Community Highlights: Meet Andrew Berry

Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Berry.

Hi Andrew, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for sharing your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I need help to summarize my story in a paragraph. Before my family moved to Vermont, I was born in Des Moines, Iowa. I was always an athletic kid, drawn to feats of strength, muscle building, and fitness in general. Throughout high school, I excelled in football and basketball, but my true love was weight training and bodybuilding. I chose to study Nutrition in college (University of Vermont) and started competing in competitions in 2002 throughout my years of study. Post-college, I worked as a personal trainer helping all types of people achieve their fitness goals while continuing my bodybuilding career. I competed throughout the last 10 years, working my way up the ranks until I could win the Master’s Nationals Super Heavy Weight class in 2021, granting me IFBB professional status. When Instagram became popular, I increased my exposure to a greater audience and started working with clients from all over in an online capacity around 2012. I slowly developed more and more of an online presence while pulling back my personal training clients and leaving the gym setting shortly before 2020. Most of my business involves working with high-level physique athletes in the National Physique Committee (NPC) and the International Federation of Body Building (IFBB), taking care of their off-season and pre-contest diet, training, and supplement regimens. In short, my job is to help people grow muscle and then peel all the fat off to present well on stage. Additionally, I do a lot of work with the general population, mainly women, to fix functional health issues like hormone dysfunction.

My work involves:

• Sitting in front of the computer all-day
• Answering client emails
• Changing their plans
• Traveling to different cities for competitions

There is no better satisfaction than helping someone achieve their IFBB pro status after having put years in as an amateur. Nothing is better than helping long-term clients and friends reach IFBB Pro status, which is coveted in our industry. It means that you won your class at a national show and have earned the right to compete with the best of the best in the world. The pictures of people I included are in this group. Rachael Oberst (wife), Nate Spear, Scott Dennis, Lia Taylor, Tori Parella, Kaylee Walker, except for Kaylee, I have worked with the rest of the group for over 5 years, and some of them since the start of their careers.

We all face challenges, but would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The challenges involved with being a good bodybuilding coach always have solutions. The key is to not be dogmatic in your approach and always be willing to continue to learn. Sure, there are issues with non-compliant clients cheating on diets, missing cardio, etc., but these people tend to weed themselves out. I have set an excellent example of working hard and paying my dues, and the results will come.

Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I work with physique athletes and general population people to help them achieve physique and fitness goals, optimize hormones, fix digestive issues, and live a better quality of life. Every client and situation differs, so it’s a very personalized approach.

Who else deserves credit for your story?
I have to give a lot of credit to the people that have mentored and coached me over the years, from my first coach, Greg Trombley, an OCB Natural Pro who taught me how to diet and suffer the first time I competed. I also need to give a lot of credit to Dante Trudel of truenutrition.com for his lessons on the training he has posted all over the internet and the coaching he provided me. Lastly, I owe much of my success to my mentor and friend, the late John Meadows of www.mountaindog1.com. He took me on in 2013 and taught me how to monetize bodybuilding. We became great friends over the next 8 years. He passed away in 2021, the day after my last show. I have not competed since then, and I don’t think I ever will again. Lastly, my clients deserve the bulk of the credit. They do the work. I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t have highly motivated, hard-working people on my roster.

Pricing:

• 250/month

Contact Info:

• Website: bodyberry.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/berryswole/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ThinkBIGBodybuilding

Image Credits
Nathan Spear, Scott Dennis, Rachael Oberst, Lia Taylor, Tori Parella, Kaylee Walker