Learning To Take Risks To Reach Ones’ Full Potential
A story about Tristan’s taking steps at a young age to change, always self-evaluating, and seeking opportunities for personal and professional growth, while learning to take risks to reach his full potential.
In the beginning
I’ve been active my whole life, from playing T-ball at the age of 3 to playing soccer from ages 4-20. Along with these sports I also participated in track and cross country in my high school years. During those years, I was a late bloomer especially when it came to getting girls; it probably was because I was short and skinny. I wanted to change my looks when it came to being skinny, so this is when I started getting more serious about weightlifting. This decision led me to start my journey in physical fitness.
During my formative years I would say my first inspiration for physical fitness was my Dad. As a young kid, my Dad was very muscular and I remember being in awe of how big his calves, biceps, and chest were.
Because my Dad was a role model for my motivation, and because I was not comfortable with my look, I decided while I was in high school it was time to move forward in fitness. As I have mentioned, I was short and skinny. And besides not being comfortable with how I looked, I would often get teased about not having my first kiss. So, at the age of 17 is when I got heavily into weight and started getting the female attention I had wanted.
When I started college, I played soccer until the age of 20. I decided it was time to switch gears and become a personal trainer therefore I hung up my soccer boots. The main reason for this lifestyle change was that I knew that I didn’t need a college degree to become a personal trainer.
After getting into fitness, I gained a sense of enjoyment in helping others with their fitness goals and you would often see me help train my friends. As I advanced in my fitness goals, I started to give my friends advice as they saw my transformation for free. At this moment, is when I knew this is what I wanted to do.
My Focus as a Fitness Trainer
A good fitness trainer must be focused, proactive, and positive to achieve not only one’s own goals but also your client's fitness goals. You need to be truly passionate and committed.
I think the biggest thing that makes a good fitness trainer is someone that actually cares and wants you to reach your goals just as badly as you if not even more than you. Personally, I genuinely want to help my clients and see them transform and grow into the person they want to be.
I am always self-evaluating and progressing in my field of fitness. I do this by helping and inspiring thousands of people around the world with their health and fitness goals. My core values as a fitness trainer are being able to motivate, encourage, have patience, be positive, and be a role model for my clients to look up to. Also, to enjoy some laughs and have fun with the process as well.
As I mentioned, I was skinny as a teenager. Since I changed direction in my goals, being physically fit I found I had more confidence in myself, and in my appearance, I felt better, performed better, and was a healthier, functioning human being, with better mental clarity.
I believe all of the values of being physically fit are equally important. I think all are very important, however different sports are going to require different types of training. Bodybuilders aren’t typically going to run miles upon miles to gain muscle. Whereas a marathon runner isn’t going to solely just do hypertrophy workouts every day. But it boils down to just being a healthy individual.
My clients come to me for a variety of reasons. The main reasons are to feel more confident in their skin, look and feel the best they ever had, better their nutrition, and know which exercises and workouts to do for their specific goals. Also, my clients come to me to gain muscle and gain weight and/or gain muscle and lose weight.
Many of my clients when they first come to me, were struggling with their confidence and weren’t happy with how they looked at all. They didn’t have any structure when it came to the gym or their diet and gained a good amount of fat since college from a poor diet and drinking.
For example, A client of mine gained over 20+ pounds and was the strongest and most muscular he’s ever been. All of his lifts improved by 10x from when he started, and he was able to dial in his nutrition without even having to think. His mental health improved drastically and was the most confident he had ever been.
A lifestyle change to be physically active can improve one's brain health, and help manage weight, which in the long run can help reduce the risk of disease and help strengthen bones and muscles. It can be a win-win situation.
I tremendously value my fitness and my health. Without it, I don’t know who I would be. Health and fitness play a major role in my life, and I feel my life would be worse off without it.
I think the toughest aspect of my job is having patience. Being able to have patience with your clients is something you really need to master or you’re not going to make it as a trainer. You also need to have patience when it comes to getting clients. Most trainers starting out aren’t going to have a waiting list of clients. It takes time to build up your clientele.
Nutrition
In my opinion, the most important aspect of health and fitness is the importance of food and nutrition. I believe 90% of your work comes from diet and the remaining 10% stems from the gym. You can’t out-train a ‘shitty’ diet.
Frequently I get questioned about taking steroids; like do I use them to get my size? The answer is no. Seeing someone who is in great shape they start to question and think, “Oh yeah because he’s in great shape he must take steroids.”
What I do to get to the size I am now naturally is to dial on my nutrition, train with intensity and purpose, and prioritize recovery and sleep.
Training Program
All of my clients' programs are custom-made by me pertaining to their fitness goals. The program I use is never developed by a standard program. I use an application where they’re able to access all their workouts and nutrition.
