GRIT
FREEDOMNPC MEN’S PHYSIQUE CHAMPION · FOUNDER · CREATOR
KEITH
KERN
I’ve spent my life getting knocked off course and building my way back. Now I’m pursuing an IFBB Pro Card—and building the next chapter in public.
COUNTRY BOY AT HEART
OCTOBER 11, 2026 · ROAD TO PRO
Grateful for
this life.
For my body. For this sport. For the people in my corner. The professional Ace of Stage photos are here, and Mother Lode on October 17 is next.
See the stage photos ↗Photography: Gilco Productions.
THE THROUGH-LINE
Build. Get tested.
Build again.
A motorcycle accident interrupted the bodybuilding dream I found as a teenager. Fatherhood gave the struggle a reason. Fitness gave me a way back. OCF turned rebuilding into a community. Now the stage, the businesses, and the stories I create are all expressions of the same instinct: see what something could become, then do the work to bring it to life.
THE LIFE I’M BUILDING
Same guy.
Different gear.
01THE ATHLETE
Road to Pro
In my late 40s, I’m documenting the honest attempt to earn an IFBB Pro Card—training, meals, posing, feedback, setbacks, and every detail between now and the stage.
Explore ↗
02THE CREATOR
Original entertainment
Comedy, characters, and true-to-life Bay Area stories—turning real people and businesses into content worth choosing to watch.
Explore ↗
03THE FOUNDER & COACH
ObstaCourse Fitness
The Redwood City gym I founded in 2017: challenging, supportive training built to help people become stronger and more confident.
Explore ↗“Help people become who they know they can be.”
THE MISSION BEHIND THE WORK
THE STORY IS STILL CLIMBING.THE AMBITION
Recognition backed
by real work.
I want to earn my Pro Card. I want the story, businesses, and original entertainment I create to reach a much larger audience. I want to become a recognized athlete, founder, and Bay Area creative personality—not through a manufactured persona, but by becoming more fully myself in public.
Reach and wealth create more room to build, make people laugh, support the people I love, and help others believe they can become more too. The ambition is real. So is the responsibility behind it.
THE CREATIVE INSTINCT
I see what something could become.
A gym becomes a community. A Bay Area business becomes the setting for an original comedy. A practical nutrition tool becomes a character and a story. The formats change, but the work begins the same way: find the human idea and make it real.
THE REASON BEHIND IT
Build the dream.
Show up for the life.
The work matters. So does being present for Chrissy, Jack, Logan, and Lucy while pursuing something difficult. The goal is not success at the cost of the life around it. The life is what gives the pursuit meaning.
Follow the Road to Pro ↗Read the full story →