The Journey

1 AM. Can't sleep. Gym bag in hand. What happens when you can't shut your brain off? You show up. You train. You think out loud. This is a 2 AM back and triceps session with no script, no plan, just reps, rest timers, and the kind of thoughts you only say when nobody else is around. Ricardo walks through a new training split, breaks down the GRND tracker app in real time, and opens up about the difference between being stubborn and being stuck. He talks about higher lows and lower highs. About the people who had everything and lost it. About being 22, divorced, running a business he's selling, and trying to figure out what actually matters when the noise dies down. He covers the trap of letting one success define you, why rock bottom teaches faster than winning ever will, and why sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is let them get up on their own. There's talk about money, women, and the version of himself that used to think church was performative. About the tattoo on his arm that says Romans 8:18 and why he looks at it when things get heavy. About God being first, not second. About choosing faith instead of having it chosen for you. And why the pain you're in right now is nothing compared to what's coming. No guest. No polish. Just a guy, a barbell, and the truth he's working through in real time. If you've ever trained alone at 2 AM because your head wouldn't stop spinning, this one's for you. 00:00:00 Can't Sleep, So We Train 00:04:30 New Split Breakdown & Why I Changed It 00:09:00 Unilateral Lat Pulldowns & Tracking in the GRND App 00:14:00 Why Logging the Machine Brand Actually Matters 00:18:30 Tricep Pushdowns & Breaking the Speed Habit 00:23:00 T Bar Rows & Shoulder Blade Squeezes 00:28:00 Higher Lows, Lower Highs & Not Letting Success Define You 00:34:00 The Guy Who Lost Everything 00:38:30 Being Stubborn in the Right Areas 00:43:00 Dumbbell Rows & The Tattoo That Keeps Me Going 00:48:00 Overhead Tricep Extensions & Filming at 2 AM 00:52:30 Posing Room Breakdown & Progress Check 00:56:00 Post Credit Scene: God, Money, Women & Finding Faith 01:04:00 Why I Used to Judge People at Church 01:08:30 Train Hard, Eat Right, Pray to God ───────────────────────────── https://freshsupps.com Code:RICO GRND Tracker App: https://grnd.ricoxjourney.com/login FIND ME EVERYWHERE 📺 YouTube → youtube.com/@thericardovargas 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/ricardovargas174 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/andre3w_i16 🎵 TikTok → tiktok.com/@r.vargas174 🐦 Twitter/X → twitter.com/ricardov174 🧵 Threads → threads.net/@ricardovargas174 🎙️ Podcast → The Journey on Apple Podcasts

Four hours from home, three weeks of planning, and one delivery that didn't show up on time. What happens to a plan when the one piece you can't replace fails three hours before you need it? This is the day we found out — the Summit One Vanderbilt mission, the after-action report, a $40-a-day Manhattan gym, and Brooklyn on a day when the whole city decided to be outside. Day 2 of the New York trip. No script, no second take. Execute, finish the job. Chapters 00:00:00 What Was The Real Reason We Drove Four Hours? 00:00:30 Who's Asking Who At Summit One Vanderbilt? 00:01:07 Why Did The Flowers Never Show Up? 00:01:43 Did We Actually Pull It Off? 00:01:49 The Host Meet-Up 00:02:35 Is New York Worth Hating? 00:02:51 After Action Report — Was He Nervous? 00:05:36 Is A $40-A-Day Gym Actually Worth It? 00:09:10 Why Do Gyms Get The Posing Room So Wrong? 00:10:44 What's Waiting For Us In Brooklyn? 00:11:13 Does Doctor P Really Taste Like Strawberry And Cream? 00:12:53 Can You Ever Turn Down New York? 00:17:56 Who Is Kev Shrimp Elite? 00:19:23 What Happens When Marquis Signs His First Shirt? 00:20:28 What Was Vicky's Favorite Part? ───────────────────────────── https://freshsupps.com Code:RICO GRND Tracker App: https://grnd.ricoxjourney.com/login FIND ME EVERYWHERE 📺 YouTube → youtube.com/@thericardovargas 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/ricardovargas174 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/andre3w_i16 🎵 TikTok → tiktok.com/@r.vargas174 🐦 Twitter/X → twitter.com/ricardov174 🧵 Threads → threads.net/@ricardovargas174 🎙️ Podcast → The Journey on Apple Podcasts

