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Kristen “KP” Simmons

@builtby.kp

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NPC Bikini Athlete | Entrepreneur
Building the life and body I promised myself.
Aka @kpsimmons_

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NPC Universe 2025 💙🌎

Fourth Place for me at my 2nd National Show with @coachedbynk @nickkoeu_

3rd call outs in 2023 to Top 5 2025 is a huge accomplishment. I promised myself next time I stepped on a national stage I would be competitive. And I was.

Not only am I proud of the progress I made since my last season I’m proud of the improvements we made in 4 weeks between Atlantic States and Universe. 🙏

On a human level of course 1st or 2nd would have been a dream. But it wasn’t my time. I deserved the placing I got and I’m grateful for the experience. To share the stage with such amazing athletes & of course for the support from everyone in my corner. 💙

Whether I got first or last I knew I’d be ending this season with more work to do. This experience is exactly what it was meant to be.

More photos and posts to come. Just my initial airport thoughts now that I’ve had a moment to catch my breath. ✈️ 💭 Excited to be a stage wife again in 11 Days for @builtby.rs at #npcteencollegiatemastersnationals ❤️

Coach: @coachedbynk @nickkoeu_
Posing: @theposingportal
Makeup: @beautynhorror.official_
Shoes: @theshoefairy_
Suit: @toxicangelzbikinis
Extensions: @lexi_solosalon
Blowout: @bbauerhairlounge
Tan: @icetanningmakeup
Photos: @fitx_imagery taken in LaGuardia Airport by @builtby.kp

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a year ago

I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last decade. And really the last 13 years. It’s been a ride and I’m so grateful for all the opportunities, clients, and friends I’ve made along the way.

Today was my last hair date of 2025 and as I shift my focus to pursue other areas of my life I’ve decided 2026 I will not be scheduling any hair dates.

Please see @lexiperryhair & @hairbyblake for all your hair needs in Chicago, @lindseymudge if you’re in Florida and @drgmakeup in NYC. It’s been a pleasure getting to pass along knowledge to some of the most talented, kind, and hard working people I’ve ever met!

You can keep up with me on @kpsimmons_ and YouTube xo taken in Chicago, Illinois by @builtby.kp

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10 months ago

At the mercy of technology.

If I’m not in front of the camera, I’m probably behind it. Laptop open, phone in hand. Pretty much me in my natural habitat.

Funny because I used to be the girl who wasn’t tech savvy. Didn’t know how to use half these things, wasn’t “good at Instagram” and definitely never imagined how much of my life and work would revolve around them.

But here’s the thing. They’re skills. You learn them. You get better. You figure it out as you go. How you do one thing is how you do everything.

Kind of crazy what you can do with these little devices. Build a business, share your journey, coach someone through theirs, connect with people you’d otherwise never meet.

We talk a lot about the downside of being so connected, but there’s another side to it.

Are you consuming more than you’re creating? Comparing more than you’re connecting?

Nobody is better equipped to tell your story than you are. And the same device you’re using to watch someone else build their life could be the very thing you use to build yours.

The opportunity is literally in your hands.

I think you should go for it xx taken in Chicago, Illinois by @builtby.kp

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10 days ago

If you’ve ever wondered what coaches make, let me tell you—it’s a lot more than money. 🫶🏻

Btw I have a few coach spots available comment READY if you’re ready to end 2026 the way you promised yourself. Xx taken in Chicago, Illinois by @builtby.kp

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12 days ago

If you’ve ever wondered what silence can do to a person, let me reintroduce myself.

Silence can fill someone with shame that was never theirs to carry.

It can make them question their own voice. Their instincts. Their worth. It can follow them into every room long after everyone else has moved on.

Silence can nearly destroy a person.

But what someone does in that silence can rebuild them.

It’s where the work nobody sees happens. Where a body is built. Where resilience is earned. Where a person begins creating an entirely new life from the inside out.

