Today we’d like to introduce you to Luis Vargas.
Hi Luis, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Well, my story is a bit of an adventure, let’s say! I was born in Boston, but I grew up in Venezuela. I’ve always been a bit of a globe-trotter, and for the past 25 years or so, I’ve been straddling multiple roles in the corporate world, working for big names like Heinz, Bayer, Unilever, Anadarko, and Walmart.
I started my career after getting my MBA and dove headfirst into various roles – think corporate marketing, product innovation, international business, you name it. But in the past decade, I’ve found my true passion in People Experience, Leadership Development, talent acquisition, and transforming corporate cultures to foster high performance.
Over these years, my work and life have taken me all over the map – the US, Mexico, Venezuela, even Europe, and Mozambique in Africa! I’ve also set up homes in Caracas, London, and Vienna.
During the pandemic, while everyone was bunkering down, I took a leap and became an entrepreneur. I created World Record Fitness & Wellness, a company dedicated to fostering wellness among employees that includes a branded fitness mobile app based on my exclusive World Record Bodyweight-only system, webinars, challenges, newsletters, and nutritional guidance.
People often ask why the ‘World Record’ in the name. Fun fact: Between 2017 and 2022, I broke 20 official Guinness World Records in various fitness disciplines! It started when my boys, just 10 and 8 back then, dared me to get into the record book while we were reading it one night. And boy, did I take that dare seriously!
Despite being told I might have fitness limitations due to a back surgery I had at 40, I not only took their challenge, but at 50, I managed to break two world records at Caesars Palace in Vegas. I think it’s fair to say that I showed my kids that with hard work, discipline, and consistency, the ‘impossible’ can become ‘I’m possible!’
And I’m not just a corporate executive but also a certified fitness Elite coach, a TaeKwondo 3rd degree black belt, a snowboarder, a skydiver, a beekeeper, and a dog-rescue lover!
In my free time, I put on my Life Coach hat and offer guidance and consulting services in my Life, Career, and Wellness coaching practice. And last but not least, I genuinely believe in giving back. That’s why I’m a Court Appointed Special Advocate for abused children in foster care.
It’s all about using what we’ve been given to make a positive impact on those who need it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My life, as most lives probably, has not been a smooth road. My first major challenge was when I decided to move from Venezuela to the US at 26 years of age. Even though I was already graduated with a Bachelors’s in Business, I could not find a job and spent 2+ years doing minimum wage jobs in order to survive. I finally found my way out when I received financial aid and got accepted to a major university to pursue my MBA.
During my corporate life, I also experienced a couple of rounds of layoffs that challenged me to rethink my life and my expectations of it. I learned that no matter how well we plan and prepare, life can change in a heartbeat so we need to take life’s curve balls and try to take the best out of them. There is always a lesson to be learned that makes us grow from every experience we have in life.
I have also experienced divorce, which is easily the most difficult experience I have ever gone through. Very humbling and taught me never to take anything for granted and that we should always take good care of the people and things we value in life.
We’ve been impressed with World Record Fitness & Wellness, LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Besides having an MBA and a corporate career, I am a certified Elite fitness trainer, 20x Guinness World Record holder, Taekwondo 3rd degree black belt, and certified Life + Nutrition coach. So, while I was leading Corporate Culture Transformation for a global Oil & Gas project in Mozambique, Africa, I had the opportunity to develop and execute a global wellness program to help our employees and contractors around the globe cope with the mental and physical challenges derived from the COVID crisis.
I was able to experience firsthand the positive impact of my daily program on people’s well-being with many testimonials available on my website www.wrcorporatewellness.com. But on top of that, I was able to experience an improvement in our cross-functional working experience among the program’s participants as everyone from a variety of functions and geographies became bonded by the results and inspiration from this wellness experience.
So, given such positive results, and the increase in prioritization for corporate well-being programs after the Covid crisis, I decided to become an entrepreneur and bring to life as a separate entity the program I developed for my previous employer.
My program includes an exclusive mobile fitness app (branded to the client’s brand) that is targeted to busy corporate employees/travelers based on a unique bodyweight-only do-it-anywhere-anytime program that is simple to follow and execute, proven effective, and good for everyone no matter the age or current fitness level.
It is based on the training system I used to achieve my 20 Guinness World Records after my 50th bday! The program also includes webinars for participants, fitness challenges, nutrition guidance, and a bi-weekly newsletter to keep people engaged and motivated. It’s also very affordable and does not require internal corporate resources to track and manage.
The program is not only intended to improve people’s well-being in general but also to inspire those on the older side that it is never too late to be in the best physical and mental shape of their life. With the right guidance and mindset, everything is possible.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Yes, of course. In every crisis, there is always an opportunity. On the professional side, I learned that I could package a passion of mine (fitness and wellness) into a financially viable product that helps improve other people’s lives. Covid helped me live my purpose of making a positive impact on other people’s lives while doing what I love.
On the personal side, it made me reflect on the fragility of life and to value and take good care of the things and people we love in life. Never take anything or anyone for granted as everything can be taken from us in a single second.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.wrcorporatewellness.com
- Instagram: @worldrecordsfitness
- Facebook: world record coaching & consulting
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luisavargas/
