Luis Alvarez

Mexican, Ironman, triathlete, mountaineer, sky diver, scuba diver, entrepreneur, international motivational speaker, advisor, blind athlete guide, proud father, family guy, electronics and communications engineer. World record holder, the only person to have completed (at least once) all the full distance IRONMAN events in the world (201 as of May 18, 2023) that have ever existed. He is 61 years old.

As a professional, he has worked for 35 years in the automotive industry, successfully holding various executive and managerial positions, including the CEO of SAG-MECASA, a world leader in the manufacture of fuel tanks and aluminum parts for clients such as Daimler, BMW, Navistar, Ford, General Electric, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Porsche, Maybach, Rolls-Royce, Boeing, and KTM.

His passion for sport has been transmitted to his son who has begun to follow in his footsteps, as well as inspiring thousands of people who, like him, seek to challenge their own limits. Thanks to this and his success as a businessman, he is also a prestigious speaker for high-performance teams, applying his experiences and challenges related to sports and business.

Tell me how you first got into triathlon.

When I was 21 years old, I was a professional couch potato. When I was in University, we had to walk 3 miles and I could only do 1.5 miles. I smoked since I was 14 years old, and I was lazy and overweight. The next day, I reflected and thought that if I cannot even complete a 5k, I am not going to be able to do anything in life! That day changed me and inspired me to be better. From there, I started small — I did a 5k, then a 10k, then a half marathon and then finally a marathon. Then in 1986, I heard of this crazy sport called triathlon – I did my first one that year. Next, I heard about the IRONMAN triathlon and knew that I wanted to do it. In 1991, I completed my first IRONMAN and I did it in Kona because at that time, I was one of the only Mexicans and there were only a few other countries; you did not need to qualify but you did have to apply by mail. I sent in my picture and everything else needed in an envelope and shipped it — I heard back a few weeks later and was approved! That race changed my life and I made this crazy goal to complete every IRONMAN in the world. One thing to note about that though, there were only 7 IRONMAN in the world at that time! In the first 5 years, I did 1 per year. Last year, I did 6 IRONMAN in 6 weeks!

What does your exercise routine look like?

Well, for 30 years my first training session starts way before the problems wake up. Some days I would wake up around 4 a.m.. I would have a quick bite at my desk and then do a second training session. During the weekends it was around 10 to 15 hours of training — that is when I would do my long swim, bike, and run. I am not training as much over the last few years because I have had 4 spine surgeries and heart problem (atrial fibrillation and inflammation of my heart). Since December 2022, the doctor told me I could not train but finally once the doctor did release me and allow me to do some training, I slowly began and recently completed IRONMAN Woodlands on NO training. I’ve been training my whole life and I have done so many that I knew I could do it.

You have 201 Ironman events – which one would you say was the hardest you have ever done?

I have like 50 stories about which IRONMAN were the hardest, but I will first tell you about the hardest experience of my life. It was climbing Mt. Everest — I went blind near the top of the mountain at C3 (27,000 ft up). I was reminded of how little control on the situation I had at that moment and it was challenging. Since that experience though, I have completed 10 IRONMAN with blind people.

Regarding IRONMAN, one of the hardest is from IRONMAN Wales — at that time that was one of the most difficult races around the world. I was competing with Dave Orlowski ✝️, who was the 3rd place finisher at the first IRONMAN ever in 1978. The race was cold, rainy and windy, and we barely made the cut off times.

Which IRONMAN race is the most memorable to you?

Completing IRONMAN 100 with my son was really special to me.

Tell the story about doing 2 IRONMAN events in one weekend.

Jeff Jonas is a good friend of mine. He is a successful entrepreneur that sold his company to IBM and also had this crazy goal to complete every IRONMAN that exists in the world today. There was one challenge — IRONMAN Mallorca was on a Saturday in Spain and IRONMAN Chattanooga was on Sunday in Tennessee. Initially we said it was impossible logistically. However, one night at 2am I get a text from Jeff telling me to call him. We talk and he says that he figured out to make it work – we need to charter a jet! Jeff and I had a conference call every Friday evening for several weeks to outline exactly what needed to be done and we knew that in order for this to work we would need a 3rd person to help — that third person was, my compadre, Dave Orlowski ✝️! The jet solution was not going to be cheap and it required a legitimate business logistics and operations outline and some help from the GREAT team at IRONMAN to make it come together, but it worked. We both finished in IRONMAN Mallorca and IRONMAN Chattanooga.

How did IRONMAN impact your professional life?

I had a very successful career as an automotive executive in Mexico City. IRONMAN helped me with so many facets of work. I learned about planning, hard work, being competitive and following through on a plan.

I also traveled internationally frequently for races so what I decided to do was find competitors near where I was competing and schedule meetings with them when I was in the area. Some of those meetings turned into international joint venture partnerships for my automotive company!

Do you have any life mottos or principles you follow?

Have integrity in all you do.

One of the things I also say is change “I have to” to “I get to” or “I want to”. In the morning when you wake up, don’t say “I have to go and train”. If you feel tired or do not want to, wait a few minutes and think “I get to do this” and it really changes everything.

My motto: Failure does not exist — you either succeed or you learn!