The Third Lemon

Eldrine Soriano

Imagine walking into lululemon, either as a guest, or as an educator starting your first shift. The dance music is pumpin’, the energy is buzzin’, and right when you walk in you’re greeted by Eldrine, or, as you first recognize his as, the strong guy up at the front with a dozen tattoos and biceps the size of your head. But, as soon as he looks at you, smiles, and greets you with that polite “Hi there, how’s it going today?” any assumptions you make about Eldrine all wash away. 

This guy, who could break your wrist with a simple high five (but never would), is 100% pure heart. If you know him long enough and if you barrage him with questions about his life, you will know that he didn’t have the best upbringing. He grew up around domestic violence, bullying, and drugs, and for the majority of his teenage years it looked like his life was going to keep spiralling down in that direction. But then, he met lulu. 

Lulu allowed him to take all his pent-up negative energy and turn it into a positive goal. When he was eighteen, Eldrine fought to stay alive, but now, at twenty-two, he fights to make a life. Not everyone gets the chance to turn their life around, and there are people who Eldrine knew back then who still haven’t turned around now. Not everyone is lucky enough to find a job that cultivates possibilities the way lululemon does. But it’s not just luck. It’s also choice. Eldrine made the choice to look at his life and realize he needed a change. And it also took a lot of courage for him to step back from his life, pick up all the scattered pieces, and build it anew. He is an inspiration to anyone who ever has thoughts about throwing the towel in when life gets too hard.

He always had this courage – growing up the way he did, he had to be strong – but it didn't hurt that he had one solid source of strength and motivation to guide him through: his mother. Her unconditional love and support is the reason he ditched fighting on the street for Muay Thai fighting, but he himself is the reason why he continues to fight, and win. He’s the reason why his goal is to become the 2012 TBA Muay Thai Classic Champion of the 137-142 Novice Weight Division. He’s the reason why he’s going to Iowa in July to claim his belt. And he’s the reason why he trains seven days a week: strength sessions three times a week, Muay Thai four times a weeks, and running all the other days. Sure, it helps that he has his strength coach, Morgan Alexander, and his nutritionist, Lorraine Cocolicchio, to support him through his training, or the fact that he is recognized as an athlete worth sponsoring by Jaco Clothing, but at the end of the day, the life Eldrine now leads is all thanks to the choices he made. 

He picked his goals so that he can provide for his mother, future family (wife and kids) and get his family out of their hostile living environment. Crazy, isn’t it, how his negative upbringing is what’s inevitably going to save his family from it? So, maybe when you first step into lululemon and see Eldrine at the front, you don’t initially think “Family Man.” But talk to him for five minutes and you’ll know a guy who loves his mother more than anyone, gives the best hugs, can recommend amazing restaurants, and will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. And we all have Muay Thai to thank for that because the more he directs any negativity he has into competing, the more of a loveable teddy bear he can be on the floor. Just like lululemon is about more than just stretchy pants, Eldrine is about more than just brawn. All you have to do is come in for a chat. 

"Most importantly, not only as an athlete, but as an individual, you have to have the confidence in yourself and your abilities. Dream. Believe. Achieve."

-"The Filipino Bad Boy"
Eldrine Soriano

The Second Lemon

Kimberly Dykes

Kim walked into the Marda Loop Phil and Sebastian's like she was ready for a run. She actually met me just before a closing shift on Thursday, but we all know that whenever we're dressed for work, we could be dressed for a Half-Ironman. I felt weird and uncomfortable with myself when we both sat down with our food and drinks to talk. I had my notebook out like I was interviewing a stranger, not chatting with a good friend about her goals. Weirder still would have been if I brought a voice recorder.

I couldn't start asking her questions right away. I couldn't shake how formal it felt and, honestly, I just wanted to have coffee with Kim and talk about nothing. So, we started off talking about nothing. How our days were, what our plans were, what was new, etc. etc. But somehow, without even trying, without me even having to ask, the Ironman crept into conversation.

"I did the Half Ironman camp last week, " Kim mentioned, between sips of her green tea latte.
"Oh yeah!" I exclaimed, always feeling the need to let everyone know how pumped I am about their lives, in case they ever forget. "How was it? Was it hard?"
"Well, the weeks leading up to it I was really worried because I hadn't been feeling motivated about the run at all. I was worried about the camp because I honestly didn't think I had trained enough for it. But the camp was amazing. It totally reinforced for me that I had formed an amazing base with Charles' training. I realized I was actually stronger than I thought I was."

Since we were on the topic after that, I dove into my questions. A lot of what I asked her, I felt like I already knew about her, but it was fun to let her just talk freely about it without any interruptions. No matter what kind of person you are, it's always nice to feel like what you have to say is worth being quiet and listening to.

