May 13, 2020

Meet Fernando Rodriguez of Far Performance in West and South LA

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fernando Rodriguez.

Fernando, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started playing basketball when I was six years old. This is what started Far Performance. I trained myself, my dad and coaches started to train me in football and basketball. I was very advanced with my body and coordination. At six months old my parents told me I was running already, yes running, not walking haha. As I grew older, I can tell immediately I had advantages in sports because of my coordination. This led to me playing football and basketball in high school. I had to choose solely basketball by sophomore year because of the commitments of the sport. After high school, I went on to play junior college basketball. Right before my season started at 19 years old, I had excruciating pain and had no idea why I was having pain. I couldn’t stand straight, I could barely sit down for 10 minutes without excruciating pain, my favorite thing to do to ease my pain was lying down. I had to tell my professors that I would have to take breaks during class just to not be in pain. I ended up having a herniated disc on my L4-L5 and S-1 area of the lower spine. This led to not playing college basketball for three years. I was very sad and upset and frustrated about not being able to play.

Additionally, my ultimate goal is to play in the NBA. I was only going to play at the junior college for 1 or 2 years max, then transfer to a Division 1 school. I was talented to be able to accomplish that with ease. My friends and colleagues were playing division 1 or getting drafted to the NBA or going internationally to play by the time I was 22. To say I wasn’t happy with my circumstance is an understatement. Finally at 22, I transferred to go to a division 2 college basketball program, I didn’t have a scholarship. I got accepted as a student to study exercise science. The reason I chose to go to a Division 2 school in Arcata, CA was because I was still eligible to play two full years. Division 1 rules said I only had one year. Let’s fast forward to the first day of school, I met some college basketball players and told them if I can get in contact with the coach. I got the coach’s number and called him. I just came off an ankle injury during the summer and was out of shape. I called the head coach and asked if they needed a manager, they did and I was hired. I eventually had access to the practice facility and 50 million dollar arena. I was working out every day to get back in shape and get ready to make the team. I trained with a college basketball player and a fellow Los Angeles native from my area. It was great to have familiarity and a ton of mutual friends from LA. 6 weeks passed, and I was in shape and asking the coach if I could practice with the team.

Eventually, I got on the team as a scout player. Fast forward to after college, I earned my degree in exercise science, I’ve put thousands of hours in the weight room and basketball court. At the time, I didn’t know it yet but Far Performance would be born in January 2017, seven months later after I’ve graduated from college. I got where I am today through a load of trials and tribulations. Experience was my best teacher. I became a certified trainer during college at 23 and worked at a commercial gym in the summer before my senior year. Then after college, I got hired to a more advanced commercial gym in July 2016, this is where I learned a lot about the fitness industry and as a personal trainer. Luckily and unluckily for me I knew a lot about rehabilitating the body and this led to me having a lot of work because many clients wanted my expertise.

From then to now, I’ve helped hundreds of clients restore a stronger and more flexible body. Through my experiences, I learned what I was placed on this earth to do. I found one of my purposes and that’s to make others feel better about themselves mentally and physically. Because of my back injuries, I’ve learned how to help anyone and learned how to rehabilitate the whole body itself, and this has led me to work with athletes, 9-5 workers, corporate, ceo’s, and the list goes on. Today I’m growing my brand Far Performance and it is steadily improving. I never gave up on my dream to be a professional athlete. I went to Spain to compete this past summer and in the fall or winter of 2020, I plan on continuing to play professionally. If it wasn’t for basketball and my injuries, the story would be different. But, as we know things happen for a reason and I’m glad to help make the world healthy and strong!

Has it been a smooth road?
My road hasn’t been smooth, I had a life-changing injury that took my life into another path. I chose fitness and to become a personal trainer because I wanted to work with athletes and people who needed to rehabilitate their bodies as I did. As a personal trainer, the constant struggle is dealing with maintaining and adding more clientele as time continues. I’m a personal trainer so I deal with people first hand and let’s just say people can be very unreliable for many reasons. There is a constant battle with growing your business, “if you’re not growing you’re dying” a fellow trainer told me that and it is very true.

