Who are you? Tell us a little about yourself or something that would surprise us.
I am of Peruvian and Ecuadorian descent and grew up here in Houston, Texas, moved to Tampa, Florida when I was 12 with my family and discovered the game of golf which is my number one passion. I love to play and teach even more
When I was born, life was a battle for me at first as I was born 3 months premature and weighed 1pound 11ounces. I am very fortunate and blessed that everything was fine with me given in 1985 we were not as advanced medically. From a young age I learned how special life is and was given a nick name of “Star Baby” by the nurses for being healthy and not having any complications whatsoever.
After high school I went to college in Miami, Florida and attended Barry University and got my degree in Sport Management and minor in Business. During my time in college I realized that I wanted to be a golf instructor as I found myself helping people on the driving range and then people seeking my help due to word of mouth. I took out extra money from my student loans to be a member at the course…. I don’t even think my parents know about that.
I moved back to Houston after college and became the Director of Instruction for Topgolf in Katy and now I teach for myself and recently found myself following a newer passion in real estate investing.
How and when were you introduced to Behemoth?
Man am I happy I found Behemoth! I have to thank my cousin Alejandro who got me into CrossFit when he was here on Christmas vacation and had mentioned to him, I needed to get into some type of fitness because I just wasn’t feeling right. He suggested I get into CrossFit, so I signed up with a box January 4th, 2018. In the beginning it was great but as a couple months went on, I felt that I wasn’t getting the attention I wanted from a technique standpoint, and I also lost some muscle mass when I was trying to gain. I mentioned it to my cousin, and he suggested I investigate a box called Behemoth and how I found out about Aja. It was a 15-minute drive so definitely had to check it out. I met with Aryan and the rest is history!
What are you most proud of, physically, mentally or both since beginning with us?
I’m happy with all of the above really. I’ve gotten stronger and I am continuing to get stronger. I’ve learned how to listen to my body and Aja has helped me tremendously with my mental toughness, so much so I’ve adopted a quote which pretty much sums up everything, “pay the man”. It’s from CrossFit Games Athlete Josh Bridges, and pretty much means that you don’t ever truly own anything in life like your fitness, your health, or career and constantly having to work at it so you are paying your rent or your dues so to speak. If you want to keep anything you have to pay the man.
What has been your biggest, yet most rewarding obstacle to overcome, whether in the gym or on your health journey to date?
This is bittersweet for me but my departure with Topgolf was a tough one and I give credit to Aryan and Aja for their guidance. They are such an inspiration on how to run a business that it motivated me to pursue real estate with my brother and cousin. At the same time, I use what I’ve been learning with mental toughness and apply it to what I want for my life. I can’t imagine now not having fitness and healthy eating in my life. I’ve learned so much.
Why Behemoth?
It’s because of the coaches plain and simple. It’s the little things that really made a big difference for me. From the nicknames like Mega, Migalotta, Migladon to the greetings as soon as you walk in. Coaches make you feel special and important because you are. Also, the conversations we have had. Not to mention their tremendous knowledge and generosity to always answer questions and listen. I’m beyond grateful. It has been fun to get to know each one of the coach’s and I am proud to call them my friends.
What next? What are you excited about pursuing here in the future?
I’m excited to continue learning about fitness in general. Getting better at movements, working on technique, listening to my body, getting stronger and continue to apply what I’ve learned in the gym and use it outside of the gym, in life.
“3, 2, 1…Go” Mad Lib section
-My favorite lift (movement) is… Any type of Clean
-My most frequent class I come to is… 6am
-I have always wanted to… Be a Navy SEAL
-When I’m not crushing weights, my favorite thing to do is… Practice golf
-If I could make ANY of the Behemoth coaches do 100 burpees it would be... Aja, but I will suffer with him.
-Favorite “application of fitness” outside of the gym is… I try and apply this anytime I can, from sports to daily life movements.
-Favorite band/genre/Pandora station to work out to is… I tune it out and just listen to the voice in my head to keep pushing. I guess that’s my work out music.
-Beast mode engaged when this song comes on… see above
