Fitness enthusiast lifts others

Eduardo Gonzalez works out in the gym. Photos submitted

By Tom Victoria

Eduardo Gonzalez is improving himself while lifting others along the way. The content creator focuses on fitness.

"I'm becoming the better version of myself," he said. "To get to that point, I found exercise is a good tool. I do strongly believe that being committed to exercising will definitely change a lot of things in your life. A lot of people out there are getting distracted by drugs and alcohol and all of this. If you surround yourself by people that just do healthy stuff, it does make a big difference."

Eduardo, 27, of California overcame trauma caused by military duty in the Land of the Sun.

"I was having some hiccups in life before," he said. "I did service in Mexico in combat. Because of that, I developed PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). I started surfing and I started getting into sports, and that's what healed me every time I go out there. The only thing I worry about is the waves. You totally forget about the world. I was watching this documentary where it says that people use this as a therapy for PTSD and other disorders as well. I got into that and I got into working out and exercising. And because I noticed the difference within myself, I always encourage people to do the same."

Eduardo served in the Mexican military combatting cartels.

"I was for two years deployed," he said. "Prior that, I had my four years training before I turned 18. Unfortunately, Mexico has been always been in conflict with the cartels. That's pretty much what I had to experience."

Eduardo eventually relocated to The Golden State to help family.

"I moved to California since my grandmother had some health issues," he said. "She had an aneurysm. My English isn't the greatest, but it's good enough to communicate with the doctors and the nurses. So I came here and then I was able to take care of that, go through prescriptions, talking to the doctors, surgery specialists. And then when I came to California, I was like, man, this is beautiful, the weather and the ocean. I completely fell in love with it. I ended up staying in California. It's been a new journey for me. There's something about the ocean that always heals. I couldn't explain it to you, but every time I go out there, I come back home with a huge smile and full of energy. Physically exhausted, but mentally reborn."

Eduardo developed a workout routine.

"I have my two days to take a break, so that way, my body recovers," he said. "When I hit my chest is my favorite workout. When I hit my chest, I go along with my arms. If I have a little bit of extra time, then I do my abs as well. I go with my back and then my biceps. When I hit my chest, I hit my triceps. My back goes along with my biceps. On the next day, I hit my legs. Nobody likes to do legs, but once you start doing it, you start getting used to it. The reason nobody likes to do legs is because of your body weight. Your legs have to carry that through the day. So when you're sore, you deal with double the pain. But then eventually, you do become used to it."

Eduardo eliminated a main reason people skip a workout.

"Sometimes I don't have enough time to hit the gym," he said. "So I bought equipment for the gym and I put it in my living room, bench press, dumbbells, the bars. I was like, okay, so if my gym is about to close and I don't have enough time to go and hit my workout routine today, I have no other excuse. I have my stuff here at home. And that's always helped."

Eduardo didn't have to look far to find inspiration to become fitter.

"My uncle Jaime (Lua)," he said. "He's been working out since probably even before I was born. He always encouraged everyone, not just me, to eat healthy, to eat your vegetables. He always will prepare himself milkshakes with a bunch of stuff and eat healthy. He will not eat from the street. He doesn't drink soda. He's very strict. When I do a lot of this, I see my uncle and I'm like, man, this guy has beautiful body, beautiful physique. When I was little, I remembered that I would see him as a superhero. I told him he always inspired me. He always told me: Eddie, one day, you will look better than I. I love him. He's a great guy. And now, he's trying to encourage me to go into boxing. I feel like I never have enough. I always want to go for more with the purpose of becoming a better version of myself. I got bullied a little bit when I was little for being way too skinny. Maybe that plays a big role."

Eduardo is a certified pool technician.

"I love my job," he said. "I love water."

Eduardo also enjoys music.

"I always liked music," he said. "Unfortunately, I don't play any instruments. I wish I could have. It's never too late, though. I just got myself a DJ controller. I feel like music, it's a getaway. It makes me happy. I found out when I was having anxiety attacks when I was going through issues or experiencing problems after being in combat, one of the things that will calm me down was music. I can give you a song specifically. It's Sailing by Christopher Cross. That one song always worked. If I was having an anxiety attack or a panic attack, I would sit in my car and then play that song. So right now, I'm learning how to be a DJ. Music really makes me happy. I get to connect. You get goosebumps on your skin when you're listening to music, when you connect with this music and know everybody gets to experience that."

