We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Benjamin Nevares. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Benjamin below.
Hi Benjamin, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Today, I believe I can achieve anything that I set my mind towards. Though this is never a constant state of being, it takes practice to go from questioning daily to questioning occasionally. Its important to question whether we’re on the right path. What helped me develop the confidence to believe that I can achieve anything that I set my mind towards is striving for the initial goal that i cared for deeply – competing for Team USA. I am from a small town where a majority of people are both overweight and not college educated. Most of the locals live well below the poverty line, and were able to live a life within their means. I knew that this was not what I wanted for my life. I did not know what I wanted to do in my future, but I knew what it wasnt going to look like. Identifying key variables that I have control over that align with my values was a great place to start. I knew I wanted to be successful and always be in shape. Being “in-shape”at that time of my lif was about being strong. I wanted to do something bigger than me and what was around me. I knew I was meant for more because I recognized what was around me and the mindset that others carried with them – a life of mediocrity. That works for some people, I just knew it wasnt going to be for me. I stayed disciplined with my goal, and recognized that I was good at something I wasnt initially good at – lifting weights.
When i was in middle school I was with the group of kiddos that weren’t the all-stars. We were there to get better and have a good time like most, but not all of us had the opportunity to be introduced into sports at an early age. I was in the corner struggling to lifting 95 pounds while the A-Team was out there lifting 185+. I recognized the difference but didnt put much mind to it. I just enjoyed lifting weights and being around a good community of friends. I continued to develop my skills beyond the in-season training that middle school football exposes one to. I went home to train. Lifted on the weekends. I did it all the time because I knew I was having fun and thats what matters to us as kiddos.
Come High School Freshman year, I was now lifting more than those that was initially on the A-Team Squad. I was starting in football and a coach signed me up for a powerlifting meet. I had no idea what this was, but it involved lifting weights. I trusted that coach and followed my interest, and found myself at my first powerlifting meet. Guess what, I didn’t even place top five. I didn’t care. I found joy in waking up on a saturday to go lift with friends.
Sophomore year came around and I had two surgeries – injuries from football. I went through physical therapy that was a joke. The PTA would just sit down and watch TV while barking exercises at me every so often. I took it upon myself, I took responsibility for my health, and went home to read about how I can get back into the gym. I missed that years powerlifting season. I was frustrated, but I knew the next year i would come back even stronger. While reading to recover, I also got in depth knowledge of exercise science, anatomy, and physiology. I learned how to write programming, what coaching cues were best – I read. I also found help. There was a resource and I wanted to ask questions. I recognized there was someone who was better than I at something and that person invited me to their gym to coach me. I drove 30 minutes out of town to get coaching from the family at The Rat Pack. I found any means necessary to continue the momentum to achieve success and find my way into something bigger than myself.
Junior year, I placed second at the state meet. Better than anyone had ever done in my high school’s history. The entire time, I had fun, met new people, and I was decided on the fact that I was going to win state. I set that goal and did everything in my power to achieve said goal. I read how to mentally prepare for meets, how to live a life that aligned with my goals, more about recovery, rehab, prehab, and better technique. There wasnt any other option. During this, I started doing better in school. Felt more confident walking around. I didnt internalize it, but I can recognize today that following that goal and being completely committed to it influenced my personality and helped my self esteem and self confidence.
Senior year, I was ranked number one in the state during the entire season. I knew I was going to win as long as I didn’t quit and make any silly mistakes. I kept to my promise to myself and continued to improve. I knew there was going to have to be something after high school, but i didnt know where to find it, so i asked. I reached out to a couple university teams to ask questions and the president of the Powerlifting Team at The University of Texas, gave me the best information i could have used at that time. “You can powerlift after high school. You can even compete for Team USA. Here’s how…”. I was on a new mission that aligned with the current goals and values. I signed up for a state meet in USAPL to qualify for nationals, and the travel began to escalate. Sponsorship started to come in – well i went and sought them. I didnt have another option. If i wanted to travel and compete, I needed to find a way to financially afford it. I went door to door to businesses and asked. I learned that this is a tax write off, at age 16! (I am the youngest you can be in the grade so i graduated at age 17). I went and pitched to businesses that also aligned with what may help – shirts. Physical therapy clinics. Doctors, the guy who did my two surgeries. I learned that asking never hurts. The worst they can say is no – sales 101. I just wanted to compete and I learned door to door sales, interpersonal skills, branding alignment, finding resources outside of my current reach (online) and continuing to train.
