The Social Impact Heroes of Social Media:” It’s funny to see how much we let fear control our lives and everyday decisions” with Angelo Liloc and Candice Georgiadis
Looking back at it all, it’s funny to see how much we let fear control our lives and everyday decisions. The best part is that I don’t regret any of it. I know it all happens for a reason and I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without any of those experiences in my past.
As a part of my series about social media stars who are using their platform to make a significant social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Angelo Liloc . Angelo is the Founder and CEO of Mod3rn Fitness, LLC where he and his team help busy professionals achieve peak performance through fitness, nutrition, and mindset coaching. By leveraging the lessons life beautifully reveals along the way, and utilizing his experience as a law enforcement officer, he’s helping transform hundreds and eventually millions of lives around the world. How? Simply by creating one positive habit at a time.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
After sustaining a career ending injury, I was left confused, depressed, lost, and without any real sense of identity anymore. This lead to one of the darkest times in my life.
I gained a ton of weight to the point where I seriously couldn’t even tie my own shoes because my belly had gotten so large! True story, ask my wife.
With the money I had left, I started an online supplement company. I figured since I had a huge passion for fitness, why not create my own supplement line right? So I invested in something, or I guess I should say someone, I knew would get me a direct ROI (return on investment), myself. Thus, leading to the creation of the Mod3rn Nutrition supplement brand.
At this point, I had barely used social media because I wanted my life to be in the shadows. However, I did see a ton of value that social media would bring to my business and my brand. Long story short, I started an Instagram account and right off the bat I began to use it as a way for me to be the “hero” ex-police officer who’s “been there and done that” and I was there to help people change their lives!
Like many things in life, it takes trial and error.
Though I loved health and fitness, my true passion was in personal development. I loved learning about the mind and why we do the things we do! I began to realize that I still wasn’t happy.
I had so much more to say, but I was worried as to how my followers would react if I just started talking about mindset stuff instead. It was rough because I had built this business and yet, I was still unhappy.
I decided that I needed to speak my truth. I believe I was given this second chance at life and I fully intended on making the most it! So I rebranded my business into Mod3rn Fitness, and transitioned from a product-based business into a service-based brand. By taking my passion for fitness, nutrition, and most importantly mindset, I was able to create a new brand focused on creating an impact!
I began opening up more about things that I kept to myself. I began sharing my true story, both the good and the bad. Social media is like the highlight reel for most people’s lives. They don’t want you to see them at their weak points, they only want to show the best.
This “only showing the best” mentality creates a comparison mindset with the readers/viewers, and the only thing that comes from comparison is unhappiness and dissatisfaction. Instead of social media bringing people together, like it was initially intended to do, it became toxic for a lot of people.
But this wasn’t reality. The comparisons people made were based on what others wanted us to see about their lives, not the actual truth.
Though many told me it was an unpopular route to take, I knew I had to speak my truth.
And that’s exactly what I did and what I’ve continued to do.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this career?
Over time, I began reaching more people who appreciated authenticity and my willingness to share my journey. So much so, that people started sending me direct messages on Instagram thanking me for my transparency and the content I’ve shared
I was amazed at the number of people who actually watched, read, and listened to my content from the shadows. By ‘the shadows’ I meant people who would take in the content but never liked, commented, and/or shared any of it.
I was at the gym locker room getting ready for my workout when this guy approached me out of nowhere and asked, “Hey man, are you Angelo? I follow you on Instagram and I just really want to say thank you for the content you post. I’m going through some relationship stuff right now, and your content helped me work through some thoughts in my head.”
I was so surprised that even though we just met, he quickly opened up like we’ve known each other for a long time. It was such an honor to know that I’m actually able to add value into another person’s life simply by just telling my story.
At this point, I realized that out of all the metrics and data we can track about our followers. The most important piece of data isn’t even recorded. And that number is the amount of lives we’ve been able to change.
We spoke in the locker room for a few more minutes and I shared a few thoughts that came to mind.
He left, and I continued into the gym to get my workout in. I couldn’t help but think about what just happened. A few short years ago, I would’ve never guessed I’d be blessed with this opportunity and platform to truly make a lasting impression on people’s lives.
That’s when I knew, this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
It was funny how unreasonably nervous I was in the beginning. I began thinking, “Why the heck would people listen to me anyways? What kind of value would I even add? Nobody wants to hear my story!”
I was so into my own head that I began talking myself out of taking action. Before I knew it, I had talked myself out of it and began looking for other ventures to explore instead. I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world, but I didn’t think myself worthy of such an honor. There was a small point in my life where I tried getting into gaming instead of business.
I figured it was a childhood dream that I can actually now make a living doing! I mean, how hard can it be right? Wrong. Trying to keep up with these young kids in video games was like an old man trying to get into the UFC or something!
Impossible? No. But highly unlikely.
After a short-lived career in gaming, and after several other trial and error career paths that followed afterwards, I realized I was avoiding the truth.
I had to face my fears. I had to talk to my phone camera! I had to share my story on my social media regardless of what negative thoughts I had built up in my head.
