Hogback Warrior of the Year 2025 - Ralph Santiago
Tell us a bit about yourself...
I am a third generation Army veteran, born in Germany, raised around the world and graduated high school in Grants Pass. Klamath Falls has been my home the longest and a great place for me to enjoy the sun in a variety of ways. Hiking, swimming, bike rides, and golf used to my go tos throughout the year, but nowadays I'm limited to walks and short bike rides.
If I'm not moving my body, I love keeping my mind busy with reading, puzzles, games of any kind, especially with my family. Speaking of my family, we have family movie night every Friday night. One or more us gets a turn at choosing a movie to stream and we all cuddle up on the couch at home for the evening.
Currently, I am on Short Term Disability (STD) as the Controller for the Running Y Resort and not working. In lieu of work, I volunteer at the Marine Corps League as their head financial person help from a bookkeeping, accounting and treasury standpoint. I also am the primary accountant for my co-owned business, SmithBates Marcomm Solutions. To round all of this out, I've started coaching at Hogback and really enjoying it.
Why Hogback Strength & Wellness?
I started at Hogback in 2021. By that time in my life, I was tired of bouncing from gym to gym and not having a solid routine in my day-to-day life. As a disabled vet, I was always in pain and knew that some relief would come from regular programming that I was not able to provide for myself. Every day I woke up with headaches, and after just two weeks at Hogback, those headaches went away. Aside from already knowing and believing in AJ, this was the main reason I chose to stay at Hogback. The community here has become an extended part of my family and means the world to me.
How has fitness impacted your life?
Fitness has saved my life and made many more things possible in my i.e. being able to withstand chemo treatments for the past 13 months while still working out.
Advice to others
Others? Well, to anyone off the street considering whether they have time for fitness, or really need I would say Just Start. Get about 60% of a plan together and just start. Nothing is going to be perfect, but you will be surprised at how important fitness is.
As for everyone else already in the thick of it, don't quit. You can stop, take a break, recover, get your breath, but don't ever QUIT. A warrior never does...