This episode features an enlightening dialogue with J.R. Gordon, a distinguished entrepreneur and professional bodybuilder, who epitomizes the essence of human resilience and dedication. We delve into the transformative journey he has undertaken, not only in his pursuit of athletic excellence but also in his commitment to uplifting the community through health and wellness initiatives. J.R. elucidates the profound importance of building inner strength and discipline, sharing poignant anecdotes that illustrate how personal challenges can catalyze extraordinary growth and purpose. The conversation further explores the intricate relationship between motivation and discipline, emphasizing the need for incremental progress rather than overwhelming oneself with drastic changes. Ultimately, we are reminded that true success lies not solely in personal achievements but in the positive impact one has on the lives of others. An insightful exploration into the life and philosophy of J.R. Gordon unfolds as he recounts his journey from a young athlete to a professional bodybuilder and entrepreneur. The conversation delves deeply into the foundational aspects of personal transformation, emphasizing the significance of internal development before external achievements. J.R. articulates how his experiences in the realm of fitness have not only sculpted his physique but also fortified his character, fostering resilience and discipline. His narrative is rich with anecdotes that illustrate the challenges he faced, including the daunting leap of faith he took in establishing his own business, UFit, amidst uncertainty and risk. The discussion further emphasizes the role of mentorship in J.R.'s life, highlighting how the guidance he received propelled him towards his goals and enriched his understanding of community impact. This exchange serves as a compelling testament to the power of perseverance, underscoring that true success is not merely a product of physical prowess but a culmination of one's inner strength and commitment to bettering oneself and those around them.

Takeaways:

• The transformative journey of entrepreneurship requires immense courage and personal sacrifice, as demonstrated by J.R.'s leap into business ownership.
• Building a successful business involves not only professional skills but also cultivating meaningful relationships with clients and the community.
• In entrepreneurship, navigating failures can lead to valuable lessons that enhance one's ability to adapt and grow in challenging situations.
• Health and fitness should be prioritized as integral components of a fulfilling life, impacting both personal well-being and professional success.

Links referenced in this episode:

• UFit
• iamcoachjr
• Lawrence Gordon

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• UFit
• Van Nails
• Papatoodles
• Carrollton Bank
• University of South Florida

This is Adam Marburger.

And this is humans that build real conversations with real people.

Not just about what they've built in the world, but what had to be built inside them first.

No hype, no shortcuts, just humans doing the work.

Humans that build.

Real people.

Real work.

What's up, my friends?

It's a beautiful day to share some incredible knowledge from like minded entrepreneurs that want to make an impact.

You're here at another wonderful episode of Humans that Build.

Today I've got somebody on the show that I've got a personal relationship with.

I've known this individual for a really long time and I've watched him, from a very young man turn into an incredible contributor to the community, watched him turn into a pro athlete and have watched him transform not just his life, but multiple lives around him through health, wellness, fitness and also mentorship.

So I'm going to welcome my friends and family here to Lawrence Gordon, which we don't call him Lawrence, we call him J.R. that's how now everybody knows him.

J.R. welcome to humans that Build.

Thank you for having me, man.

It's an honor to be here.

Yeah, you've done some remarkable stuff in this show.

We won't be able to scratch the surface on all of the things, but we're going to highlight a lot of the things.

Before we get started, let's just kind of chat it up for a minute.

What are you getting into now?

What currently are we working on today in your business?

Today in my business, I'm taking a very, very heavy emphasis on online training.

I saw that there was a huge need for that and obviously, as you know, with coaching and personal training, there's only so many hours in the day and so many lives that you can touch immediate.

So I wanted to take it on a bigger scale and wish we've really done an incredible job and I wanted to be able to coach people all over the world and try to change as many lives as we and impacted as many lives as I possibly can.

I love it.

So yeah, you are the co founder of UFit.

You guys are conveniently located right off one of the main streets in Alton.

You guys are always busy.

Every time I drive by, you guys are always busy.

So tell me, how many years now have you been the owner over at UFit?

How long have you been there?

This is my sixth year.

Wow.

Yeah, man.

And you know when you made that decision to go out on your own and do your thing because, you know, I remember, you know, you're working in health clubs you know, you're doing your private training.

You built a hell of a following.

I mean, you and Kendra, your amazing wife, you guys have built a really great following.

How scary was it to just say, I'm gonna go do this myself?

Like, talk us through that?

I want to hear that.

Absolutely terrifying, man.

I mean, it was definitely the biggest risk that I have ever taken, but it's the most rewarding thing that I've ever done in my life is allowing myself to step out on faith and take that risk, to bet on myself, bet on my wife, you know, and just really put all our chips on us so we couldn't fall back on anyone.

It was no one that we could look to.

It's us versus the world.

If we win, we win.

If we lose, we went down fighting.

