Finding Strength in Adversity
This episode dives deep into the inspiring journey of Arvee Robinson, who discovered bodybuilding as a way to navigate her grief after the sudden passing of her husband. At 68, she took the plunge into the world of bikini competitions, not just to change her physique but to reclaim her life and purpose.
Arvee shares how her experiences in public speaking and corporate America set the stage for her new path, emphasizing that it's never too late to pursue your goals and redefine yourself. We also discuss the importance of having a strong "why" behind your actions, as it fuels the drive to overcome challenges and push through adversity.
With her passion for fitness, Arvee aims to inspire others, especially women over 50, proving that age is just a number when it comes to achieving your dreams.
Takeaways:
- Arvee Robinson began her bodybuilding journey at 68, driven by grief after losing her husband unexpectedly, showing that it's never too late to start anew.
- She emphasizes that having a strong 'why' is essential for achieving goals, especially when navigating personal challenges like grief or loss.
- Public speaking is not about the speaker; it's about delivering a message that resonates with the audience and inspires them.
- Arvee's transformation highlights that physical fitness can be a powerful way to cope with emotional pain and can lead to unexpected achievements later in life.
- A key takeaway is that life doesn't stop at 50 or 60; goals and dreams can still be pursued vigorously at any age.
- Arvee's story serves as a reminder that setting clear goals and taking consistent actions can lead to remarkable transformations, regardless of past hardships.
You can connect with Arvee on her social media platforms:
YT: youtube.com/@UltimateFitness70andBeyond
Instagram: @rveebuff4life
FB: facebook.com/ArveeRobinson
Podcast: Flexappeal
The music in this video is copyrighted and used with permission from Raquel & The Joshua 1:8 project © 2025 All Rights Reserved. All rights to the music are owned by Raquel & The Joshua 1:8 project © 2025 All Rights Reserved. You can contact Raquel at https://YourGPSForSuccess.Net
Transcript
I've walked through fire with shadows on my heels Scars turn to stories that taught me to feel lost in the silence found in the flame now wear my battle cry without shame.
Speaker B:This, this.
Speaker A:Isn'T the end it's where I begin A soul that remembers the fire within.
Speaker B:Welcome back to another episode of A Warrior Spirit brought to you by Praxis 33.
Speaker B:I'm your host, Darrell Snow.
Speaker B:Let's dive in.
Speaker B:RV Robinson is the master speaker, trainer, international speaker, five time best selling author and bikini competitor.
Speaker B:She started her bodybuilding journey several years ago at the age of 68 after her husband passed unexpectedly during the night, full of grief and not knowing how to navigate this new norm.
Speaker B:After countless hours of prayer, she was guided to bodybuilding and specifically bikini competition.
Speaker B:Arvi, thank you for joining me today.
Speaker C:Hi.
Speaker C:Thank you, Darrell.
Speaker B:So you're currently in California?
Speaker C:I am.
Speaker C:Southern California.
Speaker B:Is that where you grew up or did you migrate there for the weather?
Speaker C:Nope, that's where I grew up.
Speaker C:When you live in the best place, why leave, right?
Speaker B:What?
Speaker B:You know, your bio talks about multi best selling author, international speaker, speaker trainer, and bikini competitor and.
Speaker B:But you didn't officially become a competitor until tragedy had struck you.
Speaker B:I'm going to briefly show this.
Speaker B:This was you and your husband on your wedding, right?
Speaker B:How long were you together before you passed?
Speaker C:20 years.
Speaker B:20 years.
Speaker B:Wow.
Speaker B:And was this a renewal vow or was this.
Speaker C:Yes, it was.
Speaker C:This was.
Speaker C:We were married on the beach, but we wanted to get remarried in the Catholic Church.
Speaker C:I had become a Catholic because God spoke to me in one day, you know, like after 14 years later, after we were together and said, be one yoke with your husband.
Speaker C:And I knew what he meant.
Speaker C:He meant become a Catholic.
Speaker C:So I became Catholic.
Speaker C:Then we got remarried in the Catholic Church.
Speaker B:And how long, how long did.
Speaker B:In that.
Speaker B:20 years.
Speaker B:How long before he, did he get sick or did he just pass from something unexpected?
Speaker C:No, it was a heart, congestive heart failure.
Speaker C:And you know, it just, he just started declining over the past 10 years.
Speaker C:You know, it's funny, it's like when, when your heart doesn't work, right?
Speaker C:It's like you can't breathe, you can't walk.
Speaker C:And so the first signs were all of a sudden, you know, we lived in Claremont, which is a kitchen, cute little village, and would always walk to the restaurants and stuff like that.
Speaker C:All of a sudden one day he's like, well, let's drive.
Speaker C:I feel like I've got asthma or something and I can't walk, right?
Speaker C:And he, and he Was misdiagnosed.
Speaker C:They treated him for asthma for a while, for several years, they found out it was actually his heart.
Speaker C:So it just was a slow decline.
Speaker C:And then right at the end there, he got Covid, right when everybody was, you know, dying of COVID right when it was, you know, at its worst.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:But he survived.
Speaker C:Even though his heart was only built only pumping at 11% and you and I were pumping at 80, 90, 99% and he's at 11.
Speaker C:His heart was just tired.
Speaker C:He was a candidate for a heart transplant, but, you know, he kept thinking God would heal him, God would save him.
Speaker C:And he, I think he was afraid he would die on the operating table.
Speaker C:And so he never prayed, pursued it.
Speaker C:And anyway, he got Covid.
Speaker C:He survived.
Speaker C:I mean, through prayer.
Speaker C:I believe that God gave me 10 extra months because he died 10 months after that.
Speaker C:But I believe just through prayer, you know, non ceasing prayer.
Speaker C:And for me and my friends, he was in the hospital 14 days with a respirator and everything, and there was people dying all around him.
Speaker C:But God saved him and brought him home to me.
Speaker C:And I got to spend another 10, 10 months with him.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And of your 20 years, what did you guys do?
Speaker B:You know, as an international speaker, as a speaker trainer, and as someone who's written five books, obviously you haven't done all of that in the three years, you know, since his passing.
Speaker B:What was your life like prior to all that?
Speaker B:Were you in that world during that entire marriage or did you come from something else?
Speaker C:Well, I came from corporate America.
Speaker C:And when we first met, we were first dating, I was in corporate America and I worked for a company by the name of Deloitte, which is a big CPA firm.
Speaker C:And right at that time, it was time for God was speaking to me, telling me to go.
Speaker C:He told me, like I learned, I learned public speaking in corporate America because I needed to, to sell my products and services.
Speaker C:And so after 23 years, I had reached the top that I could go to in corporate America, which was the senior manager.
