An interview with Life Coach Ezra Drew (our August/September 2014 issue cover model)
Photographer – Keion Embry, Location – No Excuses Cross Fit, Shawnee, GA. Additional photos provided by Ezra Dew. Used by permission.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: We’re excited to have you as our cover model. You’re regularly “front and center” with acting, modeling, a history in the military, life coaching, personal training and being a spokesperson for causes. Being a public personality isn’t a career that a lot of people have. For those that do, fewer have an agenda to represent the Christian faith. What prompted you to have such a personal mission? Describe ways God has challenged you to “breath the life” in all you do.
John Ezra Dew: That seems to be a question on everybody’s mind, yet were hesitant to ask. How do you stand for God in an industry where wickedness is the accepted form of living.
The Spirit of God is what prompted me to embark on this mission. He lifted me from a life of self-indulgence. Where I used to abuse the gifts He gave me, now I use them for His glory. This is the instruction God gave me. I don’t tell anyone how to live. Instead, I choose to allow the breath of my actions and lifestyle to be a reflection of God. The choice is theirs.
A great example of how God challenged me to “Breathe Life,” was when I was just starting out in my career as a fitness model. Photographers and producers alike wanted me to take my clothes off for implied nude and naked pictures. The potential instant fame made this tempting. They tried to rationalize it and disguise it as art or physique expression. That didn’t sit well in my heart.
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The enemy makes fame and success delightful and irresistible. The Lord empowered me to stand for what I believe and led me to tell the leaders in the industry this was contrary to what I stood for. I said, “If this is what you want, I’m the wrong model.” This position lost me tons of jobs, money and fame, but it pleased God. What I gained was the preservation of my personal integrity and the brand and character of “Breathe Life”. That is what I want the world to see.
Gain in the world’s eyes, is worthless for me. I am not trying to sound perfect. I’m far from it. However, each stand I take is a victory for truth in my life. Standing on your principles can be difficult, but it is worth it in the end. Every poor choice has a consequence. Instead stay focused on integrity and all God has placed in your heart.
My life is regularly in front of the world from television, magazines and social media. People see where I stand. It’s not based on what I say but on how I carry myself. Young men who look to me as a role model in modeling have written me about the positive impact I’ve made. They’ve been inspired to renew their relationship with God and also take a stand. Sure there’s ridicule, but a diamond is only made with profound pressure. This is the fire that keeps me going in this industry.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: Let’s talk fitness. You’re in good shape. Have you always had an active lifestyle? When did getting in top form really become a regular part of life? People often feel staying fit requires a lot of time and hard work. How can we create and manage a commitment to fitness without it becoming an obsession?
John Ezra Dew: Thanks. Yes, I’ve been in shape from as far as I can remember and it was not because I looked at it as something to be gained, but a result of an active lifestyle. I was involved in sports before I even knew how to read and write. It started with t-ball, then league soccer and as I grew older basketball and football.
The first time getting in top form became real was when I started competing in higher-level sports that required superior performance. I started to research what the top athletes did to gain advantage. Bruce Lee and Arnold Schwarzenegger were my foundational inspiration. I felt like a mutant because my body developed so quickly when I applied their knowledge. My play climbed and I was hooked.
Getting fit does require time and hard work. The dieting industry makes that unattractive and pushes quick weight loss products and easy exercise programs. Good physical fitness is not so much about investing tons of time in a workout, but rather maintaining daily consistency. Regular bathing, sleeping or eating aren’t obsessions, yet we spend a big part of our day doing them. They’re necessary. We’ve fallen victim to the notion that exercise and fitness aren’t important unless you’re an athlete or model. It must be a lifestyle for everyone.
GET SERIOUS – NOT STRESSED. Ezra’s Top 5 Ways To Stay Fit Without The Fuss.
1. Have a plan that spells out desire, goal, timeframe and strategy to reach it.
2. Use an image of a model that embodies the look you want, put it somewhere visible i.e. fridge or bedroom door.
3. Create a calendar with check marks and goals to accomplish each day. Reward yourself when you reach one.
4. Get a membership to a gym, cross-fit or something different ~ step away from your home, comfort zone and normal routine.
5. Determine to execute each day ~ Hold yourself accountable or get a partner/trainer that will keep you committed.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: Define life coaching. Who should seek life coaching and what value do people get from it? How is your style of life coaching different and explain why faith plays such an important role.
