What is Garage Strength to Me?
What is Garage Strength to Me?
When I was growing up and in high school, I went through some bad years in my life. Family issues and depression lead me down a hard road that was tough for me to get back from. I partied a lot and had no true direction in my life. I slept in school and half-assed all my training for wrestling because I was one of those talented kids that didn't think they needed to work hard and slowly found out that I was wrong. When I started attending Garage Strength it was after school with some of my teammates. Dane was running it almost by himself and the gym wasn’t very busy. We started to Olympic lift for wrestling and Dane found I was decent at it so he asked if I wanted to compete. Me not being completely happy with how wrestling was going I gave it a shot, and to this day I am a competitive weightlifter.
This blog is not about my life story or my lifting career. It's about what Garage Strength has done for me and what it does for everyone who comes here. The gym taught me how to be, not just exist. It gave me guidance in life and gave me a reason to work for something. People wanted me to succeed at Garage Strength so it made me want to succeed. It taught me life lessons and helped me grow. It is part of the reason I am who I am. It taught me how to fend for myself and how to love myself. It taught me how to fight for others and love others. It changed the whole outcome of my pitiful life because the people behind Garage Strength truly cared.
Every single yelling matches me and Dane got into was him caring too much about me. It was Dane fighting for what he knew was best for me. Garage strength helped me meet the people I truly care most about. It also showed me how good of an athlete I really could be. Most importantly though, Garage Strength was a family when I needed it the most. No-one every judges you, kicks you down, or lies to you. Garage Strength is honest and full of heart, and that's why champions are made here.
It's not rocket science, its connection. If we believe in you, we will connect with you and do everything we possibly can so you can succeed and achieve all your goals. Do you want to go to the Olympics? Fine, let's do it. Want to play on your varsity football team? Perfect, let's do it. No challenge is too hard for garage Strength, and they WILL make it happen.
Take me for example. I didn't pay for my membership, I randomly rolled into training, and I was athletically gifted. Dane saw that I had potential in me and he knew I wanted more out of my life. He kept me in the gym no matter if I had a membership or not. He trained me to the point where I saw the potential in myself. He then employed me and lead me to 3 National titles, 2 International teams, and trips all around the Country. He had one small belief in me and made something out of it.
Garage Strength isn't just a gym. We are a family, and we want every single person here to achieve their goals. Without Garage Strength, I would not be where I am today and I want to thank them for everything they did and continue to do for me.