A man from Texas who faced bullying during his time in school is now helping students overcome the same struggles. Josh Job, who created the Austin Fitness Community on Instagram and the first Austin Fit Fest, spoke with KXAN about the time he now spends helping others.
“Where I’m at, now, I have a position to uplift those people that might have been in the same position as I was,” he said.
The Austin Fitness Community account has over 14,000 followers and was created with the goal of helping people connect through a love of sports and fitness. The account is a place for everyone, Job shared.
He added that having his own community of friends in school was helpful when he was struggling.
“What I am trying to do is give everyone a day in recognition,” Job told KXAN. “I don’t say no to anybody. You know, I don’t care if they’re overweight, skinny, they don’t pump iron. Maybe they run… they have different views. Everyone has a place with [an] awesome fitness community. The best feeling is just lifting someone up, who might otherwise always feel down. The friends I did have were amazing people. They saw my potential to do something and always encouraged me.”
Job also created Austin Fit Fest to bring athletes together and is already working on the festival for next year. This festival featured a strong-man competition, Olympic weightlifting, arm wrestling, and more.
Job told KXAN that Austin Fit Fest was a way to bring different sports demographics together. Having a community can be helpful for those dealing with bullying or similar struggles, according to Job.
“If you have a large group of people that come together, and they uplift one another, and they can support someone and be there for someone, it can change so many things,” he said.
When talking with KXAN, Job said that bullying led to dark times for him growing up. He added that it drove him to avoid social functions, only participating in sports after school.
“I got relentlessly bullied through high school, it was never physical, but verbal, just, you know, tore me to pieces, and I could never figure out what I was doing wrong. And I realized as I got older, I wasn’t doing anything wrong, I was just an easy target. I think people mistook my kindness for weakness,” Job explained of his experience in school. “I just started to keep my head down. I didn’t go to a lot of the social functions, because I knew if I went, I was going to just get teased.”
Job is also behind the Austin Fitness Community podcast. Through the podcast, he shares struggles that others have had to overcome as well, KXAN reported.
One of his recent guests was Nick Scott, who became a bodybuilder after being paralyzed in a crash. Job told KXAN that fitness and health can be ways for those struggling to find new opportunities.
Job’s Austin Fitness Community podcast can be found on Spotify.