Inspiring people: Meet Jack Nunn Of Roworx Fitness
Feb 5, 2019 Voyage LA Magazine
Today we’d like to introduce you to Jack Nunn.
Jack, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today?
My whole life revolves around fitness. My father, John Nunn, won an Olympic Bronze Medal in rowing in 1968 at the Mexico City Olympic Games, and he was the Olympic Men’s rowing coach in 1976 at the Montreal Summer Olympic Games. I always grew up playing sports and ended up rowing in 1996 for Long Beach Juniors and the next year where I qualified for the 1997 Junior National Team Selection Rowing Camp.
From there, I went on to star for four years at UC Berkeley with a full scholarship, winning four Pac ten championships and three IRA National Championships. I was a member of the US National Rowing Team from 2001-2006 winning a silver medal at the World Championships Eight Rowing event in Linz, Austria in 2001. When I’m not rowing or teaching on average 15 hours of classes per week, I love to compete in triathlons, marathons, cycling, and Ironman events. So far, I’ve completed fourteen full Ironman competitions and seven half Ironman’s. My motto is: “fight to the finish and do the best you can. What’s possible is what you think is possible.”
In 2017, I completed the most grueling Ironman in the World in Norway called the Norseman Extreme Ironman distance triathlon. The Isklar Norseman Xtreme Triathlon is probably one of the craziest things an individual can put themselves through. This race bills itself as, ‘simply the ultimate triathlon on planet Earth’ and they are right. It’s a total of 226km spread over a freezing cold swim, a brutal ride and a seemingly impossible marathon footrace up a mountain. This is not your everyday ocean swim. You’ll find yourself taken by boat to the middle of a Glacier near the town of Eidfjord, Norway. You are then required to jump into chilly waters off the back of a car ferry and then swim against the current over 2 miles back to shore. The bike ride consists of 10-percent grades uphill with five different mountain peaks and a total of 15,000 feet of climbing over 112 miles. The 26.2-mile marathon at the end of the competition consists of the ascent of Mount Gaustatoppen which is 6,000 feet high. This is where the make or break really happens. By now you’re exhausted, cold, and probably wondering why on earth you thought this was a good idea. This is undoubtedly one of the world’s toughest races. The combination of extreme conditions and unenviable ascents make sure to deter only the most severe or craziest of competitors. This year, I’m taking my challenge to a whole new level and currently training for the Ultraman Extreme endurance race Feb. 15-17, 2019 in Orlando, Florida. I’m doing this race to honor my father’s Olympic Bronze medal that he won at the Mexico City Summer Olympic Games just over 50 years ago. Ultraman Florida in Orlando is a three-day athletic endeavor guaranteed to test an athlete’s physical and mental limits. The race covers a total distance of 322 miles, around central Florida and it is more than a double ironman. It requires that each participant completes a 6.2-mile swim plus a 92-mile bike ride the first day, a 171-mile bike ride the second, and a 52-mile run on the final day. This will be my most difficult challenge yet, and I’m now training 25 plus hours a week for the past several months in order to prepare for this strenuous competition.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not a smooth road. Since I started rowing, I immediately stepped into my father’s shadow and was constantly measured by his success in rowing throughout college and on the national team. My father graduated from Cornell University where he won two national championships and went on to be an Olympic legend in rowing here in the United States. He has been inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame and the Long Beach Aquatic Capital of America Hall of Fame. All my coaches knew my father, and there would be added pressure on me to do more every single day. The pressure was intense especially when my father would come to rowing competitions and/or practice sessions. One day I told my father I didn’t want to see him at all and wanted him to hide behind a wall so I could not see he was there. It wasn’t until 2008 when I started doing triathlons and training for them, that I started to create my own path away from rowing. It was something that I loved doing in the world of endurance competition. I always deep down loved when my dad came to see my row, and he’s come to many of my Ironman races (including Mallorca and Norway) to cheer me on. He’s my biggest inspiration and I wouldn’t be the athlete and the person I am without him. My family was worried about me in the beginning, and they were concerned about injuries. There were concerns that I wasn’t a strong enough swimmer for high-level Ironman distance competition. Another major obstacle was learning how to swim long distances and in open oceans with mass wave starts off the beach as 3,000 people would start all at the same time in Ironman triathlons. In junior high, I was on a water polo team whose policy “were no cuts to the roster.” I was an exceptionally bad swimmer and was ultimately cut from the team and had to overcome that adversity by learning how to overcome my fears and insecurities while swimming. Once I finished my first Ironman, I immediately gained confidence and never looked back.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Roworx Fitness – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others?
Ten years ago, I created a one-of-a-kind fitness studio called Roworx Fitness, www.roworx.com, that specializes in endurance training on indoor rowing machines. I incorporate nearly 80-percent of all his fitness training using this method and teaches others in the technique. I attribute my swimming, cycling, and running strength and stamina to my hours of training on the Concept 2 rowing machines. I’m most proud and grateful for having the opportunity to work in an industry that I absolutely love and have so much passion in the sport of rowing. I really want to see people succeed, learn to love the sport of rowing (with proper technique and form) and have fun. My classes are for all ages and fitness levels and are taught at the Long Beach Rowing Center. My students enjoy some of my unique motivational stories served with physically challenging workouts all delivered with my “no regrets” philosophy.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plans are to always make the Roworx Fitness center a better training experience for everyone that takes a class. I’m looking forward to integrating more technology into the rowing classes along with enhancing the view that we have overlooking the water in Marine Stadium in Long Beach.Marine stadium in Long Beach was the site of the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games rowing venue. UC Berkeley (my alma mater) won the Olympic gold medal in the main rowing event. The LA memorial coliseum and marine stadium in Long Beach are the only 2 venues left from the 1932 Los Angels Olympic Games.
My personal athletic plans are to compete in the 2020 Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in which I have already qualified and earned a spot through the Legacy program last year by completing 12 full Ironman’s.
I also plan on completing the Ultraman Florida next month and inspire and motivate others to achieve their fitness goals through public speaking, fitness class, and more.
Pricing:
- Unlimited Rowing Classes Month To Month $130 (With One Time $99 Initiation Fee)
- 21 – Class Punchcard $370
- 10 – Class Punchcard $200
- 5 – Class Punchcard $110
- Single Class – $25
- Triathlon Training Monthly Training Month To Month $150
Contact Info:
- Address: 5750 Boathouse Lane Long Beach, Ca 90803
- Website: www.roworx.com
- Phone: 562-688-1716
- Email: powerhousefit@gmail.com
- Instagram: @roworx_rowing
- Facebook: Roworx Fitness
- Twitter: @roworx
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/roworx-long-beach
- Other: http://roworx.com/blog/
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.