We caught up with the brilliant and insightful JOHN BERMUDEZ a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
JOHN, thanks for taking the time to share your lessons with our community today. So, let’s jump right in – one of the most essential skills for unlocking our potential is self-discipline. Where does your self-discipline come from?
It comes from a very early age. My dad was the one who always said, “look it up” or “figure it out”. As I grew older, and family dynamics changed, I learned very quickly that if I didn’t stay on top of myself and take care of things, they wouldn’t get done. So when it came time to fill out a FAFSA for college, it was me that had to figure it out, learn what a W-2 was, etc. since neither of my parents went to college and had that experience. Once I got into college and started having too much fun, it was getting on academic probation that quickly got me back in line to remember that if I don’t do what’s needed to be done, it would have consequences. Now, as a business owner/coach/athlete, I find that keeping that self-discipline actually opens up the opportunity for plenty of time for enjoying life in this weird way. It’s healthy balance that’s kept me able to maintain all the different qualities I enjoy in life.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My love for endurance sports really started off running a marathon in memory of close friend who died from brain cancer. What was to be a bucket list thing became a second, third, fourth and more eventually. Fast forward a few years later and I decided to give up my career in marketing to pursue a career in the health and fitness space. It was a scary endeavor switching careers in my mid-30s when everyone else was really getting settled in theirs. But I was passionate about what I was doing and dove in head first. Fast forward once again to 2020 and after having been laid off, I did the scary thing again and decided to start my own coaching business. My wife and close friends had asked for years when I would do my own thing, but I guess I needed that extra push! So here I am four years later coaching people in person locally in San Diego and online across the country.
All the while I’ve still been running races – marathons, 5ks, halfs, triathlons, you name it! That first hand experience of racing, knowing what it’s like to balance training with a “regular” job and family obligations really helps me connect with my athletes. I’m different from personal trainers, because I don’t do races as one offs – I’ve done nearly 100 races, and truly understand what it takes. I’m different from run coaches because I come from the gym space and understand the importance of strength training when it comes to endurance sports. You can’t just run your way towards a PR or Boston qualifier!
I’m super active on social media, so feel free to follow me on Instagram. You can also sign up for my weekly newsletter where I share more about me behind the scenes, offer more tips on training and health and share inspiring stories to get you motivated to find your inner athlete!
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
What’s Your Why? Inspiration comes from external factors that get us thinking about stepping outside our comfort zone to do the scary thing. Motivation comes internally and gets the ball rolling to chase that pursuit. Your why is what keeps us doing the thing when the newness wears off; the task at hand gets hard; the results don’t happen as we imagined. I ask my athletes what their why is when they sign up for a race, because that’s what will keep them going when things get tough.
Be Patient. We start off doing endurance sports with lots of aspirations of what that finish line feeling will be like. But as we plug along, things may take longer or be harder than we expected. And that’s okay! You just need to keep on pushing and working on solving that piece of the puzzle. And when you finally unlock that piece, move on to the next and the next. You’ll get there!
Have fun! Most of us endurance athletes are weekend warriors. Most of us aren’t winning races or earning paychecks off of racing. But we’re passionate about running, triathlon, OCR, etc. and want to bring our best come race day. But ultimately, we can’t forget to have fun along the way! We GET to do this!
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
Rachel & Alwyn Cosgrove have been my business mentors for a few years now. Having their own successful fitness business has given me the confidence in knowing that I too, can continue to make this a lifelong career. It’s been great having someone in my corner that truly understand the fitness industry and know the ups and down of also growing and running a business. Being able to network with their other mentees has allowed me to glean from my near peers who may be a bit further down the their own path that’s similar to mine. It’s really helped in building my confidence of my own abilities as a business owner. Five, ten years ago, I wouldn’t have pictured where I’m at now. And there’s still so much more to achieve!! A big, big shout out to them!
And it wouldn’t be right if I didn’t give a shout out to my wife, who has been my biggest cheerleader whether I’m running races or running a new training program. She always has great insight from an outsiders perspective, has a keen eye for design and thinks of those little touches to make the athlete experience all the more worthwhile.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.endurancefitnessperformance.com
- Instagram: @endurance.fitness.performance
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EnduranceFitnessPerformance
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/endurance-fitness-performance/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
