Women Who Win: Jolis Rodriguez
August 1, 2018
The D10's Women Who Win series, brought you in collaboration with ADAY, spotlights some of the incredible female athletes who take to The D10's playing field each year. When Jolis Rodriguez attended Florida State University on a soccer and academic scholarship, she earned a paycheck selling private dorm rooms to undergraduates for Asset Campus Housing. She was a natural and quickly moved up to selling apartments and townhomes. “I wasn’t really trying that hard, but I think that’s the key to sales sometimes,” she recalls modestly.
Now Executive Director of Money Works Direct, Jolis works hand in hand with the CEO, serving as a liaison to their high profile clients, and financing small businesses through SBA, cash advances and credit repair products.
Throughout her professional advancement, and despite serious injuries ranging from rotator cuff tears to shattered knee caps, the self-proclaimed “gym junkie” has kept athleticism at the center of her life. She was drawn to Midtown’s The Training Lab last year after seeing its 90-minute “Beatdown” workout described online as “brutal” and “the hardest in New York City.”
“I was so excited walking from Penn Station to the Lab that morning of my first class. Every time after, though, I’d get a little nauseous because I knew exactly what was about to happen.”
Training Lab founder Ruben Belliard recalls that day: “Jolis told me, ‘I almost died.’ She was hooked from then on.”
When Ruben assembled a Training Lab team to compete in The D10 NYC 2018, Jolis was an obvious choice. “When she does something, she gives it all she’s got...to the point she can’t do anything else,” Ruben says. “One of her challenges was learning how to pace herself, and one of my challenges was letting her understand, we have to slowly progress you through the workouts.”
Notwithstanding her competitive focus and fury, Jolis played a crucial role in lightening the team’s mood during all-out training sessions: “I was the goofball among us for sure.” She has been variously described by her team members as “an old soul” who “goes with the flow”; an empath; an open book; and a phenomenal hand in the kitchen.
She spoke with The D10 recently about respecting the method, tough girls, and her famous pumpkin pancakes.
Let’s start with the bond you formed with your Training Lab teammates. What do they mean to you?
Well, they’re home. I don’t think words could describe the genuine love we have for each other. One thing that's super unique about us is that we're all at different points in our lives. We’re three generations of women. This allows us to learn and give each other new and unseen perspectives on everything. When we're together, we’re able to support each other full-circle, like an energy dome almost. When one of us was running low on fuel, we had someone else to fill that void.
We're all extremely strong individuals that are an unbelievable force when joined together. Jenny is all-around well grounded, Shelly's the headstrong heart of gold, and Natalie's intensely motivated and determined. And as for me, Ruben says I’m one of a kind. I’ll take it.
I know especially with women, it's difficult to make connections with equally if not stronger personalities because we’re bound to butt heads, but I’ve learned that when you are sure of yourself, you can form unwavering bonds with amazing humans.
Where do you think your “in all the way or not at all” mentality comes from?
I have two younger brothers, making me the oldest of my siblings. So naturally, I was the pace setter for everything. I never had the opportunity to make my way through life “half-assing” things.
Now that I’m older, I’ve realized my time is valuable. I tend to do things I know I’ll give 100% to, or just not do them at all. My mom would blame it in part to the fact that I’m a Scorpio - a sign of extremes. She’d tell you I’ve always been drawn to the more “difficult” things in life.
For me, though, in situations such as fitness and eating habits, it’s more of a control thing. There are not many things you have 100% control of in life, but in these instances you can control how hard and how far you push yourself.
It’s extremely mental for me. I almost find it therapeutic to put my body through a good thrashing and come out the other side. It really does bring clarity to so many other aspects of my life.
Soccer and cross country were your early outlets for that; what were those experiences like?
When I made the decision to join cross country my senior year of high school, it was out of character for me, because I absolutely hated running. From the start of “hell week” training in August to our first meet in September, I had gone from being the slowest girl on the team to the fastest. My coach was a real hardass, and most of the team didn’t like him. But I found a whole new respect for him once I understood his methods.
I remember vividly he put me in a heat where the slowest girl ran the mile a whole minute faster than me. He pulled me aside because I was dabbling with the idea of quitting, and said, “I’m only hard on you because I know you can take it.” I PR’d that day; I ran my fastest mile by a full minute: 5:35.
As for soccer, I played my whole life. It was my life. When I had to stop playing in college, it was very emotional for me. My team was my family. We went through the ups and downs, not just on the field, but off the field as well. So I suppose since then I’ve been in search of that “Team” feeling.
Would you say training for and competing in The D10 gave you that feeling?
It was definitely one of the coolest events I've participated in recently. The fact that I was able to compete with Jenny, Shelly and Natalie with Ruben as our guide gave me that feeling I had been searching for.
We had our set team track days, with which I had a serious love/hate relationship. We had our breakdowns and breakthroughs, and when it came to Game Day, no matter the outcome we had each other. I don’t think I got to experience the D10 full-circle, because our team trained primarily on our own, but from the people we did meet throughout the journey, it made the event as a whole a lot more fun.
Ironically, before Ruben had asked us to form the team, Shelly and I had had a conversation about how we hadn't really given back to the community in a while. We had both been active volunteering, coaching underprivileged kids, doing different things like that, but had gotten away from it with busy work schedules and other responsibilities. This was a great way to give back.
As far as the D10’s purpose, I have cousins who were battling cancer at two and three years old. Now, one of them is 16! Without pediatric care, they might not even be here, so that was something that made it an even bigger experience for me.
OK, last question. Ruben, Shelly and Jenny all sang the praises of your pumpkin pancakes. Would you be willing to share the recipe?
I’ll email it to you.
(You can get a premade pumpkin purée with spices already mixed in.)
I’m pretty versed in the kitchen so I don’t know exact measurements. I eyeball and decide based on texture. It should not be runny - a little thicker, almost like a cake batter. They will be a lot denser than a normal pancake, so you will have to play with cooking times. Usually 3/4 minutes on each side on medium heat.
Shelly says: "Get ready to be blown away. And best part, you can eat them cold or with peanut butter and still delicious. Perfect snack."
Registration for The D10 NYC 2019 is now open. Sign up as an individual, or alongside your own squad of strong women here.