Meet Luis Bosch (Bold Journey Interview)

We were lucky to catch up with Luis Bosch recently and have shared our conversation below.

Luis, so glad you were able to set aside some time for us today. We’ve always admired not just your journey and success, but also the seemingly high levels of self-discipline that you seem to have mastered and so maybe we can start by chatting about how you developed it or where it comes from?

Self-discipline is the highest form of self-care. It is recognizing that for your own progress and/or success, habits need to be formed along the way to support those aspirations. This is the foundation of my own Self-Discipline.

I’ve observed others in my life be so completely disciplined about their career progression that their family life suffers. I’ve watched friends be disciplined about drinking to the point of not being able to hold down a consistent job or even lose their marriage. I’ve seen people I love and care about be disciplined about watching TV, so much so that they sabotage their health. Everyone is capable of extreme discipline, but not everyone chooses to be disciplined about the things that will carry them forward toward their success.

My parents were major influencers in learning the art of Self-Discipline. For the last 20+ years, they have commuted from our little town of Smithville to Austin, a minimum one-hour drive, in one direction. My friend Joe Prior overcame his own struggles with addiction to keep his family whole. He is now the Senior Manager of Culinary Standards for a number of Culinary Dropout restaurants. Children naturally thrive in a routine-based weekly regime. My children have taught me that being consistent only enables more growth and progress for themselves and me as a Father.

I chose every day to be disciplined about the things that will carry me forward. To be the example for my wife, my children, and the rest of my family. I started lifting as a way to cope with the stresses of life, particularly to deal with my anxiety and depression. The suffering of my own mental health led me to a life of discipline, as it was and still is my most effective form of medicine. I maintain a weekly lifting schedule of 3 to 4 times per week. This not only keeps my head on straight with mental and emotional health but also enables me to be a better coach as I get to practice what skills and knowledge I’ll be imparting to my client base. I attend regular talk therapy bi-weekly to stay on top of processing life. This has become a cornerstone of my health maintenance.

Food is a huge, passionate topic for me as a Foodie, but even more so because I’m a certified Nutritionist. Food is yet another subject that requires discipline to the highest degree, as food can very easily become a coping mechanism for the stresses of life. My eating rule is extremely simple, I typically only eat food that has come out of the ground or was part of an animal. I stay away from processed foods, foods that contain high amounts of sugar, and foods that have been fried. This SOUNDS so stringent that it would be difficult to accomplish on a regular basis. I still allow myself to eat a comfort meal or two per week and my body lets me know whether or not that it agrees. To this day, I am proud to say that I do not smoke or drink alcohol. My biggest motivator for my lifestyle is my children. We are a mixed family, with five amazing kids. I want all of my children to understand the power of self-discipline. To enable them to achieve all their hopes and dreams. To not allow the poor decisions of others to dictate or limit their lives. To show them all that they have the power to control their lives to the utmost degree. This is how I chose to show them my love day in and day out. Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I am the proud Owner and Master Trainer of Iron Tiger Gym in Smithville, TX. The most special part of Iron Tiger is the 100% unique gym atmosphere. It’s the only gym I’ve stepped foot into where you can hear laughter and cheering before you lay eyes on a single person. A place where someone can come find support for the current challenges of life. A place to be able to cultivate inner strength to conquer their life outside of those four walls.

The absolute most exciting part? Seeing an individual’s potential SHINE. I’ve had people walk in full of self-doubt, unable to take the next step outside of walking in the door. Then, see that same person develop the discipline required to change themselves into a stronger version of themselves. To watch this scenario unfold over the months and years is always so rewarding. It lets me know that I’m doing what I’m meant to do with my life. There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

The most impactful skill for me was Self-Reliance. I’m an only child, and my parent’s work schedule during my childhood meant that I spent a lot of time alone. I learned that I could always depend on my parents to keep the house stocked with lots to do and lots to eat. I taught myself a few basic recipes out of a cookbook. I would spend mornings or afternoons reading and when I would stumble into a word or phrase I didn’t know, the dictionary was always handy. Learning to trust myself is an ongoing lesson. Qualities I feel that have served me best are working hard and never being satisfied. Hard work is a skill that I developed as a teen working odd jobs, such as clearing land, fence building, and other ranch-oriented activities. Seeing the work schedule that my parents kept let me know that working hard was a highly valued skill worth developing.

The reason I have progressed from a fledgling personal trainer into the Master Trainer that I am today, is I am simply never satisfied with with my current skills or knowledge. I’m always aiming higher or looking for the next thing to improve. Over my 20+ years of training, I’ve suffered numerous injuries ranging from a broken collar bone to the discovery of triple metatarsal coalition in both ankles, to soft tissue (tendon & ligament) tears. These injuries were the spurring factor to delve deeply into bio-mechanics to learn how the human body utilizes each individual muscle, bone, and tissue so that I could improve my own techniques and thereby improve all of my training clients along the way. I’ve learned to minimize the rate of injuries for myself and training clients with the proper individual body mechanics and supplement with different myofascial & massage-based therapies.

My advice to anyone looking to start this journey of being fit and healthy, being a small business owner or even becoming a personal trainer: start small. Begin with something so simple that it’s easy to incorporate into your life. Develop that new habit or routine until you no longer think about it, then begin incorporating the next success-building habit. In today’s day and age, most of us want instant progress. The reality is that shortcuts and instant achievement aren’t real. We all have time. Time to improve at our own pace. Not set by something or someone else. Allow yourself the patience to develop your success-building habits. Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?

I’ve learned that my personal number one obstacle is: Me. I get in the way of my own progress by way of indecisiveness, procrastination, and self-doubt.

Being a small-business owner is a supreme challenge. it’s a careful balancing act between administrative tasks, client appointments, and business management, then fitting in the rest of life into it. Things sometimes happen so fast that my head is spinning and there’s no visible path to take in that moment. While I understand that this is the burden of the beast, it completely leaves me disarmed at times, unable to take action. This means in my self-induced paralysis, I hold back the progress of business and ultimately myself.

I currently seek assistance outside of myself in the form of my training staff, my friends, and my family. The inner work that I need to accomplish requires me to lean into my support system. I refer to these individuals in my life for guidance on how to handle business and personal situations or give me direction when I don’t see one to take. I am slowly understanding that there are still success habits that I can form to carry my progress further forward and develop better systems than the ones I have used in the past. It’s an inner battle that seems neverending, but I know will ultimately end. End with me conquering myself and becoming the best business owner, personal trainer, friend, and Father that I can be.