Today we’d like to introduce you to Ray Lodovico.
Hi Ray, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
A little over 3 years ago my journey started as a simple weight loss. I had tried many diets in the past and I never stuck to any of them until after covid when a switch went off on my head. I was literally shopping for a new body of similar height to mine on the internet and I actually have screen shots to prove it. At the time I was 5′ 6″ and a very unhealthy 265lbs. I was dealing with edema of the legs and an elevated heart rate. I forgot to mention that I was 49 years old and I had spent most of my adult life working in steel mills and it was never really a job I specifically choose for myself as much as it being a just I accepted in exchange for a wage. I was never able to make any plans or have a normal life like others i new due to the demanding long hours and complicated schedules. Working twelve hour days and nights always made me feel like a pancake constantly being flipped. I drank and ate very unhealthy and my body and energy showed it. I tried to buy a life of happiness with material things that caused unneeded debt. I finally realized I was never going to dig myself out of that debt with the spoon I had given myself so I needed major changes. I ended up losing 110lbs in less than a year and with that weight loss my confidence started to grow like a snowball. I started to become inspired buy people that I saw on the internet like my friend Robert Glover of Brix Fitness and to tell you the truth I had never even used the word inspire before this journey. I was being motivated and inspired by what i was watching on YouTube and started setting goals. I was watching people do 1 minute pushups as my jaw dropped! I eventually ended up doing 2 minute pushups myself and much many more things that i would never have imagined myself doing. I decided i didn’t want to finish out my years in a place like a steel mill and decided to get certified as a Personal Trainer. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. I started making videos on TikTok, and Instagram, and YouTube and it became a passion and obsession of mine along with my rekindled love of basketaball. I also forgot to tell you I was an introvert. I didn’t even like to leave a message on an answering machine.
Trying to make my way in the fitness industry was no easy task for a guy woking up to 7 days a week with 12 hour days and nights. I finally parted ways with the mill in November of 2023 and took a pay cut to get some experience as a personal trainer. I worked my way up to a nice paying jab as a trainer at the YMCA in Cranberry Township thanks to a very nice woman named Kathy that gave me the opportunity because she believed in me. Being a trainer is a very rewarding job and I enjoy it but due to my weight loss my I went through unrecognizable changes physically and mentally that affected my relationships with family and the few friends the “Old Ray” had. My wife and I separated after 26 years of marriage and the “New Ray” didn’t really fit in as well in the area I grew up in. I always felt like I was meant to do something bigger and could never go back to a life that involved repetitive work that I didn’t enjoy. Plus my new body of 155lbs was always cold due to the lack of extra insulation.
I spent most of my days in gyms and on basketball courts and running the roads of those are hard things to do in the winter time in Pittsburgh so I started throwing around the idea of packing up and moving. Once I get something in my head its hard to get it out. I have a bit of an obsessive personality. I started talking to some people about my idea and just like in a movie I had some people telling me “Just go for it”. It didn’t take me long to talk myself into it. I was thinking Maryland at first because there is an ocean and its south of Pennsylvania but I am also a go big or go home type of person and i absolutely love pal trees and warm water. So I ended up packing my Nissan Sentra and driving 1200 miles to South Florida. I stopped at rest areas along the way like in Georgia and did pushup videos. It was a very emotional 1200 miles ride to say the least. I had never really gone anywhere without my family. We used to go camping together and I never did anything with them. Well I arrived in Hollywood Florida to visit an old friend I grew up with and ended up running three miles to the beach like “David Goggins” at 3 in the afternoon with no shirt. It felt great! Beautiful scenery. I was in an unknown place with unfamiliar people and very little money of course I scared but at the same time still confident. The next day I started hitting the gyms and asking questions. I started applying for jobs. The first gym I stopped at was the YMCA Hallandale and went in and talked to a very nice woman named Dawn. She was very helpful and got me hired right away. When you are a trainer the beginning can be very rough due to a lack of clients so I forged I could work another job. I started to get a lot of opportunities and interviews which was nice because it meant I didn’t have to settle for a job that I didn’t want. I ended up getting two more awesome jobs at OutFit Training and F45. Wow! Warm weather, beautiful scenery and so many opportunities that i had to turn down many of them. So here I am living in South Florida for over a month now and I just getting started. I meet many amazing people everyday and I get to share my story and hope to inspire others to “Dream Big” and run fast to chase those dreams!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I have received unwanted backlash from family members and struggle with finances due to just getting started. Everyday is a challenge becauseI have very big goals and I haven’t reached them yet. When I do reach them I will make new goals so I will always have challenges ahead of me and the challenge of my former self “Fat Ray” trying to chase me down and take away the discipline I’ve built. But that’s a challenge from the past that chases me everyday. Luckily I’m a faster runner and i never intend to let him catch back up to me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a Certified Personal Trainer that loves to inspire others to do things that they didn’t know they were capable of doing. I love playing and basketball and making Fitness motivation videos. I am most proud of my physical transformation of weight loss and my accomplishments as a new 5k runner. Up until my weigh loss I never ran more than a mile in my life. My fastest 5k time was 21:11 6:50 pace. I try to make myself around everyday to help keep my confidence since that’s the best way to build it.
What’s next?
I am learning new things every single day. I have huge dreams and plans that are too big to share but as you can see they are starting to come true!
Contact Info:
- Website: linktr.ee/rockylod
- Instagram: Rockylod_fit
- Facebook: Rockylod_fit
- Youtube: Rockylod_fit
