That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Javeno (J7)

Episode Date: April 9, 2024

Javeno runs J7 Health Centre and is full of joy and positivity. He helps train the elderly, the disabled and those who are at the end of their life and we absolutely love his outlook and his energy. In this episode, Javeno shares some incredible stories of hope and resilience with Gaby, and tells her why he does what he does and won't stop. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I think possibly this week I am sitting opposite the most positive person, the most joyful person, a true joy spreader, Javino. Thank you. You are, honestly, I don't think there's anybody out there who works so hard in making life better for so many people. Oh, thank you, Gaps. That means a lot. And that's why I do it.

All this stuff, when I see you on Instagram and how you change people's life, lives is absolutely, I just, my heart goes to you. I think it's incredible what you do. Can we go back to how it all started? So how did it all start? It started when I was 16. I've been training disabled people, elderly people. People that need hope.

People that need. At 16 you were doing this. 16, I've been doing it for 22 years for free. I never took a penny if anybody disabled or elderly or ill. But how, how did it start? At 16, you just... No, I was... At 16, I was doing sports coaching in Manchester.

And that's how it started. But then there was a situation when I was 16 with a young man called Ishmael. I told that a million times. But there's a story that I want to tell you today that I've not told many people, but I got reminded of it yesterday of somebody. This is when I was about 17. I was doing an indoor football session with a group of lads

in an indoor five-aside kind of facility. And every week this young lad used to turn up and then one week he brought his brother. Never forget his face, cabs, just a really innocent, innocent, innocent face. And he was in his wheelchair. And you know, like some people are paralysed and they've got limited motion and the mobility with the fingers, with the face, the expressions.

I thought that was his situation, but it wasn't. It sounds horrible, but do you ever look? look at somebody who they've died but they're still living and I couldn't I was just attracted to him and the week later

I went and had a little chat with him while his brother was playing football and he had a man United top and I never forget it he had a man United t-shirt on old school man United jersey with Andy Cole at the back so

the ball came over one of the boys accidentally kicked the ball over and it hit his wheelchair and for that split second, Gabby's eyes opened up and his feet went and I seen that he was alive, do you know what I mean? He was alive. So when I messed about with him and I said to him, oh, you got Andy Cole in your shirt.

Bet you can't kick the ball like Andy Cole. Bet you're not a good striker like him. And I did this with my hands. So you put your arms out? Put my arms out. I don't know why. It's just like I do with my two sons now. And he reached for me and I didn't even hesitate.

I just picked him up and I took him onto the pitch. and the boys were playing a heated game, a heated game. And I said, listen, when I saw out, when I screamed touch, I held him up just like I do with my guys now. When I say, when I screamed touch, I went to pass the ball over. Whoever's got the ball, come over to me and this young lad and just play a one, two, and then crack on with the game.

So whoever's got the ball, doesn't matter what team, doesn't matter where you are. When I say touch, that's what you do. And for 10 and 15 minutes, he got involved. and I seen an instant changing this man, this young man, and I sat him down. And I'm a believer in true emotions, Gaps. Yeah. True raw emotions that sometimes words can't explain.

Sometimes I try not to use me words because sometimes he feels something so true and honest and real. Words can't explain and he looked at me. He didn't take his eyes off me for about 10, 15 minutes, but I knew exactly what it meant to him. and that minute, that moment, it kind of just elevated me as a man and I knew that that was a purpose and new feelings and new responsibilities and I knew what it meant to him and I just couldn't, I didn't remember that until somebody told me yesterday because it was something that was so, not minor,

but it was something that I just did. Without thinking about it. And I had no right, just like we were talking before, I had no right to put my hand out to this stranger to pick him up. But you were there to help, you were there to guide, you were there to be good. You're an angel. But were you like this as a child? I think so.

What I mean by that is you become a product of your environment and I'm blessed that I've got wonderful parents. I came from a good home. Mummy and Daddy, like even now at nearly 40, my main goal is to try and make Mummy and Daddy happy. That's what I say to anybody. Like, no matter, it's not about the awards or the accolades, as long as Mum and Daddy feel proud. of me and what I've done, that will never change. And as a young star, I was in a house full of love.

My family, my brothers, my cousins were all very close. And I think it was just a product of coming from love. Do you know what I mean? But so many people don't have that. And it's as if you notice the people that need you. And I still, it's rare what you do. It's very rare because young people, as we've all been teenagers.

You know, we've all been there. We all think, oh, the teenagers of today and all of that rubbish. No, we've all been teenagers and it's tough. It's difficult. And yet, there you are at 16 and 17 doing things for other people

and you've carried on doing things for other people. I'd love to know where it comes from, but obviously this was handed down from these kind parents. I think so. Do you believe in gifts, Gubs? Yeah, of course I do. When I say that, I don't want people.

to think it's grossful. I believe your gift is what you can do better than other people, but that's quite effortless. And it's never about, I was an athlete, I've done so many things in sports. To me, that wasn't my gift.

