Last week, noted how Nia Jax has been working hard in the gym to get into better shape. That seems to be happening more often as of late and the latest wrestler to show off their new body is AEW star Ortiz from the Proud N’ Powerful tag team.
Back in January, Ortiz explained on social media what made him change his eating and workout habits. He wrote:
“So @isiahkassidy , @play_beastie we’re filming some stuff at the gym for his vlog, ( drops soon!) and this picture right here popped up on my Google photos as a memory. Apologies in advance for the spelling and punctuation errors. I don’t recognize that person anymore. I debated to make this post. As much as I love performing in front of people in the wrestling ring. I’m an introvert at heart and dislike attention outside of the wrestling world. But I figured if I can motivate one person to change their life to a healthier one then why not. I yoyo dieted my whole life. Constantly fluctuate in weight, and coped with my issues with eating, binge drinking and other poor lifestyle choices. I was depressed and didn’t realize I was depressed. As with my diet I did the same in the gym. I would go for long periods of time eating the right things and working out. But I noticed I always did what came easy for me and what was comfortable. Almost every single time something would throw me off track and the weight came back with some added extra pounds. It could be an injury, break up or just not realizing going out every weekend and partying was starting to take a toll. About 2 years ago I said enough was enough. What I was doing wasn’t working. The crash diets and ego lifting weren’t working. So I did lots and lots of research. Countless YouTube videos and audiobooks. I learned simply that it’s not a sprint it’s a marathon. I started with small attainable goals and left my ego at the door. Micro changes transformed me into another person. Fitness has become a part of my daily routine that will be with me for life. Before this I had every excuse in the book not to work out. But I found if you really want something you’ll make time no matter what. Wake up 30 mins earlier to work out. Do push ups on your lunch break. Stand at work if you can, Whatever it is. I’m not here to promote any diets or supplements. Or talk about the amount of weight I lost. physically and mentally I’ve changed for the better. I just hope someone is motivated by this and becomes a better version of themselves. I wanna be able to wrestle my grandkids and say “Sal Bandini Wanna wrestle?”
Ortiz has been wrestling primarily in singles matches after his tag team partner Santana went down with an injury last year. There have also been reports about real life tension between them and it’s unknown if they plan on teaming again but Santana is still under contract to AEW so it’s a possibility if things can get worked out. Click below to see Ortiz’s before and after photos.
