Today we’d like to introduce you to Nairobi Romero.
Nairobi, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The journey of how I got into weightlifting started with Crossfit. More specifically, Crossfit Invictus. When I joined, I was 11 years old and in 6th grade. I played tennis at the time and my dad suggested I join this gym so that I could improve my fitness and conditioning for tennis. Invictus just so happened to be one block away from my mom and I’s apartment. So, I joined at the start of 6th grade and by 8th grade, I quit tennis to fully focus on Crossfit because I wanted to compete in it.
By 15 years of age, I started to do local competitions in the teenage division and on teams with and against adults. At that age, my coaches CJ Martin (owner of Invictus) and Nicole Dehart, noticed my numbers in weightlifting could qualify me to compete in Youth Nationals. So, they had me register for a local meet to qualify for Youth Nationals that year and I did. Once we were at youth nationals, I really had no idea what was going on fully as I was still learning what Olympic Weightlifting was but I ended up taking 2nd place at my first National weightlifting meet. Since then, I fell in love with lifting but continued to compete in Crossfit.
At 19, I competed at the Crossfit SoCal Regionals in Del Mar on a team. After that, I decided to dedicate myself fully to weightlifting to pursue taking it as far as I can – and I still am. I moved twice after that to two weightlifting coaches and have no returned to Invictus – My home. After not competing for two years due to some knee pains I have been fixing along with transitioning coaches, I just competed in the Online American Open Series 3 and placed second. Now, I am training to compete at Finals in December and Nationals as well. My mission is still to take it as far as I possibly can and do whatever it takes to get there.
Has it been a smooth road?
Some of the struggles along the way have been some knee pains that have had my training be on and off, but are minimal now, so that is good sign. The other major challenge was getting a real full-time job in March of 2019 as a Flight Attendant. That lifestyle was so incredibly different for me and when starting off in that industry, your world sort of flips upside down. You’re commuting, gone 3-4 days of the week, you don’t get the best schedules or what you want and you’re trying to get your life in order. Throughout that, the coach I was within that time frame was a bit of a challenge to work with as I wouldn’t get my training while I was working and I think perhaps just did not grasp how taxing and crazy the schedule was for me at the time. After about the first year, things got much smoother and I also came back to train under Invictus. I was still training there since my coach at the time was about 1.5 hrs away from San Diego, but coming back to Invictus was the best decision I made. I now am with a weightlifting team that honestly is the best team I have ever been apart of.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am a competitive Olympic Weightlifter. I specialize in the snatch and the clean and jerk and I compete in the 64kg/140lb category. I am most proud of how far I have come and the reward of grinding through some of the years of uncertainty in training because ultimately, they have led me to where I am today. Putting in work every single day even when I did not know when I would compete again when I was hurt and taking initiative to continue training when I was in limbo with coaches – this to me shows me the power of consistency even when you feel like you’re going nowhere. The second thing I am most proud of is the mentality I have built over the years.
Over the course of these last six months, though, since I began training under Ricky Moore at Invictus, I would say my mental game and strength are in a tremendously different place than they have ever been. I had learned in a way to “flip a switch” in my mind that when I learned how to do felt like that was the missing piece all along. It was like my body was waiting for my mind to catch up. And since then, training and my most recent competition are the best they have ever been. I have never in my life of weightlifting or competing been so confident and calm when competing and approaching heavy loads in training consistently.
What I would say sets me apart is the work ethic I have built over the years and my mentality to do whatever it takes to get to where I want to be or to die trying. Whether that work is physically, mentally or emotionally, I will always strive to do everything in my power to better myself.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Over the course of the next 5-10 years, I see myself representing Team USA internationally. This is a journey of longevity, so it will take a substantial amount of work and patience. But to be at the top, to be the best, or to take it as far as I can is going to take time – this is where I see myself 5-10 years from now.
Contact Info:
- Website: crossfitinvictus.com
- Phone: 6192313000
- Instagram: @crossfitinvictus / @Nairobatron
Image Credit:
Wilbert Noyola
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