It’s the middle of December, and the Plex is on fire. Not literally, but with the amount of sweat dripping off of the bodies of the brave students in the BC-X class, it might as well be. They’re pushing themselves to the limit, but it’s hard not to when you’re being instructed by Gio.
Gio Trilleras, a self-described “bittersweet senior” in the Connell School of Nursing, teaches BC-X, a strength and fitness class with an official description saying that it will “get you in serious shape” by using your own body weight to get a full-body workout. Before founding the class, he was involved at the Plex as a personal trainer. His boss encouraged him to start the class after she found out that he participated in a Spartan Race this past summer. She “knew it took strength, endurance, and determination; knew the type of person I was and how much I love training,” Gio explained. Thus, the birth of BC-X.
The official website for Spartan Races says that the obstacle races were “designed by seven insane ultra athletes” and test not only strength and stamina but also “quick decision making skills” and “animal instinct.” Most people would be intimidated by the mere act of reading the description, but Gio decided he was up for the challenge. “I was just hanging out in my room and saw a video for the race,” Gio said, “and thought it was unbelievable; a great challenge.”
And a challenge it was. After months of training, Gio competed in a four-mile race through “a state park, mountains, hills, and lots of wild obstacles.” He braved yards of barbed wire, was completely submerged in mud, had fire hoses aimed at him, and modestly explained that he did “pretty well.” By pretty well, he means placing 30th out of about 8,000 people. Eight thousand people who chose to do a Spartan Race. So yeah, that’s some pretty tough competition. I think we’d all agree that he did pretty well…
Gio doesn’t just value personal fitness but wants to spread it to others, as demonstrated by his course of study. As a nursing student, “I love that I could make someone feel good about themselves any day.” While the fitness and nursing reinforce each other, he says that it was originally “fitness that got me interested in nursing,” since he wanted to go into the field of health promotion, and there was no defined program for the health or training sciences at BC.
After graduation, although he will be leaving BC-X behind, its underlying mission will remain with him—now through a healing effort rather than a preventative one. He does hope to continue training, though, as “nursing is typically only three days a week, so I’d love to work part-time as a trainer.” And racing will certainly remain part of his life. He is currently training for another Spartan Race, this time going for 10 miles, and hopes to do three or four races each year.
While some see senior year as a time to relax and slack off, Gio never makes things easy. With the Spartan Race he said, “people thought it was crazy, but it looked like a challenge and I love that.” Through his personal accomplishments and involvement, it is clear that he is always up for a struggle. As the 7,970 or so people behind him in the race can attest to, when Gio is determined, he’ll make it. It’s that inspirational spirit that makes BC-X so popular, that makes numerous students sign up for personal training with him, and that will bring him success in the nursing field.