I am selective in whom I train. I don’t want to train people who are always negative and don’t want to get better. I don’t want to feel like training them is a chore and I don’t want to be their babysitter. I want to train clients who are eager to learn and achieve their health and fitness goals. My Clients are always on top of everything and are asking questions.
Challenge
I have had my moments when I have experienced challenging limitations. One’s mindset is the biggest limitation of achieving anything you want. If you don’t believe you can achieve the goals, you set out for yourself you will certainly not achieve them.
The biggest challenge for me was at the beginning of 2022. I was sleeping on a mattress on the floor and had a makeshift room with a bed sheet thumbtacked to the wall, which I called my “Tarp.”
I was at the lowest point of my life when I moved back to Arizona from Colorado after ending a relationship with only $200 left in my bank account. I rented a car, packed everything, a bike, and two suitcases, and never looked back.
I was lost and confused about what I wanted to do. I had burnt myself out of my online Personal Training (PT) business and lost my passion for personal training. At this point, I was working two restaurant jobs as a busser just to save up for a car. Since I sold my car as I went to live in Mexico (A whole other story).
While I was in Arizona, I biked everywhere. I would work one shift at one job and then would bike to the next. It was miserable, I was tired from working 10+ hour days. I didn’t really have a life besides working and the gym. I felt like a loser and my confidence was the lowest it had been.
But there was one thing I knew to be true that this was only temporary. My living situation didn’t define me, being a busser didn’t define me, and not having a car didn’t define me.
I knew where I wanted to go; even though it was hard, I didn’t give up. I kept working towards my goals.
Now, my life has done a complete 180; I have a new apartment; I have a car and have regained my passion for personal training. It’s all because I didn’t give up and let my current situation define me. We all have the power to change our current situation if we’re unhappy with it. But it’s up to you if you’re willing to change it.”
Since I have re-established my focus and am back on track, the biggest thing is to grow my fitness business to reach more people and be able to help them with their health/fitness goals. I also look forward to achieving my natural pro card in December 2023.
Competitions
First Competition: Whitney Jones NPC 1st True Novice; 4th Novice; 4th Open
OCB Muscle Madness: 1st Place Open A 2nd Overall
I had wanted to see how far I could take my body and also take my mental state to another level.
In my last show, OCB Muscle Madness, winning my class was great and I was eager to get my pro card in the head-to-head battle in overall. I ended up coming 2nd overall and didn’t get my pro card. I really wasn’t in the present moment. After that happened, I was already deciding if I should compete in another show in a different state, because that’s how badly I wanted to achieve that goal.
I joined these competitions to give me an opportunity to show what I am capable of accomplishing in the bodybuilding world. Also, as a coach and a person, I wanted to show that anyone can achieve their goals if they just set their mind to it and make the effort.
Fact or Myth: Living a healthy lifestyle keeps you happy and young? That is a definite YES! If you aren’t feeding your body with the right foods and not giving it exercise, your body will deteriorate fast. This is scientifically proven.
My advice to those who are struggling in losing and gaining weight and who want to lose weight is to be in a calorie deficit. Want to gain weight? Be in a caloric surplus.
Goals
When I look into my future reaching the age of 30, is to have a successful and thriving fitness business, financially free. Also, to still compete, have great relationships, help thousands with their fitness goals, be a leader others look up to, and travel the world.
What’s next for me and for right now, the biggest thing is to grow my fitness business to reach more people and be able to help them with their health/fitness goals. I also look forward to achieving my natural pro card in December.
Men My Age
I differ from most men I know in my age group. I am in my early 20s; I like having fun, but I also know when it’s time to dial things in and focus on what needs to be done. Most men in my age group float by and don’t set goals for themselves to achieve. They pretty much just float by in life. I am very goal-oriented and definitely want to reach my maximum potential. I don’t want to waste it and look back at my life in regret.
At the age of 25, a man's muscles are at their strongest. At 25, their physical strength is at its peak through to the mid-30s. Once you hit 40 years old, men's testosterone levels start to decrease, which means a decrease in muscle size and strength. There are steps men 35 years and older can take to continue to maintain their muscles and strength. And that is to exercise and eat healthily.
As I age, I see myself as always getting more robust and not having a peak. I never want to just reach a point and stop progressing. But due to biology, I may not be as strong physically then at the age of 50 as if I was 25. However, I can do my best to maintain that strength.
Final Advice
The final advice I would like to give about this life is to take risks! The last thing you want to do is look back at your life full of regret because you decided not to take any risks. Most people on this earth don’t reach their full potential. You have the option to, but it’s up to you if you want to reach your potential.
