About me
I’m Christian Van Camp
Holistic lifestyle and performance coach. Primal nutrition nerd. Usually barefoot.
I’m interested in what happens when we stop treating the body like an inconvenient accessory to a busy life.
We’ll upgrade a phone without much thought, then spend another year running ourselves on rushed meals, indoor days and six hours of sleep. Curious priorities.
My work brings together holistic health, primal nutrition, fitness and a closer connection to nature.
I help people understand their habits, build physical capability and find a way of living that feels good to actually inhabit.
I enjoy questioning the defaults. I also enjoy a good meal and being left alone by my phone for a while.
My story
How I got here.
St. Louis
The Curiosity Started Close to Home
I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. My middle name is Rudolph. My parents apparently felt Christian Van Camp wasn’t memorable enough.
More about growing up
As a kid, I played sports, made people laugh and occasionally ate things that had no business being together. An Oreo with ketchup comes to mind.
My nutritional judgment has improved.
Health became personal through my family.
My younger sister, Nena, was born with a serious heart condition and spent much of her childhood in and out of hospitals. She received a heart transplant in 2014. Modern medicine saved her life.
Watching her go through that changed how I looked at my own body and the time I had.
I wanted to understand health well enough to take care of myself and help other people do the same.
The rabbit hole
Into the Wellness Rabbit Hole
I started lifting weights while studying at community college. I trained, spent time in the sauna and consumed an unreasonable amount of information about human health.
More on the rabbit hole
Eventually, I studied nutrition and kinesiology at the University of Arkansas, made the Dean’s List and continued learning through the CHEK Institute.
I did the formal education thing properly. Took the exams. Learned the terminology. Asked enough questions to make the Rockefeller education route a slightly awkward fit.
That foundation gave me plenty to work with. My own experience gave me more questions.
I explored different diets, ancestral health practices and plenty of supplements. Along the way, I dealt with gut issues, anxiety and the frustration of putting in effort without feeling how I wanted to feel.
That experience made me curious about the rest of the day.
Sleep. Stress. Relationships. Time outside. The constant background noise of being reachable by everyone, all the time.
Food matters. Training matters. So does what happens during the other twenty-three hours.
I became less interested in collecting health advice and more interested in finding what I could actually live with.
A strange era
A Human Animal in a Very Strange Era
I question the idea that a normal adult life should leave you constantly tired, disconnected from your body and too busy to enjoy the people you work so hard for.
We’ve built extraordinary technology. We’ve also made it possible to spend an entire day sitting indoors, barely noticing the weather.
Now AI can produce a week’s worth of content before breakfast. Your body still takes time to eat, recover, adapt and grow stronger.
I think that difference matters.
A primal approach to living brings my attention back to food, physical effort, the land and the people around me.
Where did this meal come from? Can I use my body comfortably? Do I know my neighbors? When did I last spend an afternoon doing something that wasn’t optimized?
You can ask those questions in a city. You can find harmony while having a job, paying rent and dealing with the ordinary nonsense of being alive.
The fantasy cabin can wait.
Guatemala
Life in Guatemala
These days I live at Maestro Valley (opens in a new tab), near Lake Atitlán in Guatemala.
More about life at Maestro Valley
I coach, create content and host experiences through Bioculture (opens in a new tab).
My days include training in our calisthenics gym, playing music, dancing, spending time on the land and gathering with people who also enjoy being outside.
Sunbathing happens. Clothing isn’t always invited.
We’re building a place where people can gather, move, share food and spend real time in nature.
Living closer to the land has given me plenty to appreciate and plenty to learn.
There’s work involved. Weather happens. Things need fixing. The romantic version tends to skip those parts.
I still prefer it.
Today
Health That Gives You Room to Live
Through CVC Wellness, I offer holistic health coaching and practical education on nutrition, fitness and everyday habits.
I want people to understand their bodies, make informed choices and take responsibility for the things they can change.
For me, sovereignty is practical.
Knowing how to feed yourself. Having some say over your time. Being physically capable. Choosing where your attention goes instead of handing it over by default.
I care about community, creativity, faith and having a purpose that reaches beyond keeping yourself busy.
Health gives you a stronger foundation for participating in all of it.
