Posts by x3sports

“Everyone has a Dream, but not everyone has a grind.” What is your grind?

There are many fighters in the ring, but rare are the ones with a warrior spirit who capture your attention with their raw enthusiasm and determination. Nicknamed “The Blue King” in the Octagon, 23 year old Robert is from Columbus, GA and ready to make a name for himself in the sport of mixed martial arts. He has only three amateur fights remaining until he turns professional. He is currently ranked the #3 Amateur Welterweight in Georgia, and #13 of 437 in the Southeast Amateur Middleweights and is ready to grind his way to the top.

Follow along with this month’s Success Story as we interview Robert about his most recent TKO win in 29 seconds at NFC 83, how Brazilian Jiu Jitsu helped him lose weight and how MMA saved his life.

HOW DID YOU DISCOVER X3 SPORTS?

“I was sitting at home one day…I had no job, I was in school. I just finished watching “The Ultimate Fighter” with my dad and brother, Clint Hester was on the show, so I googled “X3 Sports” where he trained. He inspired me to join and become a fighter. The first time I stepped into X3 Sports, I was like ‘WOW.’ I didn’t have any money to pay for the X3 at first. Then I got a job, my first paycheck went straight to X3 Sports. It was my first job of my life, but then my cousin gave me a better job with better hours so that I could be in the gym every day and take my fight career more seriously.

NFC 80 December 2015

“MMA wasn’t a first sport for me. My first sport was football. That’s why I came into the gym at 250 lbs, cheeks fat, pretty bloated.In high school, I was 190 lbs., small but very fat. My coaches wanted me to get bigger to play linebacker. So all I did was eat, drink protein shakes and lift weights, and then I got fat. In college, I prepared for spring training, and I got huge. My arms and face were big, but I was athletic. I didn’t know I wanted to fight until football ended.

“I started off with Kickboxing for a month and was losing weight. The instructor said I could learn better striking by upgrading to Muay Thai. So I did Muay Thai, then Jiu-Jitsu afterwards – I loved doing everything and I kept doing them twice a day. I did awful my first go-around in BJJ and I went in there and got beat up on a lot, but I kept losing weight. In three weeks, I had dropped to 215. I kept coming after a few more weeks passed, lost 20 more lbs. When I reached 199 lbs., I said ‘Wow’ to myself. I hadn’t seen that weight in two years. This is really working! My BJJ coaches mentored me, and I met my best friend Nathan Williams in BJJ class. Nate really pushed me into it, after that it was just amazing.

“I’m just really happy I found this gym. X3’s a family to me now. Everything that I’ve gotten, that I’ve achieved, X3’s helped me so much. You can talk to anybody here, everybody’s pretty cool. You meet new people every day, so I really love this gym, it’s really home to me.”

WHAT DOES BJJ MEAN TO YOU?

BJJ GI Class

“BJJ means life, discipline, control and focus. I learned all of that in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The movement in BJJ is very much like chess, you have to be a step ahead of your opponent every time. That’s a challenge, and I love challenges. I think that the person who pushes me and challenges me the most in BJJ is Nathan Williams. I’m always in a chess match with him, even though he beats me. Constantly figuring out what to do, how to get out of this position quick, either I’m tapping or they already passing my guard.

“BJJ is very special to me, because it is another way I lost all my weight. Constantly doing it with my GI on, it’s a grind and most people give up because of the grind. A lot of fighters will come in and say they don’t need to worry about BJJ, those are the guys that aren’t taking this sport seriously. You have to know all aspects of this game just to become a fighter. You can’t just know one thing. You have to know jiu-jitsu, how to do judo, how to grapple and wrestle.”

YOU SAID BJJ IS LIKE A CHESS MATCH. DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MOVE?

“Yes, I love the Oma Plata (a shoulder-lock submission when you trap your opponent’s arm on one side of your hip). If I could set it up perfectly, I would love doing it standing up. The opportunity has yet to present itself to me where I get to showcase my BJJ in the cage.”

WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE TO SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO TAKE BJJ?

“Get a GI. Get ready to be tapped. Get ready to learn great lessons and advice from a lot of cool people. When you first start out in BJJ, you are going to get tapped, it just happens, you don’t know what’s going on, it’s like you’re trying to swim. You got to know how to float in the water, but if you don’t know how to float, you’ll drown. It’s like that in BJJ, you have to just let things happen, and then you have to open your mind. If you really study BJJ, anybody can be good at it. You give it one month, two months with great coaches, and if you actually study and practice with people, then everything will start getting better. Don’t just go and stop, you have to keep going.”

