Bold Journey Magazine
We recently connected with Jaclynn Budreck and have shared our conversation below.
Confidence is a word that gets thrown around pretty casually these days. A lot of people talk about “faking it until you make it” as the key to becoming confident. To a certain extent, I agree with that in the short term. Sometimes you have to take action before you feel ready. But long-term confidence can’t be faked.
Real confidence comes from evidence. It comes from building trust with yourself and proving, over and over again, that you can do hard things.
For me, the easiest and most powerful way to build confidence has been through strength training. When you walk into a gym and lift a weight you once thought was impossible, you start changing the way you see yourself. When you wake up at 6 a.m. and go to the gym instead of hitting snooze or scrolling on your phone, you’re keeping a promise to yourself. Every time you follow through, you build trust.
That’s where my confidence and self-esteem have come from. It doesn’t come from positive affirmations or pretending to have it all figured out, but from consistently showing up and doing the things I said I was going to do.
The beautiful thing is that it doesn’t have to be anything extraordinary. Confidence isn’t built through one massive achievement. It’s built through small acts of discipline repeated over time. Every workout completed, every uncomfortable conversation had, every goal followed through on becomes evidence that you’re capable.
That’s why I’m such a believer in the weight room. It teaches a lesson that applies far beyond fitness: confidence comes from evidence, and evidence comes from action. Sometimes the first step to believing in yourself is simply picking up a weight and proving that you’re stronger than you thought.
Hi there! My name is Jaclynn Budreck, and I am the Founder and CEO of CHXX, the first sisterhood for the weight room.
CHXX started as a college organization after I noticed a major problem: women weren’t avoiding the weight room because they didn’t want to be there—they were avoiding it because they didn’t know where to start, felt intimidated, or simply didn’t feel like they belonged. My mission became simple: change the way collegiate women view the weight room.
I believe the weight room is one of the most powerful confidence-building environments in the world. When a woman learns how to strength train, take up space, and trust herself under a barbell, that confidence doesn’t stay in the gym—it follows her into classrooms, interviews, boardrooms, and every other area of life.
What makes CHXX unique is that we’re not just teaching women how to lift weights. We’re creating a community that makes them want to stay.
Everything we do revolves around three pillars: Lift Up Yourself, Lift Up Your Friends, and Lift Up Your Community.
Lift Up Yourself focuses on education and personal growth. Every month, members participate in workshops covering topics like strength training, nutrition, confidence, goal setting, and personal development.
Lift Up Your Friends is our accountability system. Members are paired with lifting partners who encourage one another to show up, stay consistent, and build meaningful friendships along the way.
Lift Up Your Community connects women with local gyms, fitness professionals, and businesses. We organize events that bring people together, support local organizations, and create opportunities for women to expand their networks both inside and outside the gym.
At its core, CHXX is about much more than fitness. We’re building a generation of women who are stronger, more confident, and willing to take up space in every room they walk into. The most exciting part is seeing the ripple effect. A woman joins because she wants to learn how to lift weights, but she leaves with confidence, friendships, leadership skills, and proof that she’s capable of more than she ever imagined.
We’re currently focused on expanding CHXX chapters and continuing to grow the movement so that more women can experience the power of strength training, community, and accountability. 
Looking back, the three things that have had the biggest impact on my journey are learning not to care what other people think, staying authentic to who I am, and saying “yes” to opportunities… even when they seem random or completely outside my comfort zone.
I truly believe that if you ask for something in this world, you can have it. Most people are simply too afraid to ask. Whether you’re building a business, pursuing a career, or chasing a dream, people will always have an opinion. Some will support you, some won’t. That’s why it’s so important to believe in what you’re doing and stay true to yourself.
My least successful moments have always been the times when I tried to fit into someone else’s mold or become someone I wasn’t. The moments that created the most growth and opportunity came when I leaned into who I am and pursued what I genuinely cared about.
For anyone early in their journey, my advice is to spend less time worrying about what everyone else is doing and more time figuring out what excites you. Know who you are, what you’re passionate about, and who you want to help. Then start saying yes to opportunities that align with those things. You never know which conversation, experience, or chance encounter will completely change the trajectory of your life.
The more you show up authentically and take action, the more confidence you’ll build. Confidence doesn’t come from thinking about doing something-it comes from doing it.
The most impactful thing my parents ever did for me was give me the opportunity to grow up riding horses.
It sounds incredibly niche, but that experience shaped almost every part of who I am today. My dad would drive me hours just so I could get to a barn and spend time doing the thing I loved most. Looking back, it wasn’t really about horses. It was about giving me the chance to pursue something I was passionate about and teaching me what commitment looks like.
Mentally, riding horses gave me a level of confidence that is hard to explain unless you’ve done it. I learned how to communicate with a 1,200-pound animal that speaks a completely different language and has the power to seriously hurt me. When you can build trust and work as a team with an animal like that, a business meeting or networking event suddenly doesn’t feel very intimidating. It taught me resilience, confidence, and that hearing “no” isn’t something to fear.
Physically, horses made me strong long before I ever stepped into a gym. As a 10-year-old girl, I was hauling saddles, pushing wheelbarrows, dragging hay bales, and learning that strength was useful… not something to hide. That perspective directly influences the work I do today through CHXX. I now help college women learn how to lift weights, take up space, and discover what they’re capable of. I’ve seen firsthand how building physical strength translates into confidence and self-esteem in every area of life.
Socially, the horse world introduced me to people from all walks of life and gave me relationships that I never would have had otherwise. It taught me how to connect with others through a shared passion and helped me build a network of incredible mentors and friends.
When I think about the opportunities my parents gave me, riding horses wasn’t just a hobby. It was the foundation for the confidence, work ethic, and leadership skills that I carry with me every day.
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