Ironman Triathlete David Garza talks Self-Discipline, Sobriety, & Handling the Ups and Downs of Life

The Mindset Forge

Barton sits down with David to talk about his path as an athlete, father, and fitness instructor. David has completed 17 Ironman Triathlons including the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. They have taught David about discipline, mindset, focusing on the "controllables" and much more. He is also 5 ½ years sober and so much of who he is and what he prioritized today comes from his sobriety and being the best father he can be for his two teenage kids.
Behind his exterior of muscles and a big smile, Austin local David Garza is just as compassionate at heart as he lets on.

As one of Austin’s most motivated fitness instructors, Garza gladly admits to spending time surfing Pinterest for motivating quotes to share with others. Referred to as the “Tony Robbins of spin” by some of his clients, Garza cherishes being able to make others feel special, whether that’s by playing someone’s favorite song during a class or sitting down with someone for coffee to help them tackle the obstacles in their way to a healthier lifestyle.

“I have been pretty blessed to have found this career, where I can use music and fitness and really talk in a deep way of how we are doing,” Garza says. “And, because I have gone through some ridiculously challenging things in my life, I am able to look at somebody and say ‘Hey man, I get it. Let’s try and figure out what’s going wrong, pinpoint it and see what we can do in a positive way to figure out what we need to get done to get you out of this funk.’”

When Garza came out of college, his lifestyle included smoking and drinking, and at one point, he even weighed close to 300 pounds. Coming up on four years of being sober, Garza says he can consider his past experiences struggling with nutrition and unhealthy habits as a blessing, because they make it easy for him to be able to discuss topics that can typically be hard to talk about.

“I get to share with a lot of people who are struggling, and I have been down that path, and I feel like I can truly relate to somebody struggling with lots of different things,” Garza says. “While I know there are a lot of challenges out there, I also know that you can overcome those challenges, because you want to be a little bit better than you were yesterday.”

Garza is heading to Nice, France in September to compete in another Ironman Triathlon World Championships.
To contact David, find him on Instagram @davidgarza1
He is currently teaching classes at HIT Athletic in North Central Austin.

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