We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ray Lodovico a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ray, thanks for joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

I had actually been in the Steel industry since I was 21 years old. I started out as a laborer in a foundry for a very low pay and extremely hard work. The days were very long and I had blisters on my feet in the beginning from wearing the steel toed boots. I had a way of getting through the hard days by reminding myself how hard my dad and grandfather had worked at the railroad. And when that didn’t work I would look around for someone that I though was weaker or older than me and say to myself “If they came do it, then I can too!” I was actually a pretty decent worker and my coworkers usually liked working with me because I was easy to get along with. But I could also say that I was probably soft and somewhat weak in the confidence area and sometimes let people walk all over me in order to avoid conflict. It was never really a job that I wanted and I never considered it a “career”. It was more like a job that I had accepted in exchange for a wage and health insurance and never really something I chose as much as it chose me. Later on in years I became somewhat of a leader in the inspection department and I was looked up to and respected in my field. So much that I trained coworkers. Most steel mills are union based and unions reward on longevity over experience. So I actually ended training my replacement of a job that I thought I liked at the time and worked really hard for. It had such an effect on me that I had actually been prescribed medicine for depression. I thought the best solution was to remove myself from the employer that I had worked 19 years for and try to start a new life with my family in a very beautiful small town in Ligonier Pennsylvania They actually make Hallmark movies there at the gazebo in the center of town. I started a new job at another steel mill and thought it would be different but I was actually hired into a hostile environment because I was hired off the street and the union felt my job should have gone to someone with “seniority”. My past problems followed me. Six months after our new move to Ligonier “Covid-19″ hit. Yes I got it and I got it pretty bad. Sometime after that something in my head switched and I wanted a new life. There were a lot of political arguments taking place around me and I found out that no matter what, I couldn’t control any of that stuff. So what I realized was the one thing that I could control was my body. It was actually the only thing in the world that I really ever did have control over. You see somewhere after marriage and children I ended up 120lbs heavier. I am 5’6” tall so if you are doing the math I got up to 265lbs. I controlled that and I made it my mission to get back to feeling like a teenager again. Well it’s easy to act like one, but I wanted to be built like one again. So I lost 110lbs in less than a year. Yes that is life changing. I mean I woke up very single morning and ran to the mirror to see the changes. I was amazed every day! I started developing good habits that I never had and then the discipline followed. I also stated gaining confidence.
Two weeks before Christmas the mill I worked at decreased my pay by $6 per hour. If you are rich that might not sound like a lot but if you are a steel worker that is gold. Imagine two weeks before Christmas and you aren’t able to provide gifts for your family. Well I had a good start on a new life so I was watching tv and got inspired by some people and one of them was Robert Glover or on YouTube Brix Fitness. He lost over 155lbs and became a personal trainer. he turned his life around. I was amazed by his transformation as I was still in the process of mine own transformation. One of the cool things is that Im actually friends with Brix now and he even interviewed me on Instagram Live. I actually have a lot of cool friends now from a lot of opportunities that I created with my weight loss.
I ended up signing up with ISSA to become a Certified Personal Trainer. As a 52 year old man I have learned more in the last two years of my journey than I have in my entire life. And right now I have started a new job at Crunch Fitness and I am learning so much from a great group of young people with big goals and positive attitudes. When you surround yourself with the right people you will become part of your surroundings. Good or bad. I have never worked with people that are so happy to help each other succeed and that is what makes a great team win. The old version of me complained about things and the new version of me tries to see what I am supposed to learn from the hard times. Everyday is a defining moment for me because I am grinding away trying to access my “better version” because I truly am “Inspired to be Better” just like the back of most of my shirts say. Being a Personal Trainer is all about trying to “being 1% better today than you were yesterday” (Kobe Bryant) and inspiring those around you to do the same.

Ray, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As a Personal Trainer I actually love to help others access their better version. It’s not just a matter of starving yourself and losing weight. It’s a matter of changing your lifestyle, mindset, and creating healthy habits to build a solid foundation for sustained success. My personal favorite is to show them a before picture of myself to show then what is possible. Then I like to have them do something that they didn’t know they were capable of doing. Three years ago I couldn’t do one single push-up and last year I set my own personal record at 739 in one day. That is what I tell them when they say “I could never do that”.
I am very proud of the changes I have made in my life and some of the obstacles that I have sand still am overcoming like being backward in front of people. Well now I actually make tons of videos on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube and sometimes do group fitness classes.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

To become a successful Personal Trainer it is very important to have a good relationship with your clients. They are there to be with you and you only. You have to bring the energy and keep them on track so they can reach their goals. My personal favorite way is to try to inspire them by showing them that I’m putting in the work and not just telling them.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One particular book that has gotten me through a lot of hard times was “Can’t Hurt Me” by David Goggins.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.crunch.com/join/west-pembroke?
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockylod_fit/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100079782866479&sk=about
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@rockylod_fit
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@rockylod_fit