Small Business Spotlight

ardent /är′dnt/
adjective
1. Expressing or characterized by warmth of feeling; passionate.
2. Displaying or characterized by strong enthusiasm or devotion; fervent.

Claire Bible is a Niceville native who attended Plew Elementary, Ruckel Middle School, and Niceville High School. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology at the University of Florida. While attending the University of Florida, she worked as a strength and conditioning coach at a local gym and met her future husband at a Gator baseball game.

Her bachelor’s degree program required a full-time internship, which she fulfilled by being a strength and conditioning coach with Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at Duke Field. Claire loved it, but quickly learned if she wanted to make coaching the military a career, she needed her master’s degree. Equal to the challenge, she graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2020 and began her master’s degree program in 2021. 

Claire and her husband were married in 2021. After they were married, she began working in a local Gainesville gym while completing her master’s degree. What started as a job became a defining experience. She witnessed a toxic gym culture. The atmosphere of competition, comparison, body image obsession, and restrictive diets, ran counter to everything she believed in.

During this time, Claire and her husband began to think deeply about the kind of life they wanted to build together. Claire’s gym experiences, their strong Christian faith, and their desire to plant roots in one community, led her to reconsider a career in military strength and conditioning, which would require frequent relocation.

Claire realized she was called to something different. In 2024, she and her husband made the decision to move back to Niceville to be closer to family and start something new. It was there that Claire stepped fully into her calling. A leap of faith, a dream, and a mission led her to open Ardent Performance, her own gym where she could set a new standard and create a supportive, welcoming environment for all.

Claire, her family, and friends transformed a garage/warehouse space into a gym in one month during the summer of 2024 and opened in August. After networking, talking with past connections, social media, and word of mouth, Claire began with 23 clients. Ardent Performance now has 68 clients.

Claire says entrepreneurship can be lonely and not as glamorous as some might think. She loves what she does but keenly feels the responsibility to staff, clients, and herself. Ardent has three coaches including Claire, one nutrition coach, and a client experience coordinator.

Claire says the beginning was difficult and there were the inevitable “what ifs”. She says it can be overwhelming when you do all the jobs. If she had to do it over again, she would have surrounded herself with people who were on the same journey of entrepreneurship. In a like-minded group, you can discuss the good and the bad and how to get to the better times ahead. The best decision she made was investing in her mentor. A gym owner in Ohio, who is years ahead of Claire, enables her to learn lessons from him before she has to go through them herself.

Ardent Performance is meant to be a safe and welcoming place where the relational aspect of training is of critical importance. Individual training and small group training provide the highest level of rapport with clients. Claire says her gym could grow to training 80 people in her current space, but she doesn’t want to sacrifice the style of training to accomplish growth.  Ideally, Claire envisions a new customized space to keep the training personalized.

Her goal is to take the intimidation factor out of training. Ardent Performance wants to walk alongside everyone no matter the age, background, physical condition, health status, or experience level. 

When asked what she would advise other entrepreneurs starting out, Claire emphasizes building relationships with integrity and care. Trust comes first and everything else comes second.

She also thinks strong systems are important. Clear boundaries and consistent standards ensure that both clients and coaches feel supported and treated fairly. Scheduling and navigating medical pauses when life circumstances affect training requires setting clear expectations. This transparency allows Claire and her team to do what they love and care for the people entrusted to them.

Above all Claire wants her clients to feel safe, comfortable, and unintimidated. She wants them to understand what muscles they’re using, how movements should feel, and how it connects to everyday life. Weight training should be accessible and fun. Claire wants to counteract the misapprehension that getting weak with age is normal, or getting osteoporosis is normal, or not being able to jump rope after having a baby is normal. She says everyone has different goals. Time and circumstances change our bodies. Comparison, even to the way your own body “used to be”, is not productive. It’s never too late for anyone to start getting stronger.