We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dennis Paquette a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dennis, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One deeply underappreciated facet of entrepreneurship is the kind of crazy stuff we have to deal with as business owners. Sometimes it’s crazy positive sometimes it’s crazy negative, but crazy experiences unite entrepreneurs regardless of industry. Can you share a crazy story with our readers?

In 2020 the head of the ROTC program at Eastern Michigan University hired me to make her efficient in the ACFT. (The Army Combat Fitness Test.) After decades of fitness standards, the United States Army decided to throw all those old standards out, and
implemented six new events called the army combat fitness test in their collective. Nikki, my new client, was a West Point grad, a Captain in rank and responsible for not only learning and becoming proficient in these movements herself, but also needed to find ways to train her cadets and bring them up to par as well. With the ACFT still being in its diagnostic phase, they were taking numbers specifically from female officers to decide if they were going to make the test gender neutral. Nikki thought it was very important that she scored as high as she possibly could to make the test as close to gender-neutral as possible. After all, this is the Army COMBAT Fitness Test. After developing a plan, my first order of action was to do the test myself, and see exactly what it entailed. Logic dictates, if I am expected to train someone in these movements, I must first know what it takes to complete them. After I completed the ACFT, I knew we had our work cut out for us. This test was extremely difficult. But, I’m not scared of a little hard work, and to say I’m intrinsically an optimist, would be a gross understatement. We got to work immediately! For 9 months, 2-3 times a week at 5 AM, we grinded. Relentless in our pursuit of perfection. On the day of testing, Nikki maxed out on every exercise with the exception of one. Hand release push-ups. She missed the maximum score by one push-up. After that Nikki became my friend and client for the next 5 years. Learning and adapting to the movements I was teaching her, and taking it back to her cadets and making them proficient in the Army Combat Fitness Test. This experience really helped my business get off its feet. Being able to add this type of experience to my resume had a profound effect on my business moving forward. On top of that, I was extremely proud to be able to help the men and women of our armed forces.

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

Martial arts and fitness quite literally saved my life. That’s not something I say for effect. It’s the truth in the most literal sense. I was born into a difficult environment and raised in a household where adversity was constant. Early on, I learned that if I wanted a different life, I was going to have to build it myself, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
That path began through movement. What started as a way to cope and survive, eventually became a lifelong pursuit of mastery. I immersed myself in martial arts, studying Tae Kwon do, Muay Thai kickboxing and boxing with intensity and purpose. Over time, that discipline evolved into something much deeper than fighting. It became a framework for understanding the human body, resilience, and performance.
That same drive led me into the academic side of human movement. I pursued advanced education in kinesiology, exercise science, and human physiology, not just to gain credentials, but to truly understand how and why the body works the way it does. I became obsessed with bridging the gap between science and application. Taking what’s proven in theory and making it work in real life for real people.
Today, I operate as a strength and conditioning coach, fitness therapist, and integrated combatives specialist, working with a wide range of clients, from individuals recovering from serious injuries and neurological conditions, to high-level athletes looking to optimize performance. My work is centered around one core mission: Helping people move better, feel better, and become more capable in their own bodies.
What sets me apart is not just my education or experience. It’s the combination of both, paired with a lived understanding of adversity, struggle and inevitably survival. I understand what it takes to change. The pain, the discipline, the reward. I don’t believe in one-size-fits-all programming. Every client I work with is treated as an individual, with their own story, limitations, and potential. I take a highly personalized, results driven approach that blends biomechanics, strength training, mobility work, and when appropriate, combat-based conditioning.
I’m especially proud of the impact I’ve had on people who thought they were “broken”. Those who were told they’d never move the same again, or who had lost confidence in their bodies. Watching someone regain strength, eliminate pain, or rediscover belief in themselves is what drives me every day.
At the end of the day, my brand is built on authenticity, resilience, and results. I don’t just teach this work, I’ve lived it. And everything I offer is rooted in a genuine desire to help others reclaim control over their health, their movement, and ultimately, their lives.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

