#50 Elliott Hulse on Becoming the Strongest Version of Yourself

Elliott Hulse (0:00)

There's nothing that will humble you more than fighting against physical resistance in hopes of expanding yourself. Even if I die, it doesn't matter.

That is oneness, that is meditation, that is integrity, that is unity. Our sense of ourself is so huge that if we try to draw it into this frame, the frame destroys. If you're going through a chaotic or a crisis moment, just know that on the other side of that breakdown, on the other side of that deconstruction, is a brand new you, a stronger version of you. The light is going to rise. The path is there, we just gotta step on it.

Siim Land (0:43)

Body, mind, empowerment.

Elliott Hulse (0:45)

Get stronger, faster, smarter, quicker, friendlier, more helpful, more driven.

Siim Land (0:51)

Everything the body needs.

Elliott Hulse (0:53)

Control your mind.

Siim Land (0:56)

Welcome to the Body, Mind Empowerment Podcast. I'm your host Siim Land, and today we have a special episode with Elliott Hulse. Elliott has built one of the top online coaching businesses and his social media channels have millions of followers. He started his gym and YouTube channel Strength Camp over a decade ago, and he shared practical wisdom about physical training, emotional development, and becoming the strongest version of yourself.

Elliott, I'm so glad that you could come to the show and I'm very excited for this episode.

Elliott Hulse (1:27)

Well, thank you for the invitation.

Siim Land (1:29)

Yeah, you built one of the top leading fitness channels on online and I think like a lot of people already know about you, but they still don't know like the entire story of what got you started and yeah, what's the backstory? So can you maybe give us like a brief overview of how you started Strength Camp?

Elliott Hulse (1:51)

After being a personal trainer in Florida and realizing very early on that I wanted to work for myself.

I could even go back a little further. When I was 14 years old, I discovered weight training because my uncle decided to become a personal trainer. That was back in like 1994 And so he introduced me to two things. He introduced me to weight training and to entrepreneurship. So it was the first time I ever had known someone that earned a living doing what they love doing. He loved to lift. He's always been an athlete. He was in martial arts. He was a gymnast and he started bodybuilding. And then he quit his job as an accountant and said, I'm just gonna lift and teach people how to lift. And that was his job. I was 14 years old and it changed my life.

So when I went on my career path, I pretty much knew that's what I was going to do also too. So I worked for a few years as a, not a few years, actually a few months as a personal trainer when I moved to Florida in 2004

And then decided to venture out on my own because of the advent of the internet, I was able to use Google to get clients without having a commercial gym.

And all I needed was a place to train them. And I had an old van that my dad handed down to me. So I filled it up with sandbags and tires and trash from around the city. And I would go to the park where I'd meet guys that I would train. And that's how Strength Camp started.

Siim Land (3:21)

Yeah, I really like your story because it kind of shows that if you have enough perseverance and grit, then you can achieve what you set your mind to. And you definitely have shown that you kind of built everything from scratch. And although you had your good influences in the example of your uncle and other influences, but you still kind of grinded it out yourself. So yeah, that's...

Yeah, exactly.

Elliott Hulse (3:46)

The path is there. We just got to step on it.

Siim Land (3:48)

Right, yeah. Take action on it.

And I also like to think that one of the biggest reasons why people emanate or resonate with you is because of your authenticity and you're very real in the sense of you're gonna be honest and you're gonna tell the straight truth. And your videos very well, they showcase that. So that's one of the reasons why I believe like you're constantly trying to evolve yourself as well and to stay congruent to who you are. So that's one of the reasons. Yeah, absolutely.

Elliott Hulse (4:18)

I mean, I think that's a part of why anyone becomes a lifter or an entrepreneur is because you want as few restraints holding you prisoner from your truth as possible. You want the time, you want the energy, the creativity to do and be everything that is truly you, authentic.