Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Tecco.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
My passion for health and performance started at an early age. Growing up, I was a basketball fanatic. My life kind of revolved around it my entire childhood. All the way ’til I received a scholarship to play basketball at a small-town school, a place I’ve never been before, Western Wyoming. While I was playing my first collegiate season, I suffered a knee injury that caused me to miss the entire season. A 7-month recovery process that really gave me a new perspective on what I really wanted to do with my life and that basketball wasn’t everything.
I then moved back to Dallas and found a couple of new hobbies that brought me a great source of inspiration and energy. To find a new outlet from playing basketball, I started paying a boxing coach to teach me private lessons on how to box & completely absorbed and invested into it. I was fascinated by the craft to say the least. While I was boxing, I then found something else that really intrigued me as well. I fell upon organic food, more so organic juice. The energy my body received when nourished with organic fruits and vegetables was very enlightening to realize I can have such clear energy and feel so great.
About six months later, I was managing and running a cold-pressed organic juice bar with my mom, which I then created the remodel of the enitre menu three months later. It was a period of growth & change and made me realize I wanted to be in the health & wellness field for my life’s work.
I ran the juice bar for a little over two years, learning so much when it comes to the in’s and out’s of running a business day-to-day and on food in general. I realized I truly enjoyed the work I was doing and I didn’t mind the long hours what so ever, because I knew I was working for myself & my passion. Unfortunately, this journey fell short as we were forced to close down due to a multitude of different issues. I was very sad, and hurt to see a business I worked so hard and diligently for disappear.
I then took my passion for boxing and became a personal trainer at a local boxing gym in Plano, Texas to make a living. Teaching classes, private lessons, working hard to figure out what I wanted to do next, it was one of the more challenging times of my life. Struggle, doubt, indecision, anxiety, financial stress. Ultimately I felt like I was ready for a change, or that I was just in the wrong place.
Being offered countless jobs in sales, finance, etc. to pursue making money, I chose to stick with what I really enjoyed & loved to do, teaching. I had a sense of optimism that things were going to work out. I’ve always carried a mindset like this perspective. Grateful for where I am cause I know it could always be worse. This served me greatly in the long run.
I actually had a client of mine one day, a very successful businessman, come to me and tell me that I had a “real gift” when it came to teaching people & helping them, and I should stick with the route I’m on, because money wasn’t going to bring me peace & satisfaction. I remember recalling he was so well off, but he would be so stressed from his businesses he would go to jails and shelters to speak with people about taking care of themselves and to value their life. He felt there was a bigger purpose than to just work and make a living, and I had a lot of respect for that.
Fast forward about four months later, I got introduced to an owner of a smaller gym out in Dallas from a mutual friend, his name was Melvin Sanders. The minute I stepped into his gym and met him, I knew I was in the right place, and he was looking for someone just like me. A hungry, young & ambitious trainer that can teach boxing. I felt that I was surrounding myself with people that were going to elevate me, and I was going to learn so much with the journey to come. I finally saw light at the end of the tunnel.
I began teaching at this gym part-time, and within a matter of two months, I was able to jump on full-time, as I built up a clientele base for myself pretty fast. It was an empowering feeling. Things came to fruition & I knew where I was meant to be.
My passion for boxing soon turned deeper into movement & integration. Taking care of the entire body and starting a new journey of health & well-being. I then jumped into a realm of education, finding a number of different education systems of training that really resonated with me (Chek Institute, Onnit Academy, & Institute of Motion, and more.).
Implementing all these new techniques within my first year of training, I made some great connections & was able to bring a number of clients a great amount of value & wisdom. This allowed me to earn a Lululemon Ambassadorship (North Park) a little over a year in, which has given me an even greater opportunity to build a bigger practice of holistic healthcare to serve more people in the Dallas area. My journey is just getting started and I invite you all to join me in becoming a better version of yourself.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Most certainly not. I can say that almost every one of my triumphs and breakthroughs in life came from adversity. I’ve had days and often periods of time where struggling was just a way of life for me. It was only for my optimism about the future that I knew I was going to find a way to persevere. For me, I always seemed to find a reason to be grateful, because even in my own struggling situation, I knew there other people out there who were going through much worse.
One of the most transformative experiences I’ver ever had was when my mom got diagnosed with breast cancer. It was about two years after our business shut down. It seemed surreal at first. I had a really difficult time taking it all in. I began to think a lot differently about my life because it was the worse feeling ever knowing I couldn’t be there for her if she ever needed any kind of support. To be completely honest, it made me realize how I needed to step up and take care of my self and my own situation, so I could be someone people could rely on.
This I can say had the biggest impact on me.
Please tell us about your work.
I’m a holistic health practitioner. I specialize in movement, corrective exercise, human performance, and diet & lifestyle. I work with clients 1-on-1 who are seeking assistance in any of these fields. For me, I’d say I’m unique in the sense that my approach to health and well-being is different than most trainers you see out there today. I move a lot different (you can tell if you see any of my workouts!). I’m all about integration and things that relate to real life. I believe that our health is integrated. Your happiness matters, Loving what you do for work everyday matters. Having a diet rich in whole foods is crucial to your well being and state of mind. Having time to reset and recover your nervous system from daily stresses has a tremendous impact as well. Your sleep matters so much more than you know when it comes to looking & feeling your best. Your relationships and social health bring you a sense of belonging and true connection, which can heal people. These are all aspects I think about when I’m working with a client. All of these details are interrelated when you dive a little deeper.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from childhood was when I hit the game-winning shot in my 7th-grade basketball game. We had one of the best teams in the entire DFW. We never lost a game leading up to the point. However, this game we were threatened to take our only loss we’ve ever had. 5-6 of my teammates got suspended a few days prior. We had to move up kids from the B Team just to make sure we had a full roster for the game. Everyone thought we were going to lose. The entire game was neck and neck the whole way through. Since I was one of the only starters on the court, I was sharing most of the workload. I was taking the ball up the court and taking a lot of shots, but we were playing smart. It wasn’t until the last seconds that the game’s score finally changed. There were 10 seconds left and the opposing team just scored. We were tied, I decided to take the inbounds pass and dribbled all the way down the court, maneuvering past defenders to finally clear up some space to shoot up a three-pointer as the buzzer soon rang. The shot went in and the entire crowd went crazy! All my teammates, including the B & C teams, all rushed and tackled me and picked me up like I just won the NBA championship. I felt like the star of the school, and it sure was a nice highlight to my 7th-grade year!
Contact Info:
- Address: Sandersfit Performance Center
1409 S Lamar St.
Dallas, TX 75215 - Phone: 214-223-9297
- Email: chrisjtecco@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chris.tecco/
Image Credit:
Lynne Jones
IG: @lynnestouch
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
