As part of the new web series, The Role Model In You — here is the most recent interview. The Role Model In You series discusses how individuals were influenced as a child to lead a healthy lifestyle. It covers who influenced these individuals, the changes they made in their life to be healthy, and the message they would like to convey to the youth of today. Our guests include doctors, soccer stars, Super Bowl champions, NBA players, Olympic gold medalist, entrepreneurs, celebrities, and just regular people looking to share their story. We hope you enjoy it!
1. Your name, title, and age? What do you do (or did you do) for a living?
Ryan McGrotty, Owner of Rep Fitness, 31
2. Who was the person that inspired you as a child to eat healthy and stay fit? What was their relationship to you?
Arnold Schwarzenegger
3. What did they do to inspire you?
I was always liked how impressive he looked and the way he seemed to always be able to handle any situation. Once I started looking into his training routine and diet, I realized it took a lot of discipline and focus to be able to transform your body into something that looked anything even remotely like that. I wanted a body that looked like that for aesthetic reasons initially, but later on it was more just a goal of being able to do well in sports and be able to stay in good health.
4. How did their lesson change your life?
I started to make it a habit to workout often and focus on eating healthy. Many of my friends got out of shape and started to have health problems, while I look pretty similar to how I did near the end of high school. I always made it a priority to eat healthy and stay active, and this has allowed me to continue to enjoy a lot of the sports and activities I liked to do when I was younger. I also very rarely get sick, and I attribute that to my diet, exercise, and sleep routine.
5. Do you convey their message to kids in your life presently?
I talk to my nephews and my younger brothers, but I mostly like to lead by example and not be pushy about it. I find that children don’t necessarily respond as well when you tell them to do something as opposed to when you show that you’re personally interested in something, and then that leads them to want to find out about it and why you like it. If they look to you as a role model, then they want to copy what you do.
6. What would be your main message to children today to lead healthy lifestyles?
Get used to eating foods that aren’t pre-packaged and full of preservatives. Learn to cook. And find activities you enjoy doing, which means you don’t necessarily need to put in time at the gym as though it’s a job, you can find sports and fun ways to get exercise and stay in great shape when you combine that with a healthy diet.
7. Do you have a web site you would like to promote….web address only?