Meet Ray Lodovico

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ray Lodovico a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ray, so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?

This question comes at a time when I’m starting to make real progress on social media, particularly on TikTok, as a basketball enthusiast and influencer. My audience is mostly kids, primarily in middle school, and many of them are great kids who actually help me get through the day. But no matter what, there will always be haters—of all ages and for a variety of mostly unknown reasons.
I’m still learning and growing, making mistakes along the way, but one thing I remind myself is that haters are fans too. Even legends like Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Tom Brady have had their fair share of haters despite their success. Some people, like Jake Paul, have literally built careers off of them. So instead of letting negativity get to me, I’m learning to embrace it, love my haters, and use it as motivation to prove my doubters wrong.
I’ve sacrificed so much to change my life, and I refuse to let doubt—whether from myself or others—hold me back. That mindset helped me lose 110 pounds. I believed in myself despite people’s opinions and the obstacles thrown my way. One of the most powerful tools I’ve learned to use is the “cookie jar” concept from David Goggins. Whenever I feel negativity, I mentally store it in an imaginary jar. When I need that extra push in the gym—whether it’s for something hard, something I’ve never done, or something I didn’t think I could do—I open that jar and use it as fuel.
At the end of the day, if everyone believed in me, there wouldn’t be anyone to prove wrong. Home-court advantage is a powerful thing, but when no one is cheering for you, the power of proving someone wrong can be just as strong. I’d rather have support, but I also know that too much comfort can kill my drive. So whether it’s love or hate, I use it all to keep pushing forward.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

For most of my life, I worked a job I didn’t love—one I didn’t even choose as a career. When I was young, I took a job simply for a paycheck so I could support a family and live what I thought at the time was a normal life. But that job never gave me a sense of accomplishment or growth. It didn’t provide me with skills that could help me do anything beyond what I was already doing—and what I was doing made me unhappy.
So, I made a change. I lost the 110 pounds I had gained over more than 20 years and became a certified personal trainer. That was just one of the many reasons I lost the weight. Throughout my journey, I found different motivations at different times—things that pushed me through tough workouts and cravings when I wanted to give up. That’s where believing in myself became essential.
Most people don’t want to sacrifice something or take on a difficult challenge unless there’s a guaranteed reward waiting for them. But I had to push forward without any certainty of what was ahead. Even though being a personal trainer is a huge improvement over working in a steel mill in every possible way, it’s still a tough career to rely on financially. I love training people, but one of my true passions has always been basketball.
Of course, I know I’m not making the NBA at 5’6″ and 53 years old, but basketball is my therapy. There’s nothing like dancing with the ball, draining three-pointers by myself, and then turning those moments into something special through editing—creating videos that I hope inspire people of all ages to chase their passions, love what they do, and truly live while doing it.
Four years ago, my life changed when I started watching “Too Turnt Tony” on TikTok. If you had told me back then—110 pounds heavier and stuck in a job I hated—that I’d be on social media trying to become an influencer, I would have laughed. And I probably would have laughed with you. I was a social introvert who would’ve never considered speaking into a microphone, let alone in front of a camera. Now, I’m the complete opposite. I love going live on TikTok, sharing everything with my followers—from what I eat and the supplements I take to what basketball I use and where I get my headbands.
I truly believe I’m stepping into the first powerful stage of becoming an influencer—my true passion. My brand is just beginning, and the name came naturally. The kids who follow me all call me “Unc” without hesitation, so I embraced it. That’s how “UncHooper” was born. I designed a logo inspired by my first pair of Air Jordans—the ones with wings overlapping a basketball. My version represents unity: two fists coming together with a basketball in the middle. To me, it symbolizes the bond between friends who share the same love for the game.
This is just the start. I’ve already proven to myself that transformation is possible. Now, I’m on a mission to inspire others to believe the same.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

. The most impactful skills and qualities in my journey were discipline and the ability to keep an open mind—both of which I developed along the way. These traits allowed me to continue growing and embrace wherever the path led me.
The best advice I can give to anyone is to study and emulate those you admire, especially if they’re doing something you aspire to do. Kids often ask me if I can teach them how to shoot a basketball, and my answer is always “yes”—with a “but.” Yes, I can teach someone how to shoot, and I can do a very good job of it. But I’m not the ultimate expert in this field. If you want to become an elite three-point shooter, my recommendation is simple: Google “Steph Curry shooting tips.” That’s exactly what I did.
In fact, I’ve used Google and YouTube for everything—from weight loss to developing new skills. Almost everything I’ve learned, I taught myself, driven by passion and an eagerness to improve.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

. I was never a big reader in school. In fact, I was placed in a special reading class when I was younger. During high school, I got by without reading much at all, relying instead on television in a class called Literature for People Who Hate to Read. But despite that, I found enough interest in a man named David Goggins to listen to his audiobook, Can’t Hurt Me.That book has helped countless people overcome struggles ranging from a lack of discipline to suicidal thoughts.
One of the most powerful lessons I learned from Goggins was the 40% Rule. In simple terms, most of us never push ourselves to our full potential because we cling to comfort. Walking on a treadmill is easy, but cranking up the incline and speed to the point of real discomfort—that moment when you feel like quitting—is where the rule comes into play. It’s about asking yourself, What would happen if I just keep going?
The first time I truly tested this rule was right after my weight loss. I had never run more than a mile in my life, but one day at a Planet Fitness in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, I pushed past that mental barrier on a treadmill. Not long after, I ran my first 5K at an 8:31 pace and started competing in races almost every weekend. As I kept challenging myself, I began winning medals in my age category and improving with time—like fine wine. Eventually, at 52 years old, I ran a 5K at a 6:50 pace, one of my proudest achievements.
That experience proved to me that limits are mostly mental. If you’re willing to embrace discomfort and push past the point where most people stop, you can accomplish things you never thought possible.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tiktok.com/@rockylod_fit?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
• Instagram: @unchooper
• Youtube: @unchooper
• Other: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-ray-lodovico/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYcpkEfGXPDeHctZGuiSxOpmVmrA2B4WoCs_sRGCcOSlsRCuALtMnsMU08_aem_lF7o86sSm5xSBeXAjYcbiwhttps://voyagemia.com/interview/meet-ray-lodovico-of-hallandale-beach/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZMS5Mj09Lgrt0-kHddI-QZzGvNOgXNpR9pUo1MWy8o5qlAigj1bw5Ej2Y_aem_87CYHSXA8L6zx3kMJSnSGw