Hi, my name is Fabian, and I’ve been a Certified Personal Trainer since 2014. But, my love and passion for fitness started in 2010 following a suicide attempt.
At the time, I was a soldier in the United States Army and had just came back from my second combat deployment from Iraq. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was suffering from severe PTSD. This wasn’t evident until it was almost too late. It wasn’t evident until late one evening I came close to slitting my wrist, but my daughter walked in, I started playing with her and that prevented me from going through with it.
The next day after work I decided not to go home, because I feared following through with it. Instead, I found myself in a gym, and after two hours of working out I walked out feeling like I mattered. I walked out knowing I wanted to live. It was then I realized the power fitness has to improve not only physical health, but mental and emotional health as well. This is why I am so passionate about teaching my clients how to use fitness to improve their mental, emotional and physical health.
Fitness has been the anchor and has kept me grounded since I started in 2010 following my failed suicide attempt. It’s a constant reminder that life is beautiful, it’s the thing I rely on for strength, to always remind me that I have exactly what it takes to do and be whatever and whomever I chose, and or desire. There is no doubt that the love and passion I have for fitness and my business comes from this, and it’s this love and passion I bring to each training session with my clients.
Three years after my suicide attempt I took my love and passion for fitness one step further when I earned a Personal Training & Nutrition Certification from the American Council on Exercise (ACE). I’m also CPR and First Aid qualified – a qualification I earned from the American Heart Association. Currently, I’m attending Chaminade University in pursuit of a Psychology degree. A degree I plan to incorporate into fitness, because all my years in fitness taught me that everything starts within the mind. Therefore, it only makes sense to adapt a psychological approach to fitness.
After my suicide attempt and spending three years on my own fitness journey I realized helping other improve their mental, emotional and physical health is something I’m passionate about, and it’s something I want to do for the rest of my life. As a result, I started Change iz Fitness. A Personal Training service business that combines fitness and psychology to help clients “Be Their Change.”