Dream the impossible. Where did I come from? Where am I now? Where are we going?”
Cornelius Edison has already done what a lot of athletes grow up imagining. He dreamt the impossible and then lived it. His dream was to make it to the NFL, and he made it happen through discipline, determination and grit.
Although if you ask him who he is today, he won’t tell you about his football career. He’ll tell you about what he’s building now, here in Central Oregon. But what exactly is he building? What is his next dream?
Growing up in Tacoma, Washington, Edison discovered football in the 6th grade. By the time he reached his sophomore year of high school he really began to notice that he was actually pretty great at football. By the end of his junior year, Edison had his sights set: earn a scholarship and take his talents to a college stadium. His senior year, NFL scouts started showing up to watch him play. The dream that once felt distant was suddenly becoming a reality.
“Playing football, for me, is an art,” he says. “The art of communication, the art of technique, the art of skillfulness. It’s just all art.”
His confidence and artistic mindset helped him secure a scholarship to Portland State University, where he quickly became a dominant force on the offensive line. In his senior year, he transitioned from left guard to center for the first time and excelled. He was awarded the prestigious Remington Award, given to the best center in college football.
Momentum was building. Teams were recruiting. Then everything changed. The Friday before the NFL Draft, while working out with the Seattle Seahawks, Edison tore his ACL. Imagine…your dream is at your fingertips, then everything you’ve worked for is ripped away. By February 2015, he was back home, recovering.
However, his dream didn’t end there. The same year, only a few months after his surgery he signed with the Chicago Bears and later played for the Minnesota Vikings in 2017. By his third year in the league, Edison began to feel the slow creep of burnout. Four years of emotional battles, physical strain and endless travel had taken their toll. Something in him gradually shifted. “I was kind of feeling like I was getting behind as far as developing my skill set in another career,” he says.
“It kind of got to the point where the passion drops off, but the struggle intensifies,” he says. “The justification for staying, it doesn’t make sense. So the passion’s gone. The love is fading.”
After years of chasing his dreams on the field, for the first time, Edison began imagining a different path. By 2019, he made the decision to walk away from the sport he loved in pursuit of something deeper, something more fulfilling.
“I really felt like I was a snake shedding my skin. I could feel myself departing… I could be me. I could fully start walking this journey of what I want to do for MY life.”
That calling led him to Bend, where he began planting new roots, not just for himself, but for his family and his future community. In January 2020, Edison and his wife, Hannah, were given the opportunity to take over Lift Fitness Studio on NW Franklin. Just months later, the world changed. COVID-19 forced them to shut down the gym in June of that same year. Thanks to a loyal and supportive community, Lift Fitness reopened its doors by February 2021.
“It was only through a loyal and great community that we got through that,” Edison says, reflecting on those early, difficult days of the pandemic.
After reopening Lift Fitness and overcoming so many challenges, Edison began to focus on a bigger mission, one that goes beyond the gym walls. He recognized that today’s youth face new battles every day. In a world where social media is everywhere, young people are bombarded with unrealistic beauty standards, glamorized portrayals of drugs, alcohol, and violence, and a nonstop stream of comparison that quietly chips away at their confidence and joy. To make things worse, cyberbullying has become a widespread threat, often anonymous, always accessible, and deeply harmful.
Edison sees these challenges clearly, and he’s committed to doing his part to make a difference. Over the past year and a half, he has devoted himself to mentoring young athletes, not just helping them improve their skills on the field, but guiding them to build strong, healthy mindsets. He gives them the tools to manage performance anxiety, develop resilience and face challenges with confidence and clarity.
He points to the most recent St. Charles Community Health Report, which shows that “60% of kids are struggling with moderate to high stress levels, and suicide is the second leading cause of death.”
“If we can reach these kids and give them the tools and skills to face adversity,” Edison says, “they won’t have to turn to drugs or alcohol. They’ll be able to persevere. And if we can do that, we can help our society and community heal.”
Edison and his wife have big plans for the youth of the community. He wants to “evolve the YMCA and Boys and Girls Club concepts” by creating a “whole wellness hub for the city, one that is not purely for profit.” He explains, “I want to build systems that do well and do good, for the benefit of our community. For the good of Bend and Central Oregon.”
Since taking over the business, they’ve weathered a global pandemic, raised three children and faced the challenges of entrepreneurship head on. Through it all, Edison has gained invaluable experience, lessons he’s now applying not just to grow the business, but to pour back into the community in more meaningful ways.
On Friday, July 11 from 6am to 10am Edison and his wife are hosting a free, community block party at Lift Fitness. The event will feature open gym access, group workout classes, cold plunges, coffee, waffles, and more. It’s their way of giving back and for the public to see it.
This article appears in Source Weekly July 10, 2025.
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