So that's.

That's the way we still live our life.

Yeah, you know, entrepreneurship, and I love.

And I don't just chat it up with only entrepreneurs.

The prerequisite to get on humans that build is you're just a human being doing wonderful things, making an impact.

I mean, you could be an employee, employer.

I want all forms of life, but I predominantly connect with entrepreneurs because we understand each other, right?

Because there's times.

There's times where that bank account is empty.

There's times where you got to make payroll, and you got to make a decision where that money's coming from.

I know firsthand.

I know.

You know, firsthand entrepreneurship.

Sexy, right?

We like to talk about it, but, you know, a lot of us don't talk about some of the struggles.

So let me ask you this.

You've been in business six years.

You make it.

They say you get to seven, you've made it for life.

You get a business of seven years, which, by the way, six years.

Mad props.

Tell us.

Tell the viewers here.

A lot of people listen.

A lot of people watch.

In the six years you've been in business, what is one of your favorite failures that you've made that you just.

You made a mistake?

What did you learn from that?

What is your favorite failure?

Tell us what you learned from that failure and that setback.

Oh, man, that's a huge one.

Favorite failure?

Man, that's loaded.

Because I failed a lot.

I failed a lot.

I mean, I've done a lot of good things, but, yeah, definitely, I've learned through a lot of my failures.

One of my favorite failures that I had to encounter was with a client.

We were on the honor system, and we.

And we had gotten kind of backed up on payments and I didn't really know where we were because we were so caught up in this.

And mind you, this client was a great transformation, and I didn't even realize how far back behind we had gotten.

And they just wanted to keep going, but they.

But they were also like, oh, is he going to fire me?

Is he going to fire me?

So one of my biggest failures, but that was ultimately rewarding, was I didn't want to get rid of that person.

I understood where we were.

I understood where they were in their life.

But with entrepreneurship, they have.

It comes with a lot of different connections, and people have different skills to offer that isn't just money.

So they were like, hey, I don't want to use you, and I don't want to give this up.

Can I help you with your bookkeeping?

So my failure was to stay on top of payment, but in return, they ended up helping me become more organized.

We still have a phenomenal relationship.

They helped me set up my books.

They helped me still out with my P and L. And so it was.

It was overall one of the most rewarding things that I could do, which led to other things of people that have so many gifts that they can offer.

And it makes you feel like you're not in this alone, and it allows you to actually learn things and how amazing people truly are and how much they're willing to help.

Yeah, you know, it's amazing to people.

There are.

There are people that truly want to help.

There are a lot of people that just truly want to be of service, and they want to be a help.

And, you know, it's amazing.

You know, you talk a little bit about, you know, not having some systems in place, and this individual is able to kind of help you get set up.

That's one thing they ain't teaching you.

You know, they're not teaching you in a high school.

You know, there's no class on here.

What do you do in your first six months of business?

You know, they don't.

They don't teach you.

You need to get a good cpa.

You need to get a CPA you trust.

You need to have an attorney look over your agreements.

You got to have a good operating agreement in place.

You got to have the right lending institution that you can build a relationship, because there's going to be a day and you're going to need some dough.

All right?

You got to be able to have those conversations with the banker.

You got to be set up on QuickBooks.

There's no class, if that's what you're using, especially small businesses.

We were on QuickBooks.

That is so important for the young folks out here listening.

And this is coming from a guy that likes to sell stuff.

I'm the guy that wants to sell and make a deal, and I don't want to deal with the details.

That's why in a business, it's important.

J.R. you know, you're the front, you're the face.

I mean, you're out there working on training, acquiring new clients, retaining clients.

Yes.

Some of the rig of a row of the foundation of the business you shouldn't be working on.

Right.

But you should have it set up and delegated.

Right.

100%.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, hey, that's a good lesson you learn.

And I'm glad you learned that early on, too, because.

Yeah.

I mean, because in business, I mean, whenever you're.

Whenever you have a skill and people acknowledge that skill and they're willing to pay you for that skill, it all becomes so fast because they're here to pay for the thing that you're good at.

And you get so caught up in doing the thing that you miss out on the business.

And then if you miss out on that piece, man, it could make or break you so fast.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I want to kind of reverse engineer you.

So, like my podcast, everybody asked me, what is your purpose of your podcast?

Where do you see this thing going?

What is your goal with this?

My goal is so simple.

It's to have conversations like this with extraordinary people, to share wonderful information out into the world to help make an impact.

You might have somebody after this here, J.R. six months from now, listen to this.

In California, you might change their life.

That's what this is about, helping.

And so I want to start kind of.

I want my people to get to know you a little bit better, and then I want to reverse engineer and go back in time.

But let's start right now.

So, you know, for those that don't know, you're a professional bodybuilder.

Okay, so take us through, you know, what got you into bodybuilding?

