Today we’d like to introduce you to Andi Byers.
Hi Andi, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
If you look at my career on paper, it looks like I’ve done a little bit of everything however, there has always been a common thread through all of it and that’s people.
I spent 22+ years in the Air Force, and throughout my career I had opportunities to lead, teach, mentor, and work with people from all walks of life. My interest in health and wellness eventually became a business of its own. I originally started DIP Fitness & Nutrition (Diva In Pink) where my focus was fitness and nutrition.
In 2020, I survived sudden cardiac arrest. My health changed significantly afterward, and so did my perspective on wellness. I was now navigating chronic illness myself, and fitness and nutrition were only part of what being well looked like for me. As I changed, I realized my business needed to change too. That’s when DIP Fitness & Nutrition became Chronic & Iconic Coaching.
The rebrand reflected where I was in my own life, but it also gave me room to do the work I really wanted to do. Chronic & Iconic allowed me to expand beyond fitness and nutrition into a more holistic approach to wellness, coaching, stress management, personal development, speaking, writing, and the work I now do with athletes.
Today, I’m an author, speaker, coach, holistic wellness practitioner, and founder of Chronic & Iconic Coaching. My work has continued to grow and evolve because I have too. I don’t believe wellness looks the same for everyone, and I definitely don’t believe being able to function means everything is okay.
I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned along the way is that you don’t have to have everything figured out before you move forward. I certainly didn’t. Some of the biggest changes in my life came from realizing that what worked for me before simply didn’t fit anymore and being willing to do something different.
That has been true for my health, my career, my business, and honestly, for me as a person.
Chronic & Iconic today looks very different from DIP Fitness & Nutrition, and I’m sure it will continue to evolve. I’m okay with that. I’m building something that continues to meet people where they are while staying true to why I started doing this work in the first place. At the end of the day, I want people to walk away from anything I create knowing they have permission to want more for themselves. For me, that’s what “You deserve more than fine” means. You deserve a life where you’re not just functioning your way through it, you actually get to experience it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. There have been a lot of pivots along the way, both personally and professionally.
One of the biggest challenges has been learning how to build a business while living with chronic illness. My body doesn’t always cooperate with my calendar and that can be frustrating when you’re someone who is naturally driven and always has another idea you want to bring to life. I’ve had to learn how to adjust without automatically seeing an adjustment as a setback.
I’ve also had to learn that being capable of doing something doesn’t mean I have to do everything. That one is still a work in progress. Entrepreneurship makes it very easy to wear every hat, say yes to every opportunity and convince yourself that everything needs your attention right now. Eventually, I had to become much more intentional about where I put my time and energy.
There have been plenty of business lessons. I’ve launched things that worked and things that didn’t. I’ve changed direction, outgrown ideas and had to make decisions without knowing whether they were the “right” ones. I’ve learned that sometimes growth looks less like adding something new and more like being willing to let go of something that no longer makes sense.
Probably the hardest adjustment has been accepting that I can still be ambitious without constantly pushing myself past my limits. For a long time, slowing down felt like I wasn’t doing enough. I now understand that I can have big goals and still take care of myself while I pursue them. It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road but I don’t think I would have the business or the perspective I have today if everything had gone according to plan.
As you know, we’re big fans of Chronic & Iconic Coaching. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
The name is probably one of the most personal parts of my brand.
When I rebranded, I wanted a name that acknowledged the reality of what I was living without allowing it to define me. “Chronic” represents the things we may live with that don’t simply go away: chronic illness, stress, trauma and other challenges that become part of our lives. “Iconic” is the reminder that those things can be part of your story without becoming your entire identity. Both can exist at the same time.
That same belief shapes the way I coach. I don’t believe in pretending the hard things aren’t hard. My approach is holistic and realistic. I look at the whole person—their health, stress, habits, mindset, responsibilities, environment, goals, and what may be getting in the way. You can have the perfect plan on paper but if it doesn’t work with your actual life, it’s not a very good plan.
My goal is to help people understand what they need, recognize what isn’t working, and make changes they can actually sustain. Sometimes that means changing a habit or pattern. Sometimes it means accepting that the version of you that exists today needs something different than the version of you from five years ago.
Chronic & Iconic Coaching is really about helping people live and feel better in a way that makes sense for their actual life.
I work in the space where wellness, stress management, nutrition, movement, mindset, and personal development overlap. Depending on the person, that can look like one-on-one coaching, nutrition support, stress and performance coaching, workshops, speaking, or more hands-on wellness and recovery work. I also work with athletes, which I love because it allows me to combine wellness with performance, recovery, nutrition, and the mental side of competing.
What sets me apart is that I don’t approach people from one lane. I have a background in nursing, nutrition, fitness, corrective exercise, coaching, and performance, but I’m also a process improvement person by nature. I’m always asking: What’s actually happening here? What isn’t working? And why?
I think that’s important because sometimes the problem isn’t a lack of effort. You can give someone the best meal plan, workout, morning routine, or stress-management technique in the world but if it doesn’t address what is actually happening in their life, eventually it becomes one more thing they feel like they’re failing at. I don’t want that.
My job isn’t to make someone dependent on me or convince them that I have all the answers. I want to help them understand themselves well enough to recognize what they need, make better decisions for themselves, and have tools they can continue using long after our work together ends. That’s also why I don’t have a one-size-fits-all approach to coaching. Two people can come to me with what looks like the exact same problem and need completely different things.
I think my lived experience adds another layer to that. I’ve been the healthcare professional, the coach, the athlete, the caregiver, and the person sitting on the other side needing help myself. So when someone tells me, “I’ve tried everything,” my first instinct isn’t to assume they haven’t tried hard enough. I want to understand what they’ve tried, what happened, and what we may be missing.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
There are several ways to work with me. I offer coaching, nutrition and wellness services, athlete performance and recovery support, and transformational programs and experiences for individuals and groups.
Speaking and teaching are also a big part of my work. I’m available for keynotes, workshops, masterclasses, corporate wellness programs, and events. I speak about burnout, stress, survival mode, chronic illness, self-abandonment, and what it actually means to be well. I’m especially passionate about conversations that move beyond awareness and give people something they can actually use when they leave the room.
I’m also open to collaborations with organizations, brands, athletic programs, and other professionals. If we can create something useful, start a conversation that matters or reach people who need what we’re offering, I want to talk about it. I’m still building, creating and allowing Chronic & Iconic Coaching to evolve. I don’t know what every next step will look like. I just know I want to keep doing work that feels like me, helps people in a real way, and gives me a reason to keep asking, “Okay…what’s next?”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.chronicandiconiccoaching.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chronicallyiconiccoach/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chronicallyiconiccoach
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-b-53392190?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@chronicallyiconiccoach?si=Fm0eDCy2aGcmcHxP
