‘I grew up poor, living in a trailer’: Meet the entrepreneur who transformed his life

Growing up Rene Rodriguez was used to “not having much” but inspired by his immigrant mother’s tenacity, he didn’t care about his family’s lack of money

The CEO said it was “working as a salesperson that sparked a passion in me” (Jam Press/@learnwithrene)

A former athlete who never knew his own father has revealed how his tough upbringing – living in trailers and migrant camps – helped him become a success, and says his six kids will “never want for anything”.

Instead, this spurred him on to work even harder for success, especially once he had children of his own.

“My family didn’t have much,” the dad, who has 61,600 followers (@learnwithrene) told JamPrime.com.

“When I was very little, we lived in migrant camps; I remember different mums taking turns to watch over me when my own mum was busy working.

“As I got older, we moved out of a trailer and eventually into a house, when I was around seven years old.

“I never had video games or cable TV, and other kids often bullied me and it probably didn’t help that I was a pretty chubby child too.

“I was aware that we were considered poor but it never really bothered me, it was just how things were.”

Rene’s escape came in the form of basketball, a passion that started at the age of seven and continued through high school.

He went on to play in college too but worked part-time selling cookware door-to-door to pay for his bills, all the while learning skills that would help him.

The 47-year-old motivational speaker and CEO, who lives with his family in a million-dollar home, said: “Working as a salesperson sparked a passion in me; not just the selling itself.

“I was studying for a degree in psychology behavioural neuroscience and figuring out what makes people tick, how charm and personality plays into business, fascinated me.

“Success in selling cookware sparked the passion for selling and development.”

After graduating in 1998, Rene went to work for his mum’s consultancy firm, Volentum, and became the CEO two months before 9/11.

He also continued his passion for sports, competing in mixed martial arts and powerlifting in his spare time.

Twenty-six years later, Rene employs eight people and has helped hundreds of thousands of people become millionaires thanks to his methodologies.

He’s also financially secure, which means the world to the dad, who has six children aged between the ages of four to 22 named Alex, Diego, Parker, Roman, Weston and Aspen.

Rene’s mum Magaly del Carmen Rodriguez tragically passed away in February last year but he says she was incredibly proud of his success.

He said: “Making money is great but I will always work hard to create more value for my clients and my family.

“It doesn’t change my work ethic or purpose.”