Inspiring Conversations with Rafael Escobar of Escobar Fitness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rafael Escobar.

Hi Rafael, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.

I come from a family of Salvadorian Immigrants. I was born and raised in Northern California where all we knew was a life of stress, anxiety, and abuse. I come from a culture of deep love, but also deep rooted pain. This pain was acted out in our actions, in the way we did EVERYTHING.

By the age of 13, I had survived the physical, mental, and emotional abuse laid on by my father. I had survived the countless trips to Burger King (my mother started and has maintained a beautiful career there), and I survived the demons that riddled my own young, insecure mind.

At the same time, at this age, I weighed 242 pounds and was 32% body fat, my parents were going through a divorce, and I quickly proceeded to lose what felt like ALL stability in my life.

And you see, THIS was the turning point.

Since that young age, I have been working TIRELESSLY focusing on the success habits of the top 3% of both Athletes and Thinkers in the world.

I utilized my pain as my fuel and dug DEEP into myself. In 8 months, I lost 70 pounds. I then went on to achieve a 4.0 GPA in high school, graduated from a nationally-ranked university at UCSD, and pivoted from a career in Professional Engineering to a career in Corporate Health and Wellness and am now honing in on my skills as a Professional Speaker.

You see, what I found along the way was that from our deepest struggles come our greatest strengths. Now you may think to yourself, that’s awesome man… good job.

But where is the REAL? How is it that I can now be what I’ve always wanted to be, a husband, a father, and a professional?

Well you see, it took a life-altering, gut-wrenching, fear-stricken moment to finally SNAP me out of the pain of misery and into the light of responsibility.

While on paper, I had success as a student and a young professional. On a personal level, I released my demons -I surrendered to my vices until they BROKE me.

As a college student, I picked up the habit of over consuming. Over consuming food, alcohol, and work. Tgis over consumption was the mask covering what I was really feeling underneath.

My world came crashing down on November 26th of 2018. You see on this day, I was arrested for public intoxication, for the SECOND time in my life. It was the culmination of a life lived under severe STRESS, and unmovable pain.

This day was a day that again, marked a rebirth. You see since that day, I have made my life a mission of purpose. That purpose? To be the person who I needed when I was young. To be a role model by ACTION, not by words.

To be a protector, through courage and confidence and not through anger. And to be a lover, to my wife, to my family, and to my community.

Because after experiencing what I have, I now live by three core values that shape the lense through which I look through on a daily, moment by moment basis.

These values are: Commitment, Consistency, and Connection.

So I stand before you today, a time tested professional, a heartwarming father, and a dedicated, committed, and loyal husband. And THOSE are the principles that I bring into my teachings in the world of Exercise, Nutrition, and Mindset.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?

My struggles were:

– Age 13 I weighed 242 pounds, 32% body fat

– Parents divorced at 13, resulting in loss of stability

– Self-Inflicting habits that kept me in misery

Here’s the thing, I firmly believe that we are shaped by our environment, and our environment is shaped by ITS environment… What do I mean? Well if you look deeper, our own parents or those who led us at a young age were shaped by those who led them.That goes for our personal and professional life. Think about it, school? Others have been taught how to teach others.

So what I’m saying is the pain that I endured as a youth, the pain that I endured as a young professional was a result of generational teachings, which I also firmly believe we ALL experience.

I can say with certainty that in MY experience the harshest struggles I faced were those within the realms of my own mind; which eventually led to real-life action and real life consequences.

I struggled with controlling my alcohol intake, with controlling my anger, with controlling the rage and pain that I felt within. Leading to broken relationships, disheartening losses both personally AND professionally, and ultimately leading to a road of emptiness, pain, and resentment.

For you see, in my mind, everything was HEAVY, everything was LONELY, and everything was SAD. While I was able to push through hours of studying and exercise, days, weeks, and years without any REAL communication with loved ones, and simply just waking up; I eventually ran out of the anger that fueled me so the real challenge has come in the last 3 years.

Choosing to let go on a daily basis of my old self to step into my new self. Letting go of the trauma, the pain, and the misery that riddled the first half of my life all through exercise, nutrition, and through developing a champion’s mindset.

The road to overcoming my struggles has seen many different faces. It has happened in years, in weeks, in minutes, and in moments. So I believe that overcoming your struggles is a simple matter in finding the positive in everything that is actually happening FOR you not TO you.

While this is much easier said than done, the road to enlightenment, fulfillment, and happiness simply CANNOT be an  easy one. It CANNOT be an entirely joyful one. For without pain, we wouldn’t know love. So I’ve learned to love the obstacle, love the challenge, and see my life as a series of successes instead of a series of failures.

