James is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer with nearly a decade of experience working with a diverse set of athletes, particularly those active in competitive paddling and racquet sports as well as powerlifting.
James Nguyen
NASM Certified Personal Trainer (CPT)
USDBF Level 1 Coach
I wish I had prioritized my health earlier in life. It wasn't until my early 30s that I realized the importance of taking care of myself. At that time, I was working intensely as an engineer for a startup and living a work hard / party hard type lifestyle. As a result, I found myself suffering from stomach ulcers, insomnia, and just a general poor quality of life. I was in the worst physical shape of my life.
Knowing I couldn’t continue like that, I one day made the sudden decision to quit my job and focus on my wellbeing, at least temporarily. I hired a personal trainer and unbeknownst to me at the time, that decision to seek out a trainer would lead to a chain reaction that would completely change the trajectory of my life.
What started as me just wanting to simply get healthier gradually became me wanting to try all kinds of new things. Running obstacle courses. Cycling. CrossFit. And most fatefully of all, I decided to join a dragonboat team, a form of canoe racing where I found myself traveling across the globe to compete in. A year or two prior I had never set foot in a gym and now I found myself dedicating what seemed like every waking moment to thinking about, training for, or actually paddling and racing.
Most of all though, the biggest change in my life was finding myself surrounded by teammates from all kinds of backgrounds and whose fitness journeys ran a wide spectrum. Many, like me, found sport and fitness later in life and were now all in. Others were some of the best athletes in the sport and represented Team USA in international competition while others were doing something athletic for the first time in their lives, perhaps under doctor’s orders. Our stories were varied but we all found ourselves in the same boat.
I am known for being very passionate about my interests, some might say obsessed. Knowing this, it wasn’t long before I had teammates approaching me for help with their fitness. It started with answering questions about workouts or techniques during practice. Soon I started creating workout programs for my teammates. That eventually led to having several people at a time come to my home to train with me, where I would teach them proper technique, help them with injuries, and guide them in achieving their goals whether in dragonboat, triathlon, powerlifting, or other things.
In working with pre-teens in school sports, international level paddlers, former professional athletes, parents wanting to reverse years of neglecting their own fitness, and retirees wanting to improve their day to day, I came to realize I had more passion for helping others find their own way toward a fitter, happier life than I had for my regular day job.
And so, with the encouragement of my friends and family, PVPF was founded. No two of my previous clients ever had exactly the same path or needs. My hope is that I can have the type of impact for each of my clients as the trainer I hired back when I started this new chapter in my own life.