Rick Caceres
CoFounder + Trainer.

Before 1:27 Strong was a gym, a program, or a vision, it was a testimony.

Rick left for college as a star athlete, a straight-A student, and an outgoing servant of God with a full scholarship and a future that seemed wide open. Then everything changed. A serious back injury left him barely able to walk. Surgery was recommended, and heavy pain medication became part of his daily survival.

When he came home from college, he found his family in crisis. His father, once strong, capable, and dependable, had developed early-onset dementia. Bills had gone unpaid, including years of missed mortgage payments, and Rick suddenly found himself carrying the weight of a four-bedroom household. He worked three jobs just to keep everything from falling apart.

In his lowest hour, he cried out to God.

Over time, the pressure, pain, and isolation became overwhelming. Rick separated himself from the world because he did not want anyone else to share in his suffering. He was having seizures at night and relying on medication just to make it through each day. In his lowest hour, when there seemed to be no way out, he cried out to God and asked Him to release him from the prison he was living in.

Our wonder-working God began to restore Rick’s life one step at a time. He provided the answers Rick needed. He healed his mind and body. He gave him a wife, a perfect partner, and a love designed by Him. He met every need and began rebuilding the masterpiece that had been shattered into pieces.

God brought Rick back into the gym, and He told him to bring his father with him. Through that season, God restored his father’s mind and gave Rick three more years with him as his best friend before calling him home. God used those years to heal his family, strengthen their faith, and draw his parents closer to Him.

Broken, rebuilt, restored, and called forward.

Rick believes God had to bring him low before He lifted him up, so that He alone would receive the glory. He loves to show His strength in weakness, and Rick’s life is proof of that.

What began in a pit of despair became a place of joy, purpose, and calling. God sharpened Rick, trained him, and placed him in environments where he could hone his craft and begin to see His vision unfold. After being brought low, God reminded him that “it still works” — that He could still get it done through Rick, not because of Rick’s strength, but because of His.

Today, Rick does not train people simply to help them look stronger. He trains because he knows what it means to be broken, rebuilt, restored, and called forward. He knows what it means to need hope. He knows what it means to fight for your body, your mind, your family, and your faith.