What’s a handsome young fitness trainer who is divorcing his wife and coming out supposed to do when he lives in the repressed Midwest?
Move to Houston, of course.
That’s exactly what Brian Nash did seven years ago. Today he is an owner/trainer at the two-year-old Quality Life Fitness center in Highland Village, and is raising his three children with his partner, James Huter.
“We’re super fans of The New Normal,” Nash says, “because that’s our life!”
But it wasn’t easy creating this family. The divorce wasn’t friendly, and it took Nash three years and two law firms—while working two jobs to pay for them—before he finally received custody of his three kids.
“James was just wonderful about the kids,” he recalls. “We had only been dating about six months, and now I was asking him to co-parent three little kids. He deserves a medal for all he’s done. I really am going to propose to him.”
In the beginning, the children—Gabe, now 10, Keziah, 8, and Lily, 7—called the duo Dad and James. “We didn’t want to force any labels on them,” Nash says. “But now they call James their ‘special daddy.’ I think they’re really proud of having two dads. At school and Girl Scouts they’re like, ‘This is my Daddy and this is my other Daddy.’”
Nash, who has a personal-training certification from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and numerous instructing certifications from Les Mills, worked at several fitness centers in Houston but found there wasn’t a friendly, quality-of-life fitness center for young, educated people.
“There are three places in a person’s life of importance,” he says. “Home is first, work is second, and the third is where you spend your spare time—a bar, a hair salon, or a gym.”
So Nash and Huter decided to open a gym that would cater to those who wanted fitness to be a real part of their lives. And the result is Quality Life Fitness, on Westheimer near the 610 Loop.
It wasn’t easy starting and running a business with three children in elementary school, but so far it’s been a success. Quality Life Fitness combines friendly trained staff, quality equipment (they have Houston’s only Real Ryder bikes that lean and swivel like real
trail bikes), and it was the first green-
certified gym in the city. Built with recycled and sustainable materials, the gym uses non-biohazard materials and cleaning products, and uses electricity from wind energy providers. “I think any business, any person, should be concerned about the environment in their business practice,” Nash explains.
It’s all about a better planet and a better body. And to that end, Quality Life Fitness expanded in May and is expanding again this month to include a weight-loss and anti-aging clinic run by Dr. Rod Frazier.
“I think there’s a very logical and perfect fit between wellness and fitness,” Dr. Frazier says. “We’ll work with the clients to use nutrition and preventative medicine to reduce their use of medications. Proper diet and fitness can lower blood pressure and help diabetics and those with other diseases brought on by being overweight and out of shape.”
The clinic will also offer bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and skin treatments such as Botox
injections.
“My passion is to live life to the fullest,” Nash says. “And the gym and clinic are all about quality of life. If you don’t look good and aren’t healthy, you aren’t going to be happy.”
So for the New Year, get moving, eat right, and be happy.
Quality Life Fitness
4150 Westheimer Road
713/621-4300
qualitylifefitnesshouston.com
Marene Gustin wrote about the world of Mexican food in Houston for the December 2012 issue of OutSmart magazine.
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