Client Hall of Fame interview with Nick Cedarlund

Nick: I’m doing good, thank you for having me, I’m very honored to be in the Client Hall of Fame.Adam: It’s a pleasure to have you with us, my friend. And a little bit about Nick. Actually he started using our programs probably around five years ago, you’re 20 now, right, Nick?

Nick: I am 20, yes.

Adam: Excellent. And you started using our programs at 15, is that correct?

Nick: Sounds about right, I was a sophomore in high school, so I’m going to say 15.

Adam: Sounds good, and yeah, you’ve definitely used several of our programs, from Fitter U to Eating for Energy to the Cleanse, so you definitely know all of our programs, and we’re really happy to have you on board for sure.

Nick: Thank you, I’m excited.

Adam: And a little bit about Nick. We actually hired him to take care of all our customer service inquiries for the business back in March, so he’s been doing a wonderful job over the last six months or so now. And if you’ve had any questions over the last six months, if you’re one of those clients you’ve probably spoke with him, on the phone, or by e-mail, and he’s been doing a great job. So Nick, why don’t we get it started off with a few questions here, okay?

Nick: Sounds good.

Adam: All right, Nick. So before you found Yuri and the company, how did your life look like beforehand?

Nick: How did it look like? I remember I was not in a shape I wanted to be in, and I remember the summer going into my, yeah, it would be going into my sophomore year of high school, I got a gym membership, because I just wasn’t feeling very good, I didn’t really have any energy, I was, I wasn’t overweight, but weight I wanted to lose. And I remember going to the gym, and when I signed up for the membership, they gave me a free, personal training session with some trainer that had no idea what he was talking about. So I did the session, and it was just this meathead who liked to lift as much weight as he could, and he really didn’t know anything about nutrition. He gave me some nutrition plan that was a little bit ridiculous, looking back on it, and I was just lost. I would go to the gym, and I would walk in and out, I had no idea what to do. I’d walk over to the corner and stretch a little bit, then walk around for half an hour lifting random weights, so I was really… before I found these programs, I was just absolutely lost when it came to fitness.

Adam: Understood, and definitely personal trainers in gyms, that’s seems to be the case where, you know, they do a weekend course, and they think they’re experts on everything to do with health and nutrition, but that certainly isn’t the case, that’s for sure.

Nick: Yeah, definitely.

Adam: So Nick, what was your first call to action, basically, like what made you, well, first of all, how did you find us?

Nick: Oh boy. I think I was looking on YouTube, and I stumbled across a Yuri video talking about, I don’t know, green smoothies or something, it was awhile ago, so I don’t really remember. But I just remember I watched this first video, I liked him, Yuri, and I ended up watching like four, five more of his videos that night, and for the next couple months I would just watch more and more videos, and then somehow I stumbled upon, I think, yeah, Eating for Energy. I didn’t have a credit card at the time, because I was too young, so I had my mom purchase Eating for Energy with her credit card, and that actually got her interested in Yuri as well, so now it’s kind of a family interest.

Adam: That’s nice, you have the whole family who’s basically following us, right?

Nick: Yeah, exactly, yeah, my Dad’s running too now, just got to get my…

Adam: Now when you…

Nick: …brother.

Adam: Now when you first saw Yuri on YouTube, were you skeptical at first about what he was preaching or talking about in his videos, or how did you feel when you first saw him?

Nick: Oh boy. Honestly, I don’t remember if I was skeptical, I know I had always kind of had a holistic mindset towards health, whatever that means when you’re 15, but I remember just intuitively feeling like he had integrity, and he was someone I wanted to follow, at least compared to the other people that I had been, or that had been influencing me in terms of fitness, like that personal trainer at the gym. I just remember thinking that Yuri was the real deal, at least that’s what I thought from his videos.

Adam: For sure, definitely, and that’s the good thing with Yuri, he’s very transparent, and he basically, you know, what he preaches is basically what he practices personally, and I think a lot of people appreciate that for sure.

Nick: Yeah.

Adam: So really, what pushed you over the edge to, you know, make a change in your lifestyle, do you think, at such a young age? Because you know, I’m 15, most kids are not even thinking about health and fitness or anything like that, so you’re definitely ahead of the game. What was that one thing that probably pushed you over the edge to commit you to, you know, personal well-being?