That’s why I keep rebuilding. Why I try again and again and again—even after I’ve been burned, even when I overshoot, even when I have limitations that would justify quitting.

I’m 32 now, and I’m still affected by something that happened when I was 19. Healing never meant it stopped mattering. It meant I stopped allowing the shame to make my decisions for me.

Bodybuilding became a physical expression of that choice: keep showing up, keep doing the work, keep rebuilding what no one else can see yet.

We all have a story. Some have never been spoken. Some were spoken and never truly heard. But if you’ve ever wondered why someone moves through life with so much intensity, strength, or determination, remember: you may be witnessing everything they had to build in the silence.

So the next time you look at me and wonder why—

Don’t.

Think: no FUCKING wonder. taken in Chicago, Illinois by @builtby.kp

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14 days ago

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17 days ago

Listen up, ok? by @builtby.kp

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17 days ago

The thing you’ll notice about my clients is that they’re not surface-level relationships. 🤍

Amy and I go all the way back to hair school. She’s worked with me before, and this time she came back after having her son because she wanted to feel like herself again, get stronger, build a healthier routine, and be the kind of mom who felt strong for him too. 🫶🏻🥹

And that makes this one extra special.

The first time we worked together, the gym intimidated her and we stuck with at home workouts.

This time?

She was sending me form videos.
Working on execution.
Adding weight.
Getting stronger.
Pushing herself outside of her comfort zone. 👏🏼

Just another way to measure progress!

In three months, she:

lost 6.9 lbs
gained 1.1 lbs of skeletal muscle
dropped 4.5% body fat

A true body recomp. ✨

But the bigger win is that she became more confident in the gym, more consistent with her habits, and stronger in a way that has nothing to do with the scale.

She came back wanting to be stronger for her son. 🤍

And she did exactly that. 🥹

Consistency compounded. And she’s just getting started. 🙌🏻

So proud of you, Amy.🤍 taken in Chicago, Illinois by @builtby.kp

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19 days ago

It’s been a minute. This episode is a full catch-up on everything that’s happened over the last 12 weeks post show — training, gut health, coaching changes, food, mindset, and honestly a pretty major identity shift.

This improvement season has looked nothing like I expected. I’ve had to change my inner dialogue, rethink what “doing what’s required” actually means, rebuild trust with myself, and learn how to be an active participant in my own process again.

Right now I’m taking a break from formal coaching, waiting on GI testing, rebuilding my food tolerance, refining my training, and figuring out what this next phase looks like in real time.

There’s a lot more I want to unpack in future episodes, but this is the high-level update on where I’ve been, what’s changed, and where I’m headed next.

I’m back. 🤍

New episode is live. Link in bio 🤍 taken in Chicago, Illinois by @builtby.kp

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23 days ago

This one is really close to my heart.

Some of you may recognize @lindseymudge as my former assistant. And yes, she has experienced an incredible physical transformation—losing more than 100 pounds.

But when we caught up recently and heard her explain where that transformation began I honestly had no idea I had that much of an impact on her.

I never formally coached Lindsey. There was no program, plan, or weekly check-in. We simply spent a lot of time together—and she says I became the first example in her life of what health could look like.

That means more to me than I know how to explain.

This began before I had reached so many of the goals people associate with me today. Before I fully understood that coaching would become such a meaningful part of my life.

Lindsey did the work. Every decision, every difficult day, and every step forward belongs to her.

But knowing that the way I was living may have helped her see something different for herself reminded me just how far our influence can reach, even when we don’t realize anyone is watching.

I am so incredibly proud of you, my girl. Not only for how much your life has changed, but for the woman you chose to become. 🫶🏼🩷😩 taken in Chicago, Illinois by @builtby.kp

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23 days ago

It’s not too late to join. Link in bio!! taken in Frankfort, Illinois by @builtby.kp

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24 days ago

Remember when our Facebook statuses were Mayday Parade lyrics? am I old?

📸 @glimpsesbybrooke taken in Chicago, Illinois by @builtby.kp

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24 days ago