Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Below.
Christopher, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Earlier this year, I was watching a Super Bowl commercial that featured Lebron James. Lebron (age 37) visited his younger self when he was in high school (age 19). Young Lebron was talking to his older self and you can see the excitement in his eyes and behaviors because he was excited about the future. Older Lebron is successful, married, a father, healthy, business owner, a champion, etc. Younger Lebron saw the life he was going to have and that made him excited and more motivated.
Later that night, I visited my parents’ house and I went to my childhood mirror and look at myself. I then thought to myself, if I visited my younger self with my current self… what would he see. He would see someone who wasn’t following God, unhappy, out of shape, broke, and a man who was broken. I wouldn’t have been so disappointed in myself and I would have wondered what happened and how did I get so bad.
I made a commitment to myself to become the man that I wanted to become. So I started with reading the Bible and going back to the gym. I committed myself to go to the gym every day to get back in shape because I knew that will help with my confidence. Then I started to back to church because I needed accountability and biblical discipleship to obey God’s word and to build my personal relationship with him.
Now, after losing 35 pounds and completely giving my life to God. I have a newfound purpose to show how following God and how getting back to the gym have a lot of similarities! I’m in better shape and I’m closer to God. I want to share how God and the gym can transform your life for the better. I look in the mirror and I’m proud of the man that I’m becoming.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Of course not… The biggest challenge was my identity (Me). How I viewed and felt about myself was the biggest obstacle for me. I had a low view of myself because I was only focused on my mistakes and failures. I didn’t think I deserved anything good to happen to me or I didn’t think I deserved it. Shifting my identity and how I viewed myself was the hardest challenge. I had to understand that I am no defined by my weaknesses, failures, or what other people say about me. I started consuming spiritual content: reading the Bible & listening to sermons to build my identity in what God says about me as his son.
Getting rid of distractions and relationships was also a challenge. In order to grow, I had to let some habits and people go. That wasn’t easy to do because I wasn’t sure if letting things go was going to guarantee that I would be at the place where I wanted to be. I knew what needed to be done but it was hard giving those things up. I had to remove distractions in order to stay focused on improving myself and getting closer to God. I wanted to consume more of him. I made God the priority in my life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have been doing podcast since 2017 (The Roommates Podcast). We specialize in helping people become the best version of themselves mentally, emotionally, physically, financially, and spiritually by bringing on different leaders around the world.
Outside of the Roommates, I’m building a ministry to help people get back in shape (go to the gym) and get closer to God(back to church). This is what I’m most proud of because I know God took me on this journey to share my story but to also help people to get closer to him. What I went through was for a purpose and now that I see that, I want to do what I’m called to do. I want to show how working out and following Jesus have a lot of similarities. I believe that helps me be set apart from others.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Isolation is something I must avoid. Covid made me be alone a lot of the time. During that time, I was left to my own negative thoughts. Those thoughts would compound and negativity weighed on my mind and my body (gain weight).
The importance of community (church). When I was away from love, family, and support, I realized how much needed that. Without those things, I had a void that was missing, unhappy, and very unproductive. I felt depressed and alone a lot of the time because I was alone.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belowhtx/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjzAezfp9UDBiq2lpdL67iQ