Muay Thai Class

WHAT ARE SOME GOALS YOU HAVE ACHIEVED? AND WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS?

“I plan on holding a belt and fight for a belt in the UFC. My dream is not just a dream for me, it’s a life, a reality. I plan on being on the billboard, that’s a big step. I come into the gym and work my butt off. A good day to me in the gym is not getting submitted, not getting taken down, not getting out-struck…It’s like my coach says: ‘You get 1% better every day.’

“I have big plans for X3 Sports. I’m not going anywhere. I want to be a Black Belt in BJJ. I want people to know that I don’t just do one thing, but that I can do many things. I want to leave my legacy as ‘Robert, the Top Pound for Pound.’ After MMA is over, I plan on coaching and BJJ competitions.”

TELL US ABOUT BEING AN MMA FIGHTER.

“MMA saved my life because I feel if I wasn’t doing this, there would be nothing to go to. I would rather be in the gym, than in the streets.  Being an MMA fighter to me is a way out because I didn’t have anything else to go to. I went to Georgia State, but I feel like if I didn’t find this sport, I would just be working. And that’s not what I want in my life.

“The sport altogether is very challenging, very fun. I never expected it to be such an adrenaline rush. After the first time doing it, I fell in love just like that. I watch MMA on TV all the time now, so much so my girlfriend asks why, and I responded ‘I want to get better. To be the best, I watch the best. So one day when I am the best, they can watch me.’

Best friends Robert & Nate Williams (right)

“Nate and I talk about our dream to reach to UFC a lot. I always remind him about how we will look at each other, and say, ‘We made it.’ I have a lot of dreams. Dream matchups. Once I get my name up there, I want to test myself with my first three pro fights. While I want my record to be great, I don’t want to pitty-patty there. I want tough fights.

“Right now, I believe nobody that I’ve fought yet can withstand my punches. I believe I can fight anybody, at any time. I believe I’m on another level, 170-185, doesn’t matter. They are not on my level. They are not on my team. My team pushes me. I believe I’m better than all the 170 in Georgia. I can’t wait to bring the 170 belt to X3. Once I get the title, then I’ll defend it once or twice. Then I’m going pro.

“I’m just really happy I found this gym. X3’s a family to me now. Everything that I’ve gotten…that I’ve achieved…X3’s helped me so much. You can talk to anybody here, everybody’s pretty cool. You meet new people every day, so I really love this gym. It’s really home to me. I’m very thankful and happy that I got caught up in here (at X3 Sports), rather than being out there (on the streets). I think fighting is what the Lord wanted me to do. I wanted to be a football star, but with MMA, I have a better opportunity to showcase my skill.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FIRST FIGHT LAST JUNE.

NFC 80 December 2015

“My debut fight was June 27, 2015 against Clay Archer. I was super nervous, I didn’t know where or how this was going to go. My dad and brother was there. It wasn’t my first time being in the spotlight but it was the first time where people were actually looking at me, not me in a uniform. I didn’t know what happened, but I stepped into the cage and felt like I was home. I won by 54 second knockout.”

AMAZING! AND YOU HAD A 29 SECOND KNOCKOUT IN YOUR MOST RECENT FIGHT THIS MARCH AT NFC 83 (watch the fight here). HOW DID YOU FEEL?

“There was a lot of emotion in the air. The gameplan was simple. Stay on the outside and move in when I had the chance. When he kicked me in my leg, the objective was to catch it and throw my right hand, that’s how the knockout happened! I got the opportunity to show everybody my strength.”

NFC 83 March 2016 – Robert wins with a 29 second TKO in the 1st Round with TeamX3

YOUR FIGHT NAME IS “THE BLUE KING”. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

“My fight name hasn’t really shown itself yet, but how I persuade myself is as the “Blue King”. I use it as motivation. Blue is a cold color, I love the color blue. Blue is Jazz, all the sad music. King is a ruler rules over a lot of stuff. I believe I am a ruler, but I am never satisfied and always pushing forward, wanting to be better no matter what. I may be happy for that day, that week. I am always hungry. Anybody will tell you that my success, my drive is from pushing myself. If I relax a little bit, I feel like someone will be better than me. That’s where I get my drive and motivation from and, of course, from my coaches and teammates. At the end of the day, what do you see of yourself in the mirror: Do you think of yourself as a successful person? I do, when I step into the ring, I separate myself from the Blue King. That’s where all that aggressiveness, power and raw emotion come from. As long as I can separate myself from the Blue King and reality, I’m fine.”

