All About Nate!
Hey guys, Remi here!!
Recently Nate and I made a video where we cleared up some assumptions about Nate. Have you seen it yet? We wanted to go into a little more detail and share a little more of Nate’s story and why he is the way that he is.
Some of the most common assumptions we got were, “It’s difficult to make Nate laugh” or, “Nate comes off as rude,” or — probably the most frequent of all — “Nate seems really mean and tough, but really, he’s a big teddy bear.”
I’m here to tell you that Nate most certainly does laugh and sounds like an old man. He has a different sense of humor than me (i’m more silly and goofy), and he likes jokes to be like an onion and be able to peel the layers and have a deeper level. He may come off as rude, but that’s only because he’s a huge introvert. He stays quiet but he’s one of the best listeners I know. OH and one thing is for sure, he can’t stand fake people and has no shame telling it to your face. While it’s true that he works really hard and has a hard exterior, he’s the sweetest, kindest person with a lot of love to give.
To give you a bit more insight on Nate, I’m going to have him take over this blog now and tell you how he got into fitness and his not so basic history :P
The Beginning of My Fitness Journey
My fitness journey has been an absolute roller coaster fueled primarily by trial and error. The only thing that has been consistent is that not one single thing has come easy. I have failed, had gigantic setbacks, near-fatal injuries, lost everything, and gotten last place more times than I can count. Hell, I even almost drowned during a swim practice with 12 and 13-year-olds. But, I’ve learned a lot in the process.
I have been surrounded by some of the most incredible athletes, coaches, and fitness gurus from all backgrounds that have motivated and inspired my methods of movement-practice and teaching all across the board.
As early as high school I speculated that my Pop-Tarts, Lunchables, and Spaghettios diet might have something to do with my inability to make sports teams or gain any muscle mass whatsoever. I was scrawny and uncoordinated without a single fast-twitch muscle fiber in my being. Luckily, I found a spot running the long-distance events for track and field (because nobody wants to do those). Running long distances requires little to no athleticism whatsoever. This allowed me to become a somewhat competitive runner over the years by tapping into sheer work capacity and grit.
What I Learned From My Time in the Military
It wasn't until I was on my second deployment in Afghanistan that I realized the utmost importance of being physically fit. Being bigger, faster, stronger, harder to kill is all that mattered — it’s what let you stay alive.
Physical fitness became a way of life and a means of survival. I learned very quickly that abs and beach body goals are insignificant — having the ability to get out of life or death situations by utilizing my body in an efficient manner proved to be a little bit more important than looking good.
While I was deployed on a boat for several months, I started picking up muscle magazines and reading fitness blogs. Then, I borrowed a couple of personal trainer textbooks to read — to this day I have not utilized one single element from them. The only purpose that the ISSA and NASM textbooks served was to help me to earn my credentials.
When I got out of the Marines, I had no idea what I would do — I packed my sea bag in my car and just drove to Los Angeles. I figured there were a lot of fit people in LA — it seemed like a good place to be. I was living on Venice Beach (literally on the beach) — right in the mecca of fitness and weightlifting for several weeks before I decided to start my brief stint in college.
After a month of anatomy and physiology class, I had finished my textbooks and found Google to be far more informative and time-efficient than going to four-hour lectures. So, I quit showing up to school and instead started working and getting hands-on experience with training people.
Becoming a Fitness Professional
After my active duty ended in the Marines, I struggled with finding a sense of purpose. I found a disciplined and regimented structure as a CrossFit competitor that really contributed to my coaching style all around. From 2016-2019, I won a functional fitness world championship, made over 20 podium finishes in the competitive CrossFit circuit, and qualified individually for the CrossFit games West Regional, finishing 160th in the world and 35th fittest individual male in the West region.
From 2015-2019, on a professional level, I trained, programmed, and created nutrition templates for people from all backgrounds— from bikini competitors to collegiate athletes to fighters. I held gymnastics, and nutrition seminars and ran women's self-defense programs at corporations such as Google.
The broad spectrum of fitness studios and gyms that LA has to offer provided me the opportunity to coach and learn such a wide array of functional fitness. In any given day I could be found coaching anything from Crossfit or weightlifting classes; Instructing boxing and HIITX, I even ran booty blast and TRX classes in a yoga studio.
In addition to coaching all of these elements, I always wanted to be learning new components to put into my own toolbox. So, I would frequently sign up for random fitness classes around town — anything from pilates to rowing studios or versa-climber gyms. Not only did they make me more versatile as an athlete, but they allowed me to expand my knowledge and understanding of fitness in more areas. From the moment that I stepped into classes, I would be a sponge- soaking up different coaching cues, techniques, programming, coaching styles, flows, and stretches. All of this information I gathered from these different fitness professionals of various backgrounds allowed me to build a pretty extensive fitness database.