I already knew that her favourite goal right now was the Half-Ironman, but what I didn't know about was her goal to save money. It was obvious once she brought it up, but when you don't think about how much it costs to participate in an event like this, how could you even fathom the cost? The race itself cost money to enter and then there are the classes she takes everyday to train, which after months of training, can add up.

"I made a budget and I need to stick to it," Kim tells me. "After six months of saving I want to have $3000 to buy a new bike." The new bike, I can only imagine, will be for the Full Ironman she inevitably decides to run. "Triathlons teach you what you're capable of. Your worst enemy is the enemy in your head. You come to realize that your boundaries aren't really your boundaries at all. You can do it. You can swim farther, run faster, and it didn't kill you, your body is still just as strong."
"And, speaking of which, I have to ask why the Triathlon? Why the Half-Ironman?"
Kim was coy as she answered this, "I wrote it down as one of my goals because it sounded cool. And then I was just randomly shopping for a road bike one day and found one that I fell in love with. It made sense because I had this amazing bike and I've always been a swimmer, so I thought I would just learn to love the running part. I decided I needed to find a really fun Triathlon to do, and I fell in love with the Canmore one."
"You weren't much of a runner then, but how has that changed? Is it still just as hard as it used to be?" I asked, curious and impressed because running has never been my thing, either.
"Like I said, I'm learning to love running. Training with Charles has made me learn to love it. The first twenty minutes is the hardest. After that it clicks and it's magic and the next time I look at my watch an hour has gone by and I didn't even notice. I figured there was no reason not to do it, because if people in their forties and fifties could do it, why couldn't I?"

Kim trains with Charles Miron and fellow Triathletes seventeen hours a week. Everyday, she does something. There are no rest days, just recovery days where she doesn't have to train quite as hard. She swims, she spins, she runs. Lather, rinse, repeat. And she doesn't miss a beat. I've hung out with her on Friday nights when she has to duck out early to get her swim in for the day. I'd just be waking up on Saturday mornings by the time she was done her three hour spin class. She even had to give up giving up meat for a few weeks, to get her body into tip top shape, a choice she struggled with daily, but a choice that proves to all of us that the best goals aren't always going to be easy to achieve.
"There are some days I wake up and I don't want to train," Kim confided in me, "I still have to force myself to get out that door, but I do it anyway, because life is all about choices. We can choose what makes up happy and at the end of the day I would be happier knowing I got out of bed and ran twenty-one km than not. And other people's goals inspire me to keep going, too. I look around at everyone achieving their goals and it motivates me even more to achieve mine. And then I realize that my goals are just as cool as everyone else's."

Our coffee date was nearing an end; Kim had to work at three and I had to pick my brother up from school, but I had one more question to ask and it's my favourite and the hardest to answer.

"How do you inspire others?" I asked, which was greeted by a laugh and groan from Kim.
"That's so hard," she said.
"I know! That's why I like it. It forces us to realize our self-worth and say it out loud."
Kim thought about it for a minute. She hemmed and hawed, but looking at her, I could tell that she knew what she wanted to say, she was just scared to say it. But, finally she did.
"I'm willing to take a stand to make myself happy. I'm not willing to compromise or make excuses. It's like that quote 'If you want it, you'll find a way. If you don't, you'll find an excuse.'"
I smiled as I finished writing what she said. "I totally agree."
And I really do. In all the time I've known Kim, I've never seen her back away from something she said she was going to do. She's put more effort into this one goal than some people put into their entire life.

I remember the first time I really talked to Kim; it was my third day at lululemon and she had been called in to work a Saturday night close because we were short on the floor. Her and I worked the last hour of my 11-7 shift in DOFI together and we got to talking about all the things she had to go to physio for. I honestly don't remember what they were - something about her knees and achilles tendons or something (sorry if that's totally wrong, Kim). Either way, it sounded like a lot to deal with.
"Oh, yeah, I'm a mess," she said, but she said it with a laugh and good humour that a lot of people wouldn't have approached her injuries with. Even I have had to deal with my fair share of injuries - carpal tunnel, hip/back/neck misalignments - and there was a time long before I started at lululemon when I approached my pain with a lot of negativity. But Kim managed to laugh it off. She recognized the pain as being annoying, and probably frustrating, but she didn't see it as a boundary getting in her way.

"You can choose happiness, or not," she told me. "You can choose to go for that run, or not."
And isn't it interesting how choosing to go for a run, something she's never loved doing, still makes her happier than the alternative?

I saw this on the sidewalk when I was leaving Phil and Sebastian's. I thought it was appropriate to snap a shot of it after the talk I'd just had with Kim.

"If you're not busy working on your goals, what are you busy doing?" -Leah Lindsay, via Syd G.