Zendude Fitness

Brandon Epstein saw a problem in the fitness industry: it had become unnecessarily complicated. Fitness marketing had "sabotaged the way people view this whole process of getting in shape." He decided to build Zendude Fitness as an anti-community for people who wanted to get fit without buying into CrossFit, yoga, or paleo ideology. The vision extended beyond six-packs—he wanted to help people discover that physical transformation alone doesn't guarantee happiness, and then guide them toward real fulfillment through rituals, relationships, and mindfulness.

Brandon didn't start by selling the mastermind group or coaching—he bootstrapped through an Instagram consulting agency. At 25 years old, he built expertise in growing Instagram accounts for fitness influencers and companies. His breakthrough came working with accounts like Drew Canole's FitLife TV (5-6 million monthly views) and Athletic Greens (generating over $30 million annually). For normal clients, he charged $300-$600/month; for enterprise clients like Athletic Greens, he commanded $1,000/month for customized packages including content strategy, webinar features, and brand ambassador coordination. Within a couple months of launching with Athletic Greens, he was doing "around like 1,000 or so to start" in monthly revenue from that account alone, though he noted they were "breaking even" while building the audience.

His Instagram expertise became a Trojan horse. By managing high-profile fitness accounts, he discovered ninja tactics others missed: direct messaging influencers (who received only a couple DMs per week, unlike Twitter's spam inbox), and building "ninja circles" of 100K-1M follower accounts who cross-promote each other. The tactic worked so well that he pivoted to high-ticket coaching: $500/month for one-on-one sessions where he positioned himself as a "smart personal trainer" with business intelligence. Clients got the fitness tools they wanted, then Brandon guided them through the realization that a six-pack doesn't solve life's problems—triggering the evolution into habit-building and fulfillment coaching.

At the time of the interview, Brandon was building the Zendude Fitness movement through a $10/month mastermind community launched just six days prior. The funnel started with free access to the "two bowl meal system" to capture emails, then funneled people into the community and eventually his $500/month coaching. He had multiple revenue streams running simultaneously—the Instagram agency serving major fitness brands, coaching clients, and the nascent mastermind—but he acknowledged his biggest challenge was focus. At 25, living in Colombia with a girlfriend, he was spread thin across ventures. His advice to his 20-year-old self: "Focus."