From Security Captain to Movement Champion: Ronel Velasquez's Journey to Professional Coaching Excellence
This episode of Back Room Talk explores the remarkable journey of Ronel Velasquez, a Venezuelan coach whose path from martial artist to security captain to professional fitness coach demonstrates how diverse life experiences can create coaching excellence. Now based in Colombia and known as "The Movement Champion," Ronel has built a thriving remote coaching practice that serves clients across continents while maintaining the deep, relationship-focused approach that defines exceptional coaching.
The Foundation: Martial Arts and Early Fitness Discovery
Ronel's fitness journey began with a familiar story but took an uncommon path. "Fitness for me starts in my youth, when I was a teenager. I was really skinny. So I have cousins that pushed me into the gym... for everybody, I think."
However, what set Ronel apart was his early discovery of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu through the early days of UFC: "I started watching in the early 2000s. It was really different than it is now, but yeah, that's why I discovered BJJ."
This introduction to martial arts would become far more than just fitness—it would shape his career, his mindset, and ultimately his approach to coaching. His training expanded beyond Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to include Judo, wrestling, and later, Filipino martial arts, creating a comprehensive foundation in movement and body awareness.
The Security Years: Building Leadership and Tactical Skills
Ronel's martial arts skills opened doors to an unexpected career path that would prove invaluable to his later coaching success. His Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu abilities led him into security work, where he eventually became a captain for a large security consulting company in Venezuela.
"I was captain for a security... really big on my country because of my Jiu-Jitsu skills," Ronel explains. This role involved not just physical security but also teaching and training others, skills that would directly transfer to his coaching career.
The security work also introduced him to Filipino martial arts: "Filipino martial arts has all to be with weapons, with the sticks and knife and that kind of stuff that is used a lot on the security world... CQB, that kind of stuff."
The Tactical Mindset
Working in security taught Ronel lessons that extend far beyond physical confrontation: "What I learned there in all these years in that world is... one thing is the martial arts and other thing is what the tactics of the thing you really can use on a difficult situation."
This distinction between theoretical knowledge and practical application would become central to his coaching philosophy. He learned that "martial arts could be something like this really big, but what it is useful on a specific situation is really, really tiny specific things."
Perhaps most importantly, security work taught him about awareness: "When you work on security, that is something that you never let... the intuition never fails." This heightened awareness and attention to detail would prove invaluable in coaching, where reading clients and understanding their unspoken needs is crucial.
The CrossFit Discovery: Gateway to Coaching
It was during his security career that Ronel first encountered CrossFit, which was just beginning to emerge in South America. "In 2008... in that company, they train like a Jim Jones style, like really early days CrossFit. So there was when I was starting to have contact with CrossFit."
This early exposure came at a time when strength and conditioning culture was virtually non-existent in South America: "Here in South America, we don't have this culture of strength and conditioning like in the US, but when CrossFit arrives here, that start to change."
For Ronel and many others in South America, CrossFit became synonymous with fitness itself: "For everybody here in South America, fitness, it is really connected to CrossFit."
The Teaching Foundation
Ronel's transition into coaching began organically through his security work: "On my job on the security company, we used to teach people all of the time." This experience of instructing and mentoring others provided a natural foundation for fitness coaching.
When he began participating in CrossFit, his teaching instincts emerged quickly: "I start to take care of the warm-ups of the group classes... for people. And I start reading a lot about CrossFit."
Like many ambitious CrossFit athletes, Ronel initially had competitive aspirations: "That lack of awareness that I start to train in CrossFit and in my mind in maybe two or three years, I will be in the CrossFit Games... like everybody tends to happen."
The OPEX Discovery: A Game-Changing Moment
Ronel's introduction to OPEX came through the CrossFit community's early influencers. His gym followed Invictus programming, and "CJ Martin talks all the time about his mentor, James Fitzgerald. And that was my first point of contact with OPEX."
The discovery came through purchasing an Open prep program: "We buy the open prep from James and at that time was really different. There is not so much information like now, but you get into the webinar directly with James and after that you receive like a PDF guide."
