We recently had the chance to connect with Razvan Petrea and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Razvan, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about your customers?
A customer will become a friend long before a friend becomes a customer.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Razvan Petrea, but everybody calls me Raz. I was born in Romania in 1981 and moved to America in 2005. No close family, no friends, no driver’s license, no car, no skills, had around $100 in my wallet that I borrowed from my father and to top it off, my English was pretty bad. What I did have, was a strong desire to do something with my life. To this day, I can still feel the same desire burning strong in my body. I always had a passion for Sports and Fitness and in 2008, I opened my first business: an in-home personal training business. Down the road, I learned how to box and later transitioned into working as a boxing coach. One of the best decisions that I ever took was learning how to box. If I could go back in time, I would start with boxing training super early. Teaching it to others brings me great joy, because once you learn how to box, you become a different person. It’s like having superpowers. I also discovered that the boxer’s most powerful weapon is his mind, and it must be trained harder than everything else.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
For me was my first paycheck, which I earned in 2005. Up until then, I never had an official job. Did some odd jobs here and there, but nothing steady. Ever since I earned my first paycheck, I have been on my own. After I finished high school in 2000, I took a year off and later, I went to college. But that’s not what I wanted. I went to college just to please my family. What I always wanted was to have my own income and be independent. I came across a good opportunity while in college, and I got hired as a waiter at a country club in Florida and that’s how I got to America. Once I got a taste of how it is to be independent and live on my own, I never looked back. In 2014, I became an American Citizen. This year, I celebrate 20 years of living here. What I realized is that the decisions you make between 13 and 24, are most likely to shape the rest of your life. At 13 years old, I started training in the gym. At 24, I moved to America. These two decisions shaped me into the man that I am today. Fortunately, they were good decisions.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
2023 and 2024 were two hard years for me. In the beginning of 2023, I realized that I overextended financially, and I can no longer pay all the bills. Although I fought hard to regain control of my finances, my efforts weren’t enough. In 2024, I started the bankruptcy process. In 2025, I officially filed for bankruptcy and shut down my business after operating it for 13 years.
While all of this went on, my girlfriend of 3 years and I separated and eventually broke up. We were supposed to get married and that hurt bad. Once she found out about my financial troubles, the vibe between us changed and we drifted away from one another. Bankruptcy was a big lesson for me. You really get to see how people close to you really feel about you when you are at your lowest point.
Learned a lot about business as well. Things you won’t learn in business school. Still remember one of my millionaire clients telling me one day: “Raz! You’re not a real entrepreneur until you have at least one or two bankruptcies under your belt.”
I didn’t get it at the time. I do now. He was right. Thought about giving up and going back to Romania. I was exhausted.
Talked to one of my clients that was going through something similar, and he motivated me to keep going. Boxing helped me a lot and also my faith. I knew God had me here for a reason. Boxing taught me that as long as you’re still standing in the boxing ring of life you fight as hard as you can until your last breath. Winners don’t quit!
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
I see a lot of smart people struggling in life and many times it comes from a sense of entitlement. As in, they expect things to fall into place just because they are smart. But the world doesn’t work like that. Being smart is something you build on not something you can rest on. You also need good habits, discipline, consistency, a good support system, skills and a solid network just to enter the playing field. In business for example, no matter how good your product or service is, it won’t sell itself. You still have to market and promote, network, create demand and sell yourself and your products or services. Success doesn’t happen accidentally. You have to make it happen. I also noticed that a lot of smart people fail to acknowledge the fact that the world is competitive and success is not guaranteed to anyone, regardless of how smart you are. You have to get the job done. In boxing for example, you have to beat the champion in order to become the champion. In many aspects, boxing and life are very much alike. Another thing that I noticed is that people give up to easily without realizing that in a highly competitive environment, there’s a high probability to lose but that shouldn’t be a reason to give up. It should be a reason to get better.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
I hope people remember me as a man who went after his dreams and got the job done. I hope people remember me as a man who lived his dreams and left this place better than he found it.
My goal is to inspire people to truly go after what they really want in life with everything that they have.
There’s nothing like fulfilling your potential and manifesting your destiny.
There’s nothing like being who you really want to be.
Also, I believe that your success should be a blessing to the lives of others. Make a contribution and leave this place better than you found it. It’s good karma.
A formula that worked really well for me was giving more than I take.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: razforce1
- Linkedin: RAZ PETREA
- Twitter: RazForce1
- Facebook: Razvan Petrea
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ChampionMindset
- Other: https://amzn.to/3sbp5vA
Image Credits
Not applicable.
