Today we’d like to introduce you to Ralph Nazaire.
Ralph, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Sports have always played a vital role in my life. Predominantly, my focus was track and field, as well as basketball. My main form of transportation was walking and taking the bus, but mainly walking, so I built a strong foundation. As a result, staying in shape was a natural thing for me. Early on, I didn’t really focus on helping others because my family was all I thought about. I grew up in a single-parent household, which was super tough on my mother. We were on the opposite spectrum of wealthy, so I stayed secluded from others at a young age. I struggled with fitting in because we traveled a lot until we settled in Florida. It wasn’t until I met certain friends who added a little more flavor on my perspective of life. They are now extensions of my family. You do not have to have any blood ties to be considered family in my book.
“There’s no “I” in team.” “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard”, was all I would remind myself as a teenager. I decided to attend the University of Central Florida to pursue a Sports and Exercise Science degree. I managed to accomplish that with a solid support system being my friends, mother, brother, and grandparents. Since I was no longer competing, I became a trainer while attending UCF. It basically revitalized the athlete within me and helped me fuel others. One of my primary goals was to help people reach their overall peaks. Albeit, the first thing I’d usually have an impact on was their physical.
Since then, I’ve developed as a trainer for about two years under the guidance of a great man, Troy Morris. He became a mentor to me and led me towards bigger and better things. Instructing, becoming a leader for not just one, but multiple individuals simultaneously. TRX and F45 were amongst the many things he introduced me to.
As a former athlete, I didn’t want to only train Bart Simpson and Superman, so I wanted to go back to my roots. I pursued performance training with athletes as well. From children to the elderly, I have been trying to build better lives for anyone and everyone around me. Being a resource for anything related to physical fitness and movement is a part of my passion. I love to help others and being remarkable in an individual’s lives is all I hope for. I have a strong passion for educating and getting one percent better every day. In the near future, I plan to focus on physical therapy school. For now, inspiring others through crazy workouts, individuality, and my lifestyle is what I’m all about. Creativity, integrity, and adaptability are my founding pillars and that goes for everybody.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
I had a few struggles along the way, one being the lack of reliable transportation, which was a big adversity. My family relied heavily on walking and bus transits growing up. Any time we needed to travel extended distances, we’d have to have bus fare ready everyday which wasn’t easy. It was either that or prayed that there was a helping hand. As a result of this, I never had anyone who would come watch me perform at sporting events. I’d walk home from practices and was exposed to a lot of drugs and street violence in the neighborhood which made me very uneasy about where my family lived. There were always doubts if I would make it out alright.
Perhaps the biggest struggle was not having my father in my life. Coming to terms with that has taken me a very long time. I used to think I wasn’t wanted by him, and I had to be the man of the house. I knew I wasn’t the only little boy going through this, so I held on to that thought. But even so, I’ve always wished for all the cool things that you could do with your dad as a growing boy. Something as simple as going fishing. But I thank God because there have been angels in my life who have protected me. For some reason, I didn’t fall into the system and I’ve been given the opportunity every day.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
My business is myself, being a fitness trainer and a performance coach. I work with mostly young adults and athletes but am not limited to those groups. Some might call me a speed coach, but I like to be well versed in different areas, so I try not to limit myself to just a skills ladder. I use a lot of techniques to help individuals get stronger, faster, leaner, bigger, and better. People ask me “what does the “e” in e.zaire_ stand for?”. Well, the “e” stands for energy, effort, education, extraordinary, extreme, exciting, encouraging, anything that you can think of that starts with the letter “e” and is uplifting with enthusiasm.
What I am most known for is expressing myself with creativity in exercises, having the ability to adapt to whatever the circumstance, and having integrity. I am proud of the growth and feedback I have received through quality rapport and client results. What truly sets me apart is my level of communication and level of passion. I am backed by word of mouth and rapport. A saying of mine is, “I grow as they grow so we grow together”. I have a “Mamba Mentality”, in the words of the late great Kobe Bryant. I always set my standards high, so I go after everything with one hundred percent effort. I refused to make any excuse for not making something out of little resources.
What were you like growing up?
I was very quiet but energetic. I didn’t get in trouble often. However, every time my brother got in trouble, I’d get dragged into it. I loved to race, but I was a sore loser. I used to draw and paint a lot. I often played board games and other strategy games.
Contact Info:
- Email: goat.fit.lifestyle@gmail.com
- Instagram: e.zaire_
Image Credit:
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