Meet Taylor Talley

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Talley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
Dahlia Fitness is a brand made by women for women. Through talking with friends, coworkers, and other trainers, I came to realize that many women do not think of physical fitness as a form of self-love. My business helps the community by giving women dedicated time and space to focus on themselves. It’s my goal to help women find their deepest inner strength so they can achieve their goals and enjoy the process of improving their fitness and changing their mindset. Growth stems from getting uncomfortable and I’d like to teach women how they can reach that place to find the growth they are looking for. Committing to your “grind” everyday is absolutely a form of self-love and care that isn’t talked about enough! It may start at home, outside, or in a gym, but it reaches further and can touch the soul if you let it. I also want to focus more on preventative care and providing reputable resources for health education to my community. Building healthy habits along with exercise is a huge part of that.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I completed my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in 2018. It’s my second degree. My first is a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. The road to finding what I want to do in life is always evolving and definitely hasn’t always been easy! I worked through college and paid for my education. My mom was a single mother and I started working at an early age which taught me to value hard work. I have always believed that hard work pays off in the end. To make sure that my brand continues to align with my message, I have chosen not to use investors. My business is solely mine and all funding for the business comes from me. It makes for a slower start, but it is the best way to make sure my brand aligns with my values. Integrity and transparency are extremely important to me.

My career as a nurse has been full of wonderful, valuable experiences. Being a nurse has given me true empathy for people from all walks of life. I see patients with chronic illness, and I am always aware of how quickly life can be taken from us all. I still work full-time as an acute care nurse, which is a woman-dominated field. Medical professionals are often struggling to find balance between work and their personal lives and giving every last bit of energy to their patients to give them the best care possible. I spent several years as a travel nurse working in hospitals across the U.S. and believe that most medical professionals suffer from burnout at some time during their career. My journey to self-love and focusing on self-care started with physical fitness and grew into a passion that I can integrate with my dedication to caring for others. The challenges I face as a nurse have led me down this path to growing Dahlia Fitness. I aim to teach women the tools that will help them focus on their own health and give women a space dedicated to their own journey to self-love and growth while balancing their work and personal lives.

I am most proud of taking the leap to become an entrepreneur! People will always have opinions and give pushback on ideas. I took the pushback as a challenge. I think I am able to take this chance on myself because I know how short life can be. I hope to serve as an example to my community that people can do anything they set their mind to and to stop waiting for the “perfect time” to start working on a dream because there will never be a truly perfect time. Change doesn’t come without discomfort, but we can learn to enjoy and even find that discomfort exciting. Hence my slogan “Find comfort in the uncomfortable.”

I want the world to know how strong women are. I want all women to feel welcome in the fitness community no matter where they are starting from. Through fitness, I want to grow women’s confidence so they may set out to achieve their own goals in life, whatever those may be.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
For a bit of breakfast or brunch booze, I would take them to Double Trouble Caffeine & Cocktails off of Main St.

For a day out, I love going to Hermann Park, the Houston Zoo, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. All are close together and easy to get to.

We would have to see the new Meow Wolf exhibit. I haven’t been yet but I have been to the exhibit in Denver and it was amazing!

A place that I have loved to hang out in since high school is Magick Cauldron on Montrose.

Walking down Montrose is a must when visiting Houston. There’s so many little shops to see and the diversity is amazing.

For a concert, I’d take them to Last Concert Cafe. Small venue and a great place to hear lesser known, up-and-coming bands.

For dinner, I’d take them Los Tios on Hwy 6 and Williams Trace. I am from Sugar Land and this place has the best Tex Mex and margaritas around!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate my shoutout to my friends Candace Brown and David Ayala.

Candace has been my best friend for twenty years and has supported me through every path I’ve taken in life! When I was in my bodybuilding show prep, she helped me by making sure she had her fridge stocked with foods within my diet plan when I would visit her. She also came to a few training sessions with me and did the workouts with me. Candace took the photos that are uploaded to my website now! She is my ride-or-die girl and always ready for my shenanigans!

As a more experienced personal trainer, David has been a mentor for me while I’ve started this path to building my business after I got my NASM certification. He’s been my personal trainer since 2019. He was integral to helping me start my own fitness journey and competing in my first bodybuilding show in 2020. I couldn’t imagine going through a bodybuilding prep with anyone else! David continually pushes and inspires me with his passion for fitness and helping people.

Website: https://www.dahliafitness.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/meet_dahlia

Other: https://bsky.app/profile/dahlia-fit.bsky.social

Image Credits
Stage images credit to Jason Oliphant Photography