Alan Filauro

Interview by Seth Travis

PHOTOGRAPHER Sinem Yazici RETOUCHER Rafael Sochakov

Born in NY & raised in South Salem, NY. My fitness journey began while playing Division 1 baseball at West Virginia University, after which a spinal injury forced me to turn down an offer to play for the Milwaukee Brewers. My road to recovery is where my passion for health and fitness was born. I have now been working in the fitness industry for 6 years, teaching group fitness, 1 on 1 personal training, online coaching & a fitness professional consultant for The W hotels. I believe living a healthy lifestyle begins with maintaining a strong and fit body & letting go of all the fads we get caught up with (there are no shortcuts). My aim is to help you identify your fitness goals, design an exercise program that fits your needs and guide you through every exercise, every workout. My holistic approach to fitness and health will have you feeling great and seeing results in no time. My philosophy is work hard, lift properly, and have a damn good time doing it with people you enjoy being around.

MS: Did you start out with the right habits as a kid from training to diet, to the lifestyle? How or Why not?

AF: Unfortunately, I like to refer to my childhood as the frozen burrito x XBOX era. My parents did a really good job keeping myself and my 3 other siblings active but you can’t blame them for buying those frozen foods or a quick stop to McDonalds to feed the entire family for $20. When it came to training when I was younger I never really had a role model to teach me the proper way to lift, it was a very masculine environment in high school because all everybody wanted to know was “how much do you lift?” Fitness has changed for the better in the past 10 years and I am grateful to have gone on to play D1 baseball at WVU where I was coached the proper way to lift and we had our own personal nutritionist who would come to the grocery store with us, the one Mountain Dew a day quickly changed. Looking back, it was some really hard habits that I had to break but it made me such a better athlete and I take pride in teaching my clients how to kick those bad habits.

MS: As a competitive athlete, your mentality must have changed after that injury? What kind of mental breakthroughs / emotional journey did you have to overcome? Follow-up was there a moment, a person, a book that helped you launch into a new chapter of your life as a health and wellness expert?

AF: It was the day before Christmas Break where each individual position player would max out their Squat, Deadlift & Bench - it was during that time when I had over 500lbs on my back with my team directly behind me yelling my name. On my path back up my hips shot back & I should’ve dropped it but with my team right there I was able to bring it up, adrenaline was going and I thought I was fine until I woke the next day with 3 herniated discs and an injury that still makes me cringe when I hear it “SCIATICA!” The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time because it was my senior year, too late to take a redshirt and I had to go on to play my final season with those bulging discs. During the season, I looked up to my coach & my Mom for strength. It was not easy, constantly putting myself in pain to then jump into an ice bath right after practice or a game. Overall, I had a good season - was one of the Johnny Bench award finalists but when Milwaukee Brewers offered me practically a plane ticket and hot dog to sign, I had to quickly deny because I was not physically and mentally in a good place. This is where my passion for fitness came about on my road back to recovery.

MS: You mentioned your philosophy earlier. Is there someone in your life that taught you the 'way of life' so to speak? If so what was it, and who was it?

AF: My philosophy came about on my own when I was in my adolescence, indirectly taught by my father who had a mental breakdown when I was in the 6th grade. At that time, he quit his job and isolated himself in my home for the rest of my high school & college career. The doctors were quick to diagnose him with mental disorders and throw a quick script at him, I did not learn this until I got to college but from 6th to freshman year I remember telling myself as I would watch my father “how cool is it, when you get older you can stay up all night & eat ice cream,” thinking my father was some superhero wearing a cape but as I went through high school I knew something wasn’t right. When I got to college I quickly declared my major in Psychology because I wanted to learn more about my father and why he made these life decisions. To sum it up, I believe in a holistic approach to health and wellness. My father was on some much medication, he never had the chance to make his own decisions because he was a prisoner to a pill. I don’t know any human-being that is able to eat tubs of ice cream at 12am & plan to be productive the next day. My Psychology degree taught me the truth, my father isn’t a superhero wearing a cape and he should’ve been advised to get back to a structured life - a job - healthy eating - and most importantly focus on your sleep. Today, I coach everyone on balance, that moderation is the key to life, never be dependent on any drug, meditate & meditate often, get out in the world by pushing your limits & and challenging yourself as we are capable of such amazing feats.

MS: You work 1-on-1 with clients. What is the best advice to a person who is willing to set aside a significant amount of time and money to "rehab" or "reset" their mind and body through fitness and diet?

AF: I would first applaud that person for making the investment in themselves. In this day in age, we have so much stimulation of technology & factors that lead us to stress that you should set some money aside and give it to someone who is going to make your life easier while you can take care of your job, family, relationships, all external factors that make us whole. I would advise that person to open up, be ready to break down barriers of their weaknesses to only build them up - my goal is to expand your mind of what is capable of your body but also coaching that less is more when it comes to nutrition most importantly. We all want a quick fix and I get it, but good things take time and we are going to have to change one habit at a time to reach an overall goal. Set the bar low, take time to celebrate your small victories and in the end, they will add up to something special.

MS: You must live at the gym so to speak. What are weekly, monthly or annual things you do to keep it all fresh for your own fitness routine? Any big 2020 activities planned? ex: Marathon etc.

AF: It is easy to get bored with your training when it comes to yourself or training with clients. This is why I am all about goal setting, and have a purpose in what you’re doing. I use my own personal data base where clients can set up goals, check them off when we accomplish them, set up a new one and always keep the flame of internal progression. The goals can be whatever the client wants to achieve but that goal is specific to that one client. I am a big advocate for taking care of # 1, if I am able to keep myself 100% healthy then i will be able to the best version for my family, clients & friends. That being said, I always pamper myself when I find the time. At least 2 30 minute back massages a week, 2 Cyro-Therapy sessions a month, optimize sleep with CBD, Magnesium & Melatonin, and plan to escape the city for a weekend or a week once a month. For goals, last year I decided to run my first half marathon under 2 hours. I am not much of a long distance runner but I achieved it & yeah I might have broken my foot during the run but happy to be able to finish under 2 hours. This year, I have set a goal to compete in a non-profit boxing match in November. This will be a fun event as I have zero boxing experience but I take pride in doing things I am bad at.

MS: What is your go-to breakfast? Follow-up do you have a weekly cheat meal ritual?

AF: I am up usually at 530am every morning and my body never wants to eat at that time nor do I have the time to cook anything. Before I go to bed I make a protein shake and put it in the fridge. That shake consists of all natural protein, beets powder, lion's mane mushroom powder & MCT oil or also referred to as brain fuel. This usually sets me up until 10 am where I crush an all plant breakfast where my protein is mainly tofu & egg whites.

MS: What is in your gym bag right now?

AF: My gym bag right now is a Yeti backpack. I have been through so many bags in the past, they usually last for 3 months before it rips or just time to switch it up. The real NY trainer knows how important that backpack is so as long as it serves its purpose I will wear it.

MS: Words to live by?

AF: You will never always be motivated, so you must learn to be disciplined.

AF: Make the best of every moment, be thankful, open up more & inspire others to live their best lives.