Speaker C:I couldn't go any further because I wasn't a CPA and I didn't want to go and become a cpa.
Speaker C:My degree's in information systems.
Speaker C:So I was in the, you know, you know, helping people with financial systems, training them how to use them.
Speaker C:And so one day God spoke to me once again.
Speaker C:He said, teach others what I've taught you.
Speaker C:And I knew what he meant.
Speaker C:And that was public speaking.
Speaker C:So 22 years ago, I left corporate America and hung up my Shingle and became a public speaking coach.
Speaker C:And during that time is when I've written the books and, you know, I've given speeches all over the world.
Speaker C:I've spoke with some of the.
Speaker C:I've just been blessed to speak with some of the greatest speakers out there and share stages.
Speaker C:I put on big events and, you know, all, of course, before COVID But then what happened when my husband passed?
Speaker C:It was kind of like the wind went out of my sail even, you know, for the public speaking, not for so much for speaking, but for the marketing and the hustle.
Speaker C:I just didn't feel like I just didn't have that strength, that extra strength that it takes to hustle and to, you know, always constantly be networking and be smiling and, you know, schmoozing or whatever to get business.
Speaker C:And so I've.
Speaker C:I've really slowed down until I've really tapered off my business in the last four years.
Speaker C:And now I just, you know, work with people that contact me kind of thing.
Speaker C:I'm not going out there hustling it.
Speaker C:So I'm, I guess you could say, semi retired now by choice.
Speaker C:And I want to go more into the fitness world now.
Speaker B:What would you say the nuances between your corporate life and your public speaking training life are?
Speaker B:What.
Speaker B:What similarities translated one to the other?
Speaker B:Because to train as many people as you've trained and to write as many books as you've written takes some level of expertise, especially back in the day before AI, when you could crank out a book in 10 seconds, you know, so what.
Speaker B:What similarities kind of carried you from one genre to into the other realm?
Speaker C:That's a good question.
Speaker C:Well, I was in charge of my own department when I was in corporate America.
Speaker C:So the beauty of it was I knew a lot about business and how to take care of things and spreadsheets and tracking and budgeting and all of that.
Speaker C:So it was really comfortable to come over and start my own business.
Speaker C:Now, what I.
Speaker C:And I was, of course, familiar with marketing because I did it for my own business, for my own department, I should say.
Speaker C:Anyway, so I knew networking events, and I even was group leader of some networking groups when I was in corporate America.
Speaker C:So I had a lot of foundation already.
Speaker C:And then.
Speaker C:But the best thing I did, Darrell, is when I got out, I was going to seminars now, as I transitioned out of corporate America, and so I went to a seminar, marketing seminar, and I hired the coach.
Speaker C:I hired a coach for a year on how to market, and he taught me back then about easings.
Speaker C:I Don't know if you remember e zines, but he taught me about easing.
Speaker C:They're like electronic emails.
Speaker C:More like a newsletter.
Speaker C:Right on email, you know, all this stuff and that I didn't know because I didn't know anything about the entrepreneur world.
Speaker C:It is so different than corporate.
Speaker C:A lot of corporate people do things for you, right?
Speaker C:Especially on a business level.
Speaker C:Now you have to do everything yourself.
Speaker C:Talk about being the chief bottle washer and cook and all that.
Speaker C:Now we have to do everything.
Speaker C:But it was exciting.
Speaker C:So the smartest thing I did is hire that coach.
Speaker C:Hired him for a year.
Speaker C:So it was someone that could teach me not just about marketing, but how to be an entrepreneur, what I needed to do to be an entrepreneur.
Speaker C:And one of the best lessons he taught me, and I've taught this to my clients ever since.
Speaker C:And that was when I got out of corporate America.
Speaker C:Gerald I thought I had all this time in the world because I was always like, when you work at a CPA firm, you're working 10 hour days easy.
Speaker C:And so I had all this time, I thought, so I was mentoring a kid.
Speaker C:I was doing this, I was doing that.
Speaker C:I was like, I was in Toastmasters.
Speaker C:I was division governor.
Speaker C:I'm doing all these things.
Speaker C:And my mentor finally said to me one day, no wonder you don't have any business.
Speaker C:Harvey.
Speaker C:He goes, your time is spent everywhere else.
Speaker C:He said, you need to cut down on those, you know, activities and the volunteering work and all that stuff.
Speaker C:And sure enough, once I did that and I just focused on my business, then my business grew.
Speaker B:And one of your, one of your speaking tips, I think this is great for any speaker who is trying to be on any stage.
Speaker B:You know, the purpose of speaking should not be for the audience to learn something, feel something, and do something.
Speaker B:It should be.
Speaker B:Sorry.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Because if you're, if you're not giving them a feeling or teaching them to do something, then they're just getting information that they're never going to use again.
Speaker C:Right, right, right.
Speaker C:Well, see, the mistake a lot of people make is they think that they, you know, they get on stage and they think it's about them, you know, about them being this great speaker when it's not.
Speaker C:It's always about your audience.
Speaker C:What are you delivering them?
Speaker C:What are you helping them to get through?
Speaker C:Are you giving them hope?
Speaker C:Are you having them feel something?
Speaker C:Are you awakening something?
Speaker C:Are you, Are you, are you a good Christian up there?
Speaker C:Are you delivering and showing a Christlike message?
Speaker C:Are you, you know, what is it?
Speaker C:Are you Showing values are you.
Speaker C:You know, and a lot of people, they're so hung up in their head that.
Speaker C:That they speak with their head and not their heart.
Speaker C:And so what I do is I teach people number.
Speaker C:First thing is that they have a message to share that only they can share to people that can only share it with them.
Speaker C:And then the second thing is that they start out speaking from the head, but then they need to learn how to speak from the heart and then ultimately from the soul.
Speaker C:And when you learn how to speak from the soul, and that's what I help people do to.
Speaker C:To learn.
Speaker C:When you learn how to speak from the soul, that's when you change lives.
Speaker C:And I believe that's what we're here for as a speaker is to save businesses, save lives, or save souls.
Speaker C:And that's the three things that we're here to do and that.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And that's why we speak.
Speaker C:That's why we have words.
Speaker C:God gave us the power of words.
Speaker C:God said, let there be light, and there is light.
Speaker C:And he made us in his own image.
Speaker C:That's how powerful our words are.
Speaker C:And we have to be very careful what comes out of here and what we're laying on to our audience.
Speaker B:The three layers that you mentioned, I believe, have to all be in alignment.
Speaker B:And I believe that any public speaker, I don't care if you're public speaking because you're teaching a class, you're still publicly speaking.
Speaker B:Any public speaker typically starts off in the head, sometimes can move it to the heart.
