Helping Players Develop A Mental Six Pack

BEHIND THE BUSINESS
The idea behind the business came when Galvan worked for Major League Soccer as an international recruiter for players from Central America, South America and Europe. He noticed a variance in their performance, despite being in top physical condition. “That’s how I started developing Six Pack Mental in 2011. I developed a training program … I realized that if I really wanted to make a difference, I had to read and study, so I started devouring books on high performance, psychology, nutrition … I was constantly learning and trying new things. I developed the system, started applying the concepts,” he says. Since then, he has worked with and advised internationally renowned teams like the Mexican National Team, Real Madrid University, Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer. He’s also worked with players and coaches who have participated in a FIFA World Cup, Champions League, La Liga, LigaMX, MLS, NASL and college and youth academies.
ABOVE: Galvan is pictured at Red Bull Arena with coach Rafa Puente, manager of Lobos BUAP, a 1st Division Mexican soccer club located in Puebla, Mexico.

“At Bethel I was very quiet and shy. I was afraid to speak to people,” says Galvan, originally from Mexico. He would have never guessed his career would lead him to public speaking.

He studied information technology (IT) at Bethel, but his passion was for soccer. Galvan played with current Head Coach Thiago Pinto ’05, ’07, and was greatly influenced by then coach Pablo Rodriguez ’99, ’02, who helped develop him as a soccer player.

After graduation, he played semi-professional soccer in England, with hopes of becoming a professional player, but eventually landed a job in IT.

“To be honest, I wasn’t in love with that,” he says. “I decided to do what I love and am good at – I wanted to serve.”

So, at the age of 25, he went to Spain to pursue the MBA sports program at Real Madrid University. Through a trip to New York with the university, to see how professional teams in the United States are run, Galvan was introduced to Major League Soccer.

He made the bold move to ask for an interview and landed an internship in New York City, earning just $500 a month.

“I rented a bed for [about] $300 a month and used the rest of the money to buy food – I didn’t even have enough money to buy [Major League Soccer] shirts,” he says.

Though it was a tough time financially, it paid off when the league offered him a full-time job that launched his career. With Major League Soccer, Galvan traveled internationally and planned large-scale events. He even helped organize the first Pan-Pacific Championship in Hawaii, which included a special event for soccer celebrity David Beckham. And it was his idea to recruit international players for the league that led to his training business.

His first client was a player from Serbia (Veljko Paunovic), who is now the coach of the Chicago Fire. Since then, he’s worked with clients ranging from professional soccer players and coaches to college, high school and club teams.

One concept Galvan uses in training is to grow one percent better each day.

“One percent is the difference between winning and losing. One percent is the difference that only one percent are willing to do!” he says.

In the future, Galvan hopes to use his knowledge gained from working with the world of soccer and apply it to the business world, offering mental performance training to entrepreneurs and businesses.

“The most rewarding thing is that most people tell me it’s impossible … there are all of these obstacles … when people say they can’t do it, I say, people told me the same thing, but I did it. If I can do it, you can do it.”