JD Locke | VARE Co-Founder, Fitness Coach

01 / What I build

A few things I’m into.
All the way into.

VARE

A fresh-baked protein cookie that refuses to eat like a compromise. I co-founded it and lead the brand.

Fit Coaching

1-on-1 coaching with enough structure to change, and enough humanity to make it last.

02 / Chapter 01 members only-ish

Come sit closer
to the oven.

Not a newsletter. More like the front row for what VARE is building next.

1,000+ members get first dibs every Friday. Join Chapter 01

The wall of love.

First bites. Honest faces. Very little playing it cool.

“10 out of 10.” Also: all about the fiber.

Another first bite, caught on camera.

03 / Right now

Current tabs open.

Shipping VARE Friday Drops across Illinois.

Coaching clients 1-on-1.

Documenting the climb to become this generation’s best CMO.

04 / The proof

Turns out, consistency
photographs well.

The body is one place the inner work becomes visible. Years of discipline are in the frame. The dramatic lighting is just a bonus.

JD Locke and VARE co-founder Andrew Cook holding cookies in front of Cloud Gate in Chicago — Fresh-baked in Chicago

JD Locke flexing in a gym mirror in gray sweatpants, with a phone on a tripod visible — Natural competitive bodybuilder

JD Locke wearing sunglasses beneath Chicago’s elevated train tracks — Chicago, always

05 / The climb

I’m JD Locke. Cincinnati raised me. Chicago is home. More than 100,000 people found me through fitness, but the real story has always been the work underneath it.

Now I’m co-founding VARE, coaching clients online, and competing as a natural bodybuilder.

The missionBuild VARE in public, become this generation’s best CMO, and show enough of the real climb that nobody has to guess how it happened.

06 / Questions I get

Unserious FAQ.

Do you actually eat the cookies?: Yes. That's the problem. Quality control is a lifestyle.
Can I get a discount?: No. But there's a free cookie thing floating around. Go find it.
Are you a real coach?: NASM-certified, yes. I will count your macros and judge your squat.
Why is your website like this?: Because normal websites are boring and I got bored.
Can I hire you?: Coaching, marketing, podcast guest: yes. Anything else: probably not.

07 / Previously, on JD

The lore.

A highly selective history of the moments that somehow became the plot.

Started baking protein cookies in a Chicago home kitchen
Launched the Friday Drop: order by Tuesday, cookies by Friday
1,000+ people joined Chapter 01
Stood in the middle of the street holding a giant QR code for free cookies
Still not doing cardio

08 / Press + collabs

Need a good guest with more than one answer?

Podcasts, stages, publications, thoughtful collaborations. If the conversation has some depth and the room has some curiosity, I’m interested. Press photos and a short bio are available on request.

DM me on Instagram

09 / In real time

Watch it happen.

Normal founder behavior.

Founder strategy meeting, couch edition.

A few things I’m into.All the way into.