Faith & Fitness Magazine: So you were born in Ohio and spent your early years in Texas where it looks like you were active outdoors and in sports. Describe how your family experiences contributed to your physical fitness and share about what fueled your commitment to a fitness lifestyle that ultimately led to you being a personal trainer.
Drew Waters: I grew up in a family that was very active. [When I was] a child we cleared our own property that we built our house on where I grew up. Through that my father and my brother we were always outdoors doing something. In high school is really when I started transferring over into fitness. I was a pole-vaulter and needed a lot of upper body strength to do that. I was also a sprinter. I was always trying to be at my peak to compete. I’m a very competitive person. I found that I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed who I was and the energy it gave me. When I had in the modeling world to train one of my agents I saw the opportunity to not only give her a better life but also do something that I enjoy. That led to me getting a personal trainer license. I’m an avid outdoor/fitness kind of guy. My workouts have changed throughout the years. But, the end results that I want to achieve have not.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: You were sharing with me about an upcoming film shoot. You’ll be on-location for nearly a month. You’re going to be out of your usual environment, with different foods on a different diet schedule and be totally immersed in your work. What will you do to maintain your physique, get exercise and stay healthy? What advice do you have for people that have such a busy life they don’t have time for life?
Drew Waters: When you’re shooting a movie and on a movie set you are very active but you also have a lot of down time and there is a lot of food around. You’re absolutely right. I think the most important thing is, I don’t stick to a very strict diet unless I need to lean-out for a certain look for a character or photo shoot. For me I like to balance my fitness with what I eat. If I eat some heavy carbs one night then I’ll wake early the next morning and go for a run. I find getting up early, taking a run in the brisk air and enjoying the outdoors really helps my mind and allows my imagination to start flowing. In the entertainment industry your imagination needs to be “on” all the time to create the next new thing. Then I’ll do what I call a hotel exercise for fifteen minutes. I get my cardio up by doing bodyweight training. My advice to those who say they are too busy for a fit lifestyle is: quit making excuses. You only have one life on this world. Take advantage of it and be the best you can. It might give you the longevity for [helping] a family member or friend in your life.
Faith & Fitness Magazine: The Drew Waters’ modeling career sounds like you had quite the time: successful Navy-boy wins competition, travels the world, hits all the major fashion runways and works with many of the biggest names in fashion and photography. In what ways has that collection of experiences as a fashion and fitness model shaped who you are? Describe how God used the modeling work and the interaction with others to evolve your faith.
Drew Waters: It is funny to me to have been in the modeling and fashion world. I just never saw myself doing that. Growing up I was shy, reserved and kept to myself. Timing was everything for that. It was the journey that God had me on at that time. He decided to put that in my life. [When I first started] I set down thought about it, asked questions and prayed if it was the right thing to do to be leaving the military to take this opportunity. I took a chance on myself and put trust in His guidance. It was the best thing I could have done.
It allowed me to open up and blossom into a well-rounded adult. The industry treated me quite well. I had many great opportunities. Of course you can search and find just about any opportunity you want [good or bad] in any career. It is when you choose to find the positive side of a career is when you are fulfilled. Modeling helped me journey into acting, which is where I really started to open up even more fully and found my passion. God’s hand was in all of that. It was in the right time and the right direction leading me to the path to trust Him, overcome my insecurities and do it. Today I’m a better person for it.
