We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin Nucum and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting my own business initially started as a college project. At the time, I had to present a 60second pitch of something that I was passionate about, the community needed and that was NOT on the market yet (similar to the show: Shark Tank).

During my college years, I was very much into Ninja Warrior back when it was still in Japan. I wanted to try these obstacles and train like these ninjas. I did some research and could not find a gym near me that offered these obstacles that were on the show. The closest thing were rock climbing gyms or free running gyms. Even with those, you would need multiple memberships to practice on the different obstacles. As a college student, that was not an option to be paying those memberships. The other option that I found was that these ninjas were building the obstacles and practicing in their backyards. So with that information, I pitched this idea of having a one-stop shop gym for anyone to come in to train and practice for Ninja Warrior. While doing a little bit more research, it was going to be way too expensive to start a business like that with little profits in return. My mentor at the time suggested, “What if you went mobile and build up your clientele first then build up to a gym?” I thought that was a brilliant idea and we went with it.

The idea was a hit and was one of the top ideas in the class. We ended up forming a group to do all the research from the ground up that included from the concept, how we would be different from other gyms, financials, marketing, operations, absolutely everything. This was a year long project which we ended up presenting to a group of investors, venture capitalists and other entrepreneurs for a chance to win a scholarship to jump start this business idea. Unfortunately, we did not win but the feedback and encouragement that we received to pursue this idea since it was so viable, I did decide to pursue it. I figured we already did the research; all we needed to do was execute what we researched.

I gave myself a timeline of a few years to see where and how far I can take my business, Hardkour Performance. I did not want to regret not taking the risk later in my life or see some one else launch a similar business that became successful or try to start this idea at a later age where if it did fail, it would be difficult for me to go back to work at another company. I told myself that I could always go back and work a 9-5 job especially with my two degrees. So after college, I decided to go all.

As the business kept growing in the early years, I knew I wanted Hardkour Performance to become a lifestyle: a way that our athletes and clients live their lives creating healthy habits. Not only do we workout and train for these competitions, but we need to eat healthy, recover properly, sleep well, rest physically and mentally. This is a representation of my life and my lifestyle and I want to share that with others through Hardkour Performance.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Hardkour Performance is a mobile fitness company that specializes in obstacle course race (OCR) training. We prepare our clients for events such as Spartan Race, Tough Mudders, local mud runs, etc. Every 2-3 months, we switch locations of our classes which include parks, beaches, trails, and other gyms. With the pandemic, we’ve added a few more services of an online training program, house calls and virtual workouts.

What sets us a part is the fact that we are mobile. We do not have a brick and mortar gym nor office. The concept of the business staying mobile is the concept of the food trucks: I wanted clients and followers to follow us on our social media channels and they would follow to wherever we would host classes. This helps with the whole concept of how all of our competitions are outdoors with unpredictable weather and terrain. The idea of staying mobile and training whether it is raining, snowing, sunny, hilly, flat..it did not matter to us. It adds another challenge and better prepares our clients for competitions which ends up being to our advantage. With that said, I am proud of this concept. It is definitely not for every one since it gets gritty and dirty. But this is what makes us win and have gotten recognized as one of the best regional teams in OCR.

To get where I am today business-wise, it took a lot of sacrifice, patience and hard work. People do not realize how difficult it is to start a business or build something out of nothing unless they have gone through it themselves. It was definitely not easy being where I am at today. Having a strong belief and passion of what I am doing with my business is what motivates me. To see the impact of what Hardkour Performance is providing for people’s lifestyles and health is something much bigger than me, so I use that as motivation to keep pushing even on my down days. I have a solid team of clients that I love which motivate me to continue my passion.

I’ve learned plenty of lessons along the way:
– Not taking things too personally, it’s just business.
– Aspire to inspire before you expire.
– Everything takes time and we need to trust the process.
– Embrace the suck; get comfortable with being uncomfortable

I want people to know that Hardkour Performance is a lifestyle brand and company. Not only are we offering workouts, we create our own merchandise. We work with the top brands that you are familiar with. To be the best in our industry, we only work with the best companies that we believe align with our goals. From our apparel to equipment, everything is branded with our logo or name. If you go to an obstacle course race anywhere in North America, you should recognize us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Mon – Cruise to Long Beach and go to the San Pedro Fish Market for lunch, then the Olive RestoBar in Downey for drinks/dinner

Tues – Go down to Huntington Beach, hang for the day, go to Pacific City and grab some tacos at Bear Flag Fish Co

Wed – Walk around Downtown Disney, then Anaheim Packing District for lunch then the Anaheim Garden Walk at night

Thurs – Hang at Universal City Walk for a bit then go to Grand Central Market to try out a bunch of food for a late lunch/early dinner.

Fri – Brunch at Blu Jam Cafe, Drive through Hollywood Boulevard, check out the Hollywood sign then go to Santa Monica Pier and hang around there

Sat – go on a morning hike to Mount Baldy, grab breakfast at Stacks Pancake House, go to a drive-in movie theatre and grab dinner at Sugarfish in DTLA

Sun – Beach yoga with Hardkour Performance at Sunset Beach, grab a coffee and acai bowl from Fit Bar Cafe then just hand by the beach for the rest of the day

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Ah there’s so many people that I would love to shoutout and thank. It really takes a village to build something from scratch. Two people that really deserve credit and recognition in my story is:
– Mama Nukes (my mom) : she was the rock that was there to support me through the ups and downs mentally and emotionally. She just always gave me perspective that I would not necessarily always see. Even though she is my mom, she kept it real 100% of the time especially when it came to the business. Can’t thank her enough for what she has done for the business these last 5 years.
– Mark Collantes – He is one of my best friends from grade school. Mark developed and manages anything on the backend of the business: website, blog, emails, social media, etc. He’s the man behind the scenes. Without him, I would not have the time and energy to be doing all the other things people see on social media. His work, effort and dedication to me and HK is undeniable. Beyond grateful for Mark.