Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Gustavo Lomas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Gustavo, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

My mission is simple, in each one of my practices I strive to inspire people to remember/realize/cultivate who thy’ve always felt themselves to be.

I’m driven by my own memories and feelings of past fear, trauma, and hopes/dreams.

I wrote my first poem when I was 8 years old and realized I wanted to write when I grew up, no matter what. Being so young, I didn’t realize at the time that a key to creativity and story telling is living through some forms of deep uncertainty.

This uncertainty would show up through unwanted experiences in adolescence, my teenage years, and well into adulthood.

Much of these experiences were neglect of my needs for kindness and care; support in my emotions and my growth as a child. Which lead to more time alone than I ever truly wanted, which would somehow convince me I deserved to be mistreated as my depression began to re-teach me of who I was and wasn’t.

Neglect at home, lead to neglect and heartbreak in romantic relationships from many of my partners but unfortunately from me to some of them as well.

Through it all, I wouldn’t turn to drugs or alcohol. I didn’t get drunk until I was 27, off of just 2 hard ciders. I had also smoked pot for the first and last time at 23. From the pot smoking experience I could, and can, understand how it would be recreational and beneficial to some. But getting drunk didn’t sit well with me at all, literally and figuratively.

I stayed away from any kind of dependent to help me cope with my feelings of pain and suffering, because I was worried about letting it all escape. If all that pain and heartache came out and left me then I wouldn’t know who I was. I also didn’t want anyone I cared about to worry or see my pains because I didn’t believe I deserved their love or kindness.

Which lead me to attempt suicide at the age of 20.

It was a long road of healing from that point on, a journey I continue to delve into daily.

A simple question that’s helped me continue to heal and reacquaint myself with my self is, “What if..?” Not what if in the sense of traveling back in time to change it, it was my experience and it helped me become the person I am today. I mean what if as in, “What if others felt similarly and I could help them guide themselves to be everything they always wanted to be for themselves?”

I try and do something everyday aligned with this mission, it doesn’t matter how small the act.

I’m especially honored to be able to use my writing talent, martial arts teachings, and podcast to help in this goal.

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

About me… In short I think the one constant that brought me to where I am now, is me.

As far as martial arts, I’ve always been interested in it. I’ve always been drawn to it and it’s always come naturally to me. The studio my mom found didn’t accept anyone under the age of 7, and my mom just walked in with me and wanted to sign me up. I vaguely remember the instructor explaining that I was too small and too young to train, the only reason I wasn’t fully listening was because I stepped near the mats and was mimicking the movements of the older kids. To the instructors surprise, I was matching them perfectly. I began my Tae Kwon Do lessons at the end of that week. I was 5 years old.

I was much shorter than everyone and hated being picked on and bullied. The one constant I saw in all martial arts shows and movies I watched was, someone always got hurt. No matter how bad the situation, I never wanted to hurt anyone even my bullies. So, I eventually fell off of my martial arts practice.

Through my adolescents I would easily fall victim to mockery and bullying. Anyone who picked on me knew I wouldn’t react because I openly labeled myself a pacifist. I still couldn’t pull myself away from enjoying martial arts shows and movies, especially Bruce Lee.

At the age of 24 I had gotten rid of my car and was riding a bike everywhere. Eventually I’d start going to a gym and working out, which felt great but there was something missing. Then one night, I noticed the punching bag at the gym and something ignited in me. When I got home from the gym I ordered Bruce Lee books, written by him about philosophy, training, and purpose and began to train myself in martial arts.

I’ve been doing it for a little over ten years now, I’ve even had the honor of training a few students. Martial arts, is one of the things that helped me rediscover home in my self. I never thought I’d be able to teach anyone how to defend themselves but the few students I’ve had all made amazing strides and progress in their abilities, and their confidence. It was an honor to be a part of that journey for them, even if only a little.

Writing is another aspect of myself that I can’t deny. When I started writing, it was just poetry, especially to any one in my youth I’d want to woo or impress or was in a relationship with.

My junior year though, my eyes were opened to Spoken Word poetry after a senior performed one at an assembly. I’d never heard anything like it, the rhythm, the phrasing, the pentameter, everything. I vowed to myself to learn how to do it as well.

It wasn’t until six years later that I’d speak my first piece at a local open mic in Northern California. I worked for weeks on the piece, writing, editing, re-writing, memorizing. I wanted to make sure my all went into it, just for me. Then came time to perform and as soon as I started speaking, I wasn’t thinking. I was just doing. I think it was a blackout moment, because the next thing I know I was walking back to my seat to a standing round of applause.

My writing fire had been reignited full force.

After that, I wrote many pieces and performed them anywhere I could. Always memorizing them, never speaking from a book or page. And I never made them about me, it was always bigger picture worldly issues or ideas. Even speaking about myself now in this “About Me” section is a bit of a challenge.

Eventually, I’d go on to get my degree in Creative Writing for Entertainment. I’d self publish my first book, “The Uncertain” in my sophomore year. Then, after I graduated, I’d begin work on many new stories and projects, including my podcast: “New Age Renaissance”.

I recently became certified as a life coach through iPEC as well. Now I can offer even better support for growth and understanding of one’s self in many areas of life from relationships to health and wellness. Which in turn, is an often overlooked fundamental of martial arts training and practice, “Honest expression.” It’s also the key to good story telling: development and creativity. I’m honored to be able to offer creative writing services as a ghost writer, script writer, speech writer, and editor.

Which brings us here. Through all the aspects of growth and discovery and rediscovery, I always wanted to try and inspire people to just live authentically in who they feel deep down they are. I will always strive to help people find peace in themselves, in their lives, and in their hearts. No matter what the world and life throws at us, there’s always hope to find success in our happiness.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect…I think it’s a perspective. We all have our own way of viewing the world and life, but not that many people are actually aware of the multitude of perspectives in daily life. At least that’s been my experience, I’m open to being wrong. And even in saying that, “Open to being wrong,” someone could be reading those words right now and be taken aback, in a good way. Thus gaining a glimpse into a kind of perspective they just might not have seen before.

It’s definitely a favorite of mine, to have an awareness of epiphanies and how often they actually happen in a day. The same could be said of miracles as there’s much more to them than we let ourselves believe. After all, who’s to say epiphanies aren’t just another form of miracle?

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The one constant driving my creative journey is heart.

Finding ways to turn the complexities of life into smaller, more relatable aspects, and taking the seemingly small aspects and expanding them to create a whole new experience.

It’s not always easy, especially when there seems to be so much turmoil and destruction in the world, and in some people.

No matter what though, we must not forget to show heart. To have the courage to carry on and live fully. To act in truth instead of react to our fears, to adapt in the face of uncertainty instead of allowing it to dictate our lives, and strive to maintain honor in our humanity always.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://gustavolomas.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geled_gusto/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gustavoelomas/
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/5lFpiV0fMleZJRFMjWdpMK