Nick Deschenes has successfully transferred his passion into a profession.
He’s a former hockey player turned hockey coach, personal trainer, and health educator who has built a career in West Kelowna. Through his business, All Out Fitness, professional coaching, and being involved in minor hockey; Deschenes has seen and embraced how well received the fitness industry has been in West Kelowna.
“There are more and more success stories coming out of (West Kelowna), but with anything there’s a learning curve,” said Deschenes. “Parents really do see the value beyond the sport with the life skills, mental toughness, body awareness, and social components in a competitive fitness environment.”
Since turning his passions into a career, it seemed he needed a new passion; something that would challenge him in his personal life. Deschenes used crossfit to expand his knowledge of athleticism for the past few years, he’s even had some successes. He finished fourth in his category at the recent Wodapalooza International CrossFit competition.
Deschenes said it was no easy task to even qualify, and that it’s not really about winning.
“A lot of it is just competing with yourself and putting your best foot forward,” the 40-year old said. “You have highs and lows throughout the competition, and strengths and weaknesses. You hope you’re as prepared as possible. It was neat for me to be in a group of athletes and see where I might stand against them, and you only get the moments every so often to match up against great competition.”
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Crossfit is something Deschenes brings back into his professional life, with using his experiences to prepare young athletes to push themselves past just getting health and fit for the sake of a sport.
“It’s something I can relate to and give back and offer local athletes. A driving force for me was to better prepare athletes for their sport and to pursue something beyond their younger years,” said Deschenes.
“My background as a hockey player and my passion in crossfit shows (clients) that I’m walking the walk when it comes to an athletics perspective.”
Knowing that the sign of any good business is happy clients, Deschenes says variety helps people make better and healthier choices in life. Whether it be specific training for hockey season, cardio training, weightlifting training, or crossfit training, Deschenes finds that can people can surprise themselves when it comes to physical fitness.
He doesn’t show signs of reducing his choices either. With coaching minor hockey and supporting his athletes at the upcoming local competition Throwdown Series, Deschenes continually promotes his passion.
“I encourage people to surprise themselves and commit to something to benefit (their) life, over all, because at the end of the day, I believe in that,” said Deschenes.
He plans to continue his crossfit training as well, with working towards the tough upcoming challenge of qualifying for the CrossFit Games. He’s not counting any chickens, but Deschenes is enjoying it and giving it his best go.
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