Speaker B:But what do you think it takes to bring it from your head, take it to your heart, and then deliver it from your soul?
Speaker B:What do you think those three steps are?
Speaker B:And why can't most speakers get there?
Speaker C:Okay, good question.
Speaker C:So I'll just start with the last question.
Speaker C:Most people, most speakers don't get there for two reasons.
Speaker C:One, they're not trained.
Speaker C:Now, you know, the hardest thing that I've ever had to deal with is people thinking just because they can talk that they can become a speaker.
Speaker C:And so they do it all wrong.
Speaker C:They say, oh, I've been speaking.
Speaker C:They'll never get there because they're in their head and in their ego, so they'll never get there.
Speaker C:So that's the first thing is just, you know, get out of your head, get out of your ego.
Speaker C:And the next thing, so training.
Speaker C:You get training so they can get out of their head and out of their ego.
Speaker C:And the second thing is to do more of it.
Speaker C:More stage time.
Speaker C:More stage time, because the more you have, the more you can get into the zone, and the more you can feel what it is that you're saying, as opposed to just intellectually saying it.
Speaker C:But that takes practice.
Speaker C:It takes discipline, of course, commitment and stage time.
Speaker C:You just have to keep doing it and doing it and doing it once you've learned how to do it, and then it'll become natural.
Speaker C:And that's when you can, boom, go in the zone.
Speaker C:Just a tip that I do whenever I speak on stage is I always ask for a shot of the Holy Spirit before I go on stage.
Speaker C:You don't need a lot.
Speaker C:You don't need the whole Holy Spirit.
Speaker C:Just give me a shot so that I know that I'm speaking.
Speaker C:You know, that there's.
Speaker C:Holy Spirit is speaking through me, and I'm using the right words.
Speaker C:And so maybe that'll help some people.
Speaker C:But again, they have to learn it first and then practice it, and then.
Speaker B:How do they get it to the soul?
Speaker C:Okay, so by practicing, by feeling it and by, you know, just being a.
Speaker C:You know, just being.
Speaker C:Having a relationship with God really helps.
Speaker C:So I've always had one.
Speaker C:So I don't know what.
Speaker C:For those that don't, but just really asking God to speak through you and really feeling what the other person is feeling.
Speaker C:I always pray for, you know, for me to reach the people that he wants me to reach.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:So it's not about me.
Speaker C:Reach the people that he wants me to reach and land this message on those that need to hear it.
Speaker B:I think that's an important distinction.
Speaker B:It's not about you.
Speaker B:It's about the audience.
Speaker B:So it's not the words that are going to come out of my mouth.
Speaker B:It's what words need to land on their ears.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker C:It doesn't have to practice or rehearse your speech.
Speaker C:I'm not saying that for one minute.
Speaker B:Oh, no, no.
Speaker C:You have to practice.
Speaker C:You do not write out your speech ever, ever, ever, ever do not write out your speech because you will be a prisoner of your own words.
Speaker C:And then you cannot let the Holy Spirit come in and talk to you.
Speaker C:You cannot let God come and talk.
Speaker C:You cannot let energy come in.
Speaker C:You cannot let any of that your own love, because you're your intellect.
Speaker C:Anytime you're reading your intellectual, you're using your brain, not your heart and not your soul.
Speaker C:So throw that paper away.
Speaker C:You know your stuff, practice.
Speaker C:So outline your speech.
Speaker C:And that's.
Speaker C:That's key here, Darrell, because that's what I do, is teach people a system with every single step that they need to do and to lead to a winning speech.
Speaker C:Because most people don't know.
Speaker C:They just willy nilly and they just start in the middle or start with contact and no one knows where they're going.
Speaker C:So having a system, a roadmap to follow helps.
Speaker C:Then you just outline it and boom, you're done.
Speaker C:And you always start the same way.
Speaker C:Start with an attention grabber, end with a memorable statement, boom.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:So that helps to stay on track.
Speaker C:But do not write it out.
Speaker C:You know your content, you know your stuff.
Speaker B:When you were letting the Holy Spirit rock through you and preparing your message, is that what led you to this book?
Speaker B:Speak up, get clients.
Speaker C:Well, you know, I'll tell you yes and no.
Speaker C:But again, I was in my head when I started that and it took me nine years to write that particular book.
Speaker C:Wow, nine years.
Speaker C:Because I kept putting it off, I kept speaking, I kept growing my speaking business and you know what?
Speaker C:But I'm glad it did because it's a much better book now.
Speaker C:It's got extra chapters that I wouldn't have had in there.
Speaker C:It is also on Audible, spoken by the author on Audible.
Speaker C:So I'm thrilled that it's out.
Speaker C:It's my greatest work.
Speaker C:It has, it's my legacy, it has my system in it.
Speaker C:Everything you could possibly need to become a business speaker.
Speaker C:And I'm going to practice that.
Speaker C:My specialty is helping people get clients through speaking.
Speaker C:I'm not going to teach how to be Tony Robbins.
Speaker C:I'm not going to teach you how to be Les Brown, who's the greatest storyteller.
Speaker C:I'm going to teach you how to use it to make, to get clients and do what you love to do and help others.
Speaker C:It's a marketing tool, marketing strategy.
Speaker B:Well, I think you're, anytime you're a five time best selling author, you're pretty good at what you do.
Speaker B:And I'd like to dive into a couple of the other nuances of your life.
Speaker B:But before we do that, I do need to take a short commercial break.
Speaker B:So we'll be back in one moment.
Speaker D:I make art as a way of paying attention to change, to resilience and what rises after the storm.
Speaker D:Each pore and mark is a meditation on transformation and survival, reflecting the quiet strength we all carry.
Speaker D:The desert teaches me to endure, adapt and bloom where it seems impossible, where nature meets the cosmos and light finds its way through.
Speaker D:That's where I live.
Speaker D:Explore my work@tiffanyfeatherstone.com welcome back to the.
Speaker B:Show and thank you for joining us again.
Speaker B:We have R.V.
Speaker B:robinson.
Speaker B:She's a five time best selling author.
Speaker B:She's an international public speaker, speaker trainer.
Speaker B:And she did mention in the first part of our discussion, you know, she was married 20 years and then lost her husband.
Speaker B:Arvi, I know a little bit about your story simply because I know who you are and you know, have known you for a little bit.
Speaker B:But those who don't know, there was a time and nothing against anybody's physique or appearance, but when you were, but when you were a speaker, you were, you were a little heavier, right?
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:You lost your husband and then something had to fill that void and you, You chose bikini competitions and working out.
Speaker B:Now you take a look at these pictures versus those pictures.
Speaker B:Vastly different woman, right?
Speaker C:That's different.
Speaker C:Truly.
Speaker B:So how did you, how did you pick yourself back up and then just dive into this?