I met my business partner in 2017 at a place that’s primary focus was traumatic brain injury recovery. We were both fitness therapists, working with traumatic brain injury survivors 6 days a week. Cameron B Owens, had been working there 5 years prior to my arrival. A retired lifelong educator with a master’s degree in education and a heart of gold. Cameron was very smart, capable, but kept to himself and his work. I wish I could tell you that we became friends right away, but that was not the case at all. Because of the high turnover rate at that particular company, Cameron took his time getting to know the new employees, and rightfully so. It didn’t take long for him to recognize not only my expertise, but my work ethic, and character as well. (His words, not mine lol) This particular type of work is very difficult for a lot of reasons. Most of which, your clients are extremely handicapped, and the difference you will make in their lives will be marginal at best as far as a fitness and recovery aspect is concerned. However, the other side of traumatic brain injury recovery coin, is making those particular patients feel like they are the most important person in the world when they are with their fitness therapist. We really put forth a lot of effort into trying to change their quality of life through kindness, acceptance and exercise. Even if it is for an hour at a time. Well, that just so happened to be something I was good at. Something I thrived at. I understood what it meant to feel down and helpless like the world was set against you, like you had no reason to go on. No, I didn’t have a traumatic brain injury, but my childhood was extremely abusive and traumatic to say the least. But no matter my past, I still managed to I pull myself from that adversity against All odds. That resilience is what I used to motivate my clients.
I invested all of my energy into my clients, and because of my past, my expertise, and my empathy I had tremendous success with my group of TBI survivors. That was the catalyst to Cameron and I becoming friends. At that particular time my car was broken down, and I was riding a mountain bike between three different jobs. One day, I was getting ready to leave and hop on my bike and ride 11 miles to my next job, when Cameron offered to give me a ride. The next thing I know, we threw my bike in the back of his car and he was giving me a ride to the CrossFit gym where I held boot camp classes at. During that drive Cameron asked me about myself and what I planned on doing with my future. He told me that that he was impressed with my resilience and work ethic and told me if I ever needed any help that I could come to him and he would do what he could to assist. As time went on, he and I became friends as well as coworkers. We shared knowledge, talked sports and exercise science, as well as our dreams of owning and operating our own business someday. Eventually Cameron and I went our separate ways and started working for different companies, but kept our friendship intact. When 2020 hit and covid changed our lives, I found myself jobless, not knowing how I was going to pay my bills. I decided to develop an LLC by the name of Freelance Fitness. I devised a plan to open my own business and planned on doing everything from traumatic brain injury recovery, all the way to training special needs clients as well as high level athletes and fighters. I approached Cameron, shared my plan with him, and asked him if he wanted to be my partner and invest in my idea with me. 2 weeks later we came to an agreement that was set in place by simply a handshake.
In the world we come from, a person’s word is all he has, so a handshake was all that we needed.
He and I worked tirelessly to renovate and reconstruct the studio we own today. We are 3 years in and our business is booming, and our friendship stronger than ever. Without Cameron, my dream would still be just that. A dream.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I believe my reputation within this industry has been built on two foundational principles: consistency and character. Over time, I’ve shown up for my clients day in and day out with the same level of commitment, professionalism, and attention to detail, regardless of the circumstances. That consistency has built trust, and trust is everything in this line of work. Equally important is character. How you treat people, how you carry yourself, and how you operate when no one is watching. I’ve made it a priority to lead with integrity, to genuinely care about the people I work with, and to always put their progress and well-being first. As a result, I’ve developed a strong, loyal client base, and a reputation of being dependable and honest. So much of my growth has come through word of mouth. When people know they can rely on you, not just for results, but for honesty and respect, that’s what truly builds a lasting reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://freelancefitnessllc.com
• Instagram: Freelance Fitness LLC