This Guy Wouldn't Take His Shirt Off at the Beach. Now He's a Fitness Coach.
Kendrick Chavez, 23, says he uses his past experience as a shy, overweight kid to motivate those very same kinds of teens now. But he had to overcome challenges to get there.
Chavez says he was always a reserved kid. At 13, starting middle school, he had trouble making friends and talking to new people—especially girls.
“Even teachers and older peers were critical of me for not being outspoken and keeping to myself," Chavez says. "When it seems the entire school labels you, you start to believe it.”
But what no one understood was how much anxiety Chavez was experiencing, even at 13 years old. “I stressed over assignments and presentations and was terrified I would get called on in class. I felt like I couldn't breathe and would be gasping for air.”
That anxiety applied to his self-image as well. “I didn’t feel confident or comfortable with my body image. I would never take off my shirt at a pool or beach because I felt weak.” Once on a vacation to South Padre Island, he wore a long sleeve compression shirt the entire vacation, not wanting anyone to see his body.
The Catalyst for Change
His school announced at the beginning of sixth grade that it would host a physical education test tied in with a year-end pool party, it was pretty much a double whammy of fear provoking events for Chavez.
Instead of letting his anxiety take over, Chavez used it as a motivator. He decided he wanted to be in shape in time for the end of school events.
At first, everything he tried didn’t work. He couldn’t get a gym membership because he was too young. He tried researching getting fit for his age, but he didn’t find much. So he took his situation into his own hands.
The Food
His food situation wasn’t an easy overhaul. Chavez wanted to change his diet, but his family wasn’t supportive. They were used to eating fast food three times a week, and they saw it as a fun thing we would do as a family, he says.
But he convinced them their meals needed to change, and Chavez took charge of grocery shopping and meal planning. His first big change was going vegetarian and staying hydrated. “I’d plan protein packed salads and carried a gallon of water with me everywhere.”
The Fitness
Fitness became an integral part of his plan, too “For three months, I exercised daily. My routine consisted of sets of pushups, sit ups, and pull ups. I even asked my family to buy me a pull up bar and a tire I could flip in my backyard.”
His friends, inspired by all he was doing, joined him. “We started an unofficial ‘workout club” sort of as a joke, but eventually it became a way of life. We would run in the mornings, train at school, and complete our workouts we didn't finish after school.”
The Rewards
Even though he’d started this transformation with a clear end goal, Chavez realized fitness became a way for him to express himself in a way school hadn’t. “All my stress and insecurities were let out during my workout.”
He was also able to reflect that maybe he didn’t have to be so quiet. “I realized that my being ‘shy kid’ in school was just their perception of me.”
At the end of the year, when the test came, Chavez blew it out of the water. “I beat the school record by doing 120 pushups. The old record for the it was only 60,” he says. “I was so proud of myself. It was then that I realized I had been limiting myself as to who and what I could become. I was empowered with a newfound belief in myself.”
And he never forgot that feeling. It drove him to work with obese teens with low self-esteem. It’s what led his TedX talk, “The Power of Being A Teenager.” It’s what he talks about in his book, Millennial Momentum: How To Smash Your Goals.
And 10 years later, Chavez is still using that feeling to inspire other kids through his program 1ifted. He partners with gyms and city recreation departments to lead Teen Workouts program for kids. He also created an online platform with workouts led by teens for teens.
“I am motivated now more than ever,” he says. “I strive to keep encouraging other kids to empower themselves through fitness.
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