Looking back at it all, it’s funny to see how much we let fear control our lives and everyday decisions. The best part is that I don’t regret any of it. I know it all happens for a reason and I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing without any of those experiences in my past.
Moral of the story, don’t let fear keep you from taking actions, but even if you do…It’s okay. Either way, it’s okay because it was supposed to happen that way all along. Just embrace the journey, learn from it all, and enjoy the ride life has in store for you!
This is all part of YOUR story.
Ok super. Let’s now jump to the core focus of our interview. Can you describe to our readers how you are using your platform to make a significant social impact?
As liberating as it is to share my story, there is a purpose to it all. Because I feel like I have this second chance, I also feel like it’s my responsibility to help others overcome their setbacks as well. I share my story not just to inspire and make people feel good, but to give a voice to those that may not be able to express themselves for whatever reason.
Whether it’s because they’re afraid, they don’t think they communicate well, their story isn’t worth anything, or even if they just feel alone sometimes. That’s who I do it for.
By simply sharing my ups and downs, my good days and my bad days, whether it’s the popular route or not, I’m hoping someone on the other end receiving the content is finding value. But more importantly, if they could see me, just another hard-working guy trying to doing something great in life, they would see that they could do it to.
So how do I use my platform to make a significant social impact?
I lead by example and share my truth.
Wow! Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted by this cause?
One of our clients at Mod3rn Fitness, and for the purpose of this article we’ll call her Jane. She was very quiet and stand-offish when we first started talking, but I sensed there was definitely something deeper to her. Over time, we challenged and pushed her limitations further than she had ever gone before.
Of course there was resistance at first, but she quickly saw the benefits of what we wanted for her. Her husband even told us how long he’s been trying to get her to record a video of herself to share on social media. He literally tried for years to get her to record this video but with no luck. After a few weeks, we challenged her to make a similar video, share it, and get it done within the next 24 hours.
Today, she’s conquered every challenge we’ve thrown her way. Now, she sees the possibilities life holds for her when she attacks her fears and goals head on!
She has become one of our biggest advocates because she experienced what we’re trying to share with the rest of the world.
Jane worked hard, she maintained a consistent work ethic, and she’s seeing what leveling up in life looks and feels like! I’m so proud of her!
Was there a tipping point the made you decide to focus on this particular area? Can you share a story about that?
After my injury, I gained a ton of weight and it completely destroyed my self-image and confidence. I went from chasing bad guys and jumping over fences, to struggling to bend over and tie my own shoe laces. I had hit the lowest point of my life.
I began getting into the gym again and even then, I was super limited in the type of workouts and movements I could perform. I couldn’t bench press because it hurt my lower back so I had to do modified pushups. I had a hard time doing lower body movements so I had to get creative in order to fire up certain muscles. I think you get where I’m going with this right?
Long story short, I began to lose some weight and I started “looking better” again physically. I started gaining muscle and changing my external physique, but inside I was still sad and depressed. Thinking about it, I was confused why I was still so down even though I started to look like what I used to again. I may not have had the same functionalities, but at that point at least I saw some type of progress.
It was at that exact moment when I realized that the whole saying of, “If you look good, then you’ll feel good,” was complete crap! I started looking good, but I for sure wasn’t feeling good either.
That’s when it hit me, our external world may change but as long as our internal thoughts remained the same then our lives will continue to be the same too.
So to make it simple, it’s not “Look good THEN feel good,” rather it’s more “FEEL good, then look good.”
What’s the difference? Mindset.
I knew that with a broken mindset, I’ll never live the life I was meant to live. That’s why we put such a high focus on mindset here at Mod3rn Fitness. We want to help people change their inner world so that it can better reflect their external situations.
Change may not be easy, but if you really want to live at a higher level of life, then you’d better embrace and become familiar with change.
Our minds are such a powerful tool, we’re barely scratching the surface of our full potential! We need to be more aware of the thoughts, the people, the ideas, and the languages we allow to speak into our lives. All of these factors play into how our mindset is shaped.
And at the core of it all, our mindset is what shapes our reality and in turn, it’s what shapes our world.
Sometimes we just need to stop living in the past and thinking about ‘what was’, and believing and experiencing the future of what ‘could be’.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Influencers play such an important role in society regardless if they’re a politician, community leader, or social media influencer. Leaders are in their position for a reason. You don’t just wake up one day and say, “I think I’m going to be a leader.”
I think that’s a title others can give you, and not one you just simply start calling yourself.
So what exactly does that mean?
It means that for whatever reason, someone believes in you and is following in your footsteps. It means that you have a place in their hearts and minds in a way that influences their decisions.
Leading by example and showing the rest of the world our imperfections would be a great way to help others see that we’re not so different from one another.
It would help people stop comparing their lives to the highlight reels they see on social media.
Because we’ve all been blessed in one way or another, it’s our responsibility to use our platforms to be a blessing to others as well.
What specific strategies have you been using to promote and advance this cause? Can you recommend any good tips for people who want to follow your lead and use their social platform for a social good?
Don’t be afraid of showing your ups and downs. Not in order to gain sympathy, but in order to speak your truth.
