my brothers, and going for walks are my favorite practices for self-care. Filming content helps my body thrive because I am always moving and doing something quick. Running around and joking with my brothers is just about all the working out I do. Going on daily walks helps to get me moving and as an added bonus, I love being outdoors. I know for certain my body tells me “thank you” after I go for a walk outside.

Can you share with us two routines that you use to help your mind or heart to thrive? (Kindly share a story or example for each.)

This is an easy one for me — first, putting my phone away and spending time with people I love. Second, trying something I’ve never done before. Putting my phone away and spending time with people I love really helps me enter a better headspace, it helps me clear my mind and gives me a fresh start. After putting my phone away, even only for a bit, I come back with an amazing attitude and more creative ideas. Doing something new is also helpful because I feel it working different parts of my brain I never get to use. Sometimes sticking to a routine/schedule can make my life feel very consistent so breaking out of that loop is fun, exciting, and changes my perspective.

Can you help articulate why self-care is so important for your mental wellness?

Self-care is 100% important for mental wellness because most self-care activities are often the activities we look forward to in life! I feel much more positive for days after doing even one of the things I listed above and that’s the best part of life!

Can you share five ideas that anyone can use “to feel beautiful”?

1. Don’t compare your physical qualities to anyone else’s

• There is a beauty standard on the internet that does not exist and should not be a real thing. Everyone is beautiful in their own way and people forget about the beauty in themselves when they compare themselves to other people on the internet. Don’t compare yourself to others — although it’s hard (I do it too) — as it is very important for your mental health and body image.

2. Talk to friends

• Talking to friends, spending time with them, laughing and hanging out always helps me remember that friendships are the most valuable part of life and constantly reminds me of my worth, value, and beauty. They are an amazing way for you to never forget that!

3. Buy / wear a new outfit

• Sometimes something as simple as buying a new article of clothing or a whole new outfit unlocks a new level of confidence and feeling beautiful!

4. Try a new skincare routine

• For me personally, washing my face or putting on moisturizer helps me feel like I’m taking progressive steps towards a clean and healthy routine. Even though you may not see immediate results, doing something simple like washing your face really helps me feel more beautiful.

5. Do something you love doing

• Going out and having fun can always be good for mental health! I feel like a lot about physical beauty has to do with mental beauty. Doing something for your mental health can make you feel more beautiful.

Is there a particular resource, a practitioner, expert, book, or podcast that made a significant impact on you and helped you to thrive? Can you share a story about that with us?

Honestly as silly as it sounds, any type of drag artists in the media helps me thrive a lot. I love Drag artists because it is truly people being fearless and 100% themselves — that makes me so happy and helps with my own creativity.

As an influencer, you are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.

I feel like the number one thing for everyone is to feel happy and comfortable. Something that would bring out the most amount of good in people would be simply for people to be less judgemental. I think most people steer away from what they truly love out of fear of being judged or criticized.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world with whom you’d like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this. :-)

Literally any drag queen lol. I have so many questions.

What is the best way our readers can follow you on social media?

Following my Instagram and TikTok accounts — @nicolassturniolo, my brand’s accounts — @spacecampwellness, or going to mine and my brothers’ YouTube channel — @sturniolotriplets

Thank you for these fantastic insights. We wish you only continued success in your great work!

About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher, and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness, and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.