HOW IS TRAINING WITH THE X3 FIGHT TEAM AND THE COACHES?

“Training with the X3 Sports Fight Team is amazing! We are not just fighters, we are brothers. We share that bond. We would do anything for each other and our coaches. They trust us enough to train us with their time, and we trust them enough to believe in their wisdom. Gabriel is a great coach, he’s emotionally invested and has a plan for everyone filled out for everyone on the team. He corners us and is always there. The four main cornerman at our fights are Coach Tony, Gabriel, Bruno and Mike. Stylistically, Bruno is a great fit for the team. We don’t take anything for granted. Everybody on the fight team will be great pros. We have several fighters looking to make big numbers, big names.

X3 Sports Fight Team

“I lift every Tuesday and Thursday with the Fight Team. I love every bit of it: getting trained, getting coached, having teammates and brothers push you beyond limits you thought you could go, coaches will too. All that is fun, the grind, the blood, the sweat – that’s real! That’s why you always see us dominate, try to knock the opponent’s head off. Everybody in here is tough. We never ever have a dull fight.

“We set a standard, and now everyone wants to meet that standard. I don’t believe this team is credited enough. Nate’s fight was just on TV (NFC 83), Stephen is a title holder 155lb, Xavier Crenshow up and coming fighter, Shawn Gallagher, and on June 11th, I’m fighting for the 170 lbs  against Eli Wynters.”

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FIGHTER?

“Mohammad Ali of course. MMA-wise, I love Rampage Jackson because of the fire he brings to the stage. He’s probably still known as one of the most feared striker in MMA. I want to be a great striker, but I also want to be known as you have to make a game plan to fight me because I’m vicious, got great take-downs, great BJJ background and well-rounded.”

Coach Tony cornering Robert

WHAT DO YOU DO TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE A WELL-ROUNDED FIGHTER?

“I’m currently a Blue Belt, I know it will be tough but I want to be a Black Belt in five years. Kickboxing and boxing, but Muay Thai is always my first go-to since it’s where I first started. I want to do karate and tae kwon do.”

AS A FIGHTER, WE KNOW IT IS NOT ONLY A PHYSICAL CHALLENGE, BUT A MENTAL ONE AS WELL. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH LOSSES?

“My first loss was a huge learning experience. First time, I lost by split-decision. I felt like I could’ve done more, gave more, pushed more. So I gave myself a goal: Leave everything in the cage. If I’m not trying to knock your head off, I’m trying to put you through a lot of pain. This year there will be no judges involved in my fights. I am always trying to finish you. I love to fight someone and finish them in the most worst way possible. I go in there and bang, but my main goal is to finish you.”

WHAT IS YOUR WALKOUT AND WHY?

“I have two walkout songs.

“First is Big Shawn’s “Blessings” – that’s probably one of my favorite songs. I listen to the song 3 times a day, meaning of it is living for not just you, but your family. On the the opening lyrics, “I live the life I deserve, blessed”, meaning I earned this life. That’s my favorite line, without living, of course you aren’t going to meet your goals. The lyrics really open up my eyes even more.

“Also, Edwin Starr’s “War”, this song is the song my mother asked me to play for her for my last fight. I feel energetic when I play this song. It brings a lot of life out of me, it makes me feel better knowing my mother was also listening to it.”

TELL US SOMETHING WE DO NOT KNOW ABOUT YOU.

“I love motorcycles! I really want one…but I’m kind of scared.”

During our interview, we get to see the goofy side of Robert

(“NOOOO!” yells our X3 Sports Marketing Manager Tammi. ”When God blesses you with a gift, you have to take care of it. Getting on a motorcycle is not taking care of it. Pick something else.” Laughter ensues.)

“My teammates will tell you I’m a prankster. I’m really goofy. I love my brothers here. I always joke around with them. Especially if I know you, I’m goofy. I used to be very shy. I handled stuff differently than everybody else. But now, I’m goofy, I love everybody. You’ll always see me smile, you’ll never see me mad. That’s one thing people don’t know about me.”

IF SOMEONE WERE TO ASK YOU WHAT IS X3, WHAT ARE THREE WORDS YOU WOULD SAY?