Speaker C:Okay, that's a, a good question and great story.
Speaker C:So let me just back up a little bit and tell you about, a little bit about my husband.
Speaker C:So about his death.
Speaker C:So what happened was, you know, we always say our prayers together before we went to bed.
Speaker C:Everything's fine.
Speaker C:And in the morning he had always had trouble sleeping.
Speaker C:So in the morning I got up and I always worked out.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Even though I was heavier, I, because I didn't understand working out.
Speaker C:So I'd work out 20 minutes and think that was working out.
Speaker C:So I was in the living room doing my, doing my little workout and then something just told me to go in and check on him.
Speaker C:And so I went in, I opened the curtains and I went, you know, hello sleepy.
Speaker C:You know, wake up sleepy head.
Speaker C:You know, it's morning because it was around 10 o' clock now and so, and he wouldn't wake up.
Speaker C:And so I shook him, he wouldn't wake up.
Speaker C:And then I started hitting him because I knew what happened, screaming at him to wake up and he didn't wake up.
Speaker C:And in that moment I just didn't know what to do.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:So I called a friend and then they didn't answer.
Speaker C:And then a small voice told me to call 91 1.
Speaker C:And so I called 91 1.
Speaker C:And of course, you know, the rest is, is, you know, as it goes, don't need the details on that.
Speaker C:But, but it was unexpected and people are always sharing with me, well, that's a great way to go.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:But you try to be the one trying to wake up your loved one.
Speaker C:I mean, it's horrifying.
Speaker C:Just horrifying.
Speaker C:So that's kind of how it started.
Speaker C:And I Was in shock for the next.
Speaker C:And then the next three months, you know, I didn't know what to do with myself.
Speaker C:I was in shock.
Speaker C:Then we had two boxers.
Speaker C:One of my boxers died unexpectedly of a brain aneurysm.
Speaker C:They were 10 years old.
Speaker C:And I know that's a blessing for boxers.
Speaker C:Usually they don't live that long.
Speaker C:And she died unexpectedly.
Speaker C:And then three months later, I had to put my male dog down for cancer spreading throughout his body.
Speaker C:So here I am a year and a half later, I have nothing.
Speaker C:I feel like God had taken away every living creature in my home.
Speaker C:He took away everything I loved.
Speaker C:And I was not really happy at God right at this moment.
Speaker C:At that moment I was confused, I was angry.
Speaker C:And all I wanted to do was go and be with my husband.
Speaker C:And I knew that, I mean, obviously suicide isn't the best thing.
Speaker C:But I would try to think about if I went out in my street and I live on a very busy street and got hit by a car, then it wouldn't be suicide, right?
Speaker C:It would be an accident and I wouldn't end up in purgatory, which is what Catholics believe in, right?
Speaker C:As a new Catholic, I mean, that was new to me.
Speaker C:But I was like, didn't want to take the chance.
Speaker C:I wanted to be with my husband.
Speaker C:And of course during this time I'm praying, but I'm just in a really bad place.
Speaker C:It was dark all around.
Speaker C:I would just stay at home.
Speaker C:I couldn't work, I couldn't do anything.
Speaker C:And then one day I'm watching YouTube.
Speaker C:I mean, I really like just kind of gave up.
Speaker C:I was just like, just like nothing.
Speaker C:So depressed.
Speaker C:That's what it was.
Speaker C:It was just total depression.
Speaker C:And when somebody dies like that, you know, in the beginning, people, you know, they give you a lot of attention, take you to lunch or whatever.
Speaker C:And then after a while, guess what?
Speaker C:Everybody's like, disappears and you're all by yourself, with yourself.
Speaker C:And so one day I'm watching YouTube and I see and of course I'm praying for direction.
Speaker C:And I've gone to seminars and in retreats and just trying to touch everything, trying to figure this all out.
Speaker C:And so I'm watching YouTube and then all of a sudden, who do I see but Ernestine Shepard?
Speaker C:She's the 85 year old black bodybuilder.
Speaker C:Now she's 88, but 85.
Speaker C:And in that moment I knew it.
Speaker B:Boom.
Speaker C:That's what I wanted to do.
Speaker C:And not just work out, but compete.
Speaker C:And I'm 68 years old.
Speaker C:So again, I'm asking God for direction.
Speaker C:He gave me an online girl that I worked with for three months that lived in Canada.
Speaker C:And so we did online training.
Speaker C:And then I knew I needed something more.
Speaker C:This was not going to work.
Speaker C:And so then, as God would have it, he showed me through Facebook and a friend of mine who I thought lived in Santa Monica, that's a bodybuilder, and he's right here, like a city next to me, 15 minutes away.
Speaker C:And he talked about this gym, addicted to fitness, a 2F.
Speaker C:And so I called, called him up, and a woman answered, and I told her what I wanted to do.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And she says, well, yeah, come on down.
Speaker C:But I told her, but I'm 68.
Speaker C:And she goes, that's okay.
Speaker C:I'm 60.
Speaker C:And I knew in that moment, God brought me to the right place, because it's a private gym, specifically builds competitors, people who want to compete.
Speaker C:I mean, they.
Speaker C:They build other people.
Speaker C:But most, but not all gyms, you know, help you help competitors and teach you how to compete.
Speaker C:And so that was it.
Speaker C:I went, visited, signed up, and that.
Speaker C:That was three years ago.
Speaker C:And then within a year, I was.
Speaker C:My goal was to compete when I was 70, but I was 68, so their goal was a little different.
Speaker C:They had me competing before.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:When I was 69.
Speaker C:And then since that time, now I'm 71.
Speaker C:I've competed eight times, and I've got five lined up for this year, so.
Speaker B:And not only have you competed.
Speaker B:Wait a minute.
Speaker B:Not only have you competed eight times, but you've won three of them?
Speaker C:Oh, yes, yes.
Speaker B:There's a little distinction there.
Speaker B:There's getting on stage and competing and actually winning.
Speaker C:Yeah, And.
Speaker C:And winning against women that are in their 60s.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:That's what we're talking about.
Speaker C:10, 11 years younger than me.
Speaker B:And this one on the left, that's in the Philippines, right?
Speaker C:That's in the Philippines.
Speaker C:And that was just last October.
Speaker C:And I'm going to the Philippines again because it was just so much fun, and the Philippines is such a beautiful place.
Speaker C:So, yeah, I'm going to Indianapolis this year and Pittsburgh as well to compete.
Speaker B:So how many times a day did you have to be in the gym to go from this person on stage to this person in the body building?
Speaker B:Bikini competitions.
Speaker C:Well, it's six days a week for 90 minutes every day.
Speaker C:Six days a week.
