Today we’d like to introduce you to Justin Nelson.
Hi Justin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I have always been fiercely independent and was serving in the United States Army (which I served seven years) when I discovered my true passion, which was fitness. I was content with being a soldier and staying in for 20 years to retire, but people that I was serving with kept telling me that I should be a personal trainer because I was the go-to person for fitness advice. As time went on during my military career, I started to realize that maybe they were right, so I studied hard to actually become certified, with the intention of doing personal training as a side job. But by the time I was certified in December of 2018, I had two options-either stay in the military or go full time into personal training as a business with the potential to expand and create more opportunities for myself. So in 2019, I left the Army and moved to Los Angeles from Hawai’i (where I was stationed and also my childhood hometown) to pursue personal training and fitness as a career, starting my company “Body. By Justin Nelson. LLC.” on January 1, 2020.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
This journey has NOT been a smooth road whatsoever. The first challenge that came about was getting clientele. How can I do that when I came to a city where the only person I knew was my brother and a few friends from the Army? So I started to leverage my small social media following, as well as a personal trainers app (Kanthaka LLC) so that I could find clients. But unfortunately in March of 2020, the pandemic started and within two days after the first shutdowns in L.A., I lost all of my clientele. Everything stopped almost overnight, and I was sitting and wondering “well what the hell do I do now?” Thankfully I was enrolled in school (which I very recently quit) so I had G.I. Bill income, but I really didn’t know how I was going to keep getting clients. After a while, I started to get clients again, but then there were times I would have to be in multiple parts of the city in one day which was also a big challenge and honestly continues to be a significant challenge sometimes.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
“Body. By Justin Nelson. LLC.” is my personal fitness training/coaching company, started January 1, 2020. I specialize in helping people realize their full fitness potential through weight loss, muscle and strength gain, and nutritional coaching. I coach throughout the San Fernando Valley, West LA, Downtown, Pasadena, and Glendale. What sets me apart from most trainers is that I come to the client, rather than them coming to me, meeting them at their home, apartment, gym of choice, or park with minimal equipment and providing an amazing workout experience that progressively gets harder, challenging them to become their best selves. I also offer online coaching and nutritional guidance to those outside of the Los Angeles area at www.bodybyjustinnelson.com so that others who aren’t able to see me in person can experience the same training within their own merit!
I believe that everyone has the ability to feel and look good through exercise no matter if they are a beginner or if they are a person who is far along in their fitness journey, I want them to succeed and reach their full potential. I also train a wide age range, male and female, ranging from age 16 at the youngest to age 76 at the oldest!
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
Living in Los Angeles-North Hollywood in particular-is a very cool but ambitious vibe! Coming to a place like this where I can be relaxed if I want to but also be very creative and business-minded is amazing! I also love the fact that there are so many people my age who are chasing their dreams here! I think when you’re younger and getting out of high school, you think that you have only one path in life that you are supposed to be set towards, but being here I see people my age (31) who are totally reinventing themselves and doing the things they want to do, and that inspires me. Also, the food scene in Los Angeles is otherworldly. No other city I have ever lived in compares to the food scene here.
As far as what I like least, probably like everyone else, is the soul-crushing traffic. The traffic, just like the food scene, is otherworldly. We desperately need to invest more into our subway system. DESPERATELY.
Pricing:
- 1-on-1 one hour training session $75 (package rates also available)
- Couples one hour training session $120 (package rates also available)
- 12 week Online Training without nutritional guidance $350
- 12 week Online Training with nutritional guidance $500
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.bodybyjustinnelson.com
- Instagram: www.Instagram.com/justinzbody
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/bodybyjustinnelsonllc/
