Model Behavior

Meet Edwin Lopez, SOBeFiT's Fittest Man of the Year.

By Ken Rivadeneira; Photography by Dania Graibe

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“They don’t have superpowers, but they have super-strong hearts and minds. Lynette and Edwin have my admiration—they make health a lifestyle, not a trend, and continue to inspire me and many others with their commitment, passion and courage.”
-Marta Montenegro, SOBeFiT founder/publisher/editor-in-chief

There are Saturday mornings on South Beach when you might see a large group of women running after a shirtless Edwin Lopez. Some men, too. They trudge through miles of thick, uneven sand in the scorching morning sun just to reach him. Edwin’s not a celebrity, and he hasn’t stolen anything from them, but he does have something they want—a fit, healthy body.

The 29-year-old Miami native and SWAT team sergeant operates a fitness boot camp called Jungle Fitness, in which he takes some 50 to 60 people outdoors to exercise his way. What began as a hobby training friends in a park with his wife, Jannett, has become a third career for Edwin, who is also an adjunct professor of criminal justice at Miami Dade College. As a fitness coordinator for the SWAT academy, he adapted this intensity training for the average man and woman. “If you divide all the hours of work that we put into it, it’s evident we don’t do it for the money. It’s more for the bonds we build with clients and the life-changing impact we get to see on people,” Edwin says.

That's pretty schmaltzy stuff for someone who compares himself to a savage beast. (The Jungle Fitness logo is that of a gorilla with fangs flared.) Despite the overly macho stigma that boot camps and the SWAT Team carry, which Edwin admittedly plays up for effect, people continuously trust him to motivate them toward a healthier lifestyle. Maybe it's because he's there doing the exercises with them. Maybe it's because he follows up with them via e-mail and phone. Or perhaps it's just that Edwin knows what he's talking about, as he can rattle off nutritional advice as knowledgeably as any dietitian without stuttering. “In life we don't have control of a lot of things, but we do have control over a few life-altering elements, like fitness and health,” he says.

Read more about Edwin and why he is one of the Fittest Person winners in the November/December 2009 issue of SOBeFiT Magazine.

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