My fitness database is what allows me to continue bringing kick-ass-fun workouts that simply help others on their own personal health and fitness journeys — not for a better life now but for years and decades to come.
My Near-Fatal Accident and Recovery
But then, a near-fatal motorcycle wreck in 2017 pulverized what I thought was the absolute fittest version of myself. I walked away with a concussion, two fractured fingers, a fractured thumb, a broken wrist, a ruptured testicle, a hip/pelvis dislocation, and a torn/strained glute and groin. This incident served as a pivotal point in my fitness journey in more ways than one.
It forced me to start all over again and rebuild everything from the ground up. I did not go to physical therapy or anything — in fact, I bought another motorcycle two days after the wreck and was riding with a brace on my hand because I needed to work, and I couldn't afford to stay home in bed. I spent the next four-five months doing my own physical therapy on my hip and groin — building myself up stronger than I had been before and learning so much in the process.
The experience also shifted my mindset and gave rise to an “I get to” mentality. “I get to move my body every day” became a huge driving factor behind a lot of success both athletically and professionally.
After rebounding from my injuries, I was able to qualify for the CrossFit games West Regional. After an intense and un-guided eight weeks of competition preparation, I was the only athlete to show up for the competition without a coach. I had just enough money to ride the train to the Del Mar fairgrounds, where I slept in the athlete tents for the weekend. My goal when I started with CrossFit was to qualify for this competition and compete against the top athletes in the world.
When the weekend ended, I had pushed my body past its safety mechanism to the point of “rhabdo” (rhabdomyolysis), which meant that I had broken down my muscles so severely that the muscle enzymes made their way into the bloodstream — which is apparently not good. My urine was dark brown like coca-cola for a few days after. I had compound stress fractures in my shin, as well as multiple tears in my labrum, supraspinatus, and infraspinatus (pretty much my entire rotator cuff/shoulder). I got onto a train back to LA carrying a cardboard sign with my name on it, my entire shoulder covered in KT tape, and about $6 to my name.
After regionals, I took a long time off training, and to this day I haven't touched a heavy barbell. I did primarily cardiovascular training like rollerblading with my dogs and swimming in the ocean only — which led to me losing about 20-25 pounds. After several months, I had a brief competitive boxing stint at the amateur level. After getting my brain scrambled during my fifth fight, doctors said that maybe combat sports weren't the best idea for me, refused to sign a physical waiver for me to continue fighting, and recommended that maybe I take up yoga or Zumba instead.
Exercising with no foreseeable competitions or goals in sight was fine for several months, but I was soon drawn to registering for a triathlon. I spent three months in moderately hard training and found the long sustained efforts of running, biking, and swimming to be somewhat meditative. I wound up finishing 14th in a field of over a hundred in the pro division.
Who I Am Today
My professional and athletic defeats and successes both have brought me where I am now. I seek to implement the most diverse training methodologies to everyone who trains with me.
My current credentials are:
Pain-Free Performance Specialist
ISSA — International Sports Science Association
NASM — National Academy of Sports Medicine
ACE — American Council on Exercise
AFPA — American Fitness Professionals and Associates: Nutrition and Wellness
Crossfit Level One
USA boxing
TRX suspension trainer
My mission is, has been, and always will be to motivate and inspire others to reach their full potential in their own personal health and fitness journeys so that they can not only lead a better life now but for years and decades to come. It’s why I harp on longevity and sustainability so much! What you do today to improve your fitness and what you do this month for your nutrition can either be of short-term benefit or long-term health success. I am in it for the long game.
Disclaimer: Beware the “Nice Coach”
Beware the “nice coach.” I think that a lot of people are used to meeting a salesman at 24-Hour Fitness who wants to be their best friend so they can get your credit card information.
I'm not here to tell people what they want to hear. I teach and inspire all things fitness and wellness, and I don't sugar coat things. I only provoke individuals to tap into their full potential. That doesn't always come through smiles and telling you what you want to hear. It’s going to come through hard work, grit, and a lot of sacrifice. A “nice coach” is not going to motivate you to be your best every single day. But that doesn't mean that we don't have a shitload of fun!
So bottom line: Am I a “nice coach?” Absolutely not. But I’m a damn good coach. I care about the people I work with, and I am dedicated to helping them succeed and reach their fitness goals. I may be tough, but I’m patient, caring, and dedicated to helping others tap into their true potential to the fullest.
Thank you guys for checking out this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it, and I hope it cleared up some assumptions you may have had about me. Now go out there and kick some ass today — but make sure to have some fun while you’re doing it.
Nate