I won state that year by 300+ pounds. Set regional and state records, and won Nationals before turning 18 which qualified me to compete in Hungary for Team USA – we did it. During this time, the interest I had in exercise and anatomy peaked an interest into genetics and I reached out to Dr. Timothy Lightfoot at Texas A&M. He was in charge of the Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human performance, oh and a world renown researcher. I applied to school, never considering that I could even enter college, and started working in one of the most influential exercise physiology research labs in the world while also competing for Team USA – I went on to represent the teams two more times, winning several gold medals, and setting over 25 state and national records.
I committed myself to a goal. I found people who were there to support in any way possible. Knowledge, references, outsourcing, and even those who said no were helpful. They narrowed down the Yes’s that I would end up receiving. After I competed, i knew i could do anything if i put honest work into anything that I did. It didnt matter if it was school, working for other companies, or running my own businesses. I knew I developed the skills that would help me be successful, and there were plenty of people out there willing to help – you just need to find them. It doesnt hurt that my uncle told me at a very young age to give up on sports because I am just not built for them. He said I’d never be successful in sport. He found himself in Hungary watching me beat a Russian (a true sign of success on the world stage for those in the Team USA family). This one goal that aligned with my authentic interest in something lead me to live the beautiful life that I’ve had. Not without struggle, but with much love for the path I’ve been able to walk.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I found myself, after pivoting from research with Dr. Lightfoot, into research with Dr. Kreider and Dr. Tyler Grubic. I became a published author in two scientific journals focused on nutrition and supplementation as an Undergraduate – this is almost unheard of. I used this experience to develop my own supplement line within I.E. Health. We are finalizing two formulas as we speak. While this has been happening, I own and operate the services side of the business – personal training. I attained my Masters Degree in Exercise Science and Coaching Education from East Tennessee State University which aided in my confidence to coach high net worth clientele and other entrepreneurs.
During these last several years, I’ve also been able to grow a podcast that reaches 70,000 listeners a month. I wanted to share the experiences that I’ve had, but also continue to learn from those around me who have experienced what I have not. Perspective can influence, and those around me during my life had a profound influence on me. I wanted to share that with others in hopes of improving their quality of life.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Never be afraid to ask for help. Find an authentic interest, and set goals that are in line with your interest and values to help you achieve the success you’re looking for. Connecting with others with genuine curiosity and transparency will change your life forever.
I encourage others to find themselves exposing themselves to items adjacent to their goal. Being a successful powerlifter, in my specific situation, called for door knocking businesses. I never had. I was almost embarrassed, but I did and when I found someone said yes to me, I did it again and again. Even after the No’s, I knew someone was out there who would help. Because of my one goal of being the best at powerlifting, I was able hone in on skills I was never really conscious about developing. It made me into a better speaker, better at sales, understanding business, and creating a community. Find a goal and dont be afraid of the adjacent unknowns. Someone out there knows and you can either ask them directly, or find it online.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
At I.E. Health, we are expanding by offering chiropractors, mens health clinics, nurse practitioners, and pain management centers to provide more value through preventative medicine. We incorporate unique training programs to those looking to achieve goals that improve their quality of life. Exercise changed the lives of us at I.E. Health and we want to extend the confidence and improved quality of life to those that are in the most need and be sure the clients are on their road to success in combination with their current level of care. You can find us on Instagram at @iehealth.co, our website iehealth.co, or me personally @bennevares. The best method is via instagram.
We are always looking for new guests for our podcast. If you have a story that can help teach others of the importance of health and fitness, we’d love to have you on. We are also top ranked in the business sector, so if you’re an entrepreneur, a business coach or consultant, we’d love to hear what you have to offer. Our focus is to create a well rounded human and we need help from attorneys, dieticians, doctors, researchers, athletes, and much much more to help improve the lives we have and influence.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://iehealth.co
- Instagram: bennevares, iehealth.co
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/benjamin.nevares/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-nevares/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BenNevares
- Other: https://form.jotform.com/242572949378170
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