Jamaica Stole my
Heart
My wife Emily Drew and I got home
from Kingston, Jamaica last Wednesday May 22nd. My friend Phil
Tremblay, CEO of Stronger Experts, arranged this entire trip with the help of one
of our experts, Coach Jae Edwards. I went there to help the Jamaican sprinters
and to learn from their program that has ruled the world of sprinting for the
last decade and a half. However something else ended up happening while we were
down there. I fell in love with the country and the people of Jamaica. I have
been to a lot of places around the world at this point of my life, but I have
never been homesick for a country that I have visited until now. I can see the
faces of those young sprinters every time that I close my eyes, and I just want
to go back.
 |
| Phil working with the athletes |
I’ve heard my father-in-law, Pastor Rick Taylor, talk
about God calling people to various ministries. He talks about this calling as
if it’s something that is irresistible to the point that the person can’t do
anything else. I have always felt called to coaching, but nothing else on this
planet has ever grabbed me more than those people in Jamaica. I write this with
a massive lump in my throat as I think back to those smiles and those looks of
determination. Those folks aren’t ‘trying sprinting’ like we might here in the
United States. They are going all in with hopes of changing the circumstances
of not only their lives but also the lives of their entire family.
Yohan Blake, the world’s current
fastest man in the 100m sprint, joined my friends and me at Barbell Shrugged
for a podcast that I won’t soon forget. I found myself staring at him while he
talked with my mouth wide open in disbelief.
Every once in a while, I would ask a question, and then I would
immediately return to my position of listening. His story might have very well
changed my entire life because I will never be the same. There is no way to
hear his story, and walk away unaffected unless you have no soul.
 |
| Podcast with Barbell Shrugged and Yohan |
Yohan grew up in a one room, not
one bedroom, one room home with seven other siblings and his mother and father.
Food was scarce, and money was even scarcer. He started his athletic career in
the sport of Cricket, and then he was convinced to try sprinting. Right away he
was faster than most other people, and then boom all of a sudden he was faced
with a glimmer of hope to not only change his life forever but also the lives
of his entire family.
 |
| Yohan Blake warming up |
He explained to us how he prayed
that God would grant him speed, so that he might change the circumstances for
his family. Obviously God was listening because he started crushing it right
away. Now he is the fastest man on the planet, and the second fastest of
all-time. You probably think that the government of Jamaica pours all of their
resources into their sprinters. That’s what I thought, but I was wrong.
The government doesn’t give them a
dime. They practice on local high school tracks, and they strength train in
local gyms. They have subpar facilities, but they have state of the art hearts
and mindsets. That’s where they defeat everyone in the world. Heck Yohan and
Usain Bolt put more funds into the young up and coming athletes than the
government.
I actually hung out with one of the
countries best coaches, Jae Edwards, and he does more than just about anyone in
the country for those athletes. He houses them in a pretty cool dormitory that
he had built in his gym. He also coaches them for free and feeds them. However
there is so much more that the athletes of Jamaica have to offer the world.
I can honestly say that God has
convicted me with so much that I want to do for those athletes and that
beautiful country. Those athletes rule the world of sprinting without any of
the advantages that the athletes in America enjoy. Imagine what would happen if
Jamaica received money for awesome facilities, equipment, coaching, stipends
for living, and healthy food. They would do things in sprinting that have never
been though of.
Right now, they simply out work the
rest of the world. It’s not what they have that makes them so unbeatable. It’s
what they don’t have, and by that I am talking about them not having other
options or distractions. In America, if we fail at something, we always have
back up plans and other options. If Yohan had failed at the sport of sprinting,
his entire family would have suffered in poverty of the rest of their lives.
Yohan didn’t have a choice, so he put his head down, performed the work, and
became a champion.
What about the young ones that
don’t quite have the talent? I worked with six athletes while I was in Jamaica.
All six are amazing, but probably only one, maybe none, will make it on the
International scene. All of them would be good enough for a scholarship in
America to any D1 Track Program, but they don’t have those opportunities in
Jamaica. I want to provide them with opportunities. So here is what I want to
do:
·
Develop an exchange program where they can take
their talents to American or possibly British University Track Programs in
exchange for scholarships.
·
Develop an identification process for other
sports like American football or even weightlifting. That way they can maximize
their potential for the sport that best fits their genetic traits. Hopefully I
can recruit my friend, Andy Galpin, to develop the identification process.
·
Provide funds to their coach, Jae Edwards to
improve their living circumstances both in their dormitories and nutrition.
That’s it for right now. Luckily, I
already have a 501c3 nonprofit for at risk youth, so I can start raising funds
for these youngsters right away. I plan of getting with Phil, CEO of Stronger
Experts, Coach Jae Edwards, and my friends from Barbell Shrugged to come up
with fundraising ideas to get these youngsters headed in the right direction
and therefore improving Jamaica one athlete at a time.
If you have never been to Jamaica,
I highly recommend it. I am not talking about going to one of those
all-inclusive resorts, hanging out, and then flying home. I am talking about
experiencing this glorious country and the beautiful people of Jamaica. There
is something about those people and that majestic country that will leave an
imprint on your very soul for the rest of your life. I am sitting here right
now, and I feel like I am being pulled to the Caribbean.
If you want to be an early partner
in this new endeavor, you can donate to these young men at:
I will send 100% of the proceeds to
Coach Jae Edwards. This is just the beginning, as I intend on discussing
fundraising ideas with my team at Stronger Experts and Barbell Shrugged this
week. God has put this on my heart as a ministry. As of this moment I can say
without a doubt that I will work with this astonishing country for the rest of
my life. I hope that at least a few of you will partner with me in changing the
lives of these beautiful people.
I want to at least mention the beauty of this treasure of a country. I have been to more countries throughout the world than 99% of most adults, but I have never seen beauty anywhere like there is in Jamaica. I first visited Jamaica in 1994 during break from Appalachian State University. When I stepped off of the plane, I literally thought that the scenery was props for a movie. It is so beautiful in Jamaica that it doesn't even look real.
 |
| Somewhere that Jae took us in Jamaica |
No matter how beautiful the country is, the people are even more beautiful. I just want to make the lives of those boys a bit better. I won't stop in this pursuit. I set out to be the best powerlifter in the world, and I did just that. I set out to be the best weightlifting coach in the world, and I am at least on the way with 22 Team USA athletes since 2014. When I set my mind to something, it's going to happen. I hope that you guys will join me in making this a reality for these incredible young people. If you are a coach, check out: https://www.strongerexperts.com/projectstrongerjamaica and come with us the next time that we venture down to the incredible country. I think it will be sooner than later for me.
Coach Travis Mash
P.S. If you are a coach, I recommend that you check out the world's best coaching platform, Stronger Experts at www.mashelite.com/strongerexperts and learn from the absolute best experts in strength and speed.