What kept you in bodybuilding?

Because that stuff's not easy.

It takes a toll on the body, man.

And I. I've watched you over the years, and I see how you eat.

I see the things you don't do.

I see the social life you do not partake in.

There is a lot of sacrifice in your world, and it's admirable.

It really is.

So tell us, why bodybuilding?

Why did you get into it?

Why the hell do you stay in it?

And what does kind of that end goal look like for you personally?

So it all started, I mean, obviously I was an athlete early on.

I played high school basketball, which led into a lot of other sports and things of that nature.

And I've always been driven to challenge myself.

I was wanting to change my body.

I saw guys at the gym.

I was already a fitness professional, so, you know, I was up for a new challenge.

I was.

People tell me that I had a good physique and I could take it to the next level.

I really think that one day I could do this.

Now, I didn't think it would be one year, two years, I figured it would take a long time.

But, you know, I was like, you know what, let's give it a try.

I wanted to hire a coach to make sure that I was in the right, going down the right direction, dude.

My coach ended up being a great mentor of mine, a great friend.

So it really started to become like a family oriented thing, so.

And then I started recognizing how hard bodybuilding was.

It's unlike anything else.

You know, there's physical challenges that people encounter all the time, but bodybuilding is truly, truly, truly a sacrifice in a mental mind.

Honestly, it will freak you out.

You'll have good moments where you feel like you're on top of the world and then the next day you feel like you're nothing.

So I really wanted to channel and become more in tune with myself.

And I mean, it really makes you in tune with what you're weak at, what you're strong at, what you struggle with.

Your social life takes a toll.

And that kind of spilled over right back into my business.

To build consistency habits and strong disciplinary habits, to have those sacrifices to be okay at this sport.

And it's a whole nother level to be elite at this sport and to be elite in any sport, I mean, it takes a great deal of sacrifice, a great deal of time away from your loved ones, families, social gather.

So that's what kind of got me into it.

And then once I got on stage and actually learned that I could be something, people were talking to me, they were like, hey, you have great potential.

The very first time I was just like, you know what, I just need to decompress.

I need to go back, take some of this knowledge that I gained from myself.

And some of this discipline that I gained from myself and pour it back into my clients because it was such a crazy thing to do.

So what kept me in it was I became hungry for it.

I desired to see how many things can I remove from my life that does not benefit me to become the person that I'm desiring to pursue.

So it's continued to compound in my business.

It's helped me to stay focused, it's helped me to stay grounded and ultimately humble.

Because people think that it's easy to be a muscle man.

You know what I'm saying?

It's expensive tissue.

Muscle is very, very expensive tissue.

It's one thing to lose weight, it's one thing to try to become an athlete, but to have good amounts of muscle takes discipline in the kitchen, your sleep regimen, your workout regimen, and ultimately how you carry yourself and how you carry stress even.

So let me ask you this.

Take us to the show where you earn that pro card.

I mean, because, I mean, I was around you enough, and I wouldn't actually saw.

You competed amateur, and I was blown away.

Like, when I saw you get up there and your whole routine in your hat.

I mean, you.

Dude.

I mean, you brought it on the stage.

I was like, really?

I didn't know.

I didn't know what to expect at one of those shows.

For those that have never been to a bodybuilding show, I will tell you if you.

It's freaking cool.

It's really cool.

It's entertaining.

But you had your routine down.

I was like, holy cow.

Jr's the man, you know?

So when you so fast forward a little bit after that, because you took it serious.

Yeah.

What was the show?

You got your pro card.

And how did that feel once you.

Dude, it was a God thing, dude.

God works in mysterious ways.

The show that I was looking forward to doing, mind you, was five weeks ahead of this show.

Wasn't expecting to do this show at all.

A bodybuilding friend of mine knew that I was in prep, and they were saying, hey, Jay, I've seen some of your stuff online.

I see that you're being that you're ready, come and do the show.

I said, well, you know what?

I wasn't planning on it.

I got five weeks until the show that I'm pursuing.

Is it a pro qualifier?

They were like, yeah.

So I talked it up.

I chopped it up with my coach.

I'm fully thinking he's gonna say no.

Like, no, we need to focus on what we're focusing on.

Keep your eye on the prize, I'm not dealing with anything.

But I called him, I said, hey, coach.

Hey.

A buddy of mine brought this show to my attention.

Now, if you don't think that I'm ready and we don't want to mess up what we got going on, by all means, I'll tell him I'm gonna pass.

He said, J.R. you've been ready for weeks.

Your mindset is always ready.

We're always in a place to where we can pull the trigger.

He said, but I want you to go into this with no expectation.

You go in here, you have fun, and then if we get what we want, that's cool.

If not, we got another one we're going to pursue.

I said, that's all I need to hear.

