Unorthodox Bench Press: An Interview with Zack Quilici

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Unorthodox Bench Press: An Interview with Zack Quilici

Zack Quilici had it all: He played collegiate football at UNLV, had a cheerleader by his side, and even opened his own cross fit gym. But, when your world is all about yourself, sooner or later, things crumble.

As Zack puts it: “It was all Zack. It was the Zack show! I might as well written my own bible.”

Here are just a few of the topics Zack and I discuss this week:

Lover sports & outdoors
Mom took him to church in Junior High, but he got kicked out
Zack was athletically gifted, but never worked hard. He was involved in sports year-round (volleyball, skiing, mountain biking, football, etc.)
The summer before college, he started partying.
Got to college and felt entitled to play. But, he never worked hard enough to get on the field. Zack sat for two years, then after getting healthy, he never got be the man he thought he was. So, he decided to drink and chase girls and quit the team. He started partying harder and played intramural flag football to feed his ego.
Went to his last year of school. Moved out of the frat house and into a cheerleader’s house. He ended up falling in love with a cheerleader and joined the cheer squad. His old football friends and family came to games to watch football and Zack was on the sidelines cheering.
Opened a cross fit gym with his girlfriend and pursued becoming a pro athlete in competitive cross fit. In the pursuit of cross fit he destroyed his relationship. She packed up his belongings and walked away from the gym and Zack. Zack responded by falling into drinking and cocaine and spent all his business money on drugs. Has to sell his gym to get out of debt.
Showed up to work drunk and broken and his Christian friend asks if he can pray for him. Zack feels the power of prayer and wants to go to church. First time in church, he confessed out loud that he’s broken. His friend led him in prayer and he asked Jesus to save him. The next week he got baptized and his world was changed forever.
Going from selfish to secure what changed?
- Confident in his giftings in Christ
- Now doing what he does… all for Jesus!
Zack Talks about his book “Be Brave”
What are a few words of advice?
- Be brave and be willing to share your story
- Create an “I Exist” statement
Zack’s “I Exist” Statement:
- “I exist to humbly use my gift of connectivity to motivate and inspire by leading by example – never ceasing to grow God’s kingdom. With grace first, I surrender everything.”
Favorite bible verses:
- Ezekiel 36:26-27 – I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.²⁷And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.
- Colossians 3:23 – Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
- 1 Corinthians 12
Favorite exercise: Bench press – because you can lay down and nap between reps

This is just part of Zack’s story. You’ve got to hear what God has done throughout his life to mold him into the man he is today. As Zack says, “You are not alone!”