Who? What? and Why?: “Life becomes full circle, if gratitude is achieved”

Why:

My life is culminating. I can connect every success, every failure, every relationship, every moment of sadness, anger, despair, joy; every promotion and pleasure, to this very moment in time. My journey brings me here to share a methodology that breaks the chains of immediate gratification (Discipline), unruliness of the ego (Power), and the ability to act separate of human emotions (Evolve).

Through my own intimate awareness and analytical assessment of my insecurities, flaws, failures, fears, anxieties, and lack of self-love, I empathically and intentionally, have developed a program full of active practices that establish the foundation of the life you were meant for; not the life you have let the world trap you in.

I am dedicated to transforming the fitness industry by bridging the gap between results and the barriers that continuously lead to repeated failures.

-Jordan Robusto

Who:

Growing up, I wanted to be an Army Medic or Emergency Room Doctor. When my Mom passed after a long fight with Cancer, I made a juvenile but passionate commitment to cure, Cancer. In college, I was Pre-Med for three years, when I established a new core value; balance. In my compact weekly schedule with 18-20 credit semesters, a full-time job and a collegiate track career, the concept of working life balance, became critical. I transitioned my credits to a degree in Applied Exercise Science, which resulted in a near minor in psychology; I fell into fitness. My last year of College, I started a new job in Sales at 24 Hour Fitness.

The next seven years, transformed my life. I was at the front line of the fitness epidemic, ruled by fitness fads, diets that guaranteed quick fixes and workout programs that promised unrealistic results, without the foundations of good habits. I studied every excuse in the book, and was committed to educating each guest with the truth, regardless of a sale; fitness is tough and you have to be ready to commit! I was going to end the cycle. I may not have been able to cure them all of their inaction, but I did not contribute to their continued failures. I vowed to never become one of my guests.

You know when you are driving and suddenly realize where you are, but don’t remember getting there? In those moments, you are attentive and present, but in idle mode. When you are not intentional about your behaviors, their acuity begins to erode, and you slowly lose control. Mix in the variables of life (stress), poor decisions and a toxic relationship and you have a recipe for disaster. I became one of my guests. I felt trapped inside myself, full of shame and guilt. All I could think about was how far away my desired self was. The result- inaction. Static. White noise. Nothing. I did nothing. The Universe had other plans, it was going to either thrust me into action (decision) or destroy me (devolve).

My relationship although toxic, was comforting. Toxic relationships were a bridge I formed early on to supplement the lack of connection I felt with my family (this was self-induced). This relationship was coming to an end, we put the house up for sale, started looking for individual new places to live, starting arranging our moves, when my 2.5 year Olde English Bulldog, King, started acting weird. This dog, my gosh, was the epitome of perfect; handsome, smart, goofy, balanced, loving and had such gratitude for his life; it showed in his whole being. He was diagnosed with an aggressive, but unidentifiable cancer and we were told, he had two weeks to live.

I watched my Mom erode from cancer, almost my whole life. Not necessarily, from the cancer, but the effects of the treatments. The chemicals wrecked havoc on her body, her teeth, her hair, her bones and tarnished her immune system; she slowly, over-time, was relentlessly resisting dying. She passed February 5th, 2005.

Putting my dog through Chemotherapy treatments, was not a resonating option. There was a part of me, that was in disbelief; this had to be a misdiagnosis, this boy was literally just splashing around in his pool, chasing his Brother Bru (French Bulldog), while his two sisters Kilo (German Shepherd) and sister Bug (Terrier Mix), watched from afar. We opted for Prednisone to stabilize his immune response, committed to a quality of life expectation and I dove into alternative treatment options for King.

My research led me to Full-Spectrum Rick Simpson Oil (RSO), CBD oil, a raw-diet and a focus on keeping his metabolism healthy. His walks were two times a day and they were not only for his health and enjoyment, but they provided a baseline assessment; I was able to gauge how he was feeling based off pace, engagement, timidity, curiosity. This data helped me make treatment adjustments and prepare his system for cancerous episodes (vomiting, nausea, discomfort) as we provided time. It also allowed me to accurately relay changes to our vet and take necessary action; we were fighting for his life and we had hope.

King and I had a conversation on a walk one day, during his cancer battle; I told him he had two responsibilities 1. to have fun and 2. to tell me when. My responsibility, be his everything. Once registered as my Emotional Support Animal, I quickly and I passionately became his Support Human. We were in this together.

King lived for almost 4 more months, with gratitude and enthusiasm and told me “when,” early one morning in December. He died the next day in his sleep, shortly post our facetime call, after a few rough days in a row.

What:

My life imploded. My relationship was ending, the house we built and designed from the ground up, was being visited weekly by interested buyers and up for sale, and my Best Friend, past before my eyes. I was barely hanging on— verging a breakdown with every interaction.

A few months previous (June 2019), I had to do a fast and a cleanse for a scheduled colonoscopy; I had been having some major bleeding and discomfort and it was necessary to rule out anything serious. My health had gotten away from me. The results had a diagnoses of hemorrhoids, which forced my diet to change dramatically, to mitigate, identify triggers and prevent flare-ups. I dove into intermittent fasting and weekly started to pull unnecessary dietary components from my nutritional input (sucrose, carbonation, alcohol, trans fat, enriched wheat flower etc.). I felt relief almost immediately and committed to the evolution of the lifestyle.

I wasn’t ready to transition back into the gym, I was embarrassed. I had never experienced this fear based association before and experienced great empathy for inexperienced gym goes, people lacking previous gym knowledge/experience/comfortability and the people stuck in the cycle of not knowing where or how to start; hard to start if you have no pathway to success. “Why start at all?”, could of easily become a satisfying thought.

I started to workout privately, in my garage. I wanted to give myself an opportunity to build up the courage to be comfortable enough to workout in the gym again. I couldn’t afford to experience any variable that might knock me off my path (my Brother bought me a Olympic Weight Lifting set for my Birthday one year, I had yet to use). I realized, if I wanted to change, I had to be patient. I had to have a progressive plan, and I had to commit. Sometimes, recommit; giving myself the opportunity to see results, set reasonable expectations, build healthy habits and have a chance of getting back to my normal.

When my life imploded, I was so established in my healthy habits (intermittent fasting, balanced eating and working out), that they became my lifeline. There were three things that I controlled every day, what I ate, when I ate and taking King on his walks. He was my accountability and he saw me through, until I didn’t need him anymore. He lives at the conscious front of my heart and mind, everyday.

When I told you my life is culminating, this is what I mean to describe; All my life’s decisions led me to this pinnacle moment, suspended in a slow moving and vivid (emotionally and visually) period of time. In the most emotionally painful, uncomfortable and stressful time of my life, everything made sense. I had so much gratitude.

In June of 2019, before my colonoscopy, I weighed 183lbs. In August, before I started to workout in the gym, I was down to 165lbs. Shortly after Kings death, I weighed 155lbs. Going into 2020, I progressed my workout program (designed by myself), and by February of 2020, I was down to 140lbs and 19% body fat (down from 30% in June). I had completely transformed. It showed in my engagement at work, the clarity of my skin, the way I communicated, handled situations, carried myself and treated people. I was enthusiastic, planned and regimented and felt rooted in my disciplines; this was for me and nothing will ever get in the way.

The Bulldog Method was inspired by my life’s most uncomfortable moments. The moments in life that require persistence, strength, loyalty, bravery and commitment. The traits reminiscent of the personality of a Bulldog. With my systematic approach and unique individual program design, you will establish the tools necessary to not only have the body you desire, but the mentality and behaviors to support it, forever.

Images shot by Brandi Dunham.