My name is Rodrick Lopez and I am 31 years old!
A little about me before diving into my adult life:
I grew up a wild kid. Always active and playing outside.
My mom forced me to wear a helmet anytime I went outside to play.
Since I was 5, I’ve been playing music. (Started with piano)
All throughout middle school and high school I played and performed music.
I was in marching band all 4 years of high school. (Snare)
I also did winter drumline and concert band. (Snare + percussion)
For 1 year of college I did WGI.
My original major was Music Performance.
I changed it to Kinesiology after finding CrossFit. (2012)
During college I coached full-time at a CrossFit gym.
After graduating I landed a full-time coaching job in San Diego.
Since 2013 my entire life has been committed to coaching.
WGI
Growing up and getting through college was pretty simple.
Not much happened. Little to no hardship and besides the regular pressures of school and life - it was pretty smooth sailing.
Little did I know that would all change about 1.5 years into my full-time job in San Diego.
While my 20's were much more challenging I will share the event that shifted my mindset so drastically that I still contribute a lot of my current habits AND ability to overcome challenges to it.
I thought I was going to be coaching at that gym forever. The people were great, the hours were great, I was in downtown San Diego, the money was good, and the opportunity for growth was unlimited.
I was living the life.
Training half the morning, coaching, and going to the beach everyday.
When I say life couldn't get any better, I mean it.
1.5 years into what I thought was going to be the rest of my life - some construction going on in San Diego went bad and the gym got flooded with millions of gallons of sewer waste.
I'll save the details and the days that followed but in the blink of an eye it was all gone.
The gym, the opportunity, the money, and the life I knew.
While we held out hope for insurance and litigation to go our way - it never happened.
Instead the community we had became fractured and everyone found other gyms.
I woke up one day and the reality of what happened set in.
I had no job. No income. Rent to pay. Bills to pay. And I had to start back from 0.
I became depressed, constantly anxious, and felt hopeless.
At the time I wasn't as resilient as I am today. I did not have the skills necessary to stand up after getting punched. I really didn't know any better.
Luckily my girlfriend (she's my wife now) convinced me to buy a dog a few months prior.
Why is this so important?
While I sat on the couch one day mulling over my next moves - I looked over to my dog staring back at me.
I realized that without me this dog can do nothing. It's relying on me to live.
I got my ass up and took the dog out for a walk.
I had taken my dog on walks before but in the past I always had a reason to hurry home - I had to program, coach, or relax from a long day of work.
Now I had nothing to do.
Our typical 15-30 min walks weren't cutting it.
I remembered hearing about people listening to books and listening to music for 30 min was getting boring so I downloaded audible.
This is when my life changed.
These 15-30 min walks turned into 1-2 hours walks.
I started listening to books constantly.
I was learning new ways to approach life. How to develop new habits, what to do when everything seemed like it was going wrong.
The fire inside of me started to burn.
Before this I felt hopeless - no idea what to do - or where to turn.
Now, I had new ideas. I learned WHAT to think so I could keep going.
I learned that I can't sit here feeling sorry for myself. Life isn't done to you - life is what you choose to do with whatever you get dished out.
I listened to more and more books - I took longer and longer walks.
Here is a few things I started doing once I learned about extreme ownership:
Started creating a website.
Started trying to get more 1-1 clients.
Shifted my focus on building and creating.
Stopped waiting for the "perfect" time.
I was learning like crazy. My mindset continued to shift - I saw the world with its infinite possibilities and opportunities.
What started happening was crazy.
Opportunities started to pop up left and right.
It seemed like every time everything was on the brink of collapse - something would happen to keep me afloat just a little while longer.
Looking back on this time now - I learned SO MUCH:
How to find new clients for 1-1 training, building and creating a website, the value of books, managing little to no money, building a business, developing relationships, and so much more.
After about 3 years I had launched my website, trashed my website, built a new one, worked with 100's of new athletes, started a successful weightlifting program at my gym, created more content than ever before, and I walked and listened to at least 100 books.
After that the next 3 years of my 20's taught me even more and were far more challenging but that'll be for another time.
I am grateful for the hardships of my early 20's because without them I would not have gotten through my late 20s.
Losing my job and what I expected to be my life was devastating.
The amount of learning from it was insurmountable.
Here were the biggest lessons I learned:
Take extreme ownership of your situation.
You attract the energy you put out.
Taking action is more valuable than being perfect.
Listening to books will change your life.
Believing is 90% of the battle.
Building relationships is and will forever be the most important part of your life.
When you don't feel like doing it, do it for your dog.
Life is like the mental and spiritual gym. The more reps you get in - the more "weight" you can handle.
In 2025 it feels like I have done quite a few reps and have a lot of tools in my toolbox.
I know there is so much more to learn but I am grateful for going through what I did so early.
I feel ready and excited to take on life's challenges. I know it won't be easy but I know I'll learn a lot.
Rodrick Lopez / @memefortime
More from Rodrick: here
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