Why Did I Open Oak?

To tell the story of Oak, I need to go back…. Way back. 

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If you want to skip ahead to the short version please scroll down until you see “Short Version”:)

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Oak is the culmination of over a decade of being in the sport and fitness field.

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I was not always this buff you see;)

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Growing up I was what my mom would call a “husky child”. Always was, always had been. However, I was also a very active kid. I played every sport there is and was always outside playing with friends etc… I just so happened to also like Burger King and pizza. Still love pizza, Burger King not so much.

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Going into freshman year of highschool I was about 5’9” 225lbs. Not a good 225 either…

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I still loved playing sports and was on the golf, hockey, and lacrosse teams. 

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Being a 225lb high school athlete taught me 2 things.

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First, being overweight and not in optimal shape leads to poor outcomes and poor performance. The second thing was that I was more athletic than kids with 6 pack abs; imagine what I could achieve if I had the 6 pack ab physic myself.

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So, I did what every other dumb 15 year old boy would do. I went to planet fitness and hit all the machines. That lasted about 2 weeks (maybe closer to 2 workouts).

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Around the same time, one of my parents friends had opened a new fitness facility called Ironman Fitness. My parents asked the owner, Matt, if I could come to one of the high school strength and conditioning classes. I knew a few kids who had been going there so I was excited to give it a try.

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I realized something really quickly that team sports can’t teach (at least not right away). There is no one else to blame. If you want to lose weight, that is on you. If you want to bench 225, that is on you. If you want a 400lb deadlift, YOU need to put the work in.

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Team sports have an individual aspect of course, but this was different. There were no refs, no teammates; there was just you and your goals.

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I f**king loved it. I loved my workout buddies, I loved the coaches, I loved working out.

I became obsessed, working out everyday for more than 2 years (including holidays, just as my parents…)

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I got better at all my sports, I made varsity in all 3 of my sports, and I got in really good shape (6 pack ab kinda shape).

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Around the end of my junior year though, there was a switch. I started to like working out and coaching more than actually playing the sports.

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I still loved to play don’t get me wrong, but working out had become priority #1.

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This led me to want to follow in the footsteps of one of my coaches (and now mentor) Justin Miner.

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He was a genius to me, he still is. He knew everything there was to know about working out. He designed all our workouts at Ironman. He was a grump of a guy at the time, but I still respected him and wanted the knowledge he had.

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He and Matt, the owner of Ironman, told me that Springfield College is the school I needed to go to. I had never heard of it, but they said it was the best for Exercise Science, so thats where I had to go.

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Lets keep in mind that I was not exactly the student of the year at my high school. I rarely, if ever, did homework, and genuinely thought what they taught us at school was a waste of time.

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Springfield College was a private school which means it ain’t cheap. However, I got in and to my surprise, I got a decent amount of financial aid that made it possible for me to go.

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I can never thank my parents enough for their contribution to my education. Thank you Mom and Dad!

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When I get to Springfield, I am truly in awe. This place was amazing! The facilities were division 1 caliber, the professors were crazy smart, the alumni was super accomplished, and the students were jacked and strong!!

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I thought I was big guy on campus when I left highschool. I got to Springfield and there were guys lifting literally twice what I could. The coach of my lifting team literally competed in Worlds Strongest Man.

It was crazy!

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Aside from all the friends I made and the good times I had; Springfield really taught me 2 things.

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First, I was smart. When I applied myself, it turned out I was a pretty smart guy. I finished with a 3.99 GPA and graduated at the top of my entire graduating class and was awarded student scholar of the year in the Exercise Science Program.

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This is not a brag, this is truly something that helped me tremendously. I had learned what I was good at! And that was learning things really fast, and understanding biomechanics and physiology.

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Second, I learned that science is always evolving. There are truths, current truths, and the unknown. Knowing the distinctions between all of these is important, and knowing how you can work with and around them (at least in the fitness world) is exciting and really interesting.