My gift is this. I've got an ability to make people fall in all with exercise. I don't run away from problems, Gavs, I've had some of the most challenging situations, disabilities, people with terminal illnesses. I don't get scared. I don't ever feel like I need to... awkward about it.

My only response is I can fix this a little bit. I can't cure it. You can fix it a little. I can make you forget for a split second what you're going through and I can put a smile on your face that I'll never fail to this day and I don't want that to sound like I'm being big-headed.

No, it doesn't sound like that at all. But I've had people who I wouldn't wish... They're going through things that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Yeah. And my response is never, I'm not going to be sad because I know that sadness. If I give it back to you, it's just going to spiral down.

My only response is I'm going to bring you some joy in the next 30 minutes and I know I can do it. See, that's interesting because I think a lot of people, you know, I talk quite a lot about loneliness and about the problems that people have. And I'm doing everything that I possibly can to get it out there to talk about all these things. And I think that when you talk about volunteering or helping others and then somebody says, says, but it makes me feel good, that's not good. No, that's part of it. It's a double whammy. You feel good, they feel good, they feel good, they feel good that you feel good.

There we go, keep that going. But there are lots of people out there who are frightened to feel, frightened to help because they don't know how to. Yeah. So what advice would you give those people who don't know how to give that little bit? I break the rules, gaps. I think this is... How?

There's times, think about what we spoke about, 10 minutes ago. The rule book says you're not supposed to go over and say this or do this. If I feel it, I'm going to do it. If there is going to be arguments or issues, I'm willing to fight my corner if I believe what I'm doing is right. There you were, helping this young lad be part of a football match and you thought, and everybody had just left him in a chair, and you changed his life.

How did it come about that you've got a gym, that you train people who are life limiting, who have disabilities, who have mental health problems? How did that all come about? I'll try and keep it short. It's a beautiful story. Don't keep it short. We want your story.

About 15 years ago, I had a vision, Gabs, I've still got the piece of paper to this day in my mum's kitchen. I've written down the vision of a place called J7 that was on one level I was a bit weird People didn't get me They get me now Because I'm whatever

But at the time My vision was I'm a believer in energy I think energy is the most powerful thing In this world is transferable So I wanted a place that was on one floor Where mummy, daddy Usain Bolt A disabled young girl

Everybody could be in the same venue Sharing Energy and being together but in different journeys rather than Gabby being upstairs, me being downstairs. I can't see you. I can't share of energy. And I designed it a place called Day 7 where everybody was welcome, not just the young girls. So you were 25 just down the matter?

It might have been less. It might have been more. It was about 15 years ago. So definitely around 15 years, but it might have been 16, 17. So I written it on a piece of paper with a vision to one day open it. When my little boy Mason, who's now nine, when he was one, I said to my missus, I need to, I'm going to take the risk. I believe in this. I believe that there's nobody in this planet that can do this like me. I'm going to bet on myself. I'm going to make that vision and a piece of paper come to life.

And then I opened it when he was two, I think. Yeah, so this is why when people ask me, J7 to me, it's been a lie for 15 years. It's been legally open for seven years, if that's. that makes sense. And I've got the paper at my mum's house somewhere. I'm praying to God, she's not throwing it away. I'm praying to God, he's in a box in the loft. She'll listen to this and she'll go, oh, quick, I need to get in the loft.

And that's when I created it. And the thing with me was I worked for Manchester Council for many years. And I made some wonderful friends, but there's certain things that they did that I really, really didn't enjoy as regards to, I can't take money off you. If I want to help you from the purest part of my soul, there ain't no NatWest, there's no TSP, there's no cash machine. So certain things that they did, they would charge, charge, charge, charge. So personally, my personal work, I never charged. But there are certain classes that I did for the council where they had to pay and used to just crush my soul every session that I'm taking money.

Not for me, for the council. First session with people that are disabled. So I would have said to myself, wherever I'm started now, when I get, get my own place, I must continue with the same models. So how do you do it? So you've got seven years, you've had this gym, and you've got massive following on socials. And that's how I found you.

But you don't take any money. My gym runs because it's a community facility that everybody can use. So in the gym, it's a beautiful mix. The community residents can come in and pay memberships and use the gym. That's fine. but anybody disabled or elderly, you guys get it for free. Does that make sense?

Yeah. And the fact is, what I've realised, Gavs, you know how inspiring is what I've, one of the biggest compliments people have said is the amount of able body people in the gym that are saying,

the training and they're getting so much inspiration by watching these guys, that to me is what it should be about fitnesses for everybody. It's not just for the guys like me that are power lifting and the big guys that lift. It's not, it's for everybody. It's not a one size of it.

