3. Meet team 'Poles and Crocs'
Introducing Team Leader - Juan Cervantes
Meet Juan: ‘Captain Admin’
At 37, Juan—affectionately dubbed "Captain Admin" and elicit’s cheers of “Number Juan!” by his peers—is not just a name in the Poles & Crocs roster but a beacon of inspiration and resilience.
Currently gearing up for the gruelling Lakeland 100, Juan embodies the spirit of determination and community that defines our group.
Trail Blazer and Champion
Juan’s favourite training ground is the picturesque trails of Hedley on the Hill, where he finds solace and strength.
Number Juan
His impressive athletic journey includes being crowned No1 in his weight category in Thai boxing, clinching a world title, and showcasing his prowess on the renowned show "One Championship." These achievements reflect his unwavering dedication and exceptional talent.
Finding New Beginnings with P&C
Transitioning from the high-intensity world of professional sports to everyday life can be challenging. For Juan, Poles & Crocs provided a new community, helping him navigate this change and find a renewed sense of purpose and belonging.
Mental Wellness Warrior
Juan’s approach to mental health is methodical and holistic. He sets daily and weekly focus tasks that encompass all facets of his life, ensuring a balanced and fulfilling routine. His coping strategy includes transcendental meditation and a pragmatic acceptance of things beyond his control, demonstrating a profound sense of mindfulness.
Strength in Community
The support system within Poles & Crocs has been instrumental for Juan. He believes that engaging in activities with the group fosters a positive mindset and a sense of camaraderie. His mindfulness practices, including transcendental meditation and box breathing techniques, keep him grounded and present.
Words of Wisdom
To those struggling with mental health, Juan offers three powerful pieces of advice:
1. Get outside: Nature can be incredibly healing.
2. Find your passion: Pursue what ignites your spirit.
3. Find a community: Surround yourself with supportive and like-minded individuals.
Literary Influences
Juan’s fight journey started when he joined a kickboxing class whilst at university and his intellectual curiosity is as strong as his physical endurance.
He finds inspiration in books like "Guns, Germs, and Steel" by Jared Diamond, "Sapiens" by Yuval Noah Harari, and "The Sports Gene" by David Epstein. These reads have profoundly shaped his understanding of life and humanity.
Join us in celebrating Juan’s journey and let his story remind us all of the strength found in community, the power of mindfulness, and the importance of pursuing our passions.
Together, we can conquer any trail and challenge that lies ahead.
Brotherhood & Beyond
One Tribe
*Postscript: I was keen to learn how Juan stumbled into Transcendental Meditation (TA). Like most things in life, if you want to know something you should ask. So I did and here’s what he sent me in a text.
Juan’s story in his own words:
In a nutshell, my brother Carlos, went to uni and smashed so many drugs he gave himself a series of psychotic breakdowns over the course of a few years. He was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder and told he would be on meds the rest of his life. The meds kept him sane but he was always quite heavily sedated.
A guy we both know in Bristol who had his own recovery story for him on to Transcendental Meditation, and it gave him a clarify he hadn't experienced since his breakdowns. After a while he was completely off the meds and was loving a functional life and holding down a job. (whether it was some miracle cure or an accidental false diagnosis of bipolar we'll never really know).
The technique is fairly simple:
You repeat a ‘meaningless’ mantra you get assigned in your head calmly without forcing it, and when you're lucky, you enter this state where there are absolutely no thoughts in your head, and it's pretty blissful.
In my humble opinion, the TM community are an the verge of being a little bit culty and secretive in the way they teach it with memberships etc. Only qualified teachers can teach etc, when it could be made more readily available. However I'm very grateful for it for saving my brother
You can catch up with Carlos in the form of a podcast here…
And on his Instagram here…
https://www.instagram.com/meditationcarlos?igsh=b2R2b3h0dTZjcDc4