Speaker B:And they call that dedication.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:I say you need a cheeseburger, but it's called dedication.
Speaker C:I'm actually off season right now because I don't Start prep again until April.
Speaker C:So I had January, February, March.
Speaker C:I get prep kind of off, so I get to eat a little bit more.
Speaker C:And so I've gained, you know, gained seven pounds already from that picture.
Speaker C:But they want you to do that because you cannot sustain yourself in competition mode.
Speaker C:It's just not healthy because you have really low body fat.
Speaker C:So I'm living it up right now.
Speaker C:Darrell.
Speaker B:Did you find.
Speaker B:Did you find any of the discipline and thoughts from your speaking world transferred nicely into your bodybuilding competition world, or was it a whole different world?
Speaker B:Totally different.
Speaker C:You know, it's a totally different world.
Speaker C:But one thing, one similarity that helped is I wasn't scared to walk on stage.
Speaker C:And one contest, and a lot of women are.
Speaker C:They even sometimes take a couple of nips backstage before they go on.
Speaker C:They're so scared, the young.
Speaker C:Some of the younger girls or new competitors.
Speaker C:And I wasn't scared.
Speaker C:And then one time, I don't know, a few contests ago, in April, I found out I had breast cancer to top everything off.
Speaker C:But I did have a lymphectomy.
Speaker C:And so the head judge caught wind of that.
Speaker C:So he calls me on stage, I'm getting ready to pose.
Speaker C:I'm all in position.
Speaker C:And then he says, oh, a lot of us are different people outside.
Speaker C:We have lives outside.
Speaker C:And then he starts to, you know, talk about my journey because it was only five weeks later I competed.
Speaker C:And so he gave me the microphone and I got to speak a little words of encouragement, and I just talked about how, you know, if it wasn't for fitness, I wouldn't have been able to recover so quickly.
Speaker C:That wouldn't have been able to see it.
Speaker C:But because of the fitness, it was detected really fast.
Speaker C:And, you know, so I got to actually speak on stage at one of the contests.
Speaker C:That was really cool.
Speaker B:One of the other things you did is this pageant.
Speaker B:Ms. Elite, U.S. ambassador.
Speaker B:What is this?
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:And that was just recently.
Speaker C:I just.
Speaker C:That was all last year.
Speaker C:I just gave up my crown in November.
Speaker C:But that.
Speaker C:That was a contest of it.
Speaker C:They don't like to call it a beauty pageant, but it really is.
Speaker C:So you, you know, come out, you're in a bathing suit.
Speaker C:I won the best bathing suit and best speech contest, and then they award.
Speaker C:And then I won the Ambassador.
Speaker C:And what you do is you go around, you wear your crown and sash to networking events and just kind of spread kindness and, you know, and of course, market their organization as well, the pageant market organization.
Speaker C:So, yeah, that was a lot of fun.
Speaker C:And who does that.
Speaker C:I mean, here I am, 70 years old, being in a beauty pageant, you know?
Speaker B:Well, another thing that you and I don't have.
Speaker B:I don't have visual of this, but another thing you are doing at 70 is you're putting out a calendar.
Speaker C:Oh, yes, I have a calendar.
Speaker B:Like, who does that at 70?
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And, yeah, they're all bourgeois pictures, too.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I've been online.
Speaker B:I've seen some of your.
Speaker B:There's some in the gym that are pretty bourgeois too.
Speaker B:But yeah.
Speaker B:And so when.
Speaker B:When will your calendar be out?
Speaker B:And how can people get it?
Speaker C:Yeah, so.
Speaker B:So how can people get a hold of that if they want to?
Speaker C:Well, they can get a hold of me on either Facebook or Instagram.
Speaker C:And tell me.
Speaker C:Let me see.
Speaker C:On Facebook, it's my name, R.V.
Speaker C:robinson, and on Instagram, it's R V A, R V E E. Buff.
Speaker C:Buff for life.
Speaker B:I have your.
Speaker B:I have your contact information that I'll put up later in the show.
Speaker B:I don't have your Facebook one, but I'll be sure to add that in the show notes so that people can find it there as well.
Speaker B:But, yeah, when you.
Speaker C:Every year.
Speaker C:This is my third calendar I put out.
Speaker B:Oh, that's amazing.
Speaker B:That's amazing.
Speaker B:So, Harvey, who.
Speaker B:Who would you say, the person you are today versus the person you are before you got married?
Speaker B:How do they differ?
Speaker C:Before I got married?
Speaker C:Before I met my husband 20 years ago.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:That's a good question.
Speaker C:I'm.
Speaker C:I'm a lot nicer now.
Speaker C:I'm a lot nicer now.
Speaker C:I wasn't a happy person because I was in a real bad relationship.
Speaker C:I was married before to an abusive, narcissistic person that I met very young in life that I didn't know.
Speaker C:And so life wasn't happy at home, and so it transferred to not being so happy in the office.
Speaker C:You know, I was kind of like, you know, when you don't feel loved, you don't love.
Speaker C:Does that make sense?
Speaker C:You know, so.
Speaker C:And of course, during that time, I got away from God.
Speaker C:You know, it's just that, anyway, it was really bad.
Speaker C:He was an alcoholic, and life was bad, and.
Speaker C:And anyway, but I got away.
Speaker C:God found me, you know, helped me get away.
Speaker C:I got away, healed myself for a couple of years, and then God brought in the most beautiful man on the planet, and that was my husband, my late husband.
Speaker B:How long were you married to the first husband?
Speaker C:The first 23 years.
Speaker B:So you.
Speaker B:When you get into a relationship, you're in them?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, I'm in it all in.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And I didn't kids either.
Speaker C:That's another thing, because I was with an abusive man and I didn't want him to abuse the kids.
Speaker C:And he kept promising to stop drinking, and this never did, you know, never happened.
Speaker B:When you were.
Speaker B:When you were younger, in that first relationship, you wanted children, though?
Speaker C:That's a good question.
Speaker C:Kind of, but not really, you know, I'm from a bigger family, so, no, I didn't go in it saying I wanted children, but at one point when.
Speaker C:When I was in my 30s, I thought, you know, I kind of changed my mind, kind of felt it out a little bit, see if that was something that we would do together, you know.
Speaker C:But I didn't get any.
Speaker C:Any takers on that one.
Speaker C:So I regret it later.
Speaker C:I did regret it later.
Speaker B:Yeah, that was going to be my next question.
Speaker B:Do you.
Speaker B:Do you kind of wish you, you know, had that?
Speaker B:Because some people, and I've met, you know, lots of people over my years of coaching and being in the space, some people just know they're not cut out for parenthood, and they know that that's not for them.
Speaker B:And then there are some who want to be parents and can't, and then there's some parents who want to be parents and shouldn't.
