About

Nick Horton iron samurai zen weightlifting

Welcome to The Iron Samurai, where Zen and the Art of Weightlifting combine to give you a big squat, a pretty snatch, and a bar loaded with awesome.

You’re not 12 years old, you’re probably not going to the Olympics, but you DO have big weightlifting goals.

You’re willing to work hard, you’re smart, and you’ll put good advice into practice.

Here’s the advice I want you to put into practice …

I like most people to begin with my mini-manifesto on Olympic lifting: Zen Mind, Big Snatch.

And make sure you sign up for my email list and get your free copy of my ebook, “The 7 Deadly Sins Of Weightlifting,” and join thousands of others who have turned this info into action.

Quick Start Links:

A Little About Me

Iron Samurai Nick Horton

My name is Nick Horton, and by accident, I’ve become The Iron Samurai.

I had originally just named the blog that… but somehow it stuck as my personal nick-name, and I just went with it.

In addition to running this blog (my online home, if you will), I’m also co-founder and head coach at the worlds only Online Weightlifting School, Weightlifting Academy.

I was also the founder, owner, and head coach of PDX Weightlifting, in Portland, OR for 7 years where I took that club from nothing, to the largest in the State of Oregon with multiple national level athletes in various sports and helped hundreds of beginners learn the sport of weightlifting.

I’m now the co-owner/coach of Asheville Strength, in Asheville, NC with my girl, Tamara. She’s not only my lady, my business partner, and a fantastic coach… she’s also a national-level lifter who trains like a maniac. (My kind of woman.)

Basically, I love weightlifting, and I love helping YOU get better at it.

WARNING! Stay Cool

This is my PERSONAL blog. (For a weightlifting ONLY site, see Weightlifting Academy.)

So even though I almost always bring everything back around to Olympic weightlifting, I’m not at all shy about writing about my own personal life – I’m very honest by nature.

In fact, one of the most widely read articles I’ve ever written was about my own struggles with depression… and how I’ve learned to deal with this issue.

Another popular series was a fun one about Oscar Wilde. I actually got some shit for it, and a lot of unsubscribes from my email list… from homophobic assholes who I have no interest in keeping around here anyway. Fuck those guys. I have a zero-tolerance policy for homophobia, racism, or anything that smacks of punk-ass idiocy.

Be cool, we’re cool. Be an ass, I’ll kick yours out of my house.

Nick Horton glamour girl The thing is, I’m a bit of a Glamour Girl – by which I mean I don’t shy away from the kinds of things women take for granted, but most men don’t have the balls to wear: like nail polish and eye liner. (Think: Prince in weightlifting shoes.)

I know how totally oddball it is for most people to see a coach in a hard-core lifting gym with glitter on his face… but I don’t give a damn.

And part of why I have a personal blog is so that I can continue to be me, be real, and talk to you honestly about shit that matters… like weightlifting!

My Promise To YOU

I often call what I do, “Weightlifting for Smart People.”

I have a math degree, 3/4′s of a masters in mathematics, I am an artist, I’ve been practicing Zen meditation for 14 years, and I’ve read well over 2,000 books in my life on all kinds of topics most people would find boring as hell.

I don’t find the grunting, gym-rat, jock-type “relatable”.

Not just because of my fondness for pink! But at the core, I’m a bit of a geek. (My joke is that it’s more important to look cool than to be cool.)

And I take very seriously that MOST people who are interested in Olympic Weightlifting are what you’d think of as “non-traditional” gym goers with a lot of varied interests in really cool areas … kinda geeky!

No wonder I’ve become such good friends with so many of my clients over the years.

So here’s my promise to you:

You can always count on me to give you CLEAR and helpful information that does’t talk down to you.

You’re a beginner, not an idiot.

My motto is: Coaching = Teaching.

That pretty much sums it up.