Erin Oprea: Lessons I Learned From My Military Experience about How To Survive And Thrive During A Time Of Crisis

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Success — This isn’t clearly defined. It’s something that you will always be striving for. Take the small victories and pile on top of that. You may need to pat yourself on the back when no one is there to do it for you. Create your own success, don’t rely and wait on others to do it for you!

In this interview series, we are exploring the subject of dealing with crisis and how to adapt and overcome. The context of this series is the physical and financial fallout that resulted from the COVID 19 pandemic. Crisis management is one characteristic that many successful leaders share in common, and in many cases it is the most important trait necessary to survive and thrive in today’s complex market.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Erin Oprea.

ERIN OPREA is a certified personal trainer, as well as a former Marine of 9 years who has served two tours of duty in Iraq. She trains Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Tyler and BK from Florida Georgia Line, Carrie Underwood for 11 years and many more amazing artists, earning her the title of “Trainer to the Stars.” Never content, Erin has launched her amazing training style on her Pretty Muscles app and now boasts thousands of clients around the world! She has written two lifestyle books; “The 4x4 Diet” in 2016 which follows how she maintains her health and built on that with “The Power Plate Diet” in 2021 that dives into the effects of inflammation! Also in 2021, Erin has fulfilled a lifelong goal in launching her own line of clothing called Erin Oprea Basics, LLC. She currently lives in Nashville with her husband and two boys, driving them both wild with her non-stop lifestyle.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would love to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood “backstory”?

I grew up in Carlsbad California with my parents and two siblings. We had a wonderful time there with what seemed like endless trips to Disneyland, fires on the beach, and weeks long camping! We moved to Nashville, Tennessee for my high school and since I was rather upset about leaving California, I graduated in 3 years to get out of town!

And what are you doing today? Can you share a story that exemplifies the unique work that you are doing?

These days I have individual clients each day and am also heavily involved in creating a clothing line called Erin Oprea Basics. We have casual, comfortable clothing that will also see a launch of leggings come the fall! I continuously work on my app, Pretty Muscles, collaborating with great people to help make my program fun and fresh! On top of all that, I greatly enjoy the plants that I have in my house, gym, and greenhouse! I love seeing them and my businesses grow.

Can you tell us a bit about your military background?

I joined the Marine Corps in 1997 and got to have a wonderful trip to Paris Island. I served two tours in Iraq in 2003 and 2004. In 2003 we sat in Kuwait until the war kicked off and provided convoy security throughout that initial invasion year and helped set up and run POW camps. Lots of sleeping on Humvees and fighting holes that year. My second deployment had me leading the first ever all female platoon attached to the infantry in a war-zone! I did this during the invasion of Fallujah where my platoon searched female Iraqis entering and leaving the city and provided security at each checkpoint.

Can you share the most interesting story that you experienced during your military career? What “take away” did you learn from that story?

I ran into many Marines who did not think highly of women in the Marine Corps. Especially near the front lines. I had to work extra hard and was able to prove that I was an asset to the Marines and the position I held. I learned to be a fighter, push beyond my limits, and quite literally never give up.

We are interested in fleshing out what a hero is. Did you experience or hear about a story of heroism, during your military experience? Can you share that story with us? Feel free to be as elaborate as you’d like.

We all did our jobs. I’m just the wrong person to ask this question to. I worked with a lot of great Marines and everybody wanted to do their job well. For themselves, for the Marines around them, for their Country. You name it, everyone had a reason and you just did the work.

Based on that story, how would you define what a “hero” is? Can you explain?

Do you think your experience in the military helped prepare you for business or leadership? Can you explain?

Absolutely. My never give up mentality came from the Marine Corps. Do more with less was nearly a motto of the Marines! It definitely bled into my civilian mindset in business. Do you need all the fancy things that you believe a business is required to have? I have asked myself that quite a few times. The biggest being everyone saying I should open a gym. Not having that overhead is what saved me before, during, and after the Covid shutdown.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

Sgt Ladner changed my military career. I struggled mentally with breaking down our crew-serve weapons and he took the time after work to spend with me personally to overcome my challenges. I would have been a lost Marine without this. The struggle and eventual success of this initial learning curve changed nearly everything going forward.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out how to survive and thrive in crisis. How would you define a crisis?

Anything that drastically diverts you from your day-to-day routine.

Before a crisis strikes, what should business owners and leaders think about and how should they plan?

If you fail to plan, then plan to fail. A crisis isn’t a once in a lifetime thing. They can happen monthly! Weekly! You need to develop thick skin, money strategy, and have the ability to maneuver.

There are opportunities to make the best of every situation and it’s usually based on how you frame it. In your opinion or experience, what’s the first thing people should do when they first realize they are in a crisis situation? What should they do next?

Keep working towards moving forward. Now is not the time to sit and wait for something to happen. If the best thing you’re doing is taking two steps back and one step forward then at least you’re going, trying, not falling victim to the crisis, you’re controlling everything that you can.

What do you believe are the characteristics or traits needed to survive a crisis?

• Flexibility
• Drive
• Don’t give up

When you think of those traits, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?

Me, I’m that person. Everyone sees the success. Nobody sees the times I struggled, or failed completely. To answer these questions at this point in my career I look at what brought me through. There have been great people around me but I don’t call them for specific advice.

Did you have a time in your life where you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?

I don’t have a huge failure. I have many small ones along the way that have helped create the decisions moving forward. I look back and wish I made decisions earlier, but I believe the success that I currently have came from those struggles. Also, I don’t believe I am “successful.” I’m rarely satisfied and continue to create and push.

Here is the main question of our discussion. Crises not only have the potential to jeopardize and infiltrate your work, but they also threaten your emotional stability and relationships. Based on your military experience, what are 5 steps that someone can take to survive and thrive in these situations? Please share a story or an example for each.

• What’s the crises? Define it — Clearly knowing what you’re fighting is crucial and allows you to focus your energy on truly what is causing the problem!
• Daydream, brainstorm ideas on how to navigate — Reacting is no way to navigate the crises. Take at least some time to propose multiple ways to move forward through it.
• Execute — Movement is key. Sulking and wallowing will NOT help. Keep demanding results from yourself!
• Execute — There may be small failures during the execution. Do NOT stop. Keep fighting. IF that’s one thing I’ve learned from the military, turn toward the fight, and fight back.
• Success — This isn’t clearly defined. It’s something that you will always be striving for. Take the small victories and pile on top of that. You may need to pat yourself on the back when no one is there to do it for you. Create your own success, don’t rely and wait on others to do it for you!

Ok. We are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

A movement of movement. It’s a gift to get to move your beautiful body. Celebrate it every day. Think of the people who would kill just to be able to move their body like you!

We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them :-)

GI Jane is about the only idol in this world I’ve ever had.

How can our readers follow you online?

@ErinOprea on Instagram

Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was truly uplifting.