Speaker B:Then there's some, you know, in.
Speaker B:In your situation where you kind of wanted to, but you weren't in the right relationship to.
Speaker B:So it brings.
Speaker B:It brings about a different kind of melancholy later in life.
Speaker C:Bingo.
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:A little regret there, because I think I would have been a great mom and I would add a great little mini me, you know, for sure.
Speaker B:What was the time period between your first marriage and your second marriage?
Speaker C:About two to three years of rest in between.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So when did you know that you were ready again?
Speaker B:Because when we come from abusive relationships, people either dive right back in because they're so broken, they need someone to fix them, or they take time to heal and then it comes about again, or they decide, man, I'm never doing that again because it hurts so bad.
Speaker B:So when did you know you were ready?
Speaker C:That's a great question, you know, because I have to be honest, I hated after that.
Speaker C:I thought all men were mean, Right.
Speaker C:And they all hit you and they all, you know, were just mean.
Speaker C:And so I didn't like men, you know, for, you know, while, a year or so.
Speaker C:I mean, and I knew that anger was keeping them away.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:I wasn't even dating nothing.
Speaker C:And then again, just through going to seminars and spiritual Retreats and praying, getting back to God, meditating, prayer and all that.
Speaker C:I got better and I healed.
Speaker C:And then I was at a seminar where we were meditating for world peace actually.
Speaker C:And there he was, Michael was standing right at the door.
Speaker C:And it was just like love at.
Speaker B:First sight, you know, you knew instantly you said you converted to Catholicism.
Speaker B:And as a reformed Catholic myself, you know, I far too know that world.
Speaker B:What was your spirituality or your religious belief prior to that?
Speaker C:Just Christian, born again Christian, you know.
Speaker B:So you still had a, still had a love for God and a relationship with God.
Speaker B:It just became more regulated with Catholicism.
Speaker C:Well, at one point, I mean, I was baptized as Baptist, you know, in the, when I was 15.
Speaker C:And I always teased people, I said Baptist for me, just for me is the only religion you can go into.
Speaker C:When you go into church and you come out feeling worse than when you went in, right?
Speaker C:They're always hell stone, you know, you sinner, you know, and everything.
Speaker C:And so I just went to a non denominational when I got older, you know, one of the big, you know, churches where you just sing for 30 minutes, you know, the big mega churches.
Speaker C:So I did that and my husband and I, we were in the beginning years, we would go to each other's churches.
Speaker C:So he'd come to mine and then I would go to his and vice versa, like every other week and then.
Speaker C:But he would kind of get a little impatient with my church because it again, you sang for 30 minutes and then you had 30 minute lecture, you know, and then you had more 30 minutes.
Speaker C:So it was like an hour and a half or something, or two hours.
Speaker C:And he's.
Speaker C:As a Catholic, you're very used to structured.
Speaker C:One hour, bing, boom, boom, and you're out, right?
Speaker C:And so only time for football, he got a little impatient.
Speaker C:So then I just started just going to his church.
Speaker C:It was a lot easier, you know.
Speaker C:And we would go, you know, in the evening and it would be like a team mass.
Speaker C:And so it had music and, and you know, fun stuff like that.
Speaker C:So, you know, that's how it kind of got started.
Speaker C:But then when I.
Speaker C:But becoming a Catholic, as you know, it's not like you go, one day I'm going to become a Catholic and go to the church and you're a member.
Speaker C:I was in class in rci, right, for a year and a half before they'd let me in.
Speaker C:I was even getting a little impatient, like, when is this going to end?
Speaker C:Come on already.
Speaker C:It was hard to get in, you know, but I've learned so much.
Speaker C:And I learned, you know, about the saints and about the.
Speaker C:There's just.
Speaker C:It's just such a rich religion, you know, it's so.
Speaker C:It's old, obviously, but it's.
Speaker C:There's so much to it and so much so.
Speaker C:It's so rich and I really love it.
Speaker C:And people, interestingly enough, my Christian friends, once my husband died, they have actually asked me a few of them, are you going to stay a Catholic?
Speaker C:Like, yes.
Speaker C:It was too hard to get in here.
Speaker B:I'm not.
Speaker B:I'm not.
Speaker B:I'm in for life now.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:I do want to ask you about your relationship, though, because when.
Speaker B:When you come from a broken relationship into a loving relationship, sometimes it's hard to accept that love.
Speaker B:Was it.
Speaker B:Was it easy for you to receive the kindness and the love that Michael provided you, or was it something you fought internally for a little bit that you had to work your way through?
Speaker C:Yeah, I fought internally and had worked my way through because I didn't believe it.
Speaker C:See, I didn't trust it.
Speaker C:I didn't trust him, you know, and he kept showing me in the beginning when we were dating.
Speaker C:Kept showing me and showing me.
Speaker C:And I just like, I would like, play tricks on him, you know.
Speaker C:You know, like, just jokes.
Speaker C:I'd play jokes.
Speaker C:Like, we went to see my brother race.
Speaker C:He's that speed racer.
Speaker C:And I have a twin brother too.
Speaker C:So I have a twin brother.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And I just told Michael, I said, yeah, go find my.
Speaker C:My brother.
Speaker C:And he goes, well, how will I know what he looks like?
Speaker C:I said, well, he looks like me.
Speaker C:He doesn't look anything like me.
Speaker C:You know, I just play tricks and goofy stuff on him because I didn't care about him in the beginning, but he was so real and so sincere.
Speaker C:And I'll.
Speaker C:I remember one, and he.
Speaker C:One day, it was like, it's silly, but we were standing in line at the auto club or something and the other auto place that you have to go to, the whatever, dmv.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker C:And he actually came with me.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:You know, no.
Speaker C:You know, my ex husband never did anything nice like that.
Speaker C:Nice.
Speaker C:And you know, invited me to Excalibur, you know, which is a restaurant where they have sword fighting with horses.
Speaker C:And, you know, I always wanted to go there.
Speaker C:And just like in that moment, in that, you know, second, I just, poof.
Speaker C:My heart opened and I went, you know, he's for real.
Speaker C:He really does care about me.
Speaker C:And that was it.
Speaker C:And we were just in love all the time.
Speaker C:I mean, he Was the great, my.
Speaker B:Greatest love when you softened and you changed, did the people around you change as well as far as who they were and how many were still in your life?
Speaker B:Often when we grow and experience new things, those that were with us in a different season of our life fall away because they don't like our growth or they can't handle our growth or you know.
Speaker B:Did you experience any of that?
Speaker C:Not much, not too much because I had left behind all of my couple friends from my ex husband, you know, so I had moved a different, you know, I'd moved further away.
Speaker C:So all those friends kind of were gone.
