Fitness programs can take a variety of approaches, and most of them can be safely categorized. Some use a soft-sell emotional approach to get potential clients off the couch, relying on that type of connection to get results.
Not Nick Bare. Bare is the opposite of all that – he’s hardcore to the max, and in his case it’s hard to argue with the merits of that approach.
His story is an interesting one, though, and it has helped him get rich, so let’s explore. Bare’s program is strongly tied to the fact that he’s also a former Army Ranger, and he brings those values to his program, which is seriously uncompromising.
Early Days
Born in 1990 and raised in Palmyra, Pennsylvania in a family with dairy farming roots on his father’s side, Bare attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where he studied nutrition with a minor in business administration..
Bare was also part of the Army’s ROTC program, but his initial efforts to start his own fitness business based on his love of bodybuilding and supplements didn’t go well at first.
He took out a $20,000 pre-commissioning loan from USAA (military-affiliated bank) and launched Bare Performance Nutrition out of his tiny college apartment in 2012. The brand flopped in its early years, doing roughly $20,000 in revenue annually for its first three years.
But Bare is one of those folks who seems to thrive on setbacks and adversity, so he kept going. His military training helped, he loved being a platoon leader once he became an officer, and Bare eventually completed Army Ranger training, which is serious business.
Bare’s business seemed dead in the water when he was deployed to South Korea for nine months, but he took his camera along and discovered that he had more time than he expected. He devoted it all to BPN, and his sales from $2,000 a month to $10,000.
Success and Net Worth
Bare started his own YouTube channel in 2014, and that was when BPN truly began to take off. His relentless approach to fitness and nutrition produced $300,000 in revenue in 2016, and the next year that revenue climbed to $1.7 million, then jumped to $22 million in 2020.
Today BPN is generating $50 million in annual revenue and his YouTube channel has over 1.5 million subscribers. Due to the success of BPN, Nick Bare has an estimated net worth of $15 million. The bulk of his wealth sits in BPN equity rather than cash compensation.
Here’s how BPN’s growth actually played out:
- 2012–2014: $20,000/year (essentially break-even for three straight years)
- 2016: $300,000
- 2017: $1.7 million
- 2019: $6 million (per Bare’s own statement)
- 2020: $22 million
- 2022: $40 million (confirmed via interviews)
- Today: $50 million annually
Two things stand out. First, the first five years produced essentially nothing, a useful counterpoint to the overnight-success narrative that supplement marketing usually leans on.
Second, the take-off correlates perfectly with Bare’s content output rather than with paid advertising spend, which is why BPN now functions as a case study in DTC scaling. The brand still reportedly generates roughly 90% of revenue through direct-to-consumer channels, even after expanding into omnichannel retail.
BPN now operates from a 50,000 sq ft headquarters in Round Rock, Texas with 40+ full-time employees, and its products are stocked in Vitamin Shoppe, HEB, Scheels, and Central Market alongside its DTC business.
The Author and Athlete Side Hustles
He’s now a two-time author. His first book, 25 Hours a Day: Going One More to Get What You Want, was released in January 2020. His follow-up, Go One More: Find the Clarity to Make Intentional, Life-Changing Choices, was released by BenBella Books on June 24, 2025 and became a New York Times bestseller.
Bare also has his own training program, “Embrace the Suck,” a 12-week program that mimics his training style and tactics. He’s now a three-time Ironman finisher, so there’s no doubt he walks the walk, too. He’s also run 100-mile ultramarathons, embodying the ‘hybrid athlete’ lifestyle he’s helped popularise
His may seem a little hardcore for some, but it’s hard to argue with his success. There’s much to admire about the way he’s gone about running his business.
Personal Life
Given Nick Bare’s approach, you might think he has a flamboyant personal life, especially since he happens to be both ripped and handsome.
But that assumption would be wrong. Bare dated a fellow YouTuber, Stefany Banda for quite some time, and in 2020 the couple announced their engagement in 2020, then got married later that year.
Their daughter, Charli Grace, was born in July 2022, and the couple welcomed a son in late 2024. Stefany now runs her own family-food blog and recently published a children’s book titled Go One More.