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SHORT VERSION

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So I graduated from school, now what? 

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There were three experiences I had that led me to where I am today as a coach and a person.

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First, I had stayed in touch with Justin Miner during my time at Springfield. He had opened up his own gym, Gain Strength and Conditioning. 

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He was nice enough to let me work for free and do my 400 hour internship with him over the summer:) Truthfully, I would have paid for the pleasure. I learned what it meant to truly help people with fitness. I learned how to program for “Gen Pop” people, and how to work around injuries, hip/knee replacements, and make sure everyone learned to enjoy their time at the gym.

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He taught me that it is not about the program you write, or about how good you are at coaching squats. It is about the person, and how to best help them develop good habits with their health.

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Thank you Justin!

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Second, I attended graduate school (sort of…). Kate doesn’t like it when I say I dropped out, so I will say that I left with my head held high and hopes equally so.

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I attended Northeastern in Boston for the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program. I made it through half of the second semester and called it quits because of ethical differences I had with the profession and the program.

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This taught me that the healthcare system is broken. And only with the eternal wisdom of a non-experienced 23 year old, I was so stubborn with my convictions I left the program and decided I could help people more outside the system than in it.

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I am still not sure if I was right to do this. But what I do know for sure, is that this made me angry and made me hungry. It made me want to win outside of the system. It made me want to be outside the traditional systems, and ensure that people would actually have good outcomes with their health.

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This was a financially costly lesson, but I think it was worth it.

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Third, I had a phone call with my brother. Kate and I were living in Massachusetts in my grandparents. We both had jobs just to make ends meet, and I was in search of a career. 

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My brother lives down in Florida where he works as a golf professional at a country club.

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He asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted to be a coach with gen pop people, but it would be cool if I could work with golfers. I remember saying something to the effect of, “I bet there are coaches and trainers at country clubs where they get to work with golfers to improve their mobility, clubhead speed, and power.”

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He said he had heard of that, and that I should look into it. He said I could be the Director of Fitness at a club in a few years with my knowledge and personality (he thinks much higher of me than I do myself). 

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As soon as I hung up with my brother, I went onto LinkedIn. Looked up fitness coach positions at country clubs. Applied to about 50.

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Some never got back to me. Some gave me an interview. But it really came down to 3 choices.

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One was a Fitness Director and Coach in a community in New York. More of a tennis club.

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One was a Fitness Coach position in Nashville, TN.

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And the other was the Fitness Director Position at Raintree Country Club in Charlotte.

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Marc, the Athletic Director at Raintree, was amazing on our few phone calls. He was going to give me full control of what I wanted to do with the fitness program.

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I took the job.

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Thank You Brandon and Marc!

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This job taught me so much! I got to work with golfers everyday. I learned what made them faster out on the course with their swing speed. I learned what could help reduce their risk of injury. And I learned the best ways to train and assess them.

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It was great!

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There was only one bad thing. I was limited with who I could help and how often.

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I was effectively a personal training working 1 on 1 with clients.

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I could only see about 5-8 people per day and most clients I only saw once per week.

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Personal training is expensive, and my time is limited when I can only work 1 on 1.

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I was drawn to my lessons learned from Justin.

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Slowly, the idea of Oak was beginning to form. I wanted to make high quality coaching and fitness training more available for my current clients and people in the future.

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Semi-Private Training gives all the benefits of individualized coaching with the energy of a group environment, and it makes it much more affordable than it would be if you did 3 personal training sessions per week.

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This was my answer to everything I had experienced.

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I could help people develop a better relationship with their health and fitness. I could do it my own way. And I could help way more people than I ever could before.

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Added bonus, most of the people I work with are golfers which is the sport I love!

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Today, we are 57 members strong.

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I am beyond grateful to everyone who has made Oak possible.

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Last thank you goes out to my wife Kate. Mainly for putting up with my insanity, but also for being about as supportive as a best friend and wife can be.

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Yours in strength,

Nate

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