From Coach Pete: Kevin’s journey is pretty special to me as a coach. Not only do I have the privilege of having Kevin as a client in the gym, but I get to have Kevin as a friend as well. Its been incredible to watch Kevin’s growth as an athlete and person. The gym is his sanctuary where he gets to forge the life he wants to live. Its always important to remember that most people are fighting a battle that no one knows about. Although Kevin has been battling MS for the last 9 years, you wouldn’t know it. He is committed to not allowing his diagnosis to define him or what he can or can’t do. To say that I am proud of Kevin doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about his progress. Thank you, Kevin, for choosing Roaster Barbell as your home and I can’t wait to see what you accomplish next!
1) What is your why? What gets you out of bed in the morning?
For my “why” is broken down into 3 parts:
A – My health. Being able to move pain free is always my goal.
B – I enjoy the process. I enjoy seeing myself get better everyday no matter what.
C – I know that there is no one coming to save me. I have goals in mind, just wishing and thinking about them will not make them come true. Get to work!
2) What is your most meaningful goal? Could be life or fitness or anything.
My most meaningful goal is to move down south near my cousin. My cousin had such a positive impact on my life when I was little (4 to 6 years old) and gave me the sibling feeling that I never got to experience. Now I feel like I need to give back to his children, like he did to me.
For CrossFit, I would just like to be able to compete to the best of my abilities for as long as I can and have fun while doing it. Even when my abilities diminish, my next fitness goal will still be the same.
3) If you could have lunch with anyone ever, who would it be and why?
If I could have lunch with anyone ever, it would be my sister Andrea. She passed away from a rare form of Brain Cancer, and I was only 4 years old at the time. Even though I was only 4 years old at the time, I still have great memories of the times I got to spend with her. There are just some things that you need to get of your chest or things that only an older sibling could help you with. Plus I would love to tell her that I love her, since I never got to say goodbye.
4) What is your favorite part of training?
I don’t think I just have ONE favorite part of training but if I had to choose would be any type of cardio work on a machine. I enjoy the friends and community that I get to see on a daily basis, who push me to be better and how I push them be better.
5) What is your least favorite part of training?
My least favorite part of training is anything with box jumps. When I first joined, I don’t think there wasn’t a week where I didn’t fall from attempting box jumps.
6) What has been your biggest obstacle on your fitness journey?
My biggest obstacle on my fitness journey is self-doubt. This one hurts me, because sometimes my mind becomes weak and I settle back in to what is comfortable. Comfortable for me is me being fat, eating for the enjoyment and not to fuel my body for the next day.
7) What would your ideal day consist of?
Wake up get some breakfast, head out and play a quick nine holes of golf and finish the morning with a workout at Roaster. Then use the afternoon for a quick trip south, to hang with my family and finish up a tattoo project. Dinner at a nice steakhouse and then a red eye back home.
8) What is something that no one knows about you?
One thing that no one knows about me is that I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis back in April 2013. Its not something that I talk about all the time, mainly because I won’t let this disease control my life. Much of the pain I deal with is not visible but is there about 85% of the time.
9) Who is your biggest inspiration?
I have two inspirations. One is super close to me which would be my Grandpa, Robert Beahr. He taught me how to be true to myself and to love. I will be forever grateful for the stories and photos he would share. One thing he would always say to me before I left is “Keep your head on straight”.
The other would be David Goggins. He inspired me to break that mold of giving up and taught me how to push past the hard parts. On the other side of the hard parts, is a lesson that we are truly stronger than what we believe.
10) What brought you to Roaster Barbell?
I was looking for something different in my training. For the past decade, I have been working out by myself and doing what I thought was right. Sure, this worked for a short period but I needed to be pushed. I had no idea that Roaster was the right spot for me, but I am glad that I chose this gym to push me.
11) How has the gym influenced your life outside of the gym?
Roaster has just made me generally a happier person since I have joined. It allowed me to get rid of some “toxic” relationships and replace them with relationships that I know people care about me and want me to improve. I have gained confidence which helps immensely with my anxiety.
12) What advice would you give someone who is on the fence about Roaster Barbell?
Jump in head first. The first day or even couple of weeks can seem very stressful, but if you continue to show up, I promise you will be shocked at how strong you are. The community that Pete has built over the years is by far the greatest part of the gym, so why not be part of it!
13) If you could go anywhere in the world for a day where would you go and why?
Japan. I would love to see the cherry blossoms bloom and follow them all the way through Japan while hitting up major cities to take in all the crazy technology. A bonus would be eating fresh sushi that doesn’t break the wallet!
14) Is there anything else you would like to add?
Don’t suck!
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Thank you for taking the time to get to know Kevin and his journey! If you would like to learn how you could become our next success story, just email Coach Pete at ptaylor@mail.bw.edu and lets begin talking about how Roaster Barbell and help you reach your goals!