Happy America Day!
(And, happy belated Canada Day!)
(And, happy Thursday!)
237 years ago, the founding fathers of the United States decided they needed a change, and declared their independence from the British Crown. Thanks to that declaration, we celebrate our independence every year by having barbecues, drinking way too much, and setting things on fire.
Roughly four and a half years ago, a nerd named Steve decided he had enough of the crappy fitness advice out there, and declared his independence from the mainstream fitness industry.
Well, what began as a boy and his blog has developed into a worldwide Rebellion, something far greater than he ever could have imagined. Today, he wants to talk about our revolution and why he’s so glad you’re a part of it.
Regardless of where you’re from, be it America, Argentina, or Antarctica, today, we all have something to celebrate:
He’s also going to stop referring to himself in the third person at this point, because he’s the one writing this.
Okay back on track. Hey, it’s me.
What the heck are we rebelling against?
So, I often get the question: “The Nerd Fitness Rebellion…what are you rebelling against?”
We are rebelling against nerd stereotypes. We wear the badge of nerd proudly, but that doesn’t mean we’re content to be what everybody expects us to be. There’s no reason we can’t be nerdy and passionate and ALSO be in great shape, have confidence, and live great lives.
We’re rebelling against conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom got us where we are today as a country (overweight, unhealthy, and unhappy), and we’re sick of it. We go against the grain (literally) and do many things the exact opposite compared to the masses. We’re the outsiders, and we relish the opportunity to be different.
We’re rebelling against the mainstream fitness industry. We don’t need gyms, we don’t need supplements, we don’t need expensive equipment, and we don’t need the next best thing. We don’t fall for those shady marketing tactics designed to take our money but not help us. We know what we really need: personal responsibility, grit, and a plan.
We are rebelling against a life of apathy, miseducation, and complacency. We work hard to help each other level up their lives every day. We have an incredibly supportive community, we cheer on each other’s successes, and help out in times of need.
If you’re not part of the Rebellion yet, read our rules and see if this something you’d like to be a part of: we’d love to have you.
If you ARE a part of the Rebellion, thank you for your help in making it what it is: a damn powerful community.
Rebel Heroes around the world
The Nerd Fitness Rebellion isn’t defined by country lines, gender, socioeconomic status, or age.
We have rebels ALL over the world, from all walks of life, at different levels of fitness, living better lives and inspiring those around them to do the same.
A few weeks back, we donated 100% of all profits from Nerd Fitness Apparel to help build a library down in Peru. Well, Rebels sent us photos of them rocking their gear worldwide in some epic photos (and our first ever Rebel Hero Video!), and I wanted to share some of them with you today.
Anthony Mychal showing that, yes, Nerd Fitness shirts DO give you super powers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qsUEYlBhVY
Anythony Mychal Nerd Fitness Superpowers
Dominic who visited Hobbiton in New Zealand!
Dajve from across the pond holding a headstand thanks to his NF hat:
Otis Frampton, an absolutely amazing cartoonist (who I will some day convince to draw something epic for the NF community) rocking his NF shirt. He’s down from 230 lbs. to 188 lbs! Keep it up Otis!
Dan A. and his two sons, ALL rockin’ Rebel gear in St. Maarten. As they say, a family that rebels together stays together.
Want to be the next Rebel Hero? Take a photo of you doing something epic in your Nerd Fitness gear and send it to contact@nerdfitness.com so we can feature you on the site!
The Rebellion Grows
These days, I feel like William Wallace running through the highlands of Scotland, as the legend of Nerd Fitness grows:
- Yesterday, we passed 70,000 rebels on our email list (!!), and hundreds and hundreds are joining the ranks of the Rebellion every day.
- Our message board community is now home to over 17,000 members, 25 volunteer moderators, and at least half a dozen new relationships.
- Just last month, we raised over $7,000 in TWO weeks to help build a small library in Peru.
We’ve officially moved into “ludicrous speed.”
Thank you for being a part of this. I am so honored to be a small part of this great community, and I promise you I will do everything in my power to make you proud to be a part of it as well. I have big plans for this movement, and I have no doubt in my mind that we’ll have our chance to put a dent in the universe when all is said and done.
As the great philosopher Happy Gilmore once said, “The way I see it, we’ve only just begun.”
Than you for joining me on this journey – I’m beyond excited to see where it takes us.
An epic quest update
Although I don’t talk about it as much these days, I’m still hard at work on my Epic Quest of Awesome.
I’m currently only one quest shy of reaching Level 11, and I have that squarely in sight.
As you’re read this, I’ll be en route to Portland, Oregon, for the World Domination Summit, a conference hosted by my travel yoda, mentor, and friend Chris Guillebeau. Seriously, he’s the one who inspired (and taught me) how to travel.
At this conference, I’ll be presenting alongside Jodi Ettenberg, one of my favorite people and creator of the amazing LegalNomads.com. We’ll be giving a talk Sunday afternoon about how to build online communities: if you happen to be attending the conference, make sure you say hey when you see me!
Then I fly to Maine, where I’ll be climbing Mt. Katahdin (pictured above), the highest peak in Maine, with some friends. I couldn’t be more excited. We have already made an epic playlist of songs from Lord of the Rings to listen to at the top of the mountain (alongside “Hearts on Fire” from Rocky IV, of course).
Rebel on
If you’re brand new to Nerd Fitness, thank you for reading. I hope you stick around.
If you’ve been here for a while, thanks for sticking around and helping me make this community into the juggernaut it has become.
If you’re been here since the beginning, thanks for helping me get it off the ground. You are the the ones that transformed this movement from a lone nut and his blog to a real Rebellion
The future is bright, and the world won’t know what hit ’em. Nerd Fitness Rebels are taking over 🙂
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
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photo source: Mount Katahdin, Assassin’s Creed 3, Fireworks, Scotland Highlands, bean
