Meet Andrew Vanderpoel

We were lucky to catch up with Andrew Vanderpoel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, great to have you with us today and excited to have you share your wisdom with our readers. Over the years, after speaking with countless do-ers, makers, builders, entrepreneurs, artists and more we’ve noticed that the ability to take risks is central to almost all stories of triumph and so we’re really interested in hearing about your journey with risk and how you developed your risk-taking ability.

I didn’t learn how to take risks from a book, I learned it by living through real-world decisions with everything on the line.

Before I started Superior Nutrition, I was on a completely different path. I studied Law Enforcement, earned my degree, and worked as a reserve officer. It was a steady track, but deep down, I felt pulled toward something more, something I could build from the ground up that genuinely helped people.

Starting this business meant walking away from security and moving 10 hours away from everything familiar. I didn’t know many people. I had no backup plan. It was the first real leap of faith I’d ever taken—and the hardest.

From there, risk became part of my daily life. I worked side jobs, bartended, cooked, and took overnight shifts to make my ends meet. I even slept in the back of the store—not just to cut costs, but because I lived 40 minutes away and had to be at my overnight shift few hours after closing our store. I often skipped paying myself and still do so my team could get paid on time.

I also went through a tough but necessary buyout with my original business partner. That forced me to take full ownership—financially, operationally, and emotionally. It was overwhelming at the time, but it forced me to grow fast and lead decisively.

All of that, every setback, every hard decision, shaped how I approach risk now. I’ve learned that risk doesn’t get easier—you just get stronger. You learn to adapt, to problem-solve, and to stay grounded even when the pressure is high. The pressure gets overwhelming high at times…

Every new idea, expansion, and event still carries risk—but now I trust my gut, move with intention, and stay laser-focused on what matters most: helping people, supported, and empowered through authentic connection.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

At Superior Nutrition, we specialize in helping people reach their fitness and wellness goals through high-quality supplements, honest education, and personalized support. We’re not a high-pressure retail store—we’re a results-focused community. Every person who walks through our doors is treated like family, and we take the time to understand their goals, challenges, and needs before ever recommending a product.

Lately, we’ve been working on expanding our reach through new partnerships and initiatives—one of the most exciting being our Corporate Wellness Program. While we’re keeping the full system under wraps, it’s designed to help businesses improve team morale, energy, and retention through structured wellness support, community engagement, and exclusive health perks for their teams.

We’re proud of what we’re building, and even more proud of the lives we’re impacting—from beginners taking their first step into health, to athletes looking to fine-tune performance. Superior Nutrition continues to grow, but our core mission stays the same: deliver real value, build trust, and help people win—inside and outside the gym.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Looking back, the three most impactful qualities in my journey have been: resilience, self-education, and intentional relationship-building.

1. Resilience

Entrepreneurship will test everything—your patience, your finances, your confidence. There were moments I was sleeping in the back of the store, working overnight shifts, and trying to keep the business alive on pure grit. Without resilience, I would’ve folded early.
Advice: Get comfortable with discomfort. View failures as feedback. Build the mindset that no matter how hard things get, you’ll find a way forward—even if it means pivoting, humbling yourself, or grinding harder than ever.

2. Self-Education

I didn’t go to school for business. Most of what I’ve learned has come from being obsessed with getting better—reading, asking questions, watching how others operate, and studying what works. From supplements to sales psychology to local market behavior—I had to teach myself.
Advice: Don’t wait until you feel “ready.” Get moving and learn as you go. Read, listen to podcasts, ask questions, shadow people doing what you want to do. Stay curious, stay teachable, and apply what you learn in real-time.

3. Relationship-Building

The most valuable part of this business isn’t product margins—it’s trust. Building personal relationships with customers, staff, and community members has kept this store alive. When people feel seen and supported, they come back—and they tell others.
Advice: Talk to people. Follow up. Listen more than you speak. Treat your customers like friends. Your business will grow as your relationships deepen.

What has been your biggest area of growth or improvement in the past 12 months?

Over the past 12 months, my biggest area of growth has been learning how to adapt to changing market dynamics and turn that awareness into innovation.

Retail has shifted. The way people shop, what they prioritize, and how they engage with businesses looks different than it did even a year ago. Instead of just reacting to those shifts, I focused on getting ahead of them—and the biggest result of that mindset has been the creation of our Corporate Wellness Program.

We realized there was a massive opportunity to serve not just individuals, but entire organizations—bringing structured health, supplement education, and performance support into the workplace. Building that program pushed me to think differently about community, delivery models, and long-term impact. It’s been one of the most meaningful evolutions in our business.

This process taught me how important it is to not just wait for customers to come to you—but to build systems that go to them. That shift in strategy and leadership has helped take Superior Nutrition from a retail store to a growing wellness brand with real reach.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://superiornutritionsd.com/
• Instagram: _superior_nutrition_