“Fun, Amazing & Exciting – all those put together is extravagant. To me, X3 is everything. I love this gym. I love the people who work here. I love my team. I love the coaches, without them, there would be no me. Of course, I have my family. When I’m not with my family, I’m with X3. I love every aspect of that, it pushes and motivates me to be better.

“If I could do this over again, the pain, the struggle to get to where I am today, I would do it all over again. There’s no better feeling than to wake up in the morning and know you will be successful. Just keep going. This is long-lasting, this is my dream.”

With a current record of 5-2-0 (two wins in a row) and an upcoming fight for the 170 lb Middleweight belt, Robert is on top of his game, knows where he is going and where he wants to be. His daily grind is becoming a successful professional MMA fighter in the UFC. What is your daily grind?

UPCOMING FIGHT: Watch Robert fight June 11, 2016 @ NFC 84 CenterStage Atlanta | Follow Robert (The Blue King) on Instagram!

Selfie of Robert with #TeamX3 marketing Tammi & Nancy

If you want something you have to go and get it. Do you know what you want?

On the mat is Kelly’s favorite place to be.

Kelly Engleka knew immediately and took action by joining X3 Sports without even trying a class. She wanted to change her life and she did. Her career as a recruiter was only 1.5 miles away from her local X3 Sports Marietta. Little did she know there was a whole family and friends waiting for her. Follow along with this month’s Success Story as we interview about how her decision a year ago is still positively affecting her mentally, emotionally and physically.

HOW DID YOU DISCOVER X3?

“Someone emailed me about X3. I knew you guys were only 1.5 miles from where I work, but I didn’t know much about the gym. Someone in my life said, ‘You should check out the gym.’ I came in from work one day and signed right up. I walked into the door, and wanted to try kickboxing.

January 2015 (Before on the left) vs. January 2016 (After on the right)

“That January, I had run a race called “The Goofy Race & A Half Challenge” at Walt Disney World”. It was a half marathon of 13.1 miles on Saturday with my mom, and then a full marathon of 26.2 miles on Sunday with my friend. I had my medals and was so excited, and then I saw the race pictures and I was mortified. I didn’t like how I looked. I looked swollen.

“I knew that my gym habits weren’t working. I was doing local gyms around here. And so I knew something had to change. X3 Sports was a style of gym I had never been to and said ‘Why not? Let’s give it a shot!'”

SEEMS YOU ARE QUITE THE ATHLETE! WHAT SPORTS HAVE YOU PARTICIPATED IN?

Always in motion, Kelly kicks, punches and knees her way to being fit!

“I was a basketball player all throughout childhood and into adulthood. I was obsessed with it, I was a shooting guard. But I’m 5’4” and I knew I didn’t have a future career in the WNBA. I was also a swimmer and did a little track & field and threw discus in shot put and made it all the way in state.

“In college, I played intramurals for awhile. I went out for the basketball team but decided to focus on getting my education. After that, I ate like I was working out all day long, but I wasn’t working out anymore. So I gained a lot more than the Freshman 15.

“So post college, lot of running which taught me self-discipline and self-worth, but it’s not necessarily a weight-loss sport that way I was doing it. I was going to spin classes and hot yoga, but I wasn’t treating my body like the athlete that I am. I wasn’t eating correctly, I wasn’t warming up or cooling down correctly. So my workout routine was really basic: write some stuff down, go into the gym, try and lift some weights, do spin class, walk out and then consume twice as many calories as I probably burned.”

THAT ACTUALLY SOUNDS LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE. THEY THINK THEY HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT TO DO, THEY GO AND DO IT, AND NOTHING HAPPENS AND THEN THEY QUIT.

“I practicially live here!

“X3 works for people who want to come in and invest in X3. You come in willing to work, and X3 works with you. You give and you get, and it makes you better person.”

YOU SAID YOU FELL IN LOVE WITH MARTIAL ARTS [MUAY THAI] IMMEDIATELY. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT?

You can feel the team camaraderie at the end of each Muay Thai class.

“Not having any martial arts background at all, I never took karate or anything. When I came into kickboxing, I liked the feeling of kicking and punching a bag. As an adult, that’s a great way to get your stress out.

“Muay Thai class was right across from Kickboxing class, and there was a couple nights I saw some people and it looked like a family working hard together but also joking around.

