Meet Jacqueline Norfolk of Wildstyle Fitness & Merlin’s Divine Chocolates

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jacqueline Norfolk. 

Hi Jacqueline, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My move to Denver is what ignited my inspiration for Cacao & Mycology. I moved here in 2019 working in the service and bar industry at the time. I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I thought I would be making more money working in downtown Denver but that was not the case. With the stress of not making enough money, I started drinking almost every day since I was in the bar environment. The habitual drinking began to take a toll on my mental health and the health of my relationships. For years I wanted to make a switch in my career to health & fitness but could never muster up the courage to fully commit. I had been on and off the fitness industry for 8 years teaching: strength training, yoga, kickboxing, nutrition, and group fitness. In October 2019 I decided that I needed to make a big change in my life. I had read a recent article on how studies were showing that certain kinds of mushrooms were helping with alcohol addiction, anxiety, depression, and PTSD. I decided to stop drinking alcohol and to start supplementing mushrooms. I was taking a blend of mushrooms consisting mainly of Lion’s mane and Reishi. The mushroom supplements really began to accelerate my awareness of my diet and state of poor mental health and give me more motivation to stay healthier. Coming from a broken home and rough upbringing I had never realized that I was numbing my pain with alcohol and addiction instead of coping with my childhood trauma. I realized I could no longer be in a toxic environment in order to heal. I quit my bar job and started working at a Kickboxing gym, coaching nutrition and kickboxing. It was a good change for me at the time but still didn’t feel like the right fit. I began to really explore the mycology world and the healing properties it provides. I stayed sober for a year and half and now only drink on special occasions. I had realized that after all the years of working in the fitness industry the gyms just wanted me to make a “sale” at the end of the day instead of actually helping people change their health lifestyles. I decided I just needed to do my own thing so in February 2020 I started Wildstyle Fitness, a fun approach to fitness and health creating sustainable lifestyle changes. I was offering nutrition coaching, strength training, all-natural mushroom supplements, and yoga trapeze instruction. I had literally started my fitness business the month before COVID happened. At first, it was really exciting to take on my own clients but my passion began to dwindle when most of my clients didn’t show up to their online zoom sessions. I had started this business in the middle of a pandemic when the fitness industry drastically changed and shifted. I started to feel like the fun in fitness was gone for me so I needed something to reignite my passion. Having always wanted to compete in a Bikini Competition I decided to set the goal for myself and do fitness for me again. When I went to compete in my first all-natural competition I was in for a rude awakening. The supposed “natural” competition was not the case. It came to my grave attention that many of the competitors were not natural and many seemed to be on steroids. The fitness industry has been taken over by pharmaceuticals, steroids, and so many other deadly chemicals. I began to see that my purpose is to inspire natural ways to attain health and fitness performance. 

My clients were showing more interest in mental health, nutrition, and mushroom supplements. My journey evolved according to the new demand for health. I started shifting my studies to mental health, holistic medicine, and spiritual wellbeing. I traveled to Peru in 2021 to deepen my knowledge in medicinal healing. I tried Peruvian cacao and studied how it was administered in their culture as well as in history, I immediately knew I had found something special. I began to study everything there was to know about cacao. In my studies, I found that there were a lot of “organic” chocolates showing that they had cocoa as an ingredient and not cacao. Cacao vs Cocoa, What’s the difference? The answer is how it is processed, heated, and manufactured. The magic of chocolate begins with the cacao beans that fruit from the cacao tree. At harvest, cacao beans are fermented to develop flavor and texture. To make cocoa powder the cacao beans are roasted at high temperatures. The end of this processing creates cocoa powder. When the cacao is processed into cocoa powder it ends up losing a lot of its nutritional value and is usually packaged with dairy, sugar, and other non-nutritional additives. In order to get the nutritional benefits, they say chocolate has you must source raw cacao, cacao beans, or cacao powder. Make sure to stay away from cocoa, cocoa powders, and cocoa liquors. Cacao health benefits: a natural mood elevator, prevents memory loss, a natural anti-depressant, helps reduce the risk of heart disease, improves blood flow, and is high in nutrition content (fiber, magnesium, iron, copper, and manganese). With all these amazing health benefits I decided to make my own all-natural cacao supplement and educate people on how cacao is a superfood. Supplementing cacao in my diet has helped improve my mood significantly and helped me stay away from processed candies when I’m in the mood for sweets. My passion is to educate people on how cacao can be a superfood and provide them with my 70% Ecuadorian Cacao supplements. 

My latest entrepreneurial venture is called Mystical Frenchies. It is an All-Natural French Bulldog Breeding & Training business. The breed can have a bad rep in the US so I am changing the name in the breeding industry and breeding for health & fitness. Most vets in the US are instructed to give French Bulldogs Sea sections during birth. However, in Europe they strictly do natural breeding with Frenchies. I take them hiking a lot and am focusing on exercising them to be “Fit Frenches”. I feed them a raw food diet and they also have their own merchandise and social media pages! 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have found many challenges in my entrepreneurial and wellness journey. After quitting drinking, I lost a lot of friends but it really helped me refocus on myself and my passion to help others. I am a firm believer that the journey is what makes you, you. The biggest thing would be financial struggle as a lot of people are experiencing socioeconomic changes. I strive to support others and their entrepreneurial ventures to develop a strong community. 

We’ve been impressed with Wildstyle Fitness & Merlin’s Divine Chocolates, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My businesses strive to inspire others to take a FUN approach to their health and fitness. The industry can be boring and full of fad diets or fitness programs that are unsustainable. I believe that everyone has their own style and can find the fitness that is FUN for them creating a sustainable lifestyle. I also educate people on how they can heal their relationship with food and implement healthier nutrition habits. I specialize in coaching people on how you can still eat the same foods you love just with better ingredients. I offer Dark Ecuadorian Cacao supplements as a natural antidepressant, all-natural mushroom supplements as a pre-workout & anxiety relief, nutrition coaching, mental wellness consulting, and yoga trapeze training. The name of my cacao business is Merlin’s Divine Chocolates. All of my products are organic, fair trade, sustainably sourced, and 100% natural. 

Pricing:

• Cacao Supplements-$3
• All Natural Mushroom Supplements-$10
• Nutrition Coaching-$40 Per Session
• Yoga Trapeze Training $40 per 1-hour session
• Dog Breeding/Training *Upon request

Contact Info:

• Email: wildstylefitnes@gmail.com
• Website: https://merlinsdivinechoco.wixsite.com/late
• Instagram: @wildstyle_fitness
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacqueline.norfolk.5/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JacquelineNorfolkwildstyle/featured
• Other: @mystical_frenchies (Frenchie Instagram)