Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joshua Nelson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joshua, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

Affekt Training has said from the start: we want to make the fitness industry better. We are often incentivized to prioritize everything else as “above and beyond” our own health, physical capabilities and mental capacities. But we have a simple question: what more could you accomplish, and how much more life could you live, if you just felt better?

That’s our mission – Affekt offers a nuanced, sophisticated approach to attaining physical + mental resiliency and overall holistic wellness. It is for those who are “all in” on reaching higher levels of fitness + vitality.

I think the meaning comes from a very real and personal space – after years struggling with illness, body aches / pains, and at times, overwhelming mental degeneracy (both depression and suicide) it’s now my goal to help others out from a deep, dark place through health consulting and fitness coaching.

Fitness is an “open relationship” between your body and your mind. We don’t have an official mission statement like many gyms do, we rely on our work, our perseverance and our ability to adapt and communicate – I think if it was anything, it would be this: collaboration with stakes – we HAVE to communicate with one another, we HAVE to communicate with our bodies, our minds, our spirits. Otherwise, we may lose everything that matters.

Joshua, 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?

I am the founder and CEO of both Namu Health – a remote holistic health consulting company and Affekt Training – an in-person training space located in Salt Lake City, UT, as well as Affekt Lucida – which is a decentralized fitness platform for remote clientele (subscription based).

I’ve spent nearly a decade in the throws of fitness and health, working in every environment imaginable including training people in parks, commercial gyms, basement gyms and the private sector. I’ve worked in the realms of rehabilitation, strength and conditioning and nutrition consulting and my clientele ranges drastically – from elderly people in need of rehabilitation to youth athletes, military personnel, professional MMA and high-level Jiu Jitsu practitioners seeking better short and long-term performance or recovery from pain / injury.

I’ve pioneered unique approaches to mobility training, strength and conditioning and overall training theory. I’ve learned from some of the best in the business in terms of health / nutrition including Dr. Ben House and Dr. Mike T Nelson.

I have a philosophy on physical capabilities, mental health and overall wellness that is unique and has been deeply impactful on many levels to both individuals and companies seeking better performance and overall vitality. I’ve has been shaped drastically by my own struggled with physical / mental health and a myriad of influences including: Greek and Japanese philosophy, art theory, breath work and meditation.

If I’m not coaching in-person at Affekt, I’m constantly attempting to move the creative needle forward in the industry and if I’m not training I can be found at home with my beautiful, talented wife (who is a wedding photographer) and 4-legged daughter, Bella.

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

Ever since I can remember I’ve been a shy person – I was the one who failed to raise their hand if they had a question in school. High school was a struggle for me due to persistent illness and a general lack of taking care of my body – I went from a high school baseball prospect to someone who slept in past 2nd period.

I dropped out of high school my junior year – I’d like to say it was due to some grand vision of “knowing” I could figure it out for myself, but I think it had more to do with a distaste for authority and an unwillingness to be inspired by those who were uninspired.

Because I dropped out, my education, experience and success was largely dependent on an ability to both self-reflect and self-critique. I constantly sought out experts in their respective fields, I paid them all the money I had just to ask them questions. I took certification after certification and did whatever I could to train and coach people, including training people in local parks for free.

I think the tenacity comes from a place, not of my head but of my heart. I truly want people to get better. I don’t need to be the smartest person in the room, but I need to know that I can help the person next to me.

I went from a shy, sick, out of shape and mentally drained young adult to an entrepreneur, business owner and husband. I still struggle with my mental health from time to time, but I can always rely on the amazing people around me to get through it.

I want, not an identity around my mental / physical health struggles, but an identification process – I know I can be better, I can get through it, I know I can change – but it is a process.

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

Affekt Training has always been about service first. Our goal is to help people – to be an “awareness provider” for the things in life so many of us take for granted – like our own health.

The current fitness industry is filled with under-qualified “influencers” and highly under-developed ideologies – I don’t care what anybody does and if you are getting people to just move as opposed to sitting on their couch, it’s not the worst thing in the world.

I do believe that there is a space for progressive theories in regards to the practice of physical training – our goal is to be on the front line of that – to offer the best coaching that helps people.

If we have a market, it’s this. Earlier this year I launched a remote health consulting company – Namu Health – I’ve been underwhelmed by the amount of care that goes into things such as nutrition recommendations, lifestyle guidance and physical training – the lack of attention to detail is somewhat appalling to me. That being said, I’ve been overwhelmed by the sheer interest in people taking back their health and reaching levels of vitality that they didn’t know they could – the goal would be to help both small and large companies get more out of their employees through simple metrics such as: improving sleep quality, nutritional intake and nervous system regulation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.affekttraining.com
• Instagram: Affekt_training / Namu_SLC
• Other: If you’re in the SLC area, come in for a group class! We offer training, breath work / meditation and Jiu Jitsu.

Image Credits

Marci Nelson