So we went ahead, did our dehydration process, we dried out, we got ready, and that was the most peaceful and fun time I've ever had without any expectation.

So I went up there.

We had a bunch of athletes.

I'm going up there, just doing my thing.

Everybody sees me.

They're like, oh, this dude's the real deal.

I was like, really?

You guys think I'm the real deal?

So when they.

When they announced me as the winner, it was just like, I was in shock.

I was like, wait a minute.

Did I just get my pro card right now?

So.

And it just all just hit me like a ton of bricks.

And then I'm just weeping.

I'm like, dude, this is not what I was expecting at all.

That's amazing.

You know, that is absolutely amazing.

It's like God took that.

He's like, I know you're nervous.

I know you're anxious about this.

I want to take the pressure off of you because you're ready for the gift.

So I was like, he just opened that door, and I'm thinking, I got you.

You're thinking, it's so far away.

And he said, no, it's right here.

Open the door.

I was like, holy smokes.

I didn't know.

So it was a beautiful moment, man.

Amazing how God works.

It's amazing how God works.

Yeah.

And so now you know.

So in the current.

Your business as well, we're going to come back this.

Because I kind of want to go backwards a little bit.

We're going to.

We're going to talk health.

We're going to talk how people get stuck, what to do when they get stuck.

I want definitely some of your.

From a selfish standpoint, I'll be very honest.

From a selfish standpoint, you're going to Share a lot with us.

That not isn't going to just help me, but help a lot of people.

You know a lot about nutrition, working out, health, et cetera.

But let's go back in time.

Let's talk about little J.R. let's talk about little J.R. so when J.R. was 16 years old, did you, you know, see yourself as an entrepreneur, like from a business?

Let's talk about business standpoint.

Take away the athletics.

But when you were younger, did you see yourself one day maybe wanting to be a business owner?

What, what, what did you want to be when you were 16 years old?

I love asking those questions, man.

Age, age 16.

We were playing basketball.

I was worried about the girls.

You know, I really didn't know what I wanted to be.

But I had good grades, I was a good student, I was an okay athlete.

So I was like.

And I was always very realistic.

I was a very realistic kid.

I'm like, hey, there's a chance I may be able to play like juco basketball.

If a school decides to, they may pick me up.

D3, but nothing special.

I'm not too crazy tall and I'm not too crazy talented, just in a specific thing, but I'm an okay kid.

I'm a learner and I'm a hard worker.

Those were always my strong points.

I'm relentless.

I work hard and I'll give you everything I have and I'll.

And I'll.

And I'm a listener.

But man, I really didn't know because it's funny that you say age 16, because that was the most lost time in my life.

All of a sudden, right?

Just like we were talking about with the bodybuilding.

That was the year that I lost my mom to cancer, to colon cancer that spread to our liver.

Before we knew it was stage four, and before I knew it, I was saying goodbye.

Oh, yeah.

So age 16, that probably was the roughest year of my life.

Because, you know, you're going, you're playing basketball, you think you're a hot shot, you think you're Mr. Popular.

And all the while, because my mom, she wanted nothing more than to see me graduate.

You know what I'm saying?

That's a mom's dream.

They want to see you go across the stage.

So all of a sudden she told me she was sick.

I'm like, okay, we're gonna get through this.

Before I knew it, I was saying goodbye.

So I never got a chance to give her that.

So that was just hard.

It was hard to grasp, it was hard to understand.

And I really didn't know what I was doing after that moment.

So, age 16 now.

Let me ask you this.

Let me ask you this.

Tragedy, especially a tragedy like that.

I mean, that.

That.

I mean, you can't put words to that.

But a lot of times we'll take a tragedy and you can go one way with it to where we can do something exceptional, or we can go another way and destruct.

And I'll tell you my tragedy.

You know my story.

When I lost all of those people in that same year, I kind of self destructed.

I self destructed.

I did all the things that I shouldn't do, and I was in a funk for about nine months.

What did you do?

How did you handle that?

Did you see yourself destructive or did you turn it into positive?

What was your.

Hey, brother, I'm putting you on the spot, and I do it on purpose because I want to know, what did you do with that?

How did you deal with that?

I'll tell you, man, I was so angry with life.

I felt like everything was taken away from me.

I felt.

I was angry with God, you know what I'm saying?

You know, that.

That being the center and cornerstone of my life.

I was like.

I was just so angry to take my best friend from me.

And I.

And I wanted to rebel.

I mean, I did.

I did.

I rebelled.

I was mad.

I was hurt.

But there was such a covering on me.

So, like, every time I would try to do something bad, people were routing me to be like, nah, Jerry, that's not what you want to do.

So I had a lot of good people around me that loved me and saw what I was doing and allowed me to look in their face and be like, jay, I know you're hurt, but you got something amazing ahead of you.

