The Road to Here

Discovering the Power of Movement: My Journey Through Fitness, Psychology, and Life

Welcome to my blog!

Unlike many other online blogs, this is not a place where I am selling anything or offering any type of service. My goal is not to generate ad revenue with clickbait titles and articles. Instead, consider this blog a personal online journal where I can jot down my thoughts on a variety of subjects, including fitness, nutrition, psychology, and more.

My name is Joshua Barreiro and I am a 38 year old Puerto Rican who is happily married to my high school sweetheart, Ruth. We have two amazing kids, a 16 year old son and an 11 year old daughter, and we currently live in Vineland, New Jersey. This blog is meant to be a personal online journal of sorts, a place where I can share my thoughts and experiences with others. This blog is not about selling anything or generating ad revenue with clickbait titles and articles. Just think of it as a space for me to jot down my thoughts on a variety of subjects, including fitness, nutrition, psychology, and more. So come along with me and let’s see where this journey takes us!

Welcome to Flow Theories: My thoughts on movement and life

I originally started this blog during my undergraduate years as a way to keep track of my thoughts, particularly as they related to my studies in exercise science and psychology. However, after completing my undergraduate degree, I stopped blogging for a while. Recently, I have decided to come back to it, now with a wider range of interests and a desire to share my hobbies, experiences, and lessons learned along the way.

The name “Flow Theories” represents what has come to be a pretty common theme in my life: thinking deeply about movement in all its forms. Sure, the intersection of health & fitness with movement is pretty obvious, but movement alsoplays a role in lots of other things that I spend time thinking about. For example, my interest in psychology is also driven by the question of what motivates us and propels us forward. I became particularly interested in the intersection of movement and psychology after taking a sport psychology class, which led me to the world of meditation and the study of cognitive biases. These topics not only play a role in the fields of fitness and nutrition, but also in our everyday lives, influencing everything from our shopping habits (who hasn’t been sucked in by a catchy infomercial?) to our politics (Have you ever stopped to wonder why it is that we identify with the political party we do?). And let’s not forget about my love of history, which is also tied to movement. After all, history is all about how people have moved and evolved over time. As a kid, history was my favorite subject, and I believe that understanding the people and societies that came before us can help us figure out where we are going (although, to be honest, sometimes it feels like we’re just repeating the same mistakes over and over again).

From Wrenches to Weights: My Transformation from Mechanic to Fitness Enthusiast

So, who am I? Well, let’s just say that my life has been quite the rollercoaster ride. I may have started out as a high school dropout with a love for fixing cars and drag racing, but I’ve come a long way since then. And by “come a long way,” I mean I’ve made all sorts of unexpected turns and twists along the way (kind of like a real rollercoaster, now that I think about it). But hey, that’s what makes life interesting, right? Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, my personal background. It’s a bit of a winding path. I may have started out as a high school dropout with a love for fixing cars and drag racing, but I have come a long way since then. As a teenager, I was particularly interested in JDM cars and enjoyed learning everything I could about engines and how to build them for performance. I even worked as a mechanic for a few years. I moved to Philadelphia for a while, where I ended up gaining a lot of weight (thanks, Philly cheesesteaks). However, after having my first child, I decided to focus on my health. I got involved in Judo and returned to college, where I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology, which is the scientific study of human movement, with a focus on youth development. I served on the NSCA state committee and was a member of the youth advisory committee (which is now called the Long Term Athlete Development Special Interest Group). During my time in school, my research focus was on the role of “play” in children’s development from both an athletic and psychological developmental perspective. I gave presentations on this topic at conferences and had articles published in scientific journals, as well as having articles on this featured in Huffington Post.

From the Research to the Community: My Journey From Graduate School to the Nonprofit World

After completing my undergraduate degree, I decided to switch gears once again and change the direction of my life (because as I said, my life has pretty much been a never-ending roller coaster of twists and turns). As I mentioned before, I am a very curiosity-driven person by nature and have what my wife calls “brain itches” – a constant desire to learn how things work. This curiosity led me to science in the first place, so it’s no surprise that after completing my undergraduate studies, I decided that I no longer wanted to be a strength coach and instead I decided to pursue a career in research and ultimately, become a professor and researcher. I interned in an epigenetic lab and then went on to get my master’s degree in muscular physiology at West Chester University.