The Pacing Revelation
A specific moment in that Open prep program changed Ronel's entire understanding of training strategy: "My level... my number of reps of toe-to-bar. He advised me to do the toe-to-bar in singles on the workout. And that like, blow my mind, like why? Because I want to go fast."
This introduction to pacing and strategy was revelatory: "That's where I start to know about pacing and all that stuff. And that definitely keeps me to... know more about the method of James."
The Education Journey: Overcoming Financial Barriers
Ronel's path to formal education illustrates the challenges faced by coaches in developing countries. As a Venezuelan, the cost of education presented significant obstacles: "In that time, I have this really big problem related to money because I'm Venezuelan. So in that time, $2,000 or $2 million was exactly the same as impossible to get."
Creative Learning Solutions
Unable to afford the full CCP program initially, Ronel found creative ways to access education: "I take the... It was a little course. I think it was POPD, Principles of Program Design... you gain like a month or so access to the forum. So I start to the online forum. So I start to read everything I could... and try to digest information and take a lot of notes. I have that notebook. I keep that."
This period of intensive self-study and note-taking demonstrated Ronel's commitment to learning and would prove invaluable when he eventually accessed more comprehensive education.
The Dominican Republic Connection
A move to the Dominican Republic for work provided Ronel with his first direct connection to an OPEX-educated coach: "I met my first CCP coach in person. So we met each other and I think that he was... really excited as me because he doesn't have anybody around him to talk about OPEX."
This relationship became a crucial mentorship: "We are starting to gathering on all afternoons. He teach me things about CCP and I start to help him with his individualized client. And after a few months of doing that, when I was finally... sign up for CCP."
Formal Education and International Recognition
When Ronel finally enrolled in CCP in 2018, it was taught directly by James Fitzgerald, providing him with access to the source of OPEX methodology. "James, I still take care of the cohort schools... in the same time, I received this... invitation, I start to get involved on the IST... International Functional Fitness, the Federation of my country."
The Programming Board Opportunity
Ronel's selection for the IF3 programming board came through a direct application to James Fitzgerald: "They send an email that they were looking for people to get involved into the programming board for the ISTREEP. So I sent an email and it answered by James, James itself."
The application process was characteristically challenging: "He asked me, why do you think you can do this with us? So I'm laughing because I tried to think all the day the answer. And I say to him this really long answer with all the reasons that I think that I will be perfect for be there. And I received this short answer that, okay, you are in."
This opportunity provided Ronel with intensive access to James Fitzgerald's thinking: "I start there to have really lots of contact with James in the CCP cohorts and in the IF3 calls. So yeah, I just start to really like learning in a really... accelerate way from him."
The Coaching Awakening: Beyond Program Design
CCP provided Ronel with crucial insights that separated him from his peers: "One of the first thing it is to become aware of the coaching life cycle... It is when you start to be aware that you don't know what you don't know and that thing I believe that start to separate myself from all the peers around me."
The Shift from Technical to Human Focus
Initially, like many coaches, Ronel was focused primarily on program design: "When you start in coaching, at least when I start in coaching, it was all about program design. But... all of the sudden you start to see like the importance of communications of behaviors principles and you start to being aware that the really the value is there."
This realization fundamentally changed his coaching approach: "That's the first moment that I just start to... change a lot of things about how I'm thinking and behaving."
Critical Thinking Development
CCP also taught Ronel a systematic approach to analysis: "This little thing of critical thinking and I start to see like the plus, the minus and the unknowns of everything. And... James really communicate itself in that way."
Critical Thinking Development
After CCP, Ronel experienced rapid professional and financial success: "After CCP, I start to experiment really success, both financially and professionally. I felt like really confident."
His client base grew significantly: "I was close to 50 clients of that time" when he moved from the Dominican Republic back to Venezuela and then to Colombia with his family.
Pandemic Advantages
The 2020 pandemic, which devastated many fitness businesses, actually benefited Ronel's practice: "To be honest, I did really well in the pandemic because we have the systems to do remote coaching... and it was really well."
This success during challenging times validated his systems and approach to remote coaching.