We’ve been impressed with Escobar Fitness LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

Escobar Fitness LLC is an industry leading Corporate Health and Wellness company. We were founded by the success of our clients and the joys they experienced through our proven blueprint to a new and rejuvenated you. At the heart of our company lies the deep desire to self-empower and self-ignite high level-executives, seasoned business owners, and talented yet busy, very busy office professionals.

We do this by teaching Leadership Habits that Build Character to immediately decrease high levels of stress and increase happiness and performance in the workplace.

I personally teach through 1-hr on-site strategic workshops, 1/2 day and full-day seminars and events and I partner with your executive team and your meeting and event planner to deliver a VALUE packed seminar where I transfer knowledge in an entertaining, encouraging, and enlightening manner.

My goal is to immediately arm you, your team, and your organization with industry leading strategies in Exercise, Nutrition, Mindset, and Unity to help you and your team transform from comfort, fear, negativity, and heaviness to a world of strength, courage, hope, and light by taking ownership of YOUR habits.

The habits we’ll work on are EXACTLY what sets me apart from others: The ability to translate real-life soft skills mastered through the art and discipline of exercise, nutrition, and positive thinking into your personal AND professional life. Become a better parent, a better spouse, a better leader, a better professional, and experience success unlike EVER before. THAT is the promise we deliver on, time and time again.

It’s not just the increase in the dollars, or the pounds dripping off the scale, or even the mountain tops you reach by pushing through a REAL, Time-Tested, and TAILORED exercise and nutrition program for the Modern-Day office professional – but more importantly the life changing emotional FREEDOM, mental FORTITUDE and physical DOMINANCE that will lead you to become the BEST version of yourself, that you’ve seen thus far. .

For you see, the ONLY thing that will matter when it is all said and done is the ONE thing I am most proud of when it comes to Escobar Fitness LLC, our offerings, and our services – and that’s COMMITMENT.

As a husband, as a father, and as Leadership Speaker, I wholeheartedly vow to you, the reader – that by the simple affiliation of knowing our name, let alone our services and our work, here at Escobar Fitness LLC, what we are most proud of is YOU the person who’s willing to listen, act, and PARTNER with us as we steer out of this world of anger and negativity into. a world of responsibility and love.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?

Growing up, I was a very shy, introverted yet outgoing kid. In a classroom setting, at school, and in formality, I was and am very respectful, courteous and kind. I was a kid who absolutely LOVED to have fun. My definition of fun was basketball at recess, chatting and joking with my good friends, and eating some delicious food.

I grew up with two sisters, one older, and one younger who taught me what having friends was all about. We shared a lot of great memories together as we laughed and played after school while our parents worked to keep our house and home afloat. My mother worked tremendously long hours, as did my father.

While we all had fun in our moments, we didn’t see each other very much because of school and work. Which later in life led to quite a bit of loneliness that ultimately resulted in strength.

Since a young age, and I’m talking Kindergarten to 1st grade, I loved math, I loved learning, and I loved school. Being with my friends and learning was an escape from what would often be a lot of yelling, anger, and sadness back at home.

I loved to play any sport I could (and still do) and would very much enjoy just about every subject in school. There wasn’t a thing you couldn’t teach me that I wouldn’t pay attention to or care about (except maybe very early Biology lol) and be in love with.

I chose my moments to be outgoing as a kid. When I needed to, I would love to have fun, joke around, and simply be. But dating back as far back as I can remember, it was instilled in me that a “man has to work, a man has to provide.” Those were the teachings in our home, and it gave me a side that I am now thankful for..

Even as a child I was very focused, determined, and hard working. I loved doing well for the approval of my father, and my mother. To hopefully help reduce the anger, the abuse, and the pain.

School sports, and friends were the things that brought me the most happiness as a kid. Tied in with that, was the foundation of an eternally loving family who showed me strength, courage, and love  despite our troubles later in life.

Despite any and all events, what I am most thankful for is having a childhood that set a foundation for WHO I am today. My firm belief is that Character, WHO you are, and WHAT you do is what is MOST important. So I think the child in me for keeping my life FUN, EASY GOING, and relentlessly PASSIONATE.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.escobarfitness.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coach_raf_/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reescoba/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/coach_raf_
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC83A9Jaq_EUMZk9VRh-K1hA

Image Credits
Ben Hisoler @ Legacy Photos Shannon Cox @ Shannan Cox Photography