.svg){kind=small}
.svg)
The hardest step in any transformation is the first.
I learned this when I moved to LA last year, seeking a fresh start and a gym that could become my anchor.
Everyone kept telling me about this spot in Santa Monica called DMN8. "Just check it out," they said.
Walking into a new gym is always intimidating. We've all been there: that moment when you push open the door, not knowing what to expect, feeling like everyone's eyes are on you. But something different happened at DMN8. Within 20 minutes, I had made more genuine connections than in years at my old Equinox.
That experience led me to sit down with Eddy Roche, DMN8's founder, for a deep conversation about physical transformation, discipline, and what it really means to build not just a gym, but a sanctuary.
"By eliminating the lesser version of yourself," Eddy told me, "you're going to impact the world in immeasurable ways." Eddy has lived this truth. From pro athlete to tech entrepreneur to living out of his car, his journey exemplifies how physical discipline creates mental fortitude.
What struck me most in our conversation was his perspective on accountability: "When you truly believe that everything that happens is your fault, you'll begin to take action because you'll buy into the concept that your actions lead to your future." In an era where it's so easy to blame external circumstances and get stuck in a victim mindset, this idea of taking radical ownership really hit home.
We're seeing a generation of young men struggling with identity, purpose, and discipline. They're drowning in information but starving for wisdom. Every fitness influencer promises the secret sauce, but Eddy's approach is refreshingly simple: just show up.
"Start with physical fitness," he advised. "It's the first domino that leads to this positive flywheel in your life. You can change your whole world just by getting started." It's not about getting shredded or hitting some arbitrary aesthetic goal – it's about proving to yourself that you can commit to something bigger than momentary comfort.
The conversation took an unexpected turn when we discussed body positivity. While the movement has done incredible work for women, men are often left out of the conversation entirely. We don't talk about our insecurities. We don't acknowledge the pressure we feel to look a certain way. Instead, we silently compare ourselves to photoshopped ideals and wonder why we never measure up.
Eddy's approach? Meet people where they are. Whether someone wants to lose 10 pounds or compete in bodybuilding, the goal isn't to judge – it's to provide a space where they can become their best selves, whatever that means to them.
This philosophy extends beyond the gym. Every morning at 3 AM, Eddy wakes up to study Vedanta, an ancient Eastern philosophy that predates both Hinduism and Buddhism. When I asked him what it means to be a man today, he shared a profound interaction with a spiritual teacher in India. The teacher's answer was simple: "Give."
A man provides. A man protects. A man creates safe spaces for others to grow. Not because society tells him to, but because nothing feels better than doing what you know you ought to do.
As our conversation wrapped, I thought about that first day walking into DMN8. What seemed like just another gym turned out to be a microcosm of something much bigger: our need for community, our hunger for guidance, and our deep desire to become something more than we are today.
The first step is always the hardest. But as Eddy reminded me, "Progress, not perfection." Sometimes that progress starts with simply walking through the right door.