John Ezra Dew: Life coaching is the practice of contributing to a person growing toward his or her destined blueprint, by laying foundational building blocks to success for all three components of a person’s being: mind, body and spirit. The value gained, is true nutrition to these areas. With a strong foundation you can mature and gain the ability to stand strong and live with divine purpose. You see the true source of success and are no longer blinded by the world’s interpretations.
Many trainers build mind and body, but fear that addressing the spirit will alienate customers. My style is different because Christ is the source of life. There is no way to hide it. To disguise that is to change what is true. Yeshua (Jesus) said, “I AM the Way, Truth and Life”. I can’t call myself a life coach without pointing to Him. In some instances I’ve offended, lost and disgusted clients. Even so, they leave with a greater knowledge of truth.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: We’ve seen ads for nutritional supplements, fitness products and exercise programs marketing wellness with a lot of attitude. As one comedian said, “To drink their water even my thirst has to be Xtreme!” Motivational messages in media and individual social media elevate self-determination and glorify narcissistic ego. How do you feel God calls us to make our agenda HIS agenda?
John Ezra Dew: I was in sales for a long time and was very good at it. The objective is to get the customer to feel as if they are incomplete with my product even if that means making them feel bad. The world only has one god, self, so glorifying ourselves is expected. The Lord calls us to die to self and explicitly tells us that God gives power (grace) to the humble but He resist the proud.
To make this evident we need to be more dependent on God and remember that Jesus is our power source. Any other attitude just feeds our ego and self-interest. It’s easy to say, “I did this.” The reality is I don’t even have the power to make my own heart beat. Humility draws people toward you and more importantly to God.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: Describe your favorite exercises. When we asked you to pound a truck tire with a sledgehammer for the cover you were all over that. What do you like about exercises that are functional? You’re an outdoors guy too?
John Ezra Dew: My favorite exercise of all time is the pushup! It’s really the first move we do in life as a newborn baby. We lift and push up our necks. That leads to pushing up our bodies to a crawl. Eventually we grow strong enough to stand.
I also love the pull up, which is a real testament to upper body strength. I fell in love with these through the Marine Corps fitness test. We had to do twenty dead hand pull-ups to get a perfect score. I was only able to do five but eventually did fifty. It’s so much fun killing the only competition we have – ourselves.
Lunges and squats are also some of my favorite lower body functional exercises that work every muscle group in the lower body and build balance and stability for most any sport.
My eyes lit up when we first discussed the tire and sledge exercise. It’s so picturesque of drive, determination, and discipline. I think you said it best when you said functional. The body is a complex machine and masterpiece of all creation so it adapts to anything very easily. The subtle nature of functional exercises is that it focuses the mind on the task versus the exercise. This mental jest is just one of the many advantages. Each muscle in the body is being used to sling that hammer. This effectively trains muscles that will be used to lift, swing, drive, walk, etc. all things we do in our everyday life.
I’m definitely and outdoors guy from serving in the U.S. Marine Corp for seven years, to playing sports, mountain biking, fishing, hiking, climbing mountains. I can remember the times we would visit my grandparents out in the country. We really got to splurge with breaking wood for fire, gardening and tons of lawn work.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: Complete the sentence (borrowed from the 1956 Pete Seeger song), “If I had a hammer _____”. In what ways does today’s drive-for-success culture keep us from being other-minded and helping people? What can we do to make serving others in both big and small ways a greater part of our own life agenda?
John Ezra Dew: Oh man, I love that song, I think If I was writing the lyric I would hammer the Name of our Lord YHVH in every heart and soul upon earth. Everybody thinks that eternal life is living forever but the Bible says, “And this is life eternal that they may know thee the only true God, and Yeshua Christ, whom thou hast sent”
Our culture is all about success and self. This mentality precipitated from all the opportunity and the competitive free market. This is overly glorified in the fitness and modeling industry through self-beautification and self-promotion. This mentality is tough to avoid if you’re not grounded in truth. The Bible tells us that we are to be humble. A great way to do this is by helping others discover and achieve their God-given purpose. That’s why I enjoy life coaching. Yeshua told us that the greatest of all is the servant of all.
This becomes more achievable with more exercise. The nature of getting good at anything comes from constant performance and practice. The more you exercise a certain trait the more you build endurance. This is when it’s no longer an effort but a lifestyle as if you are breathing or “breathe life”.
