‘I was always into working out. I wanted to help people. I always wanted to motivate people, but I never made that connection.’

Andrew Flores, Mineola

“I was in construction for a decade. Four hours of my day were spent commuting. Then I met my fiancée, and she asked me what I was doing with my life. She suggested that I should be a personal trainer. I was unsure because it seemed so farfetched. I was always into working out. I wanted to help people. I always wanted to motivate people, but I never made that connection.

“At the end of 2019, I became a trainer at LA Fitness. I got a promotion the week before COVID hit. I started taking clients on FaceTime just to keep their results going, and that led to taking one client in the garage when I had like half a floor. And then that just turned into putting it on Instagram and just pushing it. And now, three or four years later, here we are.

“A lot of my clients are women but, of course, I’m open to everyone. I think women are more willing to ask for help. That’s something that I try to let other men know. It’s OK to ask for help. It’s OK to not know something.

I’m teaching clients how to work out and change their mindset, but they’re also teaching me not only perspective and gratitude, but also their own experiences.

“The workouts are an example of what it looks like to make those wins step after step, and then it translates to their business, job, friendships and relationships. And they start realizing, ‘Oh, I want to do better for myself. I want to get treated better.’

“I think that everybody has a tough time giving themselves credit. This is a place where people feel comfortable and say, ‘Hey, you know what? I do look good.’ And it’s not taking away from the next person. Everybody in the gym celebrates each other.

“One thing about construction is that on my commutes, I would take notes from podcasts to pass the time. That’s where a lot of the advice that I’m able to give comes from. I knew how long it would take to grow a business, but I was still dying to get out there. I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing. And my body knew that.

“Now, I’m a gym owner. To get to the next point, I need to surround myself with other successful people. I am only four years in, but I’m hungry. I’m teaching clients how to work out and change their mindset, but they’re also teaching me not only perspective and gratitude, but also their own experiences. I’m always willing to pick up from anybody else. I think you must be willing to learn.”

Interviewed by Maggie Melito

‘There’s such a stigma with mental health, but it’s just learning to find the answers to what we’re struggling with.’

Mineola

“I found my life’s passion. I was in finance for many years, but it didn’t satisfy me. I always had an interest in psychiatry, so I took a job with The Jewish Association For Services For the Aged in Long Beach. The engagement with people and learning their stories and what their struggles are really inspired me to go back to school and pursue a career in social work. I am now a medical social worker for a Long Island hospital and a psychotherapist with a private practice. I’ve been doing this for 16 years.

“I think the most important part of the job is learning. I’ve worked with the chronically ill and still do. Though some people may come in not knowing how to cope with a disease or illness, or not knowing how to get through it, they find their way. I can tap into something that will show them again that they are important, that they have meaning, that their life still has purpose.

I’m very grateful and honored that people trust me enough to share their stories with me and I have an opportunity to help them and see them grow.

“I have stories of patients that stay with me. The strength and resilience people have, and I don’t think they realize they have it until they go through adversity, and them sharing their stories with me so that I can help them learn to manage their illness and live a good life have been the greatest gifts to me. That’s what I thrive off —them sharing a piece of their lives with me and hopefully helping them in their journey.

“We have all these challenges and struggles. We don’t always know how to deal with that, and it creates barriers to living our best life or to moving forward or finding out who we are. I do a lot of work helping people manage that.

“There’s such a stigma with mental health, but it’s just learning to find the answers to what we’re struggling with. I think sometimes we have the answers, but our mind is full of worries or trying to learn about what we’re dealing with that maybe we don’t have the clarity to get through it. That’s what therapy does. There’s so much that life just brings, but we have the strength within us. I’m very grateful and honored that people trust me enough to share their stories with me and I have an opportunity to help them and see them grow. We’re much stronger than we realize. I find that so fascinating.”

Interviewed by Joe Rizza

‘If people need you to listen, you listen. If people need you to cry with them, you cry with them.’

Mineola

“I’m a third-generation preacher. I follow in the footsteps of my father and grandfather. I did church planting and parish work for years, but in 2010, I felt I needed to get back into chaplaincy, come out of the four walls of the church and re-connect to society. I connected with Northwell in Westchester and transferred here to South Shore University Hospital on Feb. 10, 2020, just before COVID-19 happened. I hadn’t even gotten a proper office yet when everything broke loose. We went from ordinary to ‘What in the world is going on?’

You began to see the rewards of being there; people began to feel supported. If we’re not alone, maybe we can make it.

“The fact that there were so many unknowns and death was coming so quickly was a big alarm. My spiritual adrenaline kicked in, so it was a matter of ‘Let’s get to work.’ At first, it was to support the staff because so many were afraid. I didn’t have time to be afraid. I had to be supportive, put on PPE and go. I’d walk down the hallway, and someone would say, ‘Reverend, I need a blessing,’ so I’d say ‘Bless you’ or pray for them. The entire hospital at one time was COVID. We had ICUs on four different floors. Seeing rows of people on life support and not being able to move was a jaw-dropping experience. You didn’t have time to stop and gaze. The needs were so dire and so imminent. Prayer and support became the apparatus of the day.

“You began to see the rewards of being there; people began to feel supported. If we’re not alone, maybe we can make it. We had 100-plus people showing up for prayer vigils. It encouraged people to pray together and draw strength from each other. We had people from Catholic, Hindu, Sikh, Muslim and Jewish faiths coming together. It was so tough for the patients being isolated. It was terrifying for them. They needed someone to come spend a few minutes, sometimes shed tears if they needed to.

“For the family, not being able to be there with their loved one, that tore them apart so much, the helplessness they felt. But we stayed together, and we came through it together. It’s about living out one’s faith in practical and effective terms. It’s being where people need you. If people need you to listen, you listen. If people need you to cry with them, you cry with them.”

Interviewed by Rachel O’Brien – Morano