Success Story 1 – Setback and Recovery
THE REBECCA A. LUBARSKY STORY
On July 1, 2017, Becky, as family and friends know her, was involved in a head-on vehicle accident while coming home from a competition bow shoot in Arizona. Both Becky and her husband, Steve, are competitive bow shooters and have attended many bow competitions. As recalled by Becky, she remembers unbuckling her seat belt to adjust her sitting position, and from the corner of her eye, she noticed that her husband Steve’s head was slumped down as he had dozed off. She also remembers another car coming straight at them. She yelled at Steve, and it roused him from his sleep. She also recalls that Steve had told her not to move.
What she remembers next was that when she had awakened, she had been in an induced coma for 45 days. She was then flown to Albuquerque and spent the next 30 days in an inpatient rehabilitation center. After awakening, she realized that she was unable to walk at all. She had sustained a broken left hip that needed to be replaced; the right femur was shattered and required a bar the length of her leg to be placed to help her heal, a broken right ankle and the right hip was also dislocated. She also had a piece of her skull removed to reduce brain swelling. As if that were not enough, all of the ribs on the left side of her body were also broken. She also had to have a double tracheotomy to help her breathe.
The overall state of her condition required her to undergo 12 surgeries to help put her back together. After months of physical therapy, she was able to place a little bit of weight on her legs, but she could not walk on her own. She was sent home in a wheelchair, where she remained for the next several years. At this point, Becky had gained close to 100 pounds and was mentally depressed and miserable. Because of her condition of being in a wheelchair and a competitive bow shooter, her quality of life was now meaningless to her. She could not enjoy the simple things that healthy people enjoy on a daily basis and sometimes take for granted.
On February 6, 2024, her husband Steve brought her to my gym to see if I could work with her in helping her achieve some kind of strength and mobility. At first, I started training her twice a week for several months. She then progressed to working out three times a week, then to four times a week, and now she is training with me five days a week. As Becky became stronger and gained more flexibility and mobility, she was able to ditch the wheelchair and would come in using a walker, which she also discarded for a pair of crutches, then a cane, and eventually got rid of the cane as well and now walks into the gym without any mechanical assistance whatsoever.
Becky is an inspiration to all who have come to know her for her dedication, desire, and discipline to continue her training to become better and stronger than ever before. She is an extraordinary individual who has inspired many of my clients by her work ethic to strive to achieve their mental, physical, and spiritual goals through her training.
Success Story 2 – The Full Body Transformation
THE ELI VEGA STORY
Growing up in a vibrant Hispanic household, my childhood was defined by love, family, and, above all, food. I was blessed to be the official taste-tester for every single home-cooked meal that came out of our kitchen. The food was rich, comforting, and deeply rooted in tradition—but it wasn’t healthy. And I certainly wasn’t holding back.
From an early age, I was always labeled the “bigger kid.” That label quickly became a target. I was the first one picked on, the easiest punchline in the room, and the weight of people’s words began to mirror the weight on my body. By the time I reached middle school, I hit my heaviest point: a staggering 315 pounds.
Middle school is hard for anyone, but for me, it was a living hell. I was trapped in a painful paradox: I desperately craved social interaction, friendships, and acceptance, but I was completely paralyzed by a total lack of self-confidence.
The hard truth? I hated myself.
- I hated how I looked in the mirror.
- I hated my personality, which felt muted by insecurity.
- I hated the daily habits that were pulling me further and further down the wrong road.
When you lack self-love, you look for comfort wherever you can find it. For me, that was food. It became my coping mechanism, my instant source of dopamine, and eventually, the only voice in my head. Food convinced me it was the only reward life had left to offer.
The First Spark
Seeing my downward spiral, my grandma decided to step in. At the end of my 7th-grade year, she started dragging my sister and me to AT Chavez.
If I’m being completely honest… I hated it. I hated it just as much as I hated myself. Before I even laced up my sneakers, my mind had already surrendered. It whispered vicious lies: “You hate this. You’ll never see results. You’re too far gone. There is no point in even trying.”
But I did try. Despite the mental resistance, the discipline began to pay off, and I managed to lose 50 pounds.
The Roadblock of 2020
Then, Covid-19 hit. The world shut down, and the gym doors closed. To my twisted mindset at the time, this felt like a blessing. I didn’t have to go to the gym anymore. I could retreat back into my comfort zone. But looking back, it wasn’t a blessing at all—it was a major roadblock that I mistook for an exit ramp.
Over the next two years, the old habits rushed back with a vengeance. By 2022, I had completely undone my progress and slammed right back into my heaviest weight of 315 pounds. Except this time, I added a new vice to the mix. I started drinking with friends. During the “party,” life felt great. It felt like an escape. But a fun weekend quickly morphed into a daily habit, and the weight piled on even faster than before.
I hit rock bottom. I was entirely lost in the dark, suffocating under the weight of my own choices.
One morning in 2022, I woke up and looked at my life. I was sick and shutting down. In a moment of sheer desperation—or perhaps a spark of survival instinct—I picked up my phone and dialed AT Chavez.
That single phone call changed the trajectory of my life forever.
I committed myself to the grind. For the last five years, consistency has been my religion. Rain or shine, good days or bad, I showed up for myself.
Today, I am 160 pounds lighter. But the physical change is only a small fraction of the victory. My entire life has done a 180-degree turn. My confidence has skyrocketed, my self-esteem is restored, and my outlook on the future is brighter than I ever dreamed possible.
I give 100% of the credit to AT Chavez. Not because of a magic workout, or diet plan. But because when all I could see was a dead end, he saw a path forward. He never gave up on me, constantly reminding me that there is always light at the end of the tunnel—it just takes time, sweat, and patience.
To complete my physical and emotional transformation, I underwent skin removal surgery in September of 2025. It was the final shedding of the armor I had built to protect myself when I was a kid.
Today, I feel like a completely different person. Yet, at the core, I’m still the exact same Eli that everyone knew growing up. I still love my family, my culture, and the community that raised me. The only difference? I now possess a bulletproof mindset, a killer physique, and a soul that is absolutely pouring over with self-love.
I am no longer the boy hiding in the shadows of his own weight. I am Eli J. Vega, and I finally love the man I am today.