Speaker C:So I kind of had a fresh start.
Speaker C:So together we develop new friends and new couple friends together over time.
Speaker B:That's nice.
Speaker B:You've obviously dealt with a lot of people over the course of your lifetime.
Speaker B:Have you seen where that's been the case for some of them?
Speaker B:Where they grow and then they don't know what to do because their friends aren't growing.
Speaker C:And kind of I have because they have grown with me and many of them have joined my mastermind, my year long mastermind.
Speaker C:And so they're, they're growing and making more money and going to higher levels and, and I've warned them this could happen.
Speaker C:People are going to be jealous, they're going to try to hold you down, you know.
Speaker C:So yes, I've seen where people have lost friends, sometimes husbands and wives, very few, but it does happen.
Speaker B:So you're in your 70s now and as you're looking back on life, if you're encountering people who are in their 40s, the 50s, they're still kind of questioning who they are and what they're worth and where life can take them.
Speaker B:How do you guide those folks?
Speaker B:What do you say to them?
Speaker B:Because you've lived a lot of life and not all of it Kumbaya and rainbows and sunshines, some of it, you know, rather tragic.
Speaker B:So you have, you have this light heartedness, joy about you, but I also know you've experienced the pain.
Speaker B:So you have a good mixture to be able to understand humanity and human nature.
Speaker B:So those in the midst of the chaos, how do you help them out?
Speaker B:What do you say to them.
Speaker C:Depending on what's going on with them?
Speaker C:A lot of times, if it's relationships and things like that, often unless it's real serious, but most of the time it isn't.
Speaker C:And I tell them the grass is never greener.
Speaker C:Grass is not greener, it's just dirt.
Speaker C:It's just dirt.
Speaker C:And you're going to have to plant it and you're going to have to plant the grass and you're going to have to work with the grass and you have to train the grass and you're just gonna, you know, it's not always greener for green, you know, greener's sake.
Speaker C:And a lot of people just want something different instead of being different in the relationship.
Speaker C:So sometimes you just have to be different in that relationship.
Speaker C:And work wise, it's like I really talk to people about following their dream, but not, don't make it a dream.
Speaker C:See, the mistake people make is I'm following my dream.
Speaker C:I no make a goal.
Speaker C:Chart the goal.
Speaker C:What is your goal?
Speaker C:Like I didn't have a dream of stepping on stage.
Speaker C:That was my goal and I was going to do it no matter what.
Speaker C:And not only did I step on stage, this is something people don't know.
Speaker C:And that is I've paved the way.
Speaker C:And I only say that not from a place of ego, but people have told me that.
Speaker C:They say, arby, you're paving the way for older, you know, for women when they get that age.
Speaker C:I've had a head judge of the muscle contest, him and his girlfriend, who is a, who's a pro, tell me they're 35 and they say, arvi, you're such an inspiration.
Speaker C:Now we know not to stop, we know to keep going.
Speaker C:We know that we can keep going when they reach this age.
Speaker C:So another thing is at the muscle contest and at Muscle Beach, I got a 60 category.
Speaker C:My first competition, I had to compete in 50.
Speaker C:Well, that's 20 years difference.
Speaker C:I didn't stand a prayer, right.
Speaker C:So I got talked them into a 60.
Speaker C:How did I do that?
Speaker C:By asking for it and asking for it.
Speaker C:By praying about it, by, by imagining, not by dreaming, but by seeing it, by seeing me on stage, by setting a goal to be on stage, you know, all of that.
Speaker C:So that's what I tell you.
Speaker C:Don't dream about things.
Speaker C:Set a goal and then take steps toward that goal every single day if you have to, if you want to go on vacation, if you want to do anything you want to do.
Speaker C:And that's how I've lived most of my life.
Speaker C:Not in the beginning, not when I was with the abusive person.
Speaker C:No, I didn't start doing that except for the last 20 years.
Speaker C:But now I do it for everything.
Speaker C:I set a goal and I take steps toward that goal every day or every week or whenever I need to.
Speaker C:I don't care what goal it is.
Speaker C:That's how I live my life now.
Speaker C:And that's what I share with other people.
Speaker B:And I think when you see photos like this with your, you know, your physique changed and altered, you know, and you're in your 70s in these photos, you know, people think that they reach 50 or older, you know, beyond, and they think, you know, life is done, you know, I haven't accomplished what I want to accomplish.
Speaker B:I, I'm too old to start, I'm too old to change.
Speaker B:And just this photo alone says, bullshit.
Speaker B:You're, you're, you're never too old to start, you're never too old to change, and you're never too old to hit your goal, not just your dream.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I wouldn't have thought I could look like that.
Speaker C:I mean, I amazed myself, you know, I was looking like I was 70 when I was in my 60s, you know.
Speaker B:How old were you in this picture?
Speaker C:I. I probably was in my 60s.
Speaker C:That's one of my events.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:So from, from there to 70, I mean, that's quite a transformation.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Three years that I've been working out.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And, and again, that's the, that's the dedication and the power of discipline and, you know, you had a goal, not just a dream.
Speaker B:And you work.
Speaker B:That's the, that's the four letter word that people hate though.
Speaker B:Work.
Speaker B:You got to do some work.
Speaker B:And I don't care what your goal is.
Speaker B:You.
Speaker B:You have to put in some effort.
Speaker B:I find too many people sit around praying about it instead of doing it right.
Speaker C:And here's the secret sauce.
Speaker C:Darrell, your why.
Speaker C:See, my why, the reason why I work out, really, it's not to be a competitor.
Speaker C:My why is because I'm managing my grief, right?
Speaker C:My, my grief was so big that I needed something bigger than my grief to handle it and to.
Speaker C:Otherwise I would stay in depression and be unhealthy and all of that.
Speaker C:So most people, they say they want to work out.
Speaker C:Well, first thing I ask them is why, right?
Speaker C:Oh, I just want to get healthier.
Speaker C:No, that's not a big enough why.
Speaker C:You'll do it for three months or a month and you'll give up just like resolutions, right.
Speaker C:When it gets tough, you'll give up.
Speaker C:Something will get in the way.
Speaker C:It has to be such a big why.
Speaker C:Whatever it is you want to do that it propels you out of bed in the morning that you've got to do it because your life depends on it and everybody's life around you depends on.
Speaker C:That's when you can succeed with whatever it is that you want, no matter how outlandish it might be.
Speaker C:It's got to be a big enough.
Speaker C:Why?
Speaker C:And again, it just propels you and everybody around you.
Speaker C:You send out this energy that everybody around you will help you, and the universe will help you.
Speaker C:God will help you.
Speaker C:Everything will help you.
Speaker C:Everything will come in alignment.
Speaker C:But you've got to have that.