And that's something that I didn't understand at that time, and I didn't want to understand it.

Something that I ran away from.

I didn't want it.

I don't want to be important.

I don't want you to say that I'm cool or any of that.

I want to be bad.

So I. I pursued it.

But every time I hit a corner of wanting to be bad, there was a wall.

So I.

It's like I. I was just bouncing back and God just allowing me to bounce back and forth to think that I'm going to be bad, but all the while, he's directing my path, and I just.

And that's.

I'm still on that yellow brick road.

Yeah, well, you know, your mom's looking down and she's so proud.

You know that.

I do know that now.

I do.

You do know that.

So here I want to.

I wrote a couple notes here because I'm sitting here thinking that, you know, especially, you know, I'm.

I'm in the fitness business as well.

I'm in the jujitsu business.

Yes.

You followed that journey since day one.

So you, You, You've seen what we've done, and, you know, you see people get stuck, you know, because here's the thing, you know, motivation and discipline are wildly different things.

I go to conferences all the time, and I hear great speakers, and I leave just jacked and motivated.

You see all these people leave jacked and motivated, and they go back and do the same shit.

Pardon my language, mom, if you hear this, they do the same thing that they've always done, and they continue to get the same results, but they were motivated.

They were motivated.

It's.

They lack that discipline.

So we're going to get into this.

So I wrote some notes.

You know, someone right now listening is stuck.

Somebody listening to you and me right now, they feel stuck.

They know they need to get healthy.

They know they need to make a move.

They know they need discipline.

But when they start, they stop.

You are the expert here.

What's their first move?

I just laid the groundwork out there.

They know they need to do it.

They know they want to do it.

So they know it's the right thing to do.

Yeah.

But when they start, they stop.

Bingo.

So what.

What people do all the time that I have to get them to do is slow down.

Slow down.

That motivation is going to be there in the temporary, and it's going to end quick if you allow it to.

So we don't want to run the race so fast that we hit that wall faster than what we think.

So what a lot of people like to do is they set the goal, and then I'm going to.

And what they try to do is just 180 their entire life in 24 hours.

I'm going to walk, I'm going to work out, I'm going to eat healthy, I'm going to stop drinking, stop.

Stop doing all those things and focus on the very first thing that you said and start winning at that thing.

So you said you're going to.

What you're going to do is start going to the gym.

Okay?

Do that.

Do that every day.

Win the day, and then let those other things build.

Because whenever you get to throwing everything at the wall and hoping something Sticks, you really don't even know what's really working.

So then when you look back at yourself and then you cut out one thing, before you know it, you feel like you're worthless.

Instead of, instead of stacking up the small wins, you're seeking some grandio win that really is fictitious.

There is no end goal whenever it comes to your health and wellness.

No matter in your financial life, in your family life, in your Christian life.

This temple that you have is a very delicate thing.

But it's only you.

And you only get one ride to live.

This is your game of life.

And the how you and how healthy you are is always going to matter.

No matter if you have a billion dollars or one dollar, no matter if you have 12 children, one children or no children, you know, if you have a wife, that's amazing.

God bless you with that too.

Maybe you're just a single man for the rest of your life, but guess what?

That you can account for is you.

People have a hard time looking themselves in the mirror, being honest with themselves and taking an honest assessment on what needs to be the first step instead of thinking of all the steps and then eventually quitting because you feel like you didn't succeed fully at all of them, you know?

Yeah.

Yeah.

So that's why I say take the first step.

And if the first step isn't going to the gym because you can't afford it, walk.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I am going to be 46 this year.

Yes, sir.

And I've been doing a lot of reflecting.

And that reflection leads all back to health.

Health is wealth.

I have seen so many individuals build amazing companies, sell those companies and we're talking guys and gals that have hundred plus million dollars in their estate, but they're sick and they're unhealthy and they're bedridden, they're in a wheelchair.

They're not living that dream retirement.

And that's why I tell people working out it has to be something that is in your regimen.

It's a daily activity.

It's truly a daily activity.

I got a story and I'm sure I want to hear a story from you.

I my biggest takeaway or my best story from back in mixed martial arts, you know, this individual.

So I'm not going to say his real name online for the sake of, I don't have his permission to do so and I'm not going to call him out.

But we had an individual come to our gym back in the day at the War Room in Wood River, Illinois.

It Was a mixed martial arts academy I was managing.

And this individual was a junior in high school.

He was at least 100 pounds overweight, real severe acne, came from a troubled home.

I mean, dad drug addict, alcoholic, mom not in the picture, lacked self esteem, no confidence.

I mean, it was that.

It was just that, well, a handful of us just really took him in and made him treat him like a little brother.

Six months down the road, weight starting to come off, face clearing up.

Another six months down the road, lost all the way.

Now the dude's got some muscle.

Yeah.