As you start as a trainer, you have no clients, your purpose in the beginning of your career is to get leads and connect with them, so they can see your value. Eventually, people will see your value and will need your services. The struggles I dealt with as a trainer were the first three months. I had to grow my clientele in order to have a full schedule and get paid close to full time. The bottom line of the struggles were inconsistency with clients, some come and go for various reasons. The schedule as a trainer at a commercial gym is not convenient for time with family or even personal time. You can work from 5am-9pm at night and have a break in between. But, your whole day is committed to training others. Sometimes, you don’t know if people will show up, stick to their word, or take their commitment seriously. All in all, I experienced what it was like, and I learned great things take time. I’ve been building my experience for five years now and I finally can say I feel like I’m a few breakthroughs away from training the celebrities, athletes, and more ceos. I’ve put in thousands of hours in and I know my dreams will come to light.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Far Performance story. Tell us more about the business.
For my business Far Performance, I am a body transformation expert who specializes in injury prevention and rehabilitation through sports performance for athletes, non-athletes, and everybody in between. I’m known for having a contagious charisma, guiding people to be more confident and comfortable with themselves. I’m known for being very knowledgeable in many aspects from a physical and mental state. I continue to hear clients say that I motivate them to be the best version of themselves and this leads to propelling themselves forward into other aspects of their lives.

I am most proud of Far Performance for impacting many lives and building a community that is excited to advocate about health and wellness in the brown and black communities. The brown and black communities are at risk for diabetes, heart conditions, high blood pressure and many more health risks, Far Performance is single-handedly helping families become healthier for a lifetime.

What sets me apart from other businesses is that I’ve experienced a lot of physical pain and know first hand what it feels like mentally and physically to endure and overcome injuries. I’m a professional athlete and I know what it takes for athletes to achieve their highest potential. My mentality separates me from the rest because I’m relentless and nothing can stop me. I’ve been through so much at a young age and this has helped me improve others’ health whether they are 89 or 10 years old. I create people’s mindsets to be unstoppable and for them to fully believe in themselves. Lastly, I truly care about every single client I’ve ever trained, we become a family.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
In the personal training industry, I see it going digital. It has continued to grow business online and it will continue because of the convenience of time and non-commute. Most people don’t have an hour to commit to every day or even once a day towards fitness. So, what happens is people love the fact they can train from the comfort of anywhere in the world and training is starting to decrease in time. There are trainers and gyms solely committing to training people for 30 minutes because clients are always on the go and still want an efficient workout. There are inventors that want to create machines, devices for people who can’t leave their house and decide to have a trainer on the device guiding them through their workout. Everything I see happening is based on convenience.

As a trainer, I am able to adapt to these changes and believe in my skills and am willing to work with anyone and everyone with their busy day to day lives to ensure that they train with purpose to lead a healthy lifestyle that will propel them to go far and conquer all!

Contact Info:

Email: [email protected]
Instagram: farperformance & nandohoops (separate accounts)
Other: far-performance.com

Image Credit:
Michael Majors, Kamaria Holden

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Meet West LA Series Sponsor:

Megan Gallagher: Hi! My name is Megan Gallagher! I’m a 24 year old 2x TED speaker, #1 best selling author, afterbuzz tv host, mental health advocate & podcast host! I am very passionate about helping teenagers and changing the school system to have mandatory classes about self love, mental health and following your dreams! Growing up, I started struggling with anxiety as young as three. As a got older, I became more aware of my body and by 14, I knew that something was wrong and I needed help. It was really scary to be sitting in class(in High School) and all the sudden feel hot, sweaty, a fast heart rate and like I was going to pass out. These “episodes” happened every day, in all seven of my classes. After a few months of struggling, I decided to sit my parents down and vent to them. It was so scary and surreal, yet I felt so understood and safe. I then started therapy for three years and went on a journey to discover who Megan was. Now, having overcome it all and being in such a different place in my life- I have dedicated my life to being that person I craved as a teen. I speak at middle schools and high schools across the country in hopes of spreading positivity and inspiring teens to reach for the stars!