Perhaps drawn to the sheer natural beauty surrounding Bend and its endless trails and terrains for hiking, biking, running, rock climbing, kayaking, skiing and snowboarding (and so much more), the city has attracted many individuals who get out, play, compete and thrive in this vibrant outdoor playground. And along with them, so have a great number of health professionals who cater to this active community. Not surprisingly, Bend is uniquely rich in the energy, resources, and innovation within this ever-growing health, wellness, and fitness space.
As an award–winning documentary filmmaker and current board-certified health and wellness coach, I’m excited to merge my interviewing experience with my work in the health realm to create a dynamic new fitness and health podcast, “Bend into Balance.” The space will explore the many paths to well-being — physical, mental, and spiritual — through the voices of Bend’s diverse and rapidly growing wellness community.
The podcast’s first interviewee is Cornelius Edison, a former NFL athlete turned entrepreneur and community wellness advocate based in Bend. As the owner of Lift Fitness Studio, he has helped shape a performance-driven fitness community centered on discipline, connection, and long-term health.
Through his work in health and wellness, Cornelius partners with local leaders, schools, and families to create spaces where people can grow stronger — physically and mentally. A husband, father of three, and active member of the Bend business community, Cornelius is passionate about building environments that elevate people beyond the gym. Whether speaking, coaching, or hosting conversations around leadership and wellness, his mission remains the same: “strengthen individuals so they can strengthen the city.”
Excerpts from the Q&A with Cornelius Edison (quotes have been abridged for print version).
Adriana Marino: How does being the co-owner of The Lift serve you on your health and wellness path?
Cornelius Edison: That is a very tricky question, obviously. So it’s kind of thinking, like, who’s going to teach a teacher, right? I’ve struggled, I’m not gonna lie. Like post sports, weight loss, three young kids at home, business growth, Covid, all those things have challenged my personal author on this, to be completely transparent, and you know, I really had to rewire how my brain worked when it came to performance.
From an athlete perspective, you have an offseason that you focus in training and then you have in-season performance. You execute that training and then you rest and you train the offseason performance level and rest. Life does not work like that. You have to do it. It’s a marathon, not a sprint compared to the athlete’s journey. So once I recognize that aspect, probably a couple years after retirement, I was able to configure a system in my life of performance and rest. Personally speaking, I’m in a season where I’m taking a little rest from the gym, from training and coaching and teaching, because I acknowledge that I need to put more focus on my body. And give it a little bit more TLC because I’m having signs of burnout. So I need to acknowledge that, call it what it is, and then come up with a game plan, refill my cup so I can then help other people.
AM: It sounds like The Lift is much more than just a gym.
CE: Oh, for sure. It’s fitness, it’s classes, it’s personal training, it’s open gym. But I guarantee it’s nothing like it is. And that’s no disrespect to anybody else’s product. But you know, I poured my heart into this. My wife and our team, they pour their heart into this place and people show up and they care and the people who have been coming here. I’ve been working over 15-plus years, and that’s for a reason. // The fabric of that place is love. And you can’t fake that. That’s not something that you can build overnight and that trust that runs deep and the synergy is different. And it’s unlike anything ever seen before. And so with that in mind is why I’m challenging myself to see how we can break that outside the walls to reach more people and to help our community become, again, more connected and more united. Because why not? Like people move here for nature, but they stay for community. And so that’s something that has been very apparent. And the drive to make this a more people-focus place, to me, is health and wellness.
AM: Having been so athletic yourself during your youth, why do you think being in the body is so essential for that growing youth in Bend, and in any other community? Why is it important to get away from screens and get into the gym?
CE: Emotional intelligence, emotional intelligence and learning how to feel. Two things that are required to find any kind of success. And I say success in a way that’s, like, understanding yourself so you can withstand pressure in bad situations and you can recognize good versus bad, right? Like, I’m not talking about success where I’m making a lot of money and I’m all the things, but to me, success is understanding yourself.
So knowing how you need to navigate in order to stay healthy, safe and to lead yourself well, that’s success to me. So by being in the gym and being in sports, you’re able to communicate with teammates, right? You’re able to talk to coaches when you disagree. Right? There’s a safe space to feel on. I think that, you know, I look back in my career, I learned way more when I failed them, than when I won.
Hear the full interview with Cornelius at: bendsource.com.
“Bend into Balance” will feature local athletes, experts and practitioners across a wide spectrum: sports and performance; traditional, functional and naturopathic medicine; nutrition; yoga philosophy and practice; meditation and mindfulness; chiropractic care; plant-based medicine; spirituality; mental health therapy, and more. The interviews seek to engage, inform and inspire the audience to rethink the value and role of health and wellness and how they too can embody their ideal vision.
Adriana Mariño is a documentary filmmaker, a board-certified functional medicine health & wellness coach, and part-time teacher at Cascades Academy. She is completing her 200-hour yoga teacher training at Namaspa and loves to swim, ski, hike, bike, and travel. She can be reached at adrimarino@hotmail.com.
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