Speaker C:Why?
Speaker B:The other thing I think this photo shows, and you know, I can't speak for you.
Speaker B:I can only speak from personal experience.
Speaker B:But anytime you set out to do anything this daunting, you're going to have the naysayers.
Speaker B:You're going to have the people tell you you can't.
Speaker B:You're going to have the people tell you you're too old.
Speaker B:And a lot of those people aren't strangers.
Speaker B:A lot of those people are your family and your loved ones and your friends.
Speaker B:So you have to shut out all the outside noise.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And just go do it.
Speaker B:Because I heard Trent Shelton say once, you know, never give your glasses to someone else to look through, because God gave that prescription for your eyes, not for theirs.
Speaker B:And they'll never see the same vision out of those glasses that you do.
Speaker B:And that really struck me because oftentimes when we do have a goal or a dream that we want to do, we try to do it by committee.
Speaker B:I'm going to ask this person, I'm going to ask that person, I'm going to ask permission for that.
Speaker B:I'm going to get the consensus of the room.
Speaker B:Well, pretty soon then you're just not doing it because they can't see it, so they don't do it, and they wouldn't do it.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Well, maybe they're right.
Speaker B:No, that passion was put in your heart for a reason that was gifted to you by God, for a reason to come through you.
Speaker B:You are selfish if you don't manifest it into reality because he gave it to you to bring forth into this world.
Speaker B:And don't do it by committee.
Speaker B:Do it by your soul.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Bravo.
Speaker C:Beautifully said.
Speaker C:Beautifully said.
Speaker B:I'll get off my soapbox now.
Speaker C:That is so true.
Speaker B:So, Arvi, what do you want your legacy to be?
Speaker C:Good question again.
Speaker C:I really.
Speaker C:And I've thought about this, you know, I, I, I have a legacy program with my speaking.
Speaker C:And I thought before all this happened that I wanted my system to be my legacy.
Speaker C:But now it's funny how when things change, that that doesn't matter anymore.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:What I want to be known for is to be one of the oldest and greatest female bodybuilders out there.
Speaker C:That's my goal.
Speaker C:I want to be able to go pro.
Speaker C:So that's not a dream, that is a goal.
Speaker C:And it's harder for me because, I mean, I don't want to say hard, but there's some things I got to get in place.
Speaker C:In other words, in order to go pro, I have to have competition of at least five or more in my category.
Speaker C:Not that I haven't.
Speaker C:I did Pittsburgh two years ago.
Speaker C:July wasn't ready for it.
Speaker C:We had 18 women closer to 60 than me.
Speaker C:And of course, I didn't even stand a prayer out there.
Speaker C:But it was like my first year of competing, but now I'm smarter and I know, but it's all strategy.
Speaker C:So I'm setting a strategy to become one of the oldest bodybuilders out there.
Speaker C:One thing things have to get in place.
Speaker C:I'm going to get a 70 category.
Speaker C:My plan is to get one next year.
Speaker C:I want to do this for a little bit and get some people into the 60 category and then set wave so I can have a 70, go pro and then, you know, really teach people.
Speaker C:See, when I got into this, I wasn't doing it for anybody else.
Speaker C:It was very selfish.
Speaker C:I was doing it to live.
Speaker C:I was doing it so I wouldn't run out in the street.
Speaker C:But since that time, people all over, you know, on social media is gathered around me and women telling me that they're going to the gym now, that they're, they're even competing, some are going to compete and that, you know, I've saved their life and on and on and on and on, and that I've been an inspiration.
Speaker C:Every single day.
Speaker C:Someone will tell me that.
Speaker C:And so I want to take that and just really become that inspiration for more women, you know, over 40, over 50.
Speaker C:It doesn't have to be 60, 70.
Speaker C:I've even got a brand new podcast coming out myself.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:It's called Flex Appeal.
Speaker C:It's tantalizing talks for timeless athletes.
Speaker C:And again, we're going to be talking to men and women about the real truth about certain things that happen in the bodybuilding world.
Speaker C:Everything from steroids to creatine to working out, doing cardio, prior doing cardio, after all those things that are controversial.
Speaker C:So I'm kind of heading into, you know, the fitness world.
Speaker C:Eventually I'll get my certification as a fitness trainer and I'll focus on, again, women over 50 to inspire them that they can build muscle.
Speaker C:It's never too late.
Speaker C:Who would have thought that I would have built muscle at, you know, at 68, 69. Who would have thought it?
Speaker C:No, you know, I didn't, but I just knew that was my goal.
Speaker B:Well, people never know something can be done until they go do it right.
Speaker C:Exactly.
Speaker B:I admire all that you've come through and all that you've done.
Speaker B:And we'll put those in our show notes.
Speaker B:The I like the title Flex appeal.
Speaker B:That's awesome.
Speaker B:And we'll put all your contact info as well.
Speaker B:I do appreciate you taking time out of your day to join me on this and ask you the final question that I ask everyone.
Speaker B:What does a warrior spirit or having a warrior spirit mean to Arvey?
Speaker C:It means.
Speaker C:Means that you can fight the impossible.
Speaker C:You and win.
Speaker C:It means that you can fight for others as well as yourself.
Speaker C:It.
Speaker C:I mean, when I think of warrior, I mean, I also think of my husband because he was a kung fu warrior and I believe God took him because he needed warriors up there in heaven.
Speaker C:And one day I'll join.
Speaker C:I'll join him as a warrior and, you know, warrior spirits strong.
Speaker C:I think I.
Speaker C:That it's a great question.
Speaker C:Exciting.
Speaker C:I hope I answered it.
Speaker B:You answered it and how it fits to you.
Speaker B:So I. I think in my book, you embody what a warrior is and a warrior spirit.
Speaker B:And I appreciate you coming on this show to share your part of the journey.
Speaker C:Oh, well, thank you for having me.
Speaker C:It was fun.
Speaker C:And you're right, the time went very fast.
Speaker B:Time does.
Speaker B:And many blessings continue to you and I just appreciate you.
Speaker B:And if any of you would like to get in touch with Arvi, you can do so on her social media platforms, YouTube and Instagram.
Speaker B:I'll also have her Facebook and podcast information out on the show Notes since I didn't have them for this slide.
Speaker B:But as always, thank you for joining us on this edition of A Warrior Spirit.
Speaker B:Be sure to like or subscribe so you catch all the episodes.
Speaker B:You can tune in on all the major platforms as well as on Roku via the Prospera TV app.
Speaker B:And remember, the journey is sacred.
Speaker B:The warrior is you.
Speaker B:So be inspired, be empowered, and embrace the spirit of the warrior within.
Speaker C:It's not just about the fight, it's.
Speaker A:How we rise from it.
