Champions are not born, they are made by the sweat of their brow. Louis Butter didn't know this, but he never missed an opportunity to go back in time. When he ran 21 km, 10 km, and 5 km with a good time record, but without ever reaching, he could run in the top three.
He worked as a cashier in a pharmacy, had no education, and was overweight. He didn't reflect youth.
“How much are you looking forward to college?" said his classmate Ignacio. “You're looking at the girls coming in, aren't you?”
But Louis wasn't looking at the university for that reason. He was looking at the girls coming and going in their gym clothes.
“I heard there's a gym teacher at the university who works out for free.”
“And is she hot?" said Ignacio.
Louis twisted his eyes.
“You don't know about that?”
“I do” interjected a customer who brought some towels. “Her name is Lilian and she works out very well. By the way, how much is this?”
Ignacio took care of her because she was a pretty girl.
Meanwhile, Louis was waiting for his workday to end before he went to the university. He got lost in the corridors, but some students guided him until he found the gymnasium. As he approached, he could hear the shouts of people working out and the sounds of weights and tires hitting the floor. He didn't work out that day, he just stayed there and watched Lilian work out.
Four days passed, and he kept coming to the door.
“Come in right now and work out! You'll never get that belly down.”
That's what the teacher said, and he had seen her yelling and demanding more and more from her students.
He didn't panic and went in to train. The teacher quickly pointed out the circles and the exercises to be performed. That day, Purgatory began one of the many names the others called each other as they trained. Louis was one of the few who stayed with the routine until the teacher became independent of the university.
She moved her facility to a nearby location that could be followed by anyone enthusiastic about her training. The only difference was that she charged a fee. Louis, however, paid nothing. The teacher considered his economic situation and let him participate. He gratefully helped with the cleaning when he could. He also provided a cheerful atmosphere with his personality, which was very conducive to making jokes and stealing the smiles of all present.
“What butter!" he would say as he observed the teacher's routines. “Yesterday he was stronger!”
Professor Lilian laughed at his jokes.
Louis was 43 years old, but he had the soul of a 23-year-old boy. It was easy to like him. No one dared call him a loser or a failure, even when he was dressed in the dirtiest rags they had ever seen.
“Keep those shoes, Louis, when you finish sewing them!”
It was the fifth shoe the teacher had given him. She knew she was jogging again, she had joined a new group of joggers.
This new group of runners saw Louis' potential. Even though they were people with strong financial stability, they took him to events in addition to paying his registration fees.
But he didn't stop going to the teacher's training sessions. He continued to go every day, then went to work all day, and in the afternoon he went with his friends to the beach or the mountains, wherever he felt like it. Louis was not a young man, but he had vitality and carried the load. He would come home in the evening and sleep soundly until the next day. Sometimes, on weekends, he worked as a laborer to buy food for the next day.
“And those dark circles under your eyes, Louis,” the teacher said when she saw how tired he was from training. “Are you getting enough sleep?”
“Of course, teacher.”
Louis didn't stop. That's why, for his 44th birthday, the teacher gave him a smartwatch to keep track of his workouts and times. Although he didn't know how to use it, he thanked her with all his heart and took care of it as if it were his greatest treasure.
In five years, Louis' physiognomy changed completely. Although he still carried fat, he had lost his obesity. His legs were those of a runner and his times had improved considerably. That last year, he had won second place in his category and was going for first. He ran in the mountains and even participated in off-road races in villages far from the city.
He was still the same humble, innocent guy with a youthful spirit, but the aura that many had initially thought of as a failure had changed.
Louis Butter, it's real, I witnessed his transformation and his perseverance. He may not have graduated from high school, nor did he have the best of manners, but he is an exemplary person who deserves a story.
Cover and Banner made in Canva; Author's own image taken with Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 S, Separators made in photoshop
