What Has Happened
I grew up in a small mountain town in North Carolina. West
Jefferson is the name of that small town. It’s a beautiful town possessing the
smell of Christmas year-round because Christmas Trees are the number one form
of commerce in that sleepy little town. If you ever watched The Andy Griffith Show like I did so
much growing up, then you have a pretty good idea of the town.
I love that place and the people in it. As I grow older, I
miss it more and more every year. This quaint little village is located smack
dab in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. My wife is enamored with the
blue-gray appearance of the mountains from a distance. Quite frankly, so am I.
I’ve been to a lot of towns and cities throughout the world, and I am yet to find
a more beautiful place.
I know that I am biased now, but there was a time that I
thought I hated that place. Looking back, I was just a foolish young boy that
longed for something different like most young adults. If you grow up in the
city, you want the country. If you grow up in the mountains, you want the
beach. Sometimes I wonder if anyone is really happy or even content with his or
her circumstances. Now that I am older with a family, I have learned to be
happy wherever my family rests their heads near mine.
In the mountains of North Carolina, people are born, go to
school, get a job, and raise a family. That’s the pattern, and now that I am a
little older that pattern seems more and more attractive to me. I grew up
determined to be different. I didn’t want to conform to any such pattern. I was
going to follow my passion even if that passion led me straight over a cliff.
Now that I am a little older I can see beauty no matter
which path people take. I look back at my own father with more respect than
ever because he worked so hard to provide for me in as many ways as possible.
His only passions were his family. Finally I get it. Now that my life isn’t so
self-centered, I get it Dad. My heart pounds when I watch my boys play. At
night sometimes, I go to bed after my wife and children. Most of the time we
let them sleep with us, so I get to watch all three of them sleeping. It’s my
favorite piece of art in existence. I listen to them breathe. I take note of
the peaceful look on their faces. During every moment like this, I thank God
for the gift of family. If I had the choice, I would trade every world
championship and ever world record for this incredible family that God has
entrusted to me on this otherwise lonely Earth.
With that being said, I am blessed with a successful
athletic career especially in the strength sports. My education along with my
background allows me to coach some of the most phenomenal athletes from around
the world. Now I will actually get to the point of this article. During my
childhood, if you had told me that I would be coaching people from all over the
world via something called the Internet, I would have thought that you were
crazy. I mean, we didn’t have cell phones yet. Barely anyone had a computer.
Therefore, no one communicated with people from other countries. Back then, the
thoughts of going to Canada was a big deal. Nowadays, Canada simply seems like
a different state or something.
Here’s what really sparked this article. Last week, one of
my awesome coaches, Jacky Bigger, brought it to my attention that we had a
girl, Louise Vennekilde, from Denmark that Snatched 100kg/220lb. Here’s where
it gets crazy. She was the first woman in Denmark to Snatch 100kg. Can you
believe that? I can’t.
I grew up barefoot in the middle of the mountains playing in
the mud, and now I own a website with Online Coaching that provides programming
and video analysis for the strongest female in Denmark’s history. Wait, what?
It just blows my mind. A lot of you guys reading this that are younger than me
are probably wondering what the big deal is, but for me it’s absolutely
baffling.
I am so thankful for my business now more than ever. I am
able to work with my team everyday from 2pm until 5:30pm. I coach some of the
most talented athletes in all of America. I tell my team all the time that I
love showing them off. Most entrepreneurs show off their nice cars. I show off
my incredible athletes. My passion is humans not cars or other possessions.
I love the athletes that I coach on a daily basis as if they
are family. Heck they are my family. However, when it comes to accomplishments,
I am probably most proud of coaching athletes from around the world especially
those athletes that have made it to the top of their chosen sport. I think that
Lace Rhodes from Canada was the first foreign athlete that I coached all the
way to the IWF Weightlifting World Championships.
Last year I coached my man Isaac Lawgun from New Zealand all
the way to the IWF Youth World Championships. I still coach Isaac, and we are
planning for him to come over for a month long coach to bang around with our
team.
Joanne Greagen is one of the strongest powerlifters and
strong woman competitor in the entire world. She lives in Australia, and she’s
way more than just some lady throwing around heavy weights. She’s an awesome
mother and business owner as well. It was an awesome experience coaching her
all the way to the Arnold Strongwoman and Powerlifting Pre Events.
Nada Hassan is a lady that is a star that is ready to be
born. She has hang snatched 100kg/220lb, bench pressed 245 pounds, and
deadlifted 455 pounds to name just a few of her accomplishments. Oh wait, did I
mention that she only weight 152 pounds? She’s incredible.
I’m done bragging, sorry. I just wanted to show you guys
what I am talking about. Of course I love working with my studs at Mash Elite
including my professional football players and D1 athletes, but it will always
amaze me when I get to work with foreign athletes. Sometimes I laugh inside
wondering if they know that I am some country boy from the Blue Ridge.
I met Sarah Davies, Weightlifting World Team Member from
England and Miss Continental England beauty pageant winner, at the 2017 World
Championships in Anaheim. We were at the same table during dinner one evening.
She was with some of her mates from England of course. They told me that
several people in England read my books and use my programming to train. Once
again, this blew my mind to think about these incredible athletes from across
the big pond reading my books.
Here’s my point. It really doesn’t matter where you come
from, or what family you are born into. You can accomplish anything that you
set out to do as long as you are willing to be persistent and work hard. I
didn’t pursue my dreams blindly. I sought out the best in the industry to learn
from like: Louie Simmons and Joe Kenn. I continue to read and research on a
daily basis even though I have been training for over 34-years.
I also want to make it clear that you don’t have to take a
path like mine to live a fulfilled life. My father was one of the most content
men that I’ve ever known. There is something so admirable about living a life
of service to one’s family. My Grandfather worked his entire life in a Coal
Mine from West Virginia. When I saw the coal mine in person, I gasped thinking
about what this man did his entire life to support his family. He was literally
lowered into a potential grave every single day that he went to work under the
most dangerous conditions.
If you want to be a great man, take care of your family. I
failed miserably at this early in my life. Now I refuse to take one day for
granted where my family is concerned. No goal or accomplishment is worth
neglecting one’s family. However, if you can pursue your dreams and take care
of your family, well that’s pretty darn cool. I thank God for that ability each
and every day.
Travis
P.S. If you guys live near me in Lewisville, NC, come check out our Clean & Jerk and Squat Clinic to be held Saturday September 29th from 11am until 2pm. For more information, check out:
Check out www.mashelite.com for everything else.
