#TransformationTuesday: Jordan Johnson
We would like you all to meet Jordan Grim Johnson! You all probably know him because he has been going to the gym for quite a long time!
One thing that you may not know is that he is an AMAZING writer so this post will be a little different.
It is a bit long but trust us, you will want to read more!
Here is a Q&A with Jordan!
1) What made you start your fitness journey and what motivates you to keep going?
I come from a family of wrestlers. My family takes a lot of pride in the sport because to us, it’s a one of a kind sport. I’m the youngest of 5 brothers, all of whom are absolute beasts. I wasn’t though. I got hurt when I was younger and I couldn’t even do a bridge without my back wanting to give up on me. My brother and for now until always, the best gym partner ever, got me into the gym. I think he understood my struggle with self loathing especially right around the age of puberty. Boys are becoming men, girls are becoming women and I’m just a dorky looking 100lb kid with nothing to be proud of. My father had us grow up on Stallone movies. So Rocky of course. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, just get back up. I’m not a paper mache man so it does come from a hardened mindset of never giving up, but to stay motivated, I remember how empty I feel without the gym. The gym is my lunatic playground. I’m not the same person in the gym as I am out of it. When I’m not in the gym, that animal scratches at the door waiting for me to step across the threshold and let it out. It needs fed and when I don’t feed it, it’s starved and hates me. I feel that rot if I don’t go to the gym. It tears me apart from the inside out. I flex in the mirror not for ego but to step back and observe a masterpiece in the making and through the window of my eyes, the animal feels pride and so do I.
2) Has lifting helped with and/or improved your mental state of mind? Has it helped with your own self image of yourself?
I’ve always struggled with my skinniness. Seeing my body with a very unsettle mindset. I know every muscle I have that pops and bulges, wasn’t there in high school or wrestling. So yes, the gym has made me a whole new person that I can be confident with.
3) What would be your advice to those that may be going through anything that you have gone through and how does lifting/staying fit help?
Life is a fight of evolve or dissolve. Hardship is everywhere, especially in your own head. Social anxiety, poor self image and even self harm. The gym is the place to express your stress. You take something bad and make it work in your favor. That’s how you twist the tables on life’s hardships. Make something good out of the cards you picked and the ones you didn’t.
4) Why do you choose and stay with Rock Island Gym and what is the main thing that you love about it and the main thing you would change about it?
Weights are weights and gyms are gyms. Some have more, some have less. Rock Island has a lot but Rock Island has something none other has and that’s my heart. I found a home for my animal. I’ve always felt very alone in the gym and that’s how I like it but I can look anywhere and see someone I have been able to grow with and call a friend because of the people that go to Rock Island. I don’t feel that elsewhere. If I could change anything, I’d just love it to be bigger.
Thank you so much Jordan for opening up for us like this! We hope that your short story of your fitness journey will motivate and inspire our members!