When Bend local Nate Nielsen began looking for a gym, he wanted more than a warehouse of equipment. A lifelong sports fan, Nielsen was focused on strength and mobility for golf and pickleball, but he also wanted a community.
“At most gyms, people plug in their music and ignore each other. I wanted a welcoming environment where people get to know and support each other,” said Nielsen.
He’s not the only one drawn to a different approach to fitness. From teens to seniors and weekend warriors to pros, today’s athletes seek a more holistic approach, one that builds strength as it supports body, mind and spirit. It’s a new perspective on weight training to build more than muscle mass—it elevates metabolism and bone density, ignites speed and power, and boosts mental health and resilience.
Nielsen found the community he’d been seeking when a friend invited him to BOSS Sports Performance, a strength and fitness training hub in Bend that embodies this approach to fitness. “The facilities and coaches are both impressive, but the energy is contagious, especially with all the student-athletes. I immediately wanted to be part of it,” he said.
Cultivating Strength, Starting with the Kids
Kevin Boss founded BOSS Sports Performance in 2014, after retiring from a professional football career that included a 2007 Super Bowl win for the New York Giants. His vision for the business was clear: use everything he’d learned in football to teach not only sports, but persistence and confidence in young athletes.
From Boss’s perspective, resilience is a byproduct of strength training, especially in teens. “There’s no instant gratification in the weight room. You have to keep showing up, and the reward comes slowly. Seeing kids grow into their abilities is the best part of my job—and that will always be the heart of what we do,” Boss said.
Brooklyn Fobi, of Bend, is one of those teens. She’s a Bend High School junior aiming to play college volleyball. “The training helps me in volleyball with more vertical and explosive strength on the court. It keeps me disciplined, and that will help me in college,” she said. For Fobi, it’s the coaches who make the difference. “You can see that they feel like a family. The coaches are so approachable and positive, and they know me,” Fobi added.
Since its beginnings with an initial focus on youth, the gym has grown to include adults at all levels, from professional athletes during their offseason to amateur enthusiasts who want to up their game on the trails, ski runs and courts. Addressing this wide variety of goals and abilities, coaches tailor group classes to allow each individual to succeed at their own level. As Boss put it, they want to make workouts the best part of the day.
Come for the Coaching, Stay for the Community
How does a fitness center cultivate that sense of community? Marcus McGovern, coach and director of adult fitness at BOSS Sports Performance, sees it as a top-down intention. “Kevin brings our staff together into a close-knit team that cares deeply for each other and the work we do,” he said. The team’s enthusiasm for strength and health spreads to the clients and infuses the gym with energy. As McGovern explained, being surrounded by positive people is the best way to adopt a healthy, happy mindset that sets the tone for the rest of the day.
“Everything we do in the gym is designed to serve life outside the gym—to help people keep doing what they love, injury-free,” said McGovern. “Bend is full of wildly active people, and strength training is like putting on armor. It protects your body against injury from the forces that can beat us up, and makes us more durable.”
This approach is what keeps clients like Nielsen and Fobi coming back. “When everybody knows your name, you feel welcome. You go for an hour, move your body, interact with friends—that sets you up for a good day,” said Nielsen.
Strength plus community equals resilience outside the gym. Kevin Boss seems to have found the formula for turning exercise into the best part of a day.