Acne's gone.

Yes.

He's got a different hairstyle, you know, now he's doing an MMA fight.

He's doing his first MMA fight.

Now the girls are interested.

Yeah, yeah.

I'm not going to say I changed his life, but I will say that myself and my fellow coaching staff and that environment together as a team, we changed each other's life because we were impacted by it too.

From a positive, it is selfish because it makes you feel so good when you can change somebody's life.

Now, before I land the plate, how many people have you worked with and I worked with that are on the edge of suicide, on the edge of just giving up on life until we get a hold of them and we change the way they see themselves, the way that they see the world, they see the value that they actually bring.

How strong is that?

I want to hear from you, and I know you've got way more transformation stories than I do, but if you would, if you don't mind, you don't need to use names, but share a story or two, if you would, I'd love to hear a story from you where you've really completely not just changed, but it somehow saved somebody's life with what you do.

Yeah, I mean, I got two different types of stories.

I got a save your life story and I got a story where I changed your life to where you never thought it would be or you were unsure that it was gonna be that.

So I'll go to the savior life story.

I'm currently working with this individual now, comes into me, wants to lose weight, had no idea you could see it, but you never want to assume on anyone, Right.

I could see them like, oh, man, there's some.

There's some things going on here.

There's some deep rooted trauma, there's some.

There's some hurt in this individual.

And I hope that I can bring it out and for good and channel that energy into a positive route.

So me and this individual Were working, working out.

We're doing a phenomenal job in the heart of one of our workouts.

This individual says, last night, I just wanted to kill myself.

And I didn't want to let you know that, but coming here, but having this appointment with you today, I wanted to give it one more shot.

And as a professional, you have to be able to channel your feelings.

You gotta be able to hold the poker face for the most part and still have an opportunity to show that you care and you love that individual.

So I was like, so what changed?

I'm glad that you made it here.

But what changed that made you give it a second shot on life?

He said, because I can tell that you genuinely care about me, and I don't feel like I have anyone that cares about me.

Dude, I'm getting ready to break down in front of this young man.

Dude, it was the most powerful feeling.

It was so powerful.

And mind you, he says, these things aren't real.

And I know this junior.

He said, I have a son, a daughter, and a wife.

Oh.

He said, and they all went to bed, and I was right there.

He said, but I wanted to make it into this.

I promised myself that I was gonna hold myself to my obligation of coming into your personal training session.

He said, and, dude, you saved my life.

That's amazing.

So he gave me that opportunity, and I just let him know, like, brother, I always got you.

No matter what, no matter if you can't afford this anymore.

No matter what, if you're on that brink ever again, just know, you can call my phone.

He said, dude, I need that.

How's he doing now?

Dude, he's doing phenomenal.

Which I.

He had to miss his session today, and he text me.

He was like, dude, if it ain't one thing, it's another.

Did you encounter that big hailstorm last night?

Yeah, we got a little bit.

Yeah.

So he encountered it, and I guess he had a flash flood, and it ended up going into his base, and he was getting ready to come in for his workout and went to go get his clothes out of his laundry.

Out of his laundry to come work out.

And that's in his basement.

He was like, okay, my basement's flooded, Jay, so I'm not gonna be able to make it in.

I said, don't you worry.

I said, I'm gonna send you a workout.

Go to the other gym.

Knock it out when you can.

Just let me know when you do, and we'll figure out another day that we can come in.

But before that, he was like, hey, man, you really helped me and keep that between me and you.

Obviously, I didn't tell people his business, keep that between me and you about the whole situation.

But my life has been up and down, and I probably gotta say goodbye.

I'mma said, okay, I'll see you tomorrow.

He said, no, I don't think you.

He texted me back, no, I don't think you said what I'm saying.

I'm quitting.

I called him.

I said, hey, you don't get the option to quit on me after what we talked about.

That's not what you want now, if you can't afford it, that's one thing I understand, and I can work with you on that.

I said, but come in.

Let's get to work.

Allow your brother to help you.

He said, man, you know, I'm just back.

I'm back down in that space again.

So we talked through some things.

We talked about the medicine that he's taking and these things, and come to find out it was too high of a dose and it was freaking him out.

We got.

We got it corrected, and now he's like, I didn't even know that's what it was.

They changed it and I didn't even know that it was freaking me out.

Like, that happens all the time, too.

Happens all the time.

And you don't know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

You don't.

You know, the.

I.

This is what I believe.

I believe that fitness and exercise is the best antianxiety, best antidepressant medicine in the world.

I have found lately, when I'm stressed out, I go to the gym and I run for 20 minutes on the treadmill before I lift.

It's 20 minutes.

I'm not, like, setting records, right?

I run almost two miles.

But when I'm done, all those negative things, thoughts and the sadness and the anger and the stress, whatever that is, kind of goes away with a little bit of exercise.

