Zach Nuss

So nice to meet you! First off, what’s your name? Tell our readers a bit about yourself—where you’re from originally and where you live now.

My name is Zach Nuss. I’m a fitness professional, business owner, and writer based in the Kansas City area. I have an Associate degree in Fitness & Nutrition and a Bachelor’s degree in Health & Wellness, along with 13 professional certifications in personal training, nutrition, corrective exercise, performance, and other areas of fitness and wellness.

My professional background has largely centered around health, wellness, fitness, and education, while writing has always been another important part of how I explore ideas and connect with people. Today, I operate Nuss Fitness LLC and also write and publish through Strong Will Press LLC. At first glance, fitness and writing might seem like two completely different worlds, but I see them as connected. Both are ultimately about helping people better understand themselves and become stronger versions of themselves.

I grew up all over the place in Missouri, finally graduating from Cameron High School in 2012. After high school I moved to the Kansas City area and have lived in a few of its metropolitan cities ever since.

Tell us one thing you love about where you live now.

Kansas City is one of the most unique cities I've lived in. KC is big enough for big ambitions but still has a small-town feel. Don't be surprised if you meet the same person in Overland Park that you ran into downtown, North KC, or Lee's Summit.

Tell us a little more about what your company does and how it started. How does it help your customers?

Nuss Fitness LLC started in a tiny corner of a 10x10 spare bedroom, armed with only an iPad, a Zoom account, and a passion for bringing wellness to anyone, anywhere. I grew that small online business, debt-free, into a small garage studio.

Fast forward, and what began as a fully virtual training model has evolved into a dynamic, client-centered coaching practice.

Nuss Fitness now blends online and in-person training, behavior coaching, and wellness education to help you move better, feel stronger, and create a lifestyle that you're proud of.

My background as an educator has had a major influence on how I approach coaching. I don't want someone to simply follow instructions because I told them to. I want them to understand why we're doing something and eventually have the knowledge and confidence to take greater ownership of their own health.

A secondary service I offer through Nuss Fitness is that I’m also an American Red Cross Instructor and Instructor Trainer offering First Aid, CPR, AED, and Basic Life Support courses, plus renewals. I also train and certify new Red Cross Instructors so your organization can develop in-house expertise. Safe, practical, and professionally delivered.

Alongside that, I run Strong Will Press LLC, the home for my writing and publishing projects. I’ve published two books, Always Be Prepared and Where Sleepwalkers Go, and I continue working on other writing projects centered on awareness, resilience, personal growth, and the human experience.

While Nuss Fitness and Strong Will Press are different businesses, they share a common philosophy. Strength isn't exclusively physical. We can develop physical strength, mental resilience, greater self-awareness, and a stronger sense of purpose. My work in both areas explores different parts of that idea.

If someone wants to start a business, what advice would you give them?

The best advice I can offer is to start before you think you are ready. That does not mean you need to quit your job and fully commit... No. Be smart about it. Build it on the side. Cultivate the attitude of "I would rather fail and wear it like a shirt than never to have tried." Don't let yourself get old and regret wondering if it would have worked out. Take the risk... and if you fail... oh well, at least you tried, did your best, and now you have the answer to your question about entrepreneurship.

I’d also tell people to solve a real problem. Don't build a business around what you want to sell; build it around something that genuinely helps someone. Then listen, adapt, and keep showing up. A business doesn't have to start big to eventually become something meaningful.

What is one piece of feedback from a happy customer or client that you won't forget?

I'm not sure I have a favorite, but I do have reviews on my website for you to look at. One that stands out to me is from a client named Brooklyn. She said:

"It's clear that Zach takes his craft seriously. He studies, keeps learning, and constantly works to improve. His honest, kind approach creates a peaceful, judgment-free environment, which makes showing up and pushing myself easier and more rewarding. Thanks to his guidance, my confidence has grown, and I feel strong! Not just physically, but in my belief that this isn't a phase. It's a real change. I am so grateful to have found a trainer who not only understands people but genuinely invests in them."

I love this one because I spend so much time and money on my education, approach, and developing the dynamic people skills that make results like this happen. It was so nice to get feedback that validated all the time I spent working on the little things in the industry.

Where do you see your company in the future?

I see Nuss Fitness LLC continuing to grow beyond one-on-one training. I want to expand into online programming, education, wellness coaching, corporate wellness, and programs built around strength and resilience. I plan to need to rename my business to involve other professionals and services as I expand into something bigger than just a one-man show.

I also want my writing to continue growing alongside that work. Long term, I see fitness, education, research, and writing becoming increasingly connected. Whether I'm teaching someone in a classroom, coaching them through Nuss Fitness, or reaching them through something I've written, the goal is very similar: give people useful tools that help them understand themselves and improve their lives.

What that looks like may change as these companies develop, but the main message stays the same. Cultivate an environment that is conducive to growth and change that allows people to move at their pace as they change their lives in health, mind, and spirit.

What is the biggest misconception about your industry?

One of the biggest misconceptions about fitness is that being healthy requires you to completely restructure your life around exercise and nutrition.

The fitness industry can sometimes make people believe they need to train every day, follow a perfect diet, buy the newest program, or look a certain way to be considered healthy. Most people don't need perfection. They need consistency.

I think fitness should support your life, not consume it. My job isn't to turn every client into a fitness professional. It's to help them become healthier, stronger, more resilient, and more capable of doing the things that matter to them.

Sometimes it can look like wellness is everything to someone. It's not... It is a tool to care for our bodies so we can do what we want, pain-free, better, and longer in life. But becoming a healthy person is done through a whole lifestyle change that happens slowly over time.

The best way I can put this is: "Don't live to eat... eat so that you may live."

What has been one of your biggest struggles building your business, and how did you deal with it?

One of my biggest struggles has been learning that being good at your profession and being good at running a business are two different skill sets. You can know your field extremely well and still have to learn marketing, sales, finances, technology, customer service, and business development.

I've dealt with that by being willing to learn outside of my comfort zone. I don't expect myself to know everything immediately. I try to approach business the same way I approach training: identify the weakness, work on it consistently, measure progress, and adjust.

Learning to build a business on the side of a full-time job, then turning it into a full-time income, came with unique challenges that I’m sure every entrepreneur has felt or gone through in their own way.

The long nights and weekends.

Client no-shows.

Hours of studying for certifications and degrees.

Thousands of calls, emails, and texts for prospecting.

Then comes the work of standing apart from every other professional in the field.

Then you ask yourself, am I enough…? Do I have what it takes…?

Finally, deciding to pick yourself up after each failed sales call or rough session, and learn from the mistakes and celebrate the wins no matter how big or small.

I would say my biggest struggle was feeling alone in my efforts. Yes, you have your family, but at the end of the day, it’s all up to you to win, and some days, for every business owner, that pressure can be tremendous. But in the end, it's all worth it.

I like to tell my team and colleagues, “If it’s still bad, then it’s not over. It will be okay in the end.”

Any shoutouts you want to make?

I would definitely give a shoutout to my wife, who supported me through the different chapters of my life and career. She's a real one... more than a wife, she is my best friend, my partner, and devil's advocate when I need to get out of my head. Building businesses, pursuing education, writing books, and taking on new projects means there are a lot of hours spent working toward something other people can't see yet. Having people who believe in you during those periods makes a tremendous difference.

I'd also give a shoutout to the clients, students, colleagues, and readers who have trusted me over the years. They've influenced my work more than they probably realize.

Where can our readers learn more about you and your company?

Readers can learn more about my fitness and wellness work through NussFitness.com and explore my books and other writing through StrongWillPress.org.