Eduardo wants to add another job to his resume.

"I'm looking to become a personal trainer," he said. "I'm getting my certifications here in the United States. It's something that I really want to do because I do want to help people. A lot of people reach out through my social media and they say, Eddie, please help me. Eddie, I need more confidence. Eddie, I want to look like you. In order to help them out, I need to get more knowledge. I'm always happy to help people, always since I was little."

Eduardo plans on becoming an entrepreneur with the pool and fitness industries. 

"I want to create my own business right," he said. "Everything can be very unpredictable now. My dad always taught me to not rely on someone, so I am working on building my small business. As a backup, if I ever lose my job, at least I have something to follow. Matter of fact, my uncle's dream has been opening a gym."

Eduardo remains motivated to work out.

"I do remember those times where people used to bully me," he said. "I was really skinny. I was very underweight. Sometimes I'm like, I will prove to the world or I will prove to the people and prove to myself that I can push my own limits in a healthier way. This sense, a feeling of wanting to help people is also what motivates me. Lately, I've been getting DMs or messages through social media and people are telling me, Eddie, you look amazing; Eddie, one day I want to look like you. And man, those little messages, I appreciate those so much because that tells me that I'm doing a good job. That tells me that I must be doing good. My family is also very supportive. My uncle says: Eddie, you look good, man, you look amazing. Thank you. I'm following your steps. And I always motivate myself with some good things and taking a little bit of the bad things that I had to go through before."

Eduardo gives careful consideration to what he posts.

"We live in a very ugly world," he said. "I'm being super careful with the things that I've been posting. When it comes to content, I think about it and I write it down in my little notebook. I have this idea and I share it with my friends, my close friends, and I said: what do you guys think about this? And they said: Eddie, it's good, it's bad, it could be better."

Eduardo wants to show people they don't have to indulge in vices to savor life.

"Going with friends for your morning run or surfing with your friends or things like that, it creates a lot of happiness," he said. "More than they can't even imagine. I go party. One of the sad things that I get to see is that some people drink so much and do drugs and that's the only thing they do because they get stuck thinking that's the only happiness, the only way to get away. You can get away from the ugly world and abusive things that are happening out there by going surfing, by going for a run. That's taking care of yourself. That's loving yourself. My therapist told me: once you get to love yourself, you're not concerned about who cares about me and who doesn't care about me. Naturally, we are always seeking approval. But if you will give yourselves that approval or love, then life becomes a thousand times better and easier. I'm very happy always. I'm very grateful and I'm very fortunate that I don't have any addiction. I don't have any drug, alcohol problem or issue. I'm very grateful, I'm very blessed that the only thing that I'm always seeking is what's the next wave that I'm going to catch today or let me try to hit five miles today."

Eduardo offered advice to those wanting to start working out.

"A lot of people are like: I just want to look good or I just want my ex-girlfriend or ex-boyfriend to see that I look better and then they can reach out to me again," he said. "I always ask them why and my advice to them is do it for yourself. Just do it for yourself and then your body will thank you later."

Eduardo maintains a positive attitude no matter the circumstances.

"Being a pool technician, I have to deal with a lot of people," he said. "I got to the point that I was doing 30, 35 pools a day and the energy from people can really affect you. Regardless whether I was having a long day or not, and not just because of my job, it comes from family. My grandma always told me: you have to smile, so I smile to people and they smile back. Then you get the chance to say: you know what, you look amazing today. I like your highlights on your hair. That makes a difference to some people. They might be going through something in life and that might be the reason why they're negative. I always want to remind people that they're very worth it. I learned that the smallest thing, the smallest compliment that you can make to someone, it can make their whole day and it can change their perspective. I had people that came to me when I was going through difficult times and say: Eddie, you are so kind, you're so humble. And that meant the world to me. That gave me the motive for me to know I am worth it. I can do much better. I can push my own limits."

Eduardo said folks need to place value on themselves.

"We deserve love," he said. "Just ask yourself how can I find a way to love myself better? And the answer is it's taking care of your body, your mental health, eating healthier, working out and be surrounded by the right people."

Eduardo's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eddie_aesthetics/