Ricardo and Marquise hit the road from Baltimore to New York City with one primary mission: help their boy ask out his girl. What starts as a straightforward road trip turns into a comedy of errors, miscommunication, and side quests that test their patience and their commitment to the brotherhood. They stop in Delaware for gas station beef jerky taste tests and energy drinks, argue about bed sheets in an underground Airbnb that looks like a prison cell, feast on Jamaican jerk chicken in Queens, and discover Hummus Fit — the meal prep spot that might've just changed their lives. Marquise tries beef jerky for the first time. They take four trains across Manhattan hunting for one specific Gymshark shirt that doesn't exist. They stand in Times Square where the Avengers Tower was filmed. And they drop some real talk about why going to the gym isn't as scary as you think. But the real reason they're here? A side mission three weeks in the making. Flowers. A rooftop. Summit One Vanderbilt. A thousand feet in the air with see through floors. A yes or no question that could change everything. The plan was foolproof. 100% success rate. Until the flowers didn't show up. Then the backup plan kicked in. Then chaos. Then elevator doors opening into the clouds. This is part one. The setup. The grind. The journey before the moment. If you've ever done something crazy for your boys, you'll get it. 00:00:00 Road Trip Begins: Baltimore to NYC 00:03:34 Delaware Pit Stop & Travel Snacks 00:07:02 The Real Reason We're Going to NYC 00:12:56 Arriving at the Underground Airbnb 00:14:50 Jamaican Jerk Chicken Feast 00:15:51 The Great Bed Sheet Struggle 00:19:09 Next Morning: Hummus Fit Run 00:20:58 Manhattan Mission: Gymshark Hunt 00:25:31 Times Square & Avengers Tower Moment 00:32:38 Gym Advice: Just Do It 00:36:40 The Side Mission Begins 00:41:57 Summit One Vanderbilt: Epic Failure 00:42:53 Mission Update: We're In 00:45:00 The Big Moment ───────────────────────────── https://freshsupps.com Code:RICO GRND Tracker App: https://grnd.ricoxjourney.com/login FIND ME EVERYWHERE 📺 YouTube → youtube.com/@thericardovargas 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/ricardovargas174 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/andre3w_i16 🎵 TikTok → tiktok.com/@r.vargas174 🐦 Twitter/X → twitter.com/ricardov174 🧵 Threads → threads.net/@ricardovargas174 🎙️ Podcast → The Journey on Apple Podcasts ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Ricardo was 130 pounds, running marathons, and feeling like a rag doll. Andrew was spamming 100 push-ups a day during quarantine, trying to build something out of nothing. This week on The Journey Podcast, Ricardo and Andrew from GRND CO break down the physical side of transformation — not the highlight reel, but the real grind behind building a body that can carry the weight of your purpose. They get into what it actually takes to go from skinny or stuck to strong and disciplined. Andrew talks about how soccer and muscle couldn't coexist until he learned balance. Ricardo opens up about body dysmorphia, binge eating to fill a void, and the marathon mile where he begged God not to let him stop. They cover the mental traps that keep you stuck, why all roads lead back to God, and how your physical discipline is a direct reflection of how much you respect yourself, your future, and your Creator. This isn't about six-packs or biceps. It's about the deeper truth: your body is not your own. God gave it to you. What you do with it matters. If you're building something, this episode will remind you why the physical pillar is non-negotiable. ───────────────────────────── https://freshsupps.com Code:RICO GRND Tracker App: https://grnd.ricoxjourney.com/login FIND ME EVERYWHERE 📺 YouTube → youtube.com/@thericardovargas 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/ricardovargas174 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/andre3w_i16 🎵 TikTok → tiktok.com/@r.vargas174 🐦 Twitter/X → twitter.com/ricardov174 🧵 Threads → threads.net/@ricardovargas174 🎙️ Podcast → The Journey on Apple Podcasts ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Andrew had a first-division pro soccer offer in Colombia. He turned it down to follow God. Ricardo was crying on his couch on a Saturday night after exhausting every option — money, girls, gym, grinding harder. The next morning he walked into church and the weight came off his shoulders. This week on The Journey Podcast, Ricardo and Andrew from GRND CO get raw about the spiritual side of becoming a man. No crystals, no self-help fluff — just two young men talking about what it actually took to find God after years of running from Him. They cover Andrew's year playing pro soccer in Bolivia, the seeds their moms planted, baby baptism vs. believer's baptism, why God takes what you idolize, and why more young men are seeking faith right now. 00:00:00 Intro & Episode Setup 00:03:15 Spirituality vs. Self-Help — What We Actually Mean 00:06:45 Bolivia — Professional Soccer & Losing Himself 00:14:00 The Moment Andrew Reached Out 00:19:00 Getting Close to God Means Facing Your Ego 00:25:00 Crying in Church — The Switch That Flipped 00:30:30 The Endless Treadmill of Goals Without God 00:34:30 Church Is the Cable, God Is the Power Source 00:41:00 God Is a Little Jealous — Idolizing the Wrong Things 00:48:30 Opposition on the Walk — Friends, Family & Planting Seeds 00:50:30 Announcements — Grind Tracker App & Coaching ───────────────────────────── https://freshsupps.com Code:RICO GRND Tracker App: https://grnd.ricoxjourney.com/login FIND ME EVERYWHERE 📺 YouTube → youtube.com/@thericardovargas 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/ricardovargas174 📸 Instagram → instagram.com/andre3w_i16 🎵 TikTok → tiktok.com/@r.vargas174 🐦 Twitter/X → twitter.com/ricardov174 🧵 Threads → threads.net/@ricardovargas174 🎙️ Podcast → The Journey on Apple Podcasts ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━