“I asked my instructor Joel Kasik about transitioning from Kickboxing to Muay Thai and he help me out. Something about it just clicked. There was a discipline the art required and a learning aspect. I don’t think very often as adults we push ourselves to learn something new. So it’s been really amazing to start from scratch. It’s been awesome to be like a kindergartner and learn the basics and work from the ground up. Something about that really worked with my spirit.”

AMAZING, ONE DAY YOU ARE WATCHING THE CLASS, NEXT DAY YOU ARE IN THE CLASS! JUST LIKE JOINING X3, SEEMS LIKE WHEN YOU WANT TO DO IT, THEN YOU JUST GO AND DO IT.

“I feel like you have to be that way about your life. If you want something, you have to go and get it. Nobody is going to get it for you. Nobody is going to hand it to you. But what’s great is when people see you working for what you want, they innately want to help you. You form relationships this way.”

YOU MENTIONED YOU COME HERE DAILY AND THAT X3 IS YOUR FAMILY. TELL US MORE ABOUT THAT.

“These days I’m at the gym 5 days a week, my routine usually consists of Muay Thai, FastTrack, and PowerTrack. On the mats, I’d say that Joel Kasik is the best natural mentor and coach X3 has. Off the mat, Mike Pryce has pushed me more than anyone else at the gym. X3 really is a family; it shows every single day I walk in the door. The staff knows me, asks about my progress and continually supports me – everyone from the smiling faces at the front desk to Mr. Hoseh who does such a great job keeping the gym sparkling to the operations manager Joel Toledo.

Kelly doing knee kicks with friend Brandy Nicole.

“My best friend in the whole wide world is in Muay Thai. She’s phenomenal and an amazing athlete, her name is Brandy. And Joel Kasik is such a great teacher, a natural leader and mentor who can very quickly figure out what you need to be told to learn. In class, he knows he’s got people of varying abilities and various learning levels, and we all want to be taught differently. I might want to see it, and someone else might want him to explain it. Joel can attune and work with each one of us. We’ve become good friends. He’s an instructor and I enjoy working with him. More importantly, he makes me want to succeed for him. I go into class wanting to work hard because I know he is invested in me as an athlete.”

YOU SHARED EARLIER THAT WHEN YOU FIRST CAME TO X3 SPORTS AND TOOK A CLASS, AND THEN CAME IN AGAIN THE NEXT DAY, THE INSTRUCTOR REMEMBERED YOUR NAME. HOW DID THAT AFFECT YOU?

“That made the difference. I probably wouldn’t be here. There’s no possible way he remembers every newbie’s name. And if he does, that’s amazing. It makes you feel like people care about whether or not you’re here. If you work hard, people notice and they keep noticing.”

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR WEIGHT LOSS JOURNEY. WHAT WAS YOUR WEIGHT BEFORE X3 AND WHAT IS YOUR WEIGHT NOW?

Kelly with her brother Matt were featured on our website and social media as X3 siblings.

“From my heaviest of December 2014, I was 235. And today,  I have lost 33 lbs. I am three pounds away from hitting 199! (Just a few days later in February, Kelly has already surpassed her goal). My weight loss journey has been my entire adult life.

“For me, it’s been particularly emotional because I have a very fit family. My mom and dad are tremendous athletes, as well as my brother, who also is an X3 member. So I’ve always felt like the black sheep. Once I hit that 199, I will be the lightest I’ve been in 12 years. Right now, I’m absolutely the fittest I’ve ever been in my entire life!”

WHAT ARE SOME GOALS YOU HAVE ACHIEVED? AND WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE GOALS?

“They always tell you to take before and after pictures and write down goals. Unfortunately I didn’t do that. I am a journaler, and I’ve been writing down my sports journey while I’ve been here. What’s funny is I have exceeded goals I didn’t even know I’ve made. I remember when I couldn’t do a push-up, or 15 minutes of Muay Thai and I was doubled-over. Now I don’t think about going for 2 hours.

“I’m thankful for X3, the people, and the process and I’m proud of the things I achieved in 2015 – the weight loss, cutting 30 minutes off my half marathon time, increased mobility, and so much more.

“I run tons of races. I counted my medals for fun one day and I have close to 40 medals, and they signify over 500 miles of races. Actually a whole bunch of us from X3 are going to run the Mercedes Benz half marathon in Alabama next month (March 2016).

“My 2016 goals would be to absolutely fight in Muay Thai. We are looking at either May or July! I would love to power clean 150 lbs by the end of July, which should be really attainable. And then to drop 20 lbs to 180. I joke with Mike that afterwards, he can bulk me up all he wants!”