The OPEX Gym Experience
One of Ronel's long-term clients proposed opening an OPEX gym in Venezuela: "One of my clients, one of my first clients, which is now a CCP coach, he did the proposal to start an OPEX gym in Venezuela, in Caracas."
Remote Launch and Physical Opening
The gym launched during the pandemic as a remote-only operation: "We acquired the license and the first, the last six months of the pandemic, we run as a remote gym. And after that, I opened doors of OPEX Caracas."
The gym operated successfully for nearly three years, providing Ronel with valuable experience in both business ownership and in-person coaching.
The Decision to Close
Despite the gym's success, personal priorities led to its closure: "When we start the gym, my business partners and I have a little bit of different priorities... I was really used to to travel... and keep my kids in home and travel to work. And I discovered that I didn't want to do that anymore."
The decision reflected changing life priorities: "My business partner, he have his first baby... and was only personal considerations that gave us the chance to stop and think how we will continue our paths and we will decide to shut down the gym."
Evolving the Remote Coaching Model
After closing the gym, Ronel focused on evolving his remote coaching service: "I start to change a little bit my service... I start to offer like a more robust model."
Value-Based Pricing Development
Rather than competing on price, Ronel focused on increasing value: "I charge the international price of any other remote coach. I build my the price of my service by my own... I start to charge in $25 monthly and I'm close thing... the next that amount of money right now but in order to do that I knew that I need to offering more value."
Comprehensive Education Integration
Ronel began creating educational content for clients: "I start to make sense of this thing... maybe I can start to do this education for people related to nutrition and the BLGs and these nutrition is in the form of videos and PDFs."
This approach recognized that successful coaching requires more than just program design: "In order to you as a coach to graduate a person... on independence and autonomy, at the very beginning, they need a lot of attention and a lot of... touches."
Understanding Client Differences
Ronel's experience taught him to distinguish between different types of clients: "Usually for the young people... it is the case when you are working with an athlete and a competitor, it is different because they know what to do. Training and nutrition is in his identity, they don't have problems with that. But from the people, the average person, that is exactly the problem."
Building Foundational Skills
For general population clients, Ronel focuses on building fundamental behaviors: "Coaches usually ask for people the behaviors and the skills that they have in order to be successful on the coaching and doesn't help the person to build that... slowly. So I start to do that with education."
Technology Integration and Efficiency
Ronel has been a beta tester for multiple OPEX technology initiatives: "I did the beta version in 2020... I test the beta version of RX-Bot also."
CoachRx Integration
He's currently working to consolidate his entire coaching system within CoachRx: "I'm migrating all these things that I have in a different platform through CoachRx... I will start to set all this curriculum education into programs of CoachRx and automatize that for my clients."
His approach involves creative use of the platform's features: "Imagine a program on CoachRx. So every day of the week, or maybe not every day, but like two or three days of the week, they receive this video link, YouTube, and in the documents features, will extract the documents for every week."
The Coach Development Focus
A significant portion of Ronel's current clientele consists of other coaches: "Traditionally all my... the people that came to me it is always other coaches... coaches with less experience than me."
Educational Prerequisites
Ronel maintains high standards for coaching mentorship: "I always say to the coaches that in order for me to offer some sort of mentoring, they need the education first. So they need to sign to CCP first, for example."
The Fulfillment of Mentor Development
He finds particular satisfaction in helping coaches professionalize: "There is something that it really gives me a lot of fulfillment that for me, being this vehicle for other coaches to start to professionalize themselves."
Continuous Education Philosophy
Ronel's commitment to learning extends well beyond OPEX education: "That's a problem that I have... kind of" an addiction to education.
Complementary Certifications
His educational journey includes multiple certifications that build upon CCP: "I take the Active Life Professional certification. People all the time ask me what's better, CCP or ALP, and I say that it is a continuum... and it is like a scaffolding of skills that works really, really, really well."
He also completed Precision Nutrition and Sleep, Stress and Recovery certifications, finding significant overlap with OPEX principles: "It is basically the same... James says to me at the end of... the day is all about BLGs. So you don't need to do that and I take his word."
The Analytical Approach
Ronel's approach to education stems from his analytical nature: "I'm really like an analytical person... and the most thing that I value in order is knowledge and I want to, people values me because of that."