Yes.

Question is, how do we.

Junior, how do you.

How do we get the entire human population in the gym?

How do we do it?

Like, how.

How can we make it happen?

You know, because the world.

I mean, just think of the confidence.

I mean, you see it every day as you transform lives in your gym.

How much better contributors are they in their household with their spouse and their kids?

How much better contributors are they within their vocation?

How much opportunity comes within your vocation, like getting raises?

I mean, if you're tight, right, you look good and you're professional, your boss is looking at you.

I promise you, I Do the same.

I look at people.

I size people up, right?

You should look good.

You should look the part.

Yeah.

You know, how important is that, Junior?

I mean, you start.

I mean, it comes to another story about.

About this side, and this is just a small piece.

So there's a client of mine that I've trained for the last four years, right?

And I'll tell you more about how.

How that all came about and how we've.

I changed his life, but it was something so small, but so impactful to him.

So his wife came to me and was like, hey, Jay, can you talk.

Can you talk to my husband?

You know, I said, you know, he's like a brother to me.

What do you need?

She said, he's been working at his job for seven, almost eight years.

He's never gotten a raise.

She was like, that's a. I told her, I mean, it rattled off.

I said, that's a worth thing.

I said, he doesn't feel like his worth is.

He doesn't feel like he is as valuable enough to ask for that.

I said, he knows, but no one's ever told him.

She said, I tell him.

I said, it's nothing like another man telling you that you're valuable.

I said, I hate to say it, it's almost.

It's not that his wife owes that to him, but he kind of expects it.

You're my wife.

We have kids together.

When you say it, I know you mean it, but, you know, you're my wife.

So I said, Give me 10 minutes.

I called him, just kind of lured him a little bit.

I said, hey, man, how you doing today?

He said, man, I'm doing good.

I'm having a good day at work.

I said, hey, when's the last time that you had a raise at your job?

I just kind of just want to just talk about that.

He said, dude, it's weird.

I've never had one.

I said, why not?

You know, they're coming out with a new pay structure and, you know, my work is quota based.

So if I hit weekly quotas, I get this amount.

I said, oh, so they got the golden cuffs and got you running a rat race?

I said, do you?

I said, so do you have a salary?

Yeah.

I said, okay, answer me this.

When was the last time you didn't hit your numbers?

Never.

When was the last time you exceeded your numbers?

Every time, every week, every month, every year?

How do you feel about your team?

Do you trust them?

Yeah.

Who's above you?

My dm.

How do you feel about Him, I feel like he makes sure that he does whatever we, whatever it takes for us to succeed.

So you have a trustworthy group that you're working with, but yet you're running like a chicken with your head cut off to make ends meet.

Does that make sense?

Well, you know, I'm making my numbers and they're giving new pay strikes.

I didn't ask you that.

I said, do you trust your dm?

He said, yeah, go to him first.

Ask him, if you were to ask the regional, if you were to ask the regional for a raise, how would you feel about that?

He said, I could tell you right now.

He's gonna tell me to go for it.

I said, then why don't you?

I don't know.

I said, do it tomorrow.

Go talk to your dm, have a serious conversation with him.

You have a family, and the last thing you need to be stressing about is if you're going to make ends meet whenever you're worthy of much more.

And it's nothing more than a simple conversation.

He called me back later on that day.

He said, dude, I had the conversation.

He had the conversation for me with my general, I mean, with my regional.

He said, and I'm getting a 12% increase next week.

That's awesome.

That is what I love about you.

You know, you're not just sitting here trying to help them get better at the gym.

I mean, you're helping, you helped you change this family's life.

I mean, a 12% increase is life changing for a family.

Yes.

Hats off to you for that.

I mean, that's absolutely incredible.

Let me ask you this because I want to talk a little bit about your UFIT business.

So what does a day look like at UFit?

Tell us a little bit about the business.

Tell us where it is and where you see it going.

Just if you don't mind, kind of dig into this so people can get to know your business a little better.

Absolutely.

So Youth and fitness and wellness is a training studio that is on Home Run Adams.

Our location is 200 Kirby street on Homer and Adams.

If you're familiar, if you're in the area, it's the strip mall that's associated with Van Nails, Papatoodles, and on that little strip right there right next to Carrollton Bank.

So a little bit about what we do and what we provide is we do one on one services, small group services, big class services.

And actually, this is a blessing because you asked me where was our business headed in the last three years.

We've taken a heavy, heavy emphasis on athletics.

So I'm also the strength and conditioning coordinator at my, at my high school that I grew up in.

So that's so rewarding.

So we've been dealing with a lot of teams, a lot of individual athletes and making them better.

So that has been absolutely explosive and incredible and so rewarding to see these young men and women just excel and have that edge and that competitive edge to be able to not only be good at their sport, but being strong and being able to take it to that next level.

