Meet Julissa Ribota, Juan Mora, Brian Nguyen | Content Creators & Students

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julissa Ribota, Juan Mora, Brian Nguyen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julissa Ribota, Juan Mora, Brian Nguyen, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
There is no giving up. There are only excuses and moving forward. Excuses are the steps to giving up, you have to try, try and try again until you’ve reached your goals. You have to cut out the negative voice you may have which can be either internal or external sources that are begging for you to give up, fail and quit on your goals. You have to be stronger than your excuses, life is too short and you have to make it count and make YOURSELF proud. No successful person is where they are today by quitting or making excuses instead of taking action

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We are known as the JJB Squad on social media that stands for our names which are Julissa, Juan and Brian. We would consider ourselves content creators for different social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat. We would like to believe that some of the unique features that sets us apart from other gym/fitness content creators or influencers is that we are a group of high school students and college students who found a passion for powerlifting and bodybuilding as well as inspiring others and motivating them in and outside the gym so they can achieve their goals. At first starting off in the gym to find this passion was not easy, we didn’t know what to do when we first walked into the gym; but with help from friends, family, the gym community and social media such as Instargam, TikTok and YouTube we got better and made connections along the way which gathered the attention of more people. Some lessons that we learned along the way of our journey is to be patient and consistent, it definitely gets frustrating because you can get in your head about how you’re not making progress or at least not as fast as you would like to be which is why patience is key. You also have to be able to accept constructive criticism and acknowledge when someone offers a piece of advice because some people know tips and movements you may have never considered in order to improve your performance. A message that we would like to share to the world is that if we can do it, so can you and the people around you. If you want something you should get after it and at least attempt to make it a reality. As well as being kind to everyone in and outside the gym, we’re all going through something and just a smile can make someone’s day.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Depending on what my friend wants to do, I might make plans to go on a hike one day, getting up early and seeing places like Garden of the Gods, Red Rocks, Estes Park, Colorado Springs, Hanging Lake, and the most challenging climb of them all, the Manitou Incline, if they are up for the task. Afterward, depending on what they wanted to eat, we would go downtown for a meal. I would recommend Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen, BurgerFi, CAVA, or True Food Kitchen. The rest of the day would be spent chatting, catching up, and doing as much as possible to make up for missed time. Just spending time with relatives and introducing them to new friends would take up the following few days. Taking kids on excursions to well-known Colorado attractions like Elitch Gardens, Water World, and Dave and Busters, as well as to the movies and new locations that not even I have been to.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our buddy, mentor, and coach TJ is the person who we all think deserves to be recognized. He was there when Julissa was just beginning to be really consistent and was always pushing herself in the gym. He approached her, and the two of them had a short talk to get to know one another better. They agreed to work out together the next day, and the rest is history. As a group, we occasionally worked out together, texted each other for suggestions and guidance on how to improve and achieve our goals. TJ is the kind of man that, because of his size, you could be scared by in the gym, but after you get to know him and develop a stronger relationship with him, he turns out to be the kindest and most dependable person you’ll ever meet. Going up to others in the gym to compliment them or offer advise is indicative of someone who is constantly eager to assist anyone who is prepared to put in the necessary time and effort.

Instagram: Instagram.com/jjb_squad0

Other: tiktok.com/the_jjb_squad0