Nick: Yeah, it’s a little bit embarrassing. I think I wanted to get a six-pack for dating purposes, to be honest, when I was 15, so I think that’s what really motivated me to start working out. My values are a little bit different now, but that’s what initially got me started.

Adam: And it’s funny because I remember growing up with Yuri, we were talking about that too, and when he was a teenager, he basically incorporated the same thing, like, “Oh, I wanted to really, to show this girl that I’m really cool, really hot, I’m having six-packs,” so he was basically on the same wavelength as you as far as, you know, bettering his lifestyle, you know, and getting as fit as possible.

Nick: I think I remember him talking about that in the video, so that’s funny.

Adam: For sure. Now you mentioned Eating for Energy that your mom purchased for you. You also got the Fitter U program, is that correct?

Nick: Yes, I did, yep.

Adam: What were your initial challenges with Eating for Energy and Fitter U when you first started the programs?

Nick: Challenges for Eating for Energy, my initial challenge was I wanted to incorporate a lot of the recipes, and my family was not, not on board, but it was just new to them, so they, it wasn’t like a situation where they dropped everything and started buying much vegetables. It took awhile, and a lot of me asking to go shopping when they went to the store, and picking out my own stuff, and my parents definitely now they’re a lot more proactive in buying a lot more healthy foods, but in the beginning it was definitely hard to get my family involved, if that makes sense.

Adam: No question, for sure, and you know, a big factor in, you know, changing your lifestyle and your dietary habit is really having the people around you doing so as well.

Nick: Right.

Adam: It’s very hard to do it on your own, and so when you have your family, you know, helping you through it and doing it together makes it a lot easier, that’s for sure.

Nick: A lot easier, that’s so true.

Adam: What was your scariest moment during the whole process, either with Eating for Energy or Fitter U? Was there anything that, you know, you got to a point, you’re like, I don’t know if I can do this anymore, or you had cravings for other foods, or you didn’t know if you could do the workouts anymore, anything like that?

Nick: Yeah, I think I tried to go 100% following the Eating for Energy plan, so I tried to just go cold turkey and 100% raw, and I remember I was going to do it for seven days, and by day three or four, I was just, like absolutely, I just needed to eat meat. And I remember feeling like there must be something wrong with me if I can’t even, like, go seven days raw, and looking back on it now, I don’t know, I just feel like I don’t necessarily want to be 100% raw, because that doesn’t really work for me. So just, it was scary to me to have to figure out that it’s not easy to just, like, turn 100% raw, and maybe that’s not even the best thing.

Adam: Yeah, definitely, and especially when you’re going from a totally different diet, and trying to just change everything overnight, it’s very difficult to do, and a lot of people that tried to do that give up after a week or two, because it’s just too overwhelming for them. So, you know, as you were mentioning, it’s kind of taking baby steps and incorporating smaller things into your diet slowly but surely, and eventually when you feel comfortable eating the foods that you are, it makes it a lot easier to transition, that’s for sure.

Nick: For sure, because when you first buy a product online, like the sales page makes it sound like it’s just going to change your life, like the next day, and so you have so much excitement, so it’s really easy to lost that kind of excitement, because it’s such a hard change to make, so you really have to take it slow and add one recipe in a week, if that’s what it takes, or one a day, or whatever.

Adam: Definitely, for sure. Now Nick, what do you think your ultimate reward or success was from, you know, doing these plans like Eating for Energy and Fitter U?

Nick: I think giving me a foundation to live the rest of my life in a healthy way. I know it’s definitely more popular in society and in media now, like plant based and different diets and stuff like that, but still a lot of my friends go to the gym and lift weights, and then drink their chocolate milk or whatever the old, they’re not old, but, I guess stereotypical, like eat a can of tuna at the gym or something like that.

Adam: Definitely.

Nick: What’s that?

Adam: Yeah, definitely.

Nick: Yeah.

Adam: You know, a lot of people still follow the old traditions on how to do things, milk is going to make you feel a lot better, this and that.

Nick: Yeah, exactly.

Adam: But that’s totally far from the case, that’s for sure.