The Journey to Simplicity
His educational philosophy reflects a belief in the complexity-to-simplicity journey: "We start really unaware, without education. Then we start to acquire information, education, and all that stuff. And at the end of our journey... you end a really simple things right away."
He sees this as following James Fitzgerald's eventual simplification: "Like James says right now... it is really simple. People really need to walk, get sunshine, eat three meals... and move towards something and that's it."
Current Focus Areas
Ronel is currently focused on several key areas of development:
Movement and Pain Specialization
"A couple of years ago, I started to focus more on movement and pain and that stuff. That is something that really attracts me. That is the kind of clients that I definitely right now try to do marketing."
Local Market Development
"To start to having more clients in person here, which is difficult... because the culture is different here. So I need to... to keep learning about communication and relationships and persuasion."
Marketing and Communication Skills
"I'm learning a lot right now about copywriting and storytelling. I'm really bad on marketing."
Client Retention Excellence
Despite challenges with client acquisition, Ronel excels at retention: "I consider myself really good on retaining clients. I mean, I have a client for three, four, even five years now."
This retention success stems from his comprehensive approach and genuine care for client development over time.
The Core Principles
When asked about the fundamental principles that guide his coaching, Ronel returns to a core OPEX concept: "I can have in front of me these five white balls full of information about nutrition and movement and everything. And I believe that at the end of the day, all is resumed on intention, modality, person equals dose."
This formula - Intention + Modality + Person = Dose - serves as his north star: "It is all about the individual, the intention, and everything will follow that, always. So if I have problems with maybe in communication, of lack of alignment, whatever... it is all back to that."
The Long Game Philosophy
Ronel's approach to his career reflects a commitment to professional excellence over quick wins: "I'm playing the long game, the long hard game... And yeah, that is something that excites me at this point because I'm not definitely, I have nothing to do with, for example, templates."
Professional Standards
He maintains clear distinctions about his service model: "I respect... the people to do it, but I'm not that person. Hashtag not group. So there is like the easy way... So for me, it is like the long hard game that really embody the coach role over time."
Future Vision
His confidence in his approach stems from a belief in the eventual triumph of quality: "I really believe that at the end of the day, the professional that developed these skills of care for people at the higher level will prevail."
Redefining Fitness
Ronel has evolved his communication approach to stand out in a crowded market: "I'm trying to keep the word fitness out of my vocabulary. And I start to focus more on what people want to do... in life in general."
This approach aims to differentiate his service: "For me it is really difficult to become like a... the purple cow... doesn't seem like everybody else."
Instead of fitness, he focuses on life applications: "I start to... investigate enough asking questions on people related more of what they value in life or what they want to do... if you take care of your behaviors, you start to developing a different mindset and start to practice these skills related to training, food and of course BLGs."
The Global Impact
From his base in Colombia, Ronel now serves clients internationally while maintaining the personal touch that defines his coaching. His journey from Venezuelan security captain to international movement specialist demonstrates how diverse life experiences, combined with systematic education and unwavering commitment to client care, can create coaching excellence that transcends geographic boundaries.
His story also illustrates the global reach of professional coaching education and how coaches from any background or location can build world-class practices when they commit to continuous learning and genuine service to others.
Lessons for Aspiring Coaches
Ronel's journey offers several key insights for coaches at any stage:
Diverse Experience is Valuable: His background in martial arts and security provided unique skills that enhanced his coaching
Education is Non-Negotiable: Despite financial constraints, he found ways to access education and made it a priority
Relationships Matter Most: His success comes from genuine care for client development over time
Simplicity Emerges from Complexity: Extensive education ultimately leads to elegant, simple solutions
Professional Standards Pay Off: Maintaining high standards and playing the "long game" creates sustainable success
Connect with Ronel
Those interested in learning from Ronel's approach can find him on Instagram, where he continues to share insights into movement, coaching, and professional development.
Ronel's story demonstrates that with commitment to education, genuine care for client success, and willingness to evolve continuously, coaches can build practices that change lives while creating meaningful careers regardless of their starting point or location.
Next Steps
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