I’m Nick and I am a personal trainer, nutritionist and most importantly a busy dad. I know first-hand how hard it is to juggle being a parent, a busy professional and still find time to prioritize my health. I have spent years figuring out efficient and effective strategies to feel my absolute best while still having time for my family and my businesses.
I became a trainer because I wanted to have the most positive impact I can have on the lives of the people I work with, helping them become the healthiest, happiest versions of themselves. I have been in the fitness industry for 10 years and absolutely love helping people reach their full potential.
After a devastating injury ruined my athletic career, I was forced to find new ways to express myself and that is when I fell in love with fitness. When I first started off I experienced first-hand the amount of misinformation that is out there. So I dove headfirst into the industry and learned everything I could, spending hours and hours sifting through case studies, medical journals and learning everything I could.
Over the years, I have worked with hundreds of busy people and have found one MAJOR consistency. People have information whiplash! The fitness industry has almost as many fads and trends as fashion, which makes it extremely difficult to find reliable information. That is why Ian and I created RyzeUP. To help people get to the scientific, credible information and resource them with the tools and knowledge they need to establish healthy habits for the rest of their lives. Ian and I have brought over 20 years of experience and knowledge and piled it into 1 INCREDIBLE program where we leave no stone unturned when it comes to understanding what it takes to feel your absolute best. I’ve dedicated most of my adult life to studying health, fitness and human performance and now I get to share everything that I have learned over the past 10 years with you!
Age:
30
City, State/Province:
Denver, Colorado
Country:
United States
Occupation?
Personal Trainer, Nutritionist and Entrepreneur
Is weight loss more of a fitness issue or a health issue in your opinion and why?
Weight loss is more of a health issue in my opinion. Fitness is a tool to help people achieve their optimal health. Movement is medicine and according to Newton’s Laws of Motion an object in motion stays in motion and that is the same for humans. Fitness in its rawest form is movement and my goal is to help my clients train in very specific ways that allow them to live their daily lives with little to no limitations
If you have 100 tokens in total and you could apply them to the following categories, how many would you apply to each?
- Fitness level: 35
- Health level: 65
Thoughts on HIIT, Powerlifting, TRX, Yoga, bodybuilding, others?
I love all styles of training. In my opinion that is what is so wonderful about fitness, that it comes in so many different styles and there is something that will literally cater to anyone. HIIT training is one of my favourites for efficiency when it comes to fat burning, powerlifting is incredible because, if done properly, can be extremely for anti-ageing and yoga is one of my go tos for recovery because a limber and flexible body, in my opinion, is the key to longevity.
Share your unique training/coaching methods?
I train people with various different methodologies. It very much depends on the client, what their goals are and what level of commitment they are willing to give to reach those goals. My overall approach consists of dynamic warm-ups movements as well muscle activation techniques to get the body primed and ready for the lift. Then throughout the week, I mix in different rep ranges to challenge my clients in different ways and to hit all of the muscle fibres throughout all of their training sessions. Then I take them through a cool-down stretch. My approach is geared towards teaching my clients performance in every aspect of their lives.
Trainer philosophy:
Train to live. Move your body in the ways that it needs to move to make your daily activities easier and so that you have no limitations when it comes to life.
Do you prefer to take and recommend all natural (no sugar, no artificial colors/flavors/sweeteners) supplements or supplements with artificial flavours and sweeteners? And Why?
I am a strong believer in an all-natural approach. Sugars and artificial sweeteners are some of the main contributors to so many diseases that so many people have and the only way to help decline these preventable diseases is to avoid the sugars and artificial sweeteners as much as possible. This has also been proven time and time again to be the best approach when it comes to your overall health.
Describe your coaches and the impact they have on you?
My coaches continually push me to grow and to become a better person, better coach and a better businessman. Working with mentors is essential when it comes to trying to become successful. They help you fill in the gaps that can sometimes go unseen and help you expand the way you approach situations by guiding you on the journey based on their personal experiences.
If you could ask Status Fitness Magazine Editor in Chief Rodney Jang any industry question, what would that be?
Why is the turnover rate in the fitness industry amongst fit pros so high?
Status Fitness Magazine runs model searches across North America including the largest one at the Arnold Classic for the Status cover. As part of the Status family, you will receive a special participation invite. How excited are you for this opportunity?
Very excited this is a great opportunity to show off my hard work and dedication.
Future fitness goals and plans?
Gain 10 lbs of lean muscle and work on my mobility through functional training
Life goal?
To make a healthier life more accessible to everyone!
5 things people don’t know about you?
- I only have one kidney.
- I lived in Italy and went to a public Italian school when I was 15.
- I have broken 7 bones and had 5 concussions.
- I lost a soccer scholarship to 2 torn quads.
- I have been building businesses since I was 13.
5 lessons you have learned?
- With discipline and structure comes freedom.
- Positivity is the key to a happy life.
- That when you change your perspective and change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
- Don’t take life so seriously.
- Stop trying to be perfect.
5 most important attributes you see in a person?
Honesty, Integrity, Passion, Discipline and a Sense of Humor.
If you could inspire one person, who would that be? And why?
My son, I try to inspire him on a daily basis because I know he has the potential to change the world.
Who inspires you? And why?
Dwayne Johnson inspires me and is one of my role models because he has built a massive empire and preaches positivity and self-growth at every turn. He gives back whenever he can, runs multiple companies and still finds time to be an incredible father.
Your transformation story:
When I was a teenager I went through some very dark times riddled with drugs and alcohol. I found myself lost with no direction, no purpose and worst of all no self-confidence. After working at Red Robin I ended up moving in with one of my friends I made at the restaurant and he was huge into fitness and looked the part as well. I could tell how much more confident he was than I was and how it translated into every aspect of his life so I started to go with him to the gym. Little did he know that not only did he change my life, but he saved my life. The gym taught me so many incredible skills that I couldn’t find anywhere else. It taught me the value of hard work and dedication. It showed me that even if you fail, you can get right back up and try again. After years of training myself and my friends, I decided that I loved it so much that I wanted to start a business that made a healthier life more accessible for everyone.
When I started down this journey I realized very quickly that I lacked the credibility to build the business into what I truly wanted it to be. So I stepped back and immersed myself in the world of personal training. I got my PT certification and then learned very quickly that I need more continued education so I got my Precision Nutrition certification which was a game-changer for me. After learning the ins and outs of the psychology behind coaching I was able to build a successful private personal training business that gave me the freedom to get back into my business and start to build it into an empire that would allow me to accomplish my life goal. We are still in the process of building out this incredible software and also building out an education course that helps fit pros build an unbreakable foundation to help them build thriving businesses.
Favourite quotes?
When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.
Things work out best for those who make the best of how things work out.