Nick: Yeah, I remember when I first started working out, I would always bring chocolate milk, and looking back now, I think that’s kind of ridiculous, so I think, yeah, just giving me a foundation of basic knowledge to live the rest of my life in a healthy way.

Adam: And I’m assuming besides that as well, Nick, it probably helped you with your own self esteem and confidence, as far as, you know, daily life, you know, daily routine, you know, just taking on your tasks, this and that, right?

Nick: Yeah, for sure. I think in terms of eating, like the Eating for Energy, I just always used to… I didn’t really, but I was kind of worried about how many vegetables I was eating because I didn’t really eat many vegetables, I think a lot of people don’t, and then once I started having smoothies, like, I would have a smoothie in the morning with a bunch of vegetables like kale, and spinach, and apples, and whatever, and then the rest of the day I could almost relax just knowing that, okay, I’ve had a bunch of vegetables, I don’t necessarily have to eat a bunch more that I don’t really like, if that makes sense. Like it definitely helps you eat more once you eat them in the beginning of the day, you eat more throughout the day, but I don’t know if that makes sense, but just at least eating, getting an initial shot of good nutrition when you wake up really helps you throughout the rest of the day.

Adam: There’s no question, even for myself, Nick, like Yuri bought me a juicer for Christmas last year, was the best present I’ve ever gotten actually, and thank you, Yuri, for that. So basically, you know, beforehand, you know, I used to eat fruits and vegetables, not as often as I do now, but just incorporating a green juice every morning for the last, you know, eight or nine months, has really significantly increased my energy levels, and just how I feel on a daily basis, so it’s just a great way to start the day, that’s for sure.

Nick: Oh yeah, definitely.

Adam: Now these changes that you’ve made, and, you know, achieving these goals that you did with Eating for Energy and Fitter U, have them, you know, has anything else in your life benefited from achieving those goals that you did with those two programs?

Nick: I think you mentioned earlier I definitely have more self-confidence, and a lot of belief in myself. Like I definitely, I’ll go to the gym and see people doing weights, and then standing around for five minutes, where I’m doing Yuri’s workouts and just boom-boom-boom, and I’m out of there, that definitely gives me self-confidence, and that I feel like I know what I’m doing, and I’m not just kind of wasting my time. I think in terms of eating healthy, that also, I don’t know, it really makes me feel good, I guess, that so many people don’t have any idea what to do, and I kind of found ways of eating that work for me more so… I used to, so I guess my answer is, a lot more self-confidence.

Adam: Yeah, definitely, and the thing is, you know, the average population really doesn’t know all the fundamentals of proper nutrition and diet, and, you know, you’re definitely one of the people that are way ahead of the game just because you do know about this, at such a young age as well, and that’s why we thought you’d be a perfect fit for our first call for the Client Hall of Fame. And Nick, were you able to inspire people around you with the successes you’ve achieved by using our programs?

Nick: Yeah, in terms of my family, definitely, my mom and my dad, they both gave green smoothies now, and both of them went through the Fitter U program. I don’t know, not necessarily my friends, I never really tried to influence them, but I think it’s a lot easier to influence your family than friends, that’s my opinion.

Adam: There’s no question, and the best way to influence people is by them seeing the kind of result you’re achieving by changing your lifestyle, or incorporating new workouts, or diet into your life, and they see these kind of changes, especially your family that see them every day compared to your friends, it’s a lot easier for them to see the changes that have happened to you, and they’re like, Nick can do it, I can do it as well, so it becomes almost like a team effort, and that’s just awesome for sure, man.

Nick: Yeah, for sure.

Adam: Well Nick, I wanted to thank you again for taking the time to have this call with me today. You really are an inspiration to all of our clients, and even me personally. I think you’re doing an awesome job. You’re doing a great job with the company as well, and yeah, for more information on Nick and his story, you can visit Yuri’s blog at s39810.p1429.sites.pressdns.com, and we’re going to have some more information on Nick and the success picture up there as well. So Nick, thanks again for your time again today.

Nick: I appreciate you having me, and I’m really enjoying working with the company, and anyone have any questions for me, you can e-mail me.

Adam: Thanks, Nick, appreciate it. Have a great day.

Nick: You too.