We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Chris Nicholson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Chris below.

Chris, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We love heartwarming stories – do you have a heartwarming story from your career to share?

This was about 8-9 years ago, well before I launched Elevate Fitness. At the time, I was just doing personal training here and there… nothing official, just making some extra cash helping people when they asked. I get approached often by others in my day to day due to my physique and I would hope welcoming smile lol.

I worked for a large company unrelated to personal training/nutrition. I worked with a guy named Chris but in different departments. I always would say hello but never got much of a response from him. He was a big guy, always kind of kept to himself, didn’t say much. You could just tell he was struggling with more than just his weight. Then one day when I said good morning he just kinda opened up to me. I still remember how vulnerable he was. He told me he was miserable, completely stuck in this rut, dealing with depression, anxiety, no confidence to even talk to women… and worse, he said he’d started questioning whether his life was even worth living.

That moment hit me hard for whatever reason. I didn’t really think I just told him, “Let me help.” I had no real plan in the moment it was just two guys having a conversation. I offered to help him start changing his daily habits. Nothing crazy, just one thing at a time. I wrote him a simple workout plan and we started going to the gym together, I gave him some basic nutritional guidance, and even went grocery shopping with him to help him make sense of nutritional labels and how to do some basic meal prep to make it sustainable for him. But the real work I’d like to think happened in the little talks we had every day.

We’d talk about the stuff men don’t generally talk about. How we speak to ourselves in our heads, how we sabotage our own progress, how easy it is to believe we’re too far gone, that we aren’t good enough. I kept reminding him that real change takes time, but that every day he showed up, he was proving to himself that he was capable. Honestly, I didn’t think he would have even committed for this long but as long as he would show up and put in the work I would be willing to show up too. In a way he was holding me to a new standard of helping others.

And then little by little, I started to see him come back to life. The bodyweight was dropping and his strength increasing but the real transformation was in his mindset. He smiled more. He kept his head up instead of looking at the ground. He started talking to people. I could tell he kinda was just finding his own personality. Kind of developed his own swag you could say lol. About a year later, Chris called me and said he was going to start helping someone else that he knew start to make the changes that he implemented from the experience him and I went through together.

That experience and time with Chris made me realize that this work goes way beyond physical fitness. It’s about connection, having a purpose, and helping someone see their own worth when they can’t yet see it themselves. Watching Chris turn his whole life around and then go on to try and help someone else.

As I mentioned, I had trained others off and on throughout my life to make some extra cash but this is one of those experiences I can never forget.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My journey into fitness started pretty early. I signed up for my first gym membership when I was just 14 . My parents had to sign a waiver so I could get in. I was just a skinny kid trying to build some muscle, boost my confidence, and yeah… maybe catch the attention of a few girls. But it turned into something so much bigger than that.

By high school, I was completely hooked. I’d spend hours every day reading about training and nutrition. Articles, forums, anything I could get my hands on. I lived on the old Bodybuilding.com message boards, soaking up knowledge and even jumping in to help others when I could. It became my entire lifestyle. I was literally that kid sneaking ziplock bags of chicken breasts into class and getting in trouble for eating during class. It was everything to me.

After high school, I got into a management position at work. I worked a lot of hours but I never let go of my training. I still made time to hit the gym six or seven days a week, no matter what. People around me would always say, “You should really be doing this for a living,” I started writing workout plans, giving advice, even doing some personal training on the side but I never turned it into anything official.

Fast forward to now. I’m 36, and honestly, I feel better than I did in my teens or twenties. Over the years, I’ve trained smarter, dialed in my nutrition, and done the mental work that goes along with the physical side. What finally pushed me to launch my coaching business was a close friend, Paul, who came to me one day and said “Stop waiting — this is what you’re meant to do” He had already made a phone call to a web developer and I set up a call with her right then and we started to get to work.

That’s when Elevate Fitness was born. My online personal training and nutrition coaching service. Since it’s online I can work with people all over the world, helping them transform their bodies, their mindset, and their lifestyle. Everything I do is customized. I start by having clients fill out a detailed E-doc form so I can understand their goals, struggles, and schedule. Then we hop on a call, phone or Zoom, and I build a personalized plan that fits them and their lifestyle. Not some cookie-cutter program.

I offer fully customized training and nutritional guidelines, with support through check-ins by text, email, Zoom or phone. Whatever they’re most comfortable with. Whether someone’s just starting out, looking to drop weight, or already experienced and just needs to fine-tune things, I’m there every step of the way. And the goal isn’t just short-term results.. it’s to build something sustainable, something that becomes a new way of life!

What makes me different is that I get it. I’ve lived this lifestyle since I was a teenager, not just reading about it but living it. through long work hours, stress, good times and bad. I know what it’s like to fall off track, and I know what it takes to stay consistent. This isn’t just a job for me. It’s a passion, and I genuinely care about the people I work with.

I’m proud that I finally took the leap with some push from my friends. That I listened to the people who believed in me and created something real. My website is up and my instagram is slowly growing. Elevate has been up for about 3 months now and I’m not concerned with having 10 million followers but just connecting with people who are ready to change their lives. not through following the latest fad diet and all that but just the real work day in and day out. The basics, consistently.

I want people to know that change is possible at any age, from any starting point. Married, Kids, doesn’t matter. If your willing to put in some work and changes it is ALWAYS possible. My oldest client right now is 54 years old. You just need someone in your corner who actually gives a damn and knows how to guide you through it.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

one of the most effective strategies for growing my clientele has been being the product. People want to work with someone who clearly lives the lifestyle. My physique, my energy, my confidence.. they all reflect the habits I coach. When people see me, they see that I live the lifestyle I am trying to coach, and that builds trust.

What really gave me the push to get started was how often I was being approached in my day to day life. whether at the gym, grocery store, or even just out and about. People would ask if I was a trainer, or hit me with questions about nutrition or workouts. That constant feedback made me realize I wasn’t just passionate about this but I had something valuable people were already looking for.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One of the biggest tests of my resilience came after going through a divorce when my son was just about a year old. It hit me hard. I kept up with working out because it’s always been my anchor, but mentally and emotionally, I was struggling. I found myself turning to alcohol more often than I should have. To numb the sadness and stress. It wasn’t a healthy place to be in.

Eventually, I knew I had to make a change and not just for me, but for my son. I reached out for help, got honest with myself, and committed to living an alcohol-free life. That taught me that life can change in an instant, and it made me realize how important it is to live with gratitude and be present in the moment. Instead of letting that low point define me, I used it as fuel to become the best version of myself physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.elevatebychrisnicholson.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatefitnesscoach_/