It's all. People are scared, though. People are scared. And, I mean, I love working out in my way. And I love, I walk and all, and I work out at the gym. But, but people are scared of it because they think, I think because of social media, the other side is. Yours is very positive. The other side of social media is, oh, I want to look like that.

Well, it's filtered. And people have got, you know, they take things and they put things in and they take things out, whatever it is. And that's up to them. It's up to them. individual, but they see this sort of perfect fit body and I want to be like that. I want to be like that. So people are frightened of going to the gym. It's a lonely place and this is one of the main reasons that I created my place. I wanted to redefine what a gym meant. For somebody like me, Gabs, somebody like you, who's trained, he's been around exercise for a long time. The gym can be

one of the most lonely places. It can be one of the most intimidating places, especially for women. So this is why my place isn't called the gym. It's called the health. centre because I wanted to redefine the word gym. If you said gym to my mum or my aunties, it's a bit like, ooh. It used to get me mad, I think, no. That's interesting, yes. So my building is not called the gym. It's called J7 Health Centre because I wanted to redefine what that meant.

So now I've got 85 year old ladies that say, I'm going gym on Friday and they say with a smile and with a buzz. That's so lovely. other than, oh, no, I don't like the gym. Do you know what I mean? That's really lovely. Okay, so the people that come to you then, the people that walk again, I mean, I think watching some of those videos,

it's just so inspiring. And it's not me sort of go, oh, it's not mawkish. It's actually me just saying, if they can do it, I can do it. And I think a lot of people have, you know, we know we're in the middle of a cost of living crisis. We know we're having the most awful news fed to us every single day.

And we need things that make life that more, that bit more joyful. And you do do that. How do you get people to, you know, it sounds dramatic to walk again. But how do you, what is it in you? So if somebody's listening to this right now and they think, I just can't. They told me I would never lie down again. They told me I would never stand up again. They told me I would never be able to reach and sit at the top of my head again.

Whatever it is, what is it in you that lets them know? Is it through speaking? Is it through, how do you change somebody's way of looking at themselves? Care and noticing people. I don't think nothing. This is why every time I speak, I'm a bit up and down with it because it's an emotional thing for me to express. I care for people.

And when I care for people, I'm willing to do anything. And with a lot of people, it breaks my heart when they don't see their self-worth. And when they ain't got the confidence. You can't ever let people lose hope. If somebody loses hope, to me, it's about protecting hearts. That's what I've always gone on to do. I just want to protect your heart. If you lose hope, I'm exposing your heart to damage.

So I'm not saying that I'm going to, I'm a miracle work. I'm going to make you walk again. I'm not saying that I'm going to cure your illness. I'm not saying if you've got a terminal cancer and you've got seven months to live, which is a real story. I've had so many times. I'm not saying that I'm going to fix that.

But I'm never going to slam that door and let you lose hope. And I think with people, the main thing is I see amazing in people when they don't see it. And if I see someone's got amazing in them, I'm going to get it out.

I'm willing to argue. I'm willing to jump over so many hurdles to eventually show you and go, I told you so. I'm willing to do that. And I think that's been my approach, especially with the youngsters, the youngsters who I look at and I go, you've got a lot,

you deserve to be happy just like anybody else. You deserve the same opportunities as everybody else. And if they don't see that in themselves, I'm willing to go to extreme levels to show them how amazing they are. And this is one of my proudest moments is that now I've created a platform where my young sister can go on social media and they go, Jay, one of them last week.

Jay, did you see what they said about me on TikTok? How many girls were saying that my outfit was dead nice and my hair was beautiful? I said, I told you so. Do you see how many people said that I was amazing and strong? I said, I told you so. Because when he's coming from Big Brother, I'm supposed to say that

just like your mum or your dad or your Big Brother or Sister telling your nice things, they don't take it in because you're supposed to tell me that, you're my mum, or you're supposed to tell me that you're my brother, when you've got strangers from America in Africa and Europe saying these wonderful things I can just sit back and say I told you so

so that's the positive side of social media because there is a positive side too I think a lot of people talk about the negative side as I just did but there is an incredibly positive side and you do spread the joy do you want to share any particular stories again don't give names of course but there are any particular stories that you sort of you sit

when you sit there with your boys or in years to come and you just say you know what, I remember this, because that story of the football match was lovely. They're all so individual, Gabby. They're all so individual and they're all amazing. There's a million stories and I'm just happy I've learnt to deal with. I've had to work to get there, Gabs, as we guys. Not necessarily work as in get up and work.

I've had to work on a lot of my own, not demons, issues to get where I am today. And what I mean by that is I've had to learn to absorb people's pain and try and create something greater. That's what I wanted to ask you because you, in the same time I've, you know, in my career I've spoken to people who are end-of-life carers, who are to do similar things to you, whatever it may be. and it's always the same thing that they say when they go home they have to be able to take that off because otherwise you carry that. Yeah, yeah.