However, as you may have gathered by now, things don’t always go as planned for me. Despite my best intentions, I ended up on a different path altogether once again. How does that saying go, the only thing constant in life is change (or something like that). Anyway, while working on my master’s degree, I also worked at a local nonprofit organization with disenfranchised youth, and it was here that I realized my true passion was working with kids. I entered graduate school with the goal of becoming a professor and researcher, but by the time I graduated, I instead ended up working as the director of youth programming at an afterschool center in Philadelphia for a short while. I left that position and founded my own nonprofit organization called Make and Move Club, which focuses on science programming and fun-driven physical fitness for kids. Which lead me to where I am currently and that is studying for the PRAXIS test with plans on becoming a middle school science teacher.

Despite all of the twists and turns in my career path, one thing has remained constant: my love of learning and personal growth. Whether it’s learning about the inner workings of engines, exploring the power of play in children’s development, or starting a new chapter in my professional journey, I am always seeking out new opportunities to learn and grow. And I’m excited to share those experiences with you through this blog.

From Direct Service to Empowering Communities: My Evolution in the World of Community Organizing”

My journey in the nonprofit sector started with a focus on improving the lives of children. While I enjoyed my time working in the nonprofit world, I wanted to be more involved in creating lasting change, rather than just providing direct services. This led me to explore community organizing as a way to create lasting change. Initially I got involved in local politics, but soon realized that there was a significant disconnect between elected officials and the needs of the community. This led me to work more directly within the community, focusing on empowering them rather than just advocating for change through the government. I began to shift my thinking from a top-down approach to change to instead considering change as happening from the bottom up.

Nonprofit work and work within political government is similar in many ways, but bottom-up organizing is radically different. With self-organizing from the ground up, change is driven largely by those most affected by the structured inequality, whether it be based on class, gender, or race. Bottom-up organizing focuses on the voices of those who are directly impacted and are often less heard. Priorities are established not by grants or electoral spectulations, but by the people impacted by the issue in the room sharing their thoughts. It was a big shift in thinking for me, but it’s been an incredibly rewarding journey.

Along the way, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a variety of groups and organizations, such as Black Lives Matter NJ and Cosecha, which both have had a significant impact on my understanding of social movements and how to create sustainable change. In addition to volunteering with various organizations, I have also helped to start grassroots groups, organized workshops and study groups, and been involved in all aspects of direct action planning and execution. 

I’ve always been fascinated by history, so naturally, I’ve spent a lot of time reading and studying social movements over the years.  — One thing that’s really important to me is decentralization in organizing and the idea that the majority of the work should be done within communities themselves, building connections and support systems outside of the traditional client-provider nonprofit model. I’m excited to share what I’ve learned and my thoughts on all of this stuff in future blog posts.

Life During the Pandemic: Discovering My Diagnosis of ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression

The past year has been a difficult one for all of us, but for me, it was a breaking point. The pandemic really stretched my mental health to its limits, and it was then that I re-discovered my diagnosis of ADHD. I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid but went my whole life with it being untreated. I just thought I was weird and different from everyone else. Little did I know that my lack of addressing this led to diagnosis of anxiety and depression. Until recently, I never truly understood what ADHD was, and I’m still on a journey of self-discovery and healing. It’s something that has affected me my entire life, and I’m still learning how to manage it. But I want to share my experiences and insights with others who may be struggling with similar conditions. The pandemic has been a trying time for all of us, and I hope that by sharing my story, I can help others find hope and healing during these challenging times.

From Personal Reflections to How-To Guides: A Wide Range of Topics on My Blog

As I mentioned earlier, this blog is primarily a place for me to keep notes and document my thoughts and experiences. And I’m inviting you to join me on this journey and learn with me! Readers can expect to find a mix of my personal thoughts on a wide variety of topics as well as my experiences, along with practical advice and how-to guides on a variety of topics as I learn them. You’ll find updates on my hobbies and house projects (because who doesn’t love a good home renovation?). I’ll also be sharing recipes, history lessons, and stories that I find interesting. And of course, I’ll be talking about my mental health journey.

Join the Journey and Subscribe to Flow Theories

Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to read my blog. If you’re interested in following my journey and keeping up with my blog, be sure to follow me across my social network accounts. I’m excited to share my thoughts and experiences with you, and I hope you’ll join me on this journey.