HOW DID YOU GET INTO LIFTING WEIGHTS?

Competitive Olympic power-cleaning is just another thing Kelly wanted to do and did it!

“I lifted in high school for basketball. One day working with Mike, he just set up the bar and I just did it. I was like “Whoa, I did that!”, and so was he just as impressed! Mike saw the hungry athlete in me. We started Olympic weight lifting in October and now I can already power clean 130 lbs! I am lifting and doing strength exercises I never in a million years thought I would be doing.

“It becomes so addictive to push your body. Sometimes I have to be careful and pull back and remind myself that my goal is still to lose weight, and not become the next power lifter! When you’re doing power cleans, you feel so powerful and awesome.

“One of the words I feel really passionate about is resilience. That’s my goal in life. That’s my goal with X3. That’s my goal with my fitness journey is to be resilient. I want to be able to be able to weather the things that I know that hopefully 90 more years of life are going to throw at me.”

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR FIRST UPCOMING MUAY THAI FIGHT. HOW EXCITED ARE YOU AND WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

“It’s important to me that Joel thinks I’m able to fight. He’ll be the one in my corner when I do fight. My goal isn’t to be X3’s next great Muay Thai fighter. It’s just something that I want to do. I want to step in the ring, whether it’s one time, three times or fives times and compete. I want to be a competitor. I want to know that I did this for myself. And if I lose, I lose. I walk away proud of myself.”

YOU MENTIONED A QUOTE BY AUTHOR JEFF GOINS: “THERE ARE NO BIG BREAKS. ONLY TINY DRIPS OF EFFORT THAT LEAD TO WAVES OF MOMENTUM.” WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU?

“The way that I work is through gleaming inspiration from whether it’s books or other people who are pushing themselves. We are in a culture of instant gratification. Everyone wants everything right now. They think that they deserve it right now. They live hoping that get that golden check in the mail, or something’s going to happen and I’m going to wake up and everything I could possibly want is going to be there. And that’s just not the way it works. Maybe it does happen that way for some people, but I don’t think it’s safe to live your life thinking or feeling like that.

“So as I approach my weight loss and fitness journey and my life here at X3, there are days that it sucks, that hurt, that when I get home, nothing clicks and I think “why did I go to the gym today?” Then I remind myself that it’s the tiny drips of effort, it’s the five minutes of doing the best I can, that eventually create the waves. Think about what waves can do, waves move land. And in my head, I have to remember that coming in doing what I’m suppose to do day in and day out, will initially pay off.”

IF SOMEONE WERE TO ASK YOU WHAT IS X3, WHAT ARE THREE WORDS YOU WOULD SAY?

1. “Family – because these people are my family. There are so many people here that I could call at the drop of a dime to come help me if I needed help.
2. Tenacity – because to train here, you have to be an athlete. And what’s funny, you know who athletes are? Everybody. If you have a body, you are an athlete. They train people here like they’re athletes because we are athletes. So you have to be tenacious about your training.
3. Resilience – because coming in, working hard every single day, it does make you resilient in life. You think to youself, “if I can take 3 really hard FastTracks one week at X3, I can deal with my angry boss today.”

LAST QUESTION, DO YOU RECOGNIZE THE PERSON YOU WERE A YEAR AGO TODAY?

“I’ll tell you that I’m a much happier person now.”
Kelly goofying around with her Muay Thai instructor Joel.

“I don’t remember exactly, but I’ll you that I was horribly unhappy. I’ll tell you that I’m a much happier person now. Beyond that, one of the coolest things about this journey, is I’m a better person. I’m kinder. I’m gentler and I have a much more open heart and a sincere spirit. And these are things I’ve worked on physically to achieve, and also emotionally. You come in every day and you put your heart on your sleeve. You work as hard as you can. Some days, people look at you and go, “Holy Cow,” some days people look at you and go, “Move out of the way.”

“So, I would say I remember I wasn’t happy. And I will tell you that I am so, so happy with myself and who I am relationally with other people now.

The question is: “Are you happy? And what can you do to change that?” I really felt Kelly’s energy and spirit throughout our conversation. This wasn’t an interview, but more of a conversation about how X3 Sports changes people’s lives. Every day. Kelly’s life changed after she became an X3 member. Her investment in X3 Sports is paying off, but more importantly, her investment in herself is priceless.

Of course, an obligatory selfie with Kelly!