And you're carrying a lot there, Trevino. You really are because this is every single day. I can't, and I've not got, I'm not lucky enough at the moment to, I can't get rid of it and I won't. Oh, really? I can't. It's impossible because I'm... So how do you cope?

How do you look after your stuff? I don't. I just crack on because I don't. because I know there's people that depend on me. I've seen the power in it. And because I've seen the power, I can't ever stop, Gaps. I've seen, when I... I've got people, there's a guilt that is...

that suffocates me every single day. There's a guilt? There's a guilt. Because how unlucky some people are, Gaps. Yeah. I look at my two beautiful boys every day and I think I'm so lucky. And then there's people that I train

that I've been giving such a short straw. You think, how's that even fair? I've got, there's people who are suicidal, who have sent me beautiful messages. A lot of them are not here now. But are you going to message me before you pass away to say that you found joy in my work? I don't know how I would respond if that was me

and I'm knowing that I'm taking my life and to be in that position, I can't. It's hard. But then knowing that people around the world, recently, a young person has decided to take their own life in America. And she said, if I was in America, I'd be the reason where she would consider still being here. I wish I was magic and I could click.

You know what I'm saying? You can't heal everybody. you can't help everybody. But I can't get rid of this. So now what I have to learn to do, guys, which is when I say I've got to carry this pain, is that I can't let it go to waste. So now I know I can't be there.

So the magic that I have got in me, I'm going to give it so hard to the people that I can. Like the guys that I start coming to my gym and I train, I'm going to make sure that the magic that I could have given her. I'm not going to throw it in the air and let it just disappear. I'm going to give it to somebody else, and that's my way of... I understand that, but you've always.

also got to, you've got to somehow let go of that guilt because guilt is a very, everybody knows guilt is a very wasted emotion and you can't beat yourself. If you're looking after everybody else, you've got to look after yourself. Do you look after yourself in order? I do. You do? I look after myself but I've learnt the mind is such a powerful tool and I've learnt to use my mind to block out certain things and kind of crack on. I do look after myself. Physically, I'm always good. I train and I eat out. But the way I look after myself now is happiness brings me happiness. Okay, so what makes you happy?

Your boys? My boys, my family, my wife, just spending time with them is what gives me the most joy. Going to see Michael Jackson. Going to see Michael Jackson. Go ahead last week. But yeah, I get joy from bringing others joy. I see the power in happiness. I see the power in care.

And I think it's not hard, Gabby. Like I look at all these things that have happened to him in the last couple of years. I'm sorry, with Gabby Rosalind, love, this is, this is mega. But I'm not doing nothing special. I'm not doing. No, but you're putting kindness out there. This is what people should be doing. I agree with you.

I absolutely agree with you. I think people should be spreading joy. People should be spreading kindness. It's just very difficult for a lot of people. It's very difficult for a lot of people. And it's, you know, that conversation about, Do you believe that people are born bad? You know, people go through stuff.

Yes. There's a lot of stuff that people have to go through. Of course. And I think one thing that I've learned is, it sounds silly and it sounds very basic, but it's so powerful and it's so true. Just notice people. There's one of the kindest things that you can do.

One of the highest forms of love, in my opinion, is listening. And actually giving... actually caring about what someone's saying and actually having a real interest in what someone's saying. I totally agree with you. There's no such thing as a boring person. You're just not asking the right questions and then you're not listening to their answers.

I was told this by a homeless charity about a year ago. They said if you see a homeless person in the street, the most important thing is to ask their name. And that's what you've just echoed there. It's about talking and listening. And I think you give this in a bucket loads. Where do you see the work that you're doing going now? I know you're going to carry on doing what you do.

But are you trying to build on it? What's the next thing for you? Because I can't imagine you don't have more dreams and goals. I've got so many things in my head and some... Go on. You can share some of those. No, but this is the thing I've got... When I say things in my head, I've got so many... platforms that I want to venture out to you.

But when it comes to my work, Gabby, I just want to carry on doing what I'm doing. If it's not broke, don't fix it. I'm not chasing fame. Despite what's happening now, that was never the goal for me. The fact now that every single day I'm getting thousands of messages from people around the world that I get an inspiration from my work, let me hit more countries, let me hit.

Did you know there's a country called Oman and there's a country called Yemen, I only found out recently because somebody messaged me from Yemen but I want to see on spreading the love to different parts of the world and different cultures and different people because I think it will spread like wildfire

and that's what the world needs right now like we said before this is so sad the world's not the nicest place right now so if I can put a little bit of joy a little bit of happiness in it in my little silly death way there's nothing silly or daft so don't know there's nothing silly or daft

it's about joy and kindness Thank you. Thank you, Gavs. Thank you so much.