Welcome to the FFB BFF Series, featuring Justin Ramos, one of my best friends in the world! This series is devoted to sharing meaningful conversations between my nearest & dearest as we navigate the journey to our dreams. Remember when Cassie Silva and I did the 3 Part FFB BFF Series?  This is an extension celebrating the pal who brought Cassie & I together, Justin!! :) Justin and I met in undergrad at Loyola Marymount and I've been convincing him for the last four years to move to NYC and this year he did! He's one of the most talented pianists & musicians I know and is an awesome buddy to have help prep for auditions or performances. We sat down last week before taking a little trip to Broadway to see The Great Comet and talked about living life FFB in NYC! Enjoy!!

NOTE FROM JUSTIN: Hey FFB family, if you EVER need a pianist please reach out I would love work with you! You can contact me at (805) 377-0030 justin.ramos@verizon.net @justramos 

I offer accompaniment prep for auditions, coaching, arranging your sheet music, and recording rehearsal tracks so you can feel ready and prepared for any performance or audition you are working towards. Contact me for rates that are friendly for the aspiring performer in NYC!

Thanks everyone =)

Jane: How long have we been friends, Justin?

Justin: Oh my gosh, we’re coming up on 10 years… no wait, 9 years. We have to do something big for 10!

Jane: Next year we have to take a trip! We should go to London and see West End shows for our 10 year friendversary.

Justin: Hamilton’s going there!

Jane: Yes!

So, we met at Loyola Marymount…

Justin: Yes, that was the start of our wonderful friendship though our Music Program.

Jane: I miss casual Fridays. (*casual Fridays used to be a tradition. Justin and I would skip class to go eat omelettes or acai bowls*)

Justin: I think that’s the hardest part about being out of school is not being around music people all the time. I lived in the music building! We’d go take walks and go to class together…

Jane: Yea, but that is what’s going to happen when you’re in a show. And what I’m trying to create through Fit for Broadway… COMMUNITY!! :)

Justin: I already am a part of the FFB community!

Jane: Yep, you are!! Which segues us perfectly.. How does health & fitness effect your life as a pianist? You’re a big supporter of FFB but how do you feel like that translates to your life and how has FFB impacted you?

Justin: Ever since you started Fit for Broadway, I don’t know if you know this… A couple years ago, you came to my house in Camarillo, CA. and I was so excited to follow your first picture of your trip. You posted a picture of a salad and inspired me to eat a salad every single day.

Jane: Yess!!!!!!!!

Justin: I thought, if Jane can do this.. she’s posting pictures of her wonderful lunches and greens and vegetables, I should start eating healthy. So I started eating a salad every day and I still do to this day.

Jane: THAT’S AMAZING!!! That’s a TESTIMONY. We need this front page no the blog.

Justin: You can go back and see which picture.

Jane: I know exactly what picture it is… it was a chicken asian salad with those little crunchies on top. I’m so proud of you!! But balance right, because you also love ice cream.

Justin: Ice cream is my favorite dessert but not anymore because of you! Being a pianist, I don’t really have to focus on my body in terms of work but as a human being, that’s where I want to be focused on mind, body, wellness. It’s all related to how we live our life, not just at work.

Jane: I always tell people the energy that you get from being active and healthy, it translates to every area of your life not just performance.

Justin: Yes! And having a positive attitude, which I’m all about.

Jane: Let’s go ahead and broadcast, JUSTIN RAMOS IS THE MOST POSITIVE HUMAN I KNOW. Literally gets the award for THE MOST positive person.

Justin: I love the emoji with the star with the circle around it. It’s the positive energy emoji for me!

I’ve been coming to your workshops and getting so much inspiration from the Broadway guests and people I’ve met there. I’m really trying to workout as much as I can… I go on runs in Central Park, I bought a jump rope and the swerk it app! that someone told us about at the Workshop. I bought You Are A Badass!

Jane: Shoutout to Chris Rice for his book recommendation at the first FFB Workshop!

Justin: I love these workshops, Go to the workshops!! (PSA) haha but I’ve been meeting these cool people who have amazing lives and learning so much from them.

Jane: I love hearing that you’re working out more. We need to go on runs together. I love going running in Central Park. It always clears my head so much and is as much an hour for my energy and mental health as it is physical. I love running around the reservoir!

I’m so inspired by how you're always up for bettering yourself in one way or another. Like working out and making it a priority and this whole smoothie movement you’re on! You decided you were going to start every day with a smoothie you do it. You just commit and you do it!

