Hey team!
I’ve never done this, so I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself:
My name is Nate Forse (in case you were wondering, I was born with this last name. I didn’t change it when I joined the fitness industry lol).
I am originally from Uniontown, PA. Growing up as a kid, I was SHY as heck! I hated being tall, having freckles, and big ears.
So, I gravitated to sports because it was the only place where I felt like I fit in.
My dream was to play Division 1 sports and I accomplished that by walking-on the football team at West Virginia University.
I was promised my scholarship after my first spring game, but that scholarship never came. This led me to a very dark place because my whole identity and self-worth was wrapped up in my success on the field.
I contemplated quitting for two weeks, but decided that transferring schools was the better option.
I decided to attend California University of Pennsylvania because they were on the verge of turning the program around.
We had a solid run at Cal and I’m honored to now be in their Athletic Hall of Fame!
In the three years I started in high school, we only won 6 games.
At Cal, we only lost 6 games in the three years I was a starter!
Pretty cool how life comes full circle.
My next dream was to play in the NFL. Looking back, I realize I didn’t believe I could play in the league the same way I believed I would play Division 1 football.
But I digress...
I wasn’t drafted or invited to an NFL camp and was living at home selling cars and doing workouts for different teams.
Selling cars sucked so bad that I took a job coaching girls basketball just to be around sports again.
Still, I had a burning desire to play football and knew I needed to play at least one more season.
The only contract on the table was one in the Arena 2 football league for $200 a week with a $50 win bonus.
I’m not joking.
That was my first “pro” contract.
I was just so grateful to be playing football again that I had one of my best seasons!
I set the single season receiving records for the Green Bay Blizzard and was named First Team All Conference.
The success from that season earned me a workout with my hometown Pittsburgh Steelers!
That was the closest I got to the NFL.
The next season I signed with the Milwaukee Iron and doubled my contract!!
In case you needed to do the math, that is $400 a week!
We had a great team. I was leading the league in catches and yards going into Week 12 when I developed a sports hernia, which is a tear of the low abdomen and requires surgery.
This was the first major injury of my career and was extremely frustrating because I could do everything on the field except sprint full speed.
Basically, the injury stemmed from me overworking myself.
Once I learned that I was leading the league in receiving, I tried to change my routine and force the NFL happen.
I was still getting my validation and self-worth by what I accomplished, and not in being who I am created to be.
All I needed to do was be patient, stay consistent, keep working, and instead I got anxious and tried to do more than I needed to.
Funny thing is, that the week I got my sports hernia, I heard that the Miami Dolphins were looking at me…
But the good news is that life is ALWAYS happening for us, not to us.
These lessons made me who I am today!
The following season I broke my left ankle.
I remember crying in the locker on the phone with my dad realizing that my NFL dream was done.
The year after, I separated my right shoulder. But I still didn’t know what else to do with my life outside of football.
I started selling life insurance on the side because it gave me a flexible schedule and because arena ball didn’t pay great.
My plan was to play until I was 36 or 37, build my insurance business, and live happily ever after. But that changed quickly.
The team in Milwaukee folded because of financial challenges. My quarterback suggested that we go play in Chicago because it was only an hour-and-a-half away.
So, we both signed with the Chicago Rush in 2013.
Two days before camp, he got a job coaching quarterbacks at Central Michigan University. Since the quarterback/receiver relationship is so essential, I thought about calling it quits.
Instead, I decided to play simply because I needed the paycheck.
I had been one of the top players in the league but, because of my injuries, I was now just a role player which was incredibly hard to swallow.
I knew my football career had a shelf life and I was searching for what was next.
About that time, I scheduled a meeting with a friend, who was an ex-NFL player, with the intention of selling insurance to him.
During that meeting he asked me what I passionate about and I answered that it was training, nutrition, and helping people.
Remember this: when you make a decision to change your life, you will be tested!
And boy was I tested!!!
On Monday May 13, 2013, I decided to join his online nutrition business, because selling insurance didn’t align with my passions.
On Wednesday, I got a voicemail telling me that I was cut -- A.K.A. fired.
On Thursday, I came home to find that there was no more furniture in the team housing because the team hadn’t paid the bill and it was repoed.
I only knew one person in Chicago that wasn’t affiliated with the team. Thankfully, he offered to let me stay on his couch.
That afternoon, my car’s muffler fell off and, to put the icing on the cake, that evening I was attacked by a rottweiler…
I promise you I couldn’t make this up if I tried!
But, like I said, I was being tested...
The easy route of moving home was pretty attractive at that point. However, something told me to stay in Chicago and figure it out.
I found a job as a server while also training clients on the weekends for extra cash.
I love this quote:
“Life moves at the speed of your relationships.”
I had an interview set with a technology company to be a recruiter. On the way to the interview, I scheduled coffee with a guy that could potentially help me out.
His name is Ritchie and he is an incredibly successful entrepreneur.
We connected because he had been a high level athlete too. In that meeting, he asked me why I was going to an interview when I already had a business.
I remember starting to answer, but he cut me off in his Australian accent: “Mate, you’re going for Plan B and you’re going to wake up ten years from now and still be on Plan B.”
Truth was, he was right.
I was scared.
I thought I needed to find a job to pay the bills, but I needed to shift my mindset.
He became my first personal training client and I’m so blessed that I got to be around him and share my gift with him while, at the same time, he shared his gift with me.
“Your gift makes room for you...”
Forse Lifestyle Coaching was launched in June of 2013. Over the next five-and-a-half years I built the company up focusing on personal training, group fitness, and corporate wellness.
Circa 2015, I started to see a trend in my business: some clients got amazing results, but once they stopped training with me they went back to their old habits and lost their progress.
This frustrated me because my goal is to transform lives. Not to get temporary results.
What I realized was that I was helping people change their behaviors (like going to the gym, or eating better foods), yet wasn’t helping them change the underlying cause of their negative behaviors.
So, I started to dive into the mind and what specifically makes us do what we do.
Since then, I’ve attended over 50 events and workshops to learn about mindset, fitness, and nutrition.
My obsession with empowering people to be the best version of themselves has grown since then. On July 1, 2018, I launched my first online program, called the Transform in Twelve Game Plan, which focusses on lifestyle transformation using the pillars of mindset, fitness, nutrition, and community.
On September 1, 2018, I decided to follow my heart and “Go west young man”, and moved to Los Angeles, CA.
I now reside in Marina Del Rey, CA and fulfill my mission of helping ex-athletes get their game-ready bodies back.
I use my 12 years+ experience as a coach and trainer to help them maximize their lives, master their bodies, and ultimately find their true purpose.
I couldn’t be more excited for the next chapters of this book and I hope this inspires and encourages you!
If this resonates with you, please share it with someone who is in the middle of the valley.
Remember, there’s always blue sky above the clouds!
I believe in you!
Your Friend,
Nate