We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Brian Xicotencatl. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Brian below.

Alright, Brian thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

How I Came Up with “Water Polo Strong” and Created My Job Out of Thin Air

I remember that day so vividly. Coach Black had called me into his office to talk about colleges. It was my freshman year at American River Junior College.

He said, “X, I’m going to break it to you straight: Your body cannot keep up with your mind when it comes to this game. You’re smart enough, but you’re out of shape and overweight.”

Who would have thought that those words would propel me toward the future I have today?

I grew up in Sacramento, California, where I started playing water polo in my freshman year of high school.

I had always wanted to swim, but my original plan was to play football. My father, however, said no.

At freshman orientation, I made a friend who encouraged me to try out for the water polo team. So, I did.

In our first game, I scored my first goal—and I was hooked.

From that moment on, I knew one thing for sure: I loved this sport.

Growing up in Sacramento, water polo wasn’t exactly thriving. Only 3–4 teams were competitive; the rest needed a lot of development.

My coach had only played in high school, so by the time I reached my sophomore year, there wasn’t much more he could teach us.

It was also during my sophomore year that I sustained my first major injury. I dislocated my right shoulder while shot-blocking. I popped it back into place and scored two more goals before subbing myself out.

Over the next few years, I would go on to dislocate both shoulders three times and my left knee three times— all before the end of my senior year.

I didn’t lift weights, didn’t take care of my body, and didn’t eat well.

When it came to physical therapy, I didn’t do the prescribed exercises.

In fact, during my sophomore year, the school doctor almost didn’t clear me to play.

Initially, I had planned to pursue a nursing degree. I completed two 10-hour clinicals in the ER and found the experience exhilarating. I knew this was something I could see myself doing long-term.

But when it came time to transfer to a four-year school to continue my water polo career, I quickly realized I couldn’t juggle being a nurse and a water polo player.

Of course, my true love—the game of water polo—won out.

That’s when I decided to study human movement.

If I had known then what I know now, things might have turned out differently. I was an athlete who needed help. I had been severely overweight, out of shape, and I’d dislocated joints 13 times and broken 5 bones. When I went to my coaches, strength coaches, and athletic trainers, they didn’t have the answers I needed.

During my undergrad research, I discovered that there were very few scholarly articles on water polo. What I found was a lack of understanding and research in the sport I loved so much. Water polo is the oldest team sport in the world, dating back to 1900. Yet, there’s still so little understanding of the hydrodynamics involved and the unique needs of the players.

Seeing this gap, I made a vow: I wanted to be the support person I never had. I wanted to help athletes avoid the challenges I faced. That’s how “Water Polo Strong” was born—and how I created a job for myself out of thin air.

But this is just the beginning.

Working with 6-8 sports has elevated everything I wanted to do. We are now quantifying every aspect of water polo, and I am at the center of it all, helping direct how we approach it.

Now I realize that we don’t have baseline data on our athletes, from youth to adult. I have made it my mission to provide this critical information for the sport.

Maggie and Tony asked me to create a Dryland Test similar to our 6-8 Challenge. While they initially wanted it to be more athletic and fitness-based, I convinced them we needed to start by establishing baseline data for the sport. And so, I developed our 6-8 Dryland Assessment. We’ve tested over 300 athletes so far, and we plan to continue gathering data from athletes around the world.

Thanks to their connections, I’ve had the honor of traveling to South Africa to help advance their water polo programs.

Next fall, I’ll be starting my master’s in Kinesiology, majoring in Sport Science. It’s my goal to help advance the sport through our 6-8 Technology, kinesiological testing, and data analysis.

It is my dream to work with our national teams as a strength coach and sport scientist, contributing to the National ODP Pipeline by testing, selecting, and developing the next generation of American water polo players. From there, I hope to bring my skills to a professional club in Europe, all while helping 6-8 sports change the world of water polo.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a water polo player from Elk Grove, California. I played for Laguna Creek High School from 2004 to 2008, after which I began my college career at American River College. In 2011, I moved to Fresno to play NCAA Division II water polo at Fresno Pacific University.

While at FPU, I was introduced to metabolic testing and conducted two separate studies using a metabolic cart. In 2018, I was hired as the Metabolic Specialist at Lifetime Athletic, where I ran the metabolic program for the fitness department. As a certified Strength and Conditioning Coach, I believe that performance problems are health problems. I specialize in metabolic conditioning, sports performance, and recovery.

Right after college, I started working in personal training while also building my dream company. I knew that water polo needed someone to help develop more infrastructure for the sport. So, in 2014, I created Water Polo Strong. Water Polo Strong is one of the first water polo-specific strength and conditioning programs. I began training athletes in Fresno right out of college, testing out the ideas I had about training water polo athletes.

I recently left my position as the head coach at West Park High School in Roseville, CA. Previously, I’ve served as the head JV coach at Woodcreek High School and have coached at Jesuit High School, Buchanan High School, Wilcox High School, Laguna Creek High School, American River Water Polo Club, and Sacramento Water Polo Club.

Breathe Performance is the brainchild of two very different athletes looking for a better way to monitor health and performance. I co-founded Breathe Performance after seeing the effectiveness of breath analysis in identifying the trajectory of fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle changes. Using PNOĒ’s highly effective measuring tool and our expertise, I aim to bring this world-class experience to you to improve health, longevity, and performance.

I am a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and I am passionate about integrating strength and conditioning into the sport of water polo. Currently, I am the Resident Strength Coach at the 6-8 Academy.

6-8 sports though should be the center piece. The work I get to do here has not only helped my soul but I truly think it is going to help the sport.

Working with and for two of the greatest olympians has really helped me grow, reach a greater audience, and help so many more athletes. And the best part, we are only getting started.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

It was 2019, and COVID was just beginning. We received the notice that the entire country was shutting down.

I had a quick choice to make: do I shut down my company altogether, or do I shift the strategy? We were heading into a dark time.

I knew my kids needed me, so I decided to take my company completely virtual. Water Polo Strong launched our Virtual Academy, offering a practice almost every day. We offered three strength sessions, tactical education, nutrition education, cooking sessions, ball-handling sessions, and, most importantly, we created a space for the kids to get together and keep their social interactions going. We grew to our largest enrollment ever.

This led to many great opportunities.

I ended up doing three virtual workouts for our Olympic Development Program, writing the warm-up for the entire pipeline, which they still use to this day.

I also got to meet my roommate, who presented for the athletes during COVID.

He later recommended me to Tony Azevedo for his company, 6-8 Sports.

Instead of giving up and taking shelter, I built something for the kids in my community, giving them a fun, educational, and safe space. I’m proud of that.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Starting a business with no capital and no financial backing is not for the faint of heart.

I fully funded my business from top to bottom. I created two companies, all from my own pocket.

This limited both my growth and my savings.

It’s interesting to me that I’ve put everything I have into these businesses, and I think I’m only now realizing why it’s been so hard for me to save.

I made mistakes that were costly. I bought my own equipment, I paid people out of my pocket—these were some of the most invaluable experiences of my life.

I don’t come from money. I paid for college, and I’ve always paid my own way. I come from a big family and humble beginnings.

If I had to do it all over again, I would, but I definitely would seek help this time.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.waterpolostrong.com
• Instagram: @waterpolostrong
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wpstrong
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-xicotencatl-73144a68/
• Twitter: @waterpolostrong
• Youtube: @waterpolostrong7400