With all the stats that’s track on social media, the most important one isn’t even tracked. And that’s the amount of lives you’re changing simply by being yourself and telling your story.
It’s actually pretty simple, yet people still have a hard time comprehending what I mean by telling your story and being real.
Showing pictures of your life is great, don’t get me wrong. If you worked hard and earned what you have then by all means share it with the world. However, I encourage you to go a little deeper and share some of the stories that got you to where you are. The good, the bad, the great, and the ugly. Share it all!
Because chances are, there’s someone out there trying to do the same thing and they may be on the verge of giving up. Your story, may be exactly what they needed to see or hear at that specific moment in time.
Maybe because you had enough courage to step out of your comfort zone, someone else found a glimmer of hope and inspiration?
You don’t know who’s watching.
You don’t know who’s life you’re changing.
Be you, be real, and tell your story.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
1) Don’t be too serious. Life has a funny way of working itself out for the best. At this point in my life I know everything really does happen for a reason. Not just the grand and extravagant moments, but most importantly the small details we experience in life. You may be going through a tough time in life right now, but trust me that as you get through this you’ll see the lesson in the bigger picture. Just know that you’re exactly where you need to be. There’s a reason for it all and it may not make sense now, but in time I know it will.
2) Time is the greatest resource, not money. The more I made money my priority in business, the less I felt connected with the brand. When I made the shift and started focusing on IMPACT over income, everything changed for the best. Business just miraculously grew, we felt so much more peace and fulfillment, and I knew that this was exactly where we needed to be. Focus on helping others and not just trying make a quick buck.
3) Social media is about documentation, stop trying to make the ‘perfect post’. I use to spend hours trying to capture the perfect angle, apply the best filter, and type up the most impactful post for my Instagram. Basically, I was trying to be like what I thought everyone was wanted. And just like that, I started being like everyone else. When I began focusing on just documenting my journey and process not just in business, but in life as well, my following and my engagement grew! I was getting DM’s from people who I didn’t know, but got value from the content I offered. Document and share your process. Don’t worry about making everything look perfect.
4) It’s not about perfection, it’s all about progression. Business, social media, and life in general is about progress. It’s about leveling up and growing into the version of yourself you were meant to become. Sometimes we’re too caught up in making everything perfect, that we fail to see that perfection isn’t about the end goal rather it’s about the process of getting there. Though perfection isn’t achievable, the beauty is in the pursuit.
5) People will love you and people will hate you, so just be you. Stop trying to be a people pleaser. No matter what you do, there’s always going to be people that disagree. The goal is to find those who like you and continue being yourself. You’re going to have people that say unnecessary things that may hurt or offend you, it’s just part of the process. One of my mentors told me this amazing quote, “Don’t take offense, if offense wasn’t intended.” Regardless of someone’s intentions, we still control how we react. Don’t let someone else steal your joy or peace.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
Mod3rn Fitness is the business, but #TEAMFFIT is the brand, the culture, and the movement. It’s about helping people achieve peak performance through their fitness, nutrition, and mindset. This movement was created to help people, help other people. It’s a simple and effective plan. Because we help grow and achieve high levels of greatness, in turn they’re out doing the same for someone else because there’s a sense of abundance in their lives.
The more we have, the more we can give.
The more we can give, the more we can help change lives.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“Don’t be afraid to be the youngest, dumbest, most inexperienced person in the room.” I heard this from one of my good friends and mentors when he was teaching me how to level up in life. For the longest time, I was too concerned about being ‘the best’. But what happens when you become the best is that you stop growing. And at any point, you’re either bringing people or they’re weighing you down. If you’re the ‘top dog’ in a room then you need to find another room. It means you’ve reached the full potential and you need to start associating with people who know more and have done more, so you can BE MORE. Start humbling yourself and don’t let your pride or ego get the best of you and hinder your growth.
It’s one of the most profound things I’ve learned and its been one of the reason why I’m growing so quickly not just in business, but in my personal life and relationships as well.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would love to have a private breakfast with Andy Frisella. His podcast, The MFCEO Project was a game changer for me and my business. During my recover and physical therapy, I listened to his podcast and it just resonated with so many different aspects in my life. It was part of the reason why I started putting myself back together again. He has played a crucial role in my life and why I’m able to do the things I’m doing today. That would be such a great opportunity to chat with him and just be around a genuine and all-around good soul.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
I primarily use instagram, @angeloliloc & @mod3rn_fitness . I also have a podcast called, “The JUST FFIT Podcast” where you can find on Apple Itunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, and Anchor. Last but not least, I have a private Facebook group called #TEAMFFIT, that I encourage each and every one of you to join, especially if you’re looking to surround yourself with genuinely good people who want to level up in life together! Check us out at www.facebook.com/groups/mod3rnfitness .
Last but not least you can visit us on the web via our website www.mod3rnfitness.com
I’d love to connect with you and help out in any way I can, thank you guys again for this opportunity!
This was very meaningful, thank you so much!
The Social Impact Heroes of Social Media:” It’s funny to see how much we let fear control our… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.