We were lucky to catch up with Andrew Vanderpoel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andrew, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Superior Nutrition was originally just an idea between two college friends back in 2018, when we were playing football together at Rochester Community College in Minnesota. Supplement stores never seemed to really care about helping people—they just pushed products with little real knowledge or consideration for someone’s personal goals.

For me, that idea really stuck. After college, I took a winding path—earning my Associate’s in Law Enforcement, interning in coaching, and spending time as a reserve police officer in Minnesota. But I always felt a pull toward building something of my own that truly helped people.

In 2021, I decided it was finally time to turn that old idea into reality. I packed up and moved 10 hours away to Spearfish, leaving behind what was familiar. I’ll be honest: I was nervous. I felt so much imposter syndrome, wondering if I really had what it took.

And when we opened, it wasn’t magically perfect. I fell on my face more times than I can count trying to help customers the right way—and I still do sometimes. None of us are perfect. But that’s the whole point of Superior Nutrition: we strive to get better every single day.

Personally, I’d struggled with diet and nutrition myself. Even as someone with an athletic background, I knew how confusing and overwhelming it could be. That gave me empathy for customers who walked in feeling lost or intimidated. I didn’t want Superior Nutrition to be just another store selling supplements—I wanted it to feel welcoming, supportive, and truly helpful.

Our approach is simple: put the customer first, always. We focus on educating people about the ingredients and benefits of the products they’re buying. We carefully select high-quality brands and formulations that we trust. We don’t just sell what’s popular—we help customers figure out what’s actually right for their goals, whether that’s weight loss, muscle gain, or general wellness.

What got me most excited was solving a problem that so many people didn’t even realize could be fixed: making supplement shopping personal again. Instead of a transaction, it’s a relationship. That’s why we offer free diet guidance with our supplement recommendations. We want customers to feel comfortable, ask questions, and know we’re invested in their success from start to finish.

At the end of the day, I believed this would work because there’s a real hunger for authentic service in this industry. People don’t want to be sold to—they want to be helped. That’s what we’re here to do.

Andrew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Andrew Vanderpoel, and I’m the owner and founder of Superior Nutrition in Spearfish, South Dakota. Before opening the store, I played college football at Rochester Community College in Minnesota, where I met my original business partner. Back then, the idea for Superior Nutrition was just two teammates talking about how supplement stores just pushed products without caring about the customer’s actual goals.

After college, I worked as a reserve police officer in Minnesota and earned an Associate of Applied Science in Law Enforcement. But I always felt drawn toward building something of my own that genuinely served people. In 2021, I finally decided to make the leap, moving 10 hours away to Spearfish to make this idea a reality.

Along the way, I also went through a buyout with my original partner due to some unforeseen things happening in his life. It wasn’t easy, but it was the right decision for both of us. That experience taught me a lot about resilience, staying clear on my vision, and doubling down on my commitment to helping people the right way.

Superior Nutrition is a health and performance supplement store that’s focused on personalized service, education, and community. We sell high-quality supplements for weight loss, muscle gain, athletic performance, and general health. But what really sets us apart is our approach.

Most supplement stores are about the hard sell. We’re about listening first. We want to know your goals. We want to know what you’re struggling with. We want you to understand exactly what you’re taking and why. We carefully choose products with high-quality ingredients and give honest guidance—no hype, no nonsense.

We also offer free diet plans tailored to go with our supplement recommendations. Our goal is to make sure every customer feels empowered, whether they’re new to fitness or an experienced athlete.

I won’t pretend it was easy getting here. Moving away from everything familiar was scary. I felt a lot of imposter syndrome wondering if I could really do this. And even now, I’ve fallen on my face more times than I can count trying to help customers the right way. But that’s part of our culture—we know none of us are perfect, but we strive to get better every single day.

What I’m most proud of is the moments when someone comes back into the store after achieving their goal and breaks down crying because they felt lost before and didn’t know what to do. Those moments prove that what we do truly matters. It’s not about selling a product—it’s about changing lives and giving people hope, confidence, and a real plan forward.

At the end of the day, I want people to know Superior Nutrition isn’t just a store. It’s a partner in your fitness journey. Our mission is to go above and beyond for every customer, to know them personally, to be honest with them, and to celebrate their wins right alongside them. We want you to feel like family from the moment you walk through our door.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Making the decision to actually go for it was terrifying. I was uprooting my entire life, leaving behind my support system, and jumping into the unknown. I battled a lot of imposter syndrome, asking myself, “Who am I to try this?” But I did it anyway. I loaded up my stuff and drove 10 hours to a place where I hardly knew anyone to chase the idea of building something better.

And it didn’t magically get easier after I arrived. I went through a buyout with my original business partner because of unforeseen challenges in his life. It wasn’t part of the plan at all, and it forced me to take full ownership and responsibility for the business much sooner than I expected. That meant making hard decisions, learning how to wear every hat, and staying focused on our mission even when things got messy.

Honestly, it wasn’t glamorous at all. To keep the doors open, I had to work part-time jobs—cooking in restaurants, bartending late at night, even sleeping in the back of the store so I could work overnight shifts stocking shelves at another job. I did whatever it took to make sure my bills were paid and the business survived.

Even on a daily level, resilience shows up for me in how I interact with customers. I’ll be the first to admit I’ve fallen on my face plenty of times trying to help people the right way. I’ve given recommendations that weren’t perfect. But instead of letting that defeat me, I’ve used every mistake as fuel to get better.

I’m proud that I didn’t give up—even when it would’ve been easier to go back to something safe and familiar. I stayed, I adapted, and I kept pushing to build a business that truly serves people. That resilience is what I think really defines Superior Nutrition today.

Do you have any stories of times when you almost missed payroll or any other near death experiences for your business?

Honestly? All the time.

Owning a small business isn’t some glamorous Instagram highlight reel. There have been so many times when I was sweating bullets trying to figure out how I was going to make payroll or pay bills at the end of the week.

Especially in the early days, cash flow was brutal. I had to get really creative just to keep the lights on. There were weeks where I was working multiple part-time jobs—bartending late nights, cooking in restaurants, even working overnight stocking shifts—just to make sure I had enough to cover expenses for the store. I even slept in the back of the store to save money and stretch my time.

And honestly, even today there are still moments where cash flow gets tight. That’s just the reality of retail and entrepreneurship—there are ups and downs, slow months, unexpected expenses. But what’s changed is how I handle it. I’ve learned to plan better, build relationships with suppliers, and communicate with my team about where we’re at. It’s taught me to stay lean, stay humble, and always be ready to adapt.

What I’m most proud of is that I’ve never let those close calls break me. Every time we were close to the edge, I found a way to make it work—even if it meant sacrificing sleep, taking on extra work, or going without myself. That kind of grit is what built Superior Nutrition.

I didn’t get into this to get rich quick. I got into it to help people and do things the right way. And those near-death moments for the business reminded me why I’m willing to fight so hard to keep it alive. Because I truly believe the community needs this. Seeing customers achieve their goals and come back to thank us is what makes every one of those stressful nights worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://superiornutritionsd.com/
• Instagram: _superior_nutrition_
• Facebook: _superior_nutrition_