One of the athletes that we're getting ready to send off to University South Florida is the fastest recorded athlete in Illinois history.

Her name is Raina Ragland.

So she is explosive, she is a hot shot and she's going into college not playing any game.

So it is so beautiful.

And I have multiple athletes that have these exact, I mean, like similar stories to this and just to see them go off and become great athletes and more important, great people along the way, it's nothing like it, man.

Kids are awesome.

You know, it's about the younger generation.

It's about the younger generation.

This show basically, like I was talking a little bit about this earlier.

It's.

It's about the younger generation.

Yes.

Young entrepreneurs.

Those.

I learned business the hard way.

Okay.

I got robbed.

You know, I had businesses fail.

I didn't know what I didn't know.

But I also had great, great mentors that picked me up when I fell to show me a better way.

There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the younger generation learn and grow and surpass what we ever do.

Right.

So we're going to be ending this.

I could talk to you for another four hours and I didn't get to half of my questions.

We're going to have to do a part two of this.

Okay.

At some point we'll have to do a part two.

But what I want to know is what is the legacy of jr?

I mean, you are definitely one of the most community driven humans in this town.

We have a big little town too.

We're a big little town.

You're well known.

What is legacy?

What is legacy of you?

What are you leaving behind?

Lasting generational impact.

I want to see our city be what it has the potential to be.

We have like, you know, we have an amazing, amazing town city that just hasn't tapped into its worth.

And so I want to be just a little bitty pebble that helps send our city and our future into, in believing and being proud of this area.

I just Want to be.

I just want to be a little bit of history.

Just a little bit.

Have you ever thought about maybe like, running for mayor one day or maybe getting into some local stuff?

You do pretty good.

I mean, that would be.

That would be cool, man.

That would be cool.

I mean, I never thought about mayor, but I mean, just to mentor and just help anybody in the best way that I can, that's enough for me.

Well, what I love about you is you're just not a trainer.

You're a friend.

And I'm telling you, you used to train me.

I mean, you're not.

You're not your friend there.

When we're training, you're not your friend.

We're not friends.

I'll tell you right now.

Not at all.

Hey, it's business, though, and you get.

And you get results.

But what you are doing, though, is you are truly mentoring and helping people, though.

You're not just a coach, you're a mentor.

You're a mentor.

You're helping people.

So anything you want to sound off on?

How do people.

Anyway, let me ask you this way.

What's coming up new?

What do people need to know?

Is there any nuggets or is there anything you can share that you got coming up?

That's number one.

And number two, how can people follow you?

How can people connect with you?

How can people come train with you?

Yeah, if you want to connect or reach out to me, you can reach out to the U Fit Facebook page.

You can also reach out to the U Fit Instagram page.

Also, if you want to reach out to me personally, I'm always on my socials.

My Instagram is iamcoachjr.

And on my Facebook, because it's just a professional name, it's Lawrence Gordon.

It'll have a big lion on there.

Yep.

And I'll make sure I do a good job putting all the thumbnails when this is produced out.

I'll make sure all your content's out there.

So, jr, if you would give me another three minutes, kind of hang out with me after I close this out.

I got a few things I want to chat with you about real quick.

Okay.

Hey, I'll tell you what this was.

This was a fantastic conversation.

These are conversations that need to be had.

You know, we could sit here all day and talk about marketing, social media, how to acquire clients, how to retain clients, how to scale all those things that we could talk about in business.

But I'm going to tell you right now, fitness and education of fitness and your nutrition is so, so dang important.

And I don't think we pay enough attention to it.

I know myself last week I had some non negotiables.

Last week I was on the road quite a bit.

Two weeks prior, my diet wasn't perfect.

I had a few drinks here and there.

I told myself last week I'm drinking water and nothing but water.

I'm eating clean.

I want to eat clean foods because I feel better on the mat.

I sleep better at night.

The world would be a much better place if everybody got seven hours of sleep.

Eight for some that need it, I think six and five is crazy.

But seven to eight hours is that number.

Just a little bit of cardio every single day.

We should all lift weights.

I'm going to say this too, and you might have something to say about this as you age.

It's even more important to lift weights as you get older.

It's the fountain of youth.

I'm not saying you need to go be a bodybuilder at age 60.

You should be lifting weights.

Those things are critical.

So, J.R. thanks for hanging out.

Thanks for hanging out, brother.

And as always, thank you for those loyal listeners that are listening in on all the Apple and the Spotify and for those that are watching these on our YouTube channel and the socials, we do appreciate it.

And we'll be back soon with another great episode.

For now, JR Hang tight for a minute.

But I do want to thank you for joining us for another episode of Humans that Build.

Thanks, Travis.

Humans that Build.

Real people, real work.

See you next time.