One of the most enjoyable projects I’ve worked on lately was a site that has helped myself and countless other nerds do the impossible – stay in shape! Steve Kamb is a writing maniac who has taken the ultimate plunge into what I would consider a “pro blogger”, as he now makes a living from his Nerd Fitness brand. Oh yea, and he’s also travelling the world over the course of 9 months for just over $400. Not too shabby.
It all started while I was distracted at work by Hacker News, when I stumbled across Steve’s post about travelling the world on frequent flier miles. At the time I was just getting into Twitter, and decided that Steve was definitely worth following – and I noticed that when I followed him, it made an even number of 1500 followers for his account. Coincidentally, the minute I noticed it he tweeted something about it, to which I replied, and it sparked a conversation that eventually carried over to email. He really took the time to thoroughly answer some questions I had about his business and entrepreneurship, and I was really honored that he took the time to engage with somebody who had a measly 5 followers 
While unable to sleep a few nights later, I was in the mood to design and opened up my laptop. I remember how….ugly…. the orignal Nerd Fitness was (sorry Steve!) and I went ahead and made a few touch ups for his theme. Fast forward three months and 54 emails later, I present to you the brand spankin’ new NerdFitness.com.
Highlights of the new design:
- Custom live Twitter integration in his header speech bubble
- Custom Aweber.com mailing form integration
- Custom Google Maps “Epic Quest” integration
- Dynamic font replacement for blog titles and headings
I think it turned out great and Steve is a happy camper. Be sure to follow him on Twitter to get updates on his Epic Quest of Awesomeness. Props to you Steve, keep on keepin’ on!
Congrats! Nice work on Steve’s site!
Thanks Shaun! Been a long time coming
Now if only I could get my own posting frequency on par with you and Steve..
Keep up the great work, I bet it feels good to let it rip live! You’ve inspired Lee Anne to ponder the idea of using this approach with restaurant/diner menus.
Hell yea it feels good! haha thanks man.
Restaurant menu redesign idea is great! Most I’ve seen could use a lot of work…but when you see a nice one it takes the place (and the food) up a notch.
Hi, amazing job on steves site? I love the FONT you used on for the headings!! How much would something like that cost. shoot me me an email.
Dude!! I was just on Steve’s site two days ago and was blown away by how dope the design was. Didn’t realize you did it! Really amazing job man. Totally rocked it!!!
(And word, love the headlines!!)
Thanks man! Small world isn’t it?
I remember reading somewhere on your site that you’re working on redesign or rebranding? Let me know if you need help with anything.
It looks hot and it’s precisely why I came over to your site as I was so impressed. Everything happening in the side bar is pretty much what I want happening on mine!
Can I ask how you did the Map widget? I’ve been looking to get something similar on my site as people always ask me where the heck I am in the world
Thanks
Natalie
Hey Natalie-
Thanks for the compliments!
The map uses an “iframe”, which is essentially a webpage within another webpage. If you open up your map in Google Maps, and then click on the top right “Link” button, it should give you an iframe code that you can paste into a WordPress widget (or wherever you want the map to appear). There should also be a link under the iframe code that allows you to completely customize how the map will be displayed…which I customized to fit nicely into the side bar on Nerdfitness. Hope this helps, feel free to email me mikebridgman [at] gmail if you need any help.
I should also note: I’ll be creating some tutorials on how to both design and code sites like NerdFitness at my site InstructWeb.com if you’re interested!
Thank you. I got it going on my site but not perfectly to be honest. Google Maps is not that user friendly. Defo interested on the design tutorials.
Hey Mike,
I have known about steve for awhile but I must admit everytime I go to his site I am struck by the site design. I’m not a designer but might I say I know great design when I see it.
I’m not in a position to do a site revamp now, (prepping for a book release that is coming out April 10th of 2012) but I would love to chat with you sometime…with the goal of working with you down the road.
Awesome work my friend.
DD
ps…my book is titled Make Shi(f)t Happen: Changing how you look by changing how you think. Would love to hear your ideas of what you could do.
Hey Dean-
Somehow this comment slipped through my radar
Thanks for the compliments, NF was a lot of fun and we’ve got even more exciting updates coming out in the next couple months. I’d love to chat sometime about a future collaboration. Good luck with the launch!
Mike
[...] to it that immediately sets it apart from other fitness sites. (Apparently, the site was recently re-designed by a member of the Nerd Fitness Community.) Additionally, the guy that graced the header was sporting a Sox cap… so that gave him [...]
Great Job making the site much more interesting Mike.
I bet Steve never regretted having to spend time communicating with one of his fans.
I haven’t seen what it looks like before though. Still have a screenshot?
Just curious.
That’s kind of you to make his site much more attractive.
Simple gestures really make a difference.
How tight are Luke Davis’ f-ing pants. What a queer?? Orange County is gaaaaaayyyy!!!!!
Yes! Finally someone writes about Workout blog.
Hey Mike. I was looking through Nerdfitness.com. I had to say, your design was probably one of the best eye catching sites I have ever seen in a web design. I am looking to develop another website and already have one in the works. It would be cool to have you work on a new fitness site for me when you have the time. Im an exercise specialist but marketing has always been my weakpoint. The nerd fitness site out of hundreds ive visited was by far the best presentation. Hit me up and we’ll talk.Thanks
Dan
Hey Mike, do you have a suite of themes – premium or free? I love you style dude and want to get some too!!!
Cheers, Andrew
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