At BOLD n’ Bitchin Medical Spa, rooms are decorated with different themes, aesthetics are a number-one priority and personal empowerment is encouraged. 

BOLD n’ Bitchin’ opened on Oct. 1 with a mission to provide aesthetic beauty operations for both women and men across Summit County. 

Though the name is attributed to owner and creator of BOLD n’ Bitchin’, Ariel Strickler, the medical spa is a collaboration between several beauty professionals focused on image enhancement and procedures. 

Strickler, born and raised in Summit County, opened the medical spa through the help of Julie Mckenzie, who came to Summit County in middle school. The two played volleyball together through high school, eventually winning a national championship together. 

As time went on, the two separated. Strickler left Summit to go to school at Vanguard University in California where she received her business degree. Afterward, she moved back home and graduated from the College of International Aesthetics in 2014. 

Strickler then spent some time at a local spa to get more experience until she left to become an entrepreneur under the name BOLD. 

BOLD comes from an idea Strickler had in college when she was tasked to come up with a hypothetical business. It stands for “beauty, opportunity, lifestyle and discipline” and ended up being the name of her first business as an eyelash technician. 

Strickler ran BOLD out of her parents’ house until she had enough clients to expand. Soon, she secured a 200-square-foot office with no windows. “I was like, ‘It’s perfect, everyone’s eyes are closed,” Strickler laughed.

The transition inspired Strickler to become more than BOLD. 

“My mom and I were talking, and we were like BOLD n’ Beautiful, BOLD n’ Bougie, BOLD and blah, blah, blah,” Strickler recalled. “And then we drank a couple glasses of wine and it turned into BOLD n’ Bitchin’.” 

Strickler said she did receive some backlash about the name but she stood her ground. 

“I’m not changing my name,” Strickler said. “My clients are great, no matter if you make a million dollars or not, I want to treat them as if they’re a high-end client, and my name is not to deter that.”

Strickler has successfully run her business since 2016 and has secured a list of regulars and out-of-town clients. Eventually, she grew her business to the point where the 200-square-foot space was no longer enough room. As Strickler began to look for other options, she realized that her practice could expand if she partnered with a medical director. 

That’s where Mckenzie entered the picture. 

As an esthetician, Strickler is not able to perform botox or filler unless there is a medical director involved in her practice. During her search for a medical director, someone mentioned Mckenzie’s name. Strickler immediately reached out and found that Mckenzie was already in the process of searching for someone like her to work with. 

Mckenzie works as a physician at Swan Mountain Women’s and Family Center but has a history within the aesthetics field. When a previous student, Liya Flage, reached out looking for a business partner, Mckenzie decided all three — herself, Flage and Strickler — could work under one roof. 

Mckenzie and Flage operate through their business, June Aesthetics, while Strickler operates under BOLD n’ Bitchin’. However, all are partners under the BOLD name, thus helping each other further their careers.

Soon after, Strickler secured a 1,300-square-foot-space right next door to her 200-square-foot office, and Mckenzie gave her name the green light. 

“I think she has a brand, and then anyone who knows Ariel, it fits her,” Mckenzie said. 

The name has also been integrated throughout their business space. Strickler said their company’s style and mission is unlike any Botox or filler company around the county. 

“There’s nothing really like this,” Strickler said. “There’s a couple places around the county that do Botox, but they’re usually crazy booked, and it’s not really a specialty to the beauty side of it.” She added that most estheticians in Summit County work through dermatology offices where people can be diagnosed, and there’s more of a medical emphasis on procedures. 

BOLD n’ Bitchin’, on the other hand, is centered around beauty, aesthetics and image to help clients achieve a more enhanced look, Strickler said. 

“We hold true to the name of being a medical spa,” Mckenzie said, “Which means everything is done to sterile technique, and safely and knowing the anatomy, knowing how to protect their patients, because these are not low-risk procedures.”

To bring home their beauty brand, however, each room has a different theme. 

There’s a cow print room, a room with lash decals and neon lighting, a room that Strickler said is more “male dominant” for male clients and also a whole celebrity mugshot wall. Strickler called their office a little more “warming” than a traditional doctor’s office. 

Many different options are available through their practice such as lash extensions, Botox, fillers, chemical peels and more. According to Strickler, standard Botox goes for around $300, fillers around $500 to $800 and bi-weekly lash extensions cost around $100. 

Interested folks can make appointments via their website, at BOLDnBitchin.com. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day of the week except Sunday, when they close at 2 p.m. Folks can also follow on Instagram at @BOLDnBitchinMedSpa and Facebook at Facebook.com/BoldMedSpa.

Though appointments are encouraged beforehand, Strickler said they do accept walk-ins. 

“I think it’s kind of a cool thing,” Mckenzie said. “These two women that have been in Summit County a long time coming together and starting a business — there’s not too many of that. So we’re excited to kind of be a rare form.”