Justin: I bought a ninja blender and I have a fruit smoothie every morning. I usually add bananas and frozen fruit, mangos or strawberries or blueberries, no added sugar and a little bit of almond milk and granola! Which has a little bit of sugar but that’s ok, it’s good for you in moderation. Then after I’ll have my breakfast with eggs or sometimes waffles but for lunch I always have salads. I try and have my greens with both lunch and dinner. Here’s the best part!!.. I’m regulating my sugar!! Last year for lent I gave up ice cream but then I thought why stop there so I gave up all sweets! It was kind of difficult but not really.

Jane: You’re so disciplined though, you commit to something and you do it, which inspires me so much.

Justin: Here’s the best part though, when the 40 days was up I was so excited to have a treat. I had a little slice of cake and my stomach hurt from it so now I limit myself to weekends because I don’t need sugar every day like I used to. So M- F, I don’t have sugar.

Jane: I’ve interviewed a few people who have their cheat days or limit certain things during the week. I love that idea!

Justin: Yea, what really got me inspired was all of these Broadway people who need to be super fit. They have such rigorous schedules, the dancing, they have to be healthy. I don’t need that as a pianist… we just sit on our bench.

Jane: Totally, but don’t you think the rigorous schedule you will have will require you to be healthy even just for your energy and being present at rehearsals and stuff. For me, when I’m feeling unhealthy I get so foggy and lethargic.

Justin: Yes! So something you talk about a lot is having a healthy lifestyle helps with being positive and having energy and I agree with that. If you eat junk, you just feel bad but when you’re healthy you feel more productive.

Jane: I want to talk about your coaching! You have coached two of our dear friends, Cassie Silva & Ana Villafane, for their Broadway auditions. They’ve both been on the blog. You coached them at very pivotal moments in their lives.

Justin: Yea! Cassie called me one day and asked if I could play piano for her audition tape for Rock of Ages. We went in and did an hour of audition tapes and that same day she got a call and found out she was going to New York. I didn’t really coach Cassie, we just ran with it and recorded her audition. We were doing a lot of workshop stuff for this program called Stages, a Musical Theatre camp for kids. So we worked together a lot and I love Cassie.

Ana and I had the background of 4 years in college together and she called me up one day and said “Hey Justin, I’m auditioning for Broadway” (On Your Feet!) She asked if she could go over the sides and songs and so she came to my house and we went over everything for a few hours and it was so fun. It was over a year ago!

Jane: I remember sitting in the car with you in Camarillo and you played me a video recording you had taken during your rehearsal with Ana and I remember saying to you “She has this part” and you were like I don’t want to jinx it, let’s just wait to hear and I was like “Justin she’s absolutely going to get this role, it’s happening” And it did!! and then we got to go to her opening night together and we cried hahaha.

Justin: Yea those are my two claim to fames! I love coaching. It’s all about having a good time and being confident. There’s only so much I can do in terms of technique and acting because people have their voice & acting coaches. But when they come to me, I want to help with musicality, being positive and just being a really good cheerleader.

Jane: I would say that’s definitely your strongest asset like when you used to coach me when we did concerts together. I always felt like, ok as long as I have Justin next to me everything is going to be fine! You’re such a leader in that sense.

Justin: I love collaborating with singers. It’s so fun!!!

Jane: So what are we going to manifest for you in New York?

Justin: (breaks out singing Hamilton) haha I’ve thought about it a long time. Broadway has always been my goal, whatever that means. Maybe it’s doing a show, or rehearsals, or something else but I took a leap of faith when I moved out here. I have hope and of course you have to have positive energy! I’m meeting so many people and there’s so much energy from the city. You told me this!! We were sitting in a jazz bar in New Orleans and you said you just have to do it [move] because there’s so much energy in the city that I would pick up. Do you remember that?

Jane: I don’t!

Justin: yea, it really stuck with me that you said that and you really encouraged me to come out. I’ve been out here for just over 3 months and I love this city and love Broadway!! We’re actually going to a show tonight!! The Great Comet!

Jane: On that note… :)

Justin: To sum it up, Mind Body Broadway. You have to have a positive attitude and if you are a go getter and you want to make these things happen, have a lot of hope and self confidence, and the rest will fall into place. It’ll happen!

connect with justin

Instagram: @justramos  |  Twitter: @justramos  |  Facebook: Justin Ramos