Road To Redemption
Road To Redemption
Travis Kring - From Rock Bottom To Renewal - Audio Podcast
What if the bottom was the beginning? Travis Kring joins us to share how losing his marriage, money, and identity became the wake-up call that reordered his life around Jesus and ignited a mission to encourage men. From a desperate fork in the road to a disciplined daily walk, this is a candid look at how faith, family, fitness, and finances can be rebuilt in the right order.
We dig into the power of community and why isolation fuels shame. Travis explains how a simple decision to pray by the water fountain at a secular gym grew into a daily gathering of dozens, creating a space where men open up about divorce, addiction, anxiety, and money stress. He connects sweat and suffering to spiritual growth, showing how self-control in the gym often unlocks self-control in life. Along the way, he offers practical anchors: start with the Gospel of John, read a Proverb each day, commit to a Christ-centered church, and join a small group that tells you the truth in love.
Family and forgiveness take center stage as we talk about fighting for your home with Scripture and humility. Pride and offense split relationships; quick repentance and consistent obedience heal them. Travis challenges men to “attack back” when temptation and fear hit, to control what they can control, and to stop keeping score. He’s lived the cost of compromise and the freedom of surrender—and he’s living proof that shame and guilt lose their power when you step into grace.
If you’re ready to move from survival to purpose, this conversation offers a clear path forward. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review to help others find these stories of real change. Where do you need to take your first step today?
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Welcome. I'm John Martin, your host, and I'm excited to be back here on Road to Redemption today with my good buddy Travis Kring. How are you, buddy? John, my brother.
SPEAKER_00:Great to see you. Great to be back. Yes. It is a blessing to be here with you. And every time I come, it's bigger and better and more impressive. I see what God's doing. I see what God's doing with this podcast and with this ministry. So it's I'm excited, blessed to be a part of it.
SPEAKER_01:You were a big part of inspiring me to take a step out of faith and you know, doing the podcast.
SPEAKER_00:And um, you know, I love how we talked about it. And just it it really is. It's a level of faith to say, God's gonna provide. I got a passion, I've got a talent, God's gonna provide, he will lead the way. The deceiver, the liar says no, all the obstacles, all the all the hesitations. And we make awesome plans, and then God directs every step, and he's directing these steps in a mighty way. It's beautiful.
SPEAKER_01:He is, and it's awesome what he's doing in your life just in a short period of time, you know, a few years you've given your life to Jesus, and you're so bold, and you know, just everywhere you go, you just exude the light of Jesus, and people are attracted to to what you're you're bringing. Um and you know, even I've been so just blown away really by watching what you're doing at the Grand Fitness Gym here in Miramar Beach, how you and Colby Anderson working out over there together, and just one day said, Hey, let's let's maybe start praying here in the gym, just the two of you over by the water fountain. And then I see the the post online now of it looks like sometimes 30, 40, 50 people in this gym like twice a day that are they're praying publicly in a secular gym.
SPEAKER_00:Remarkable.
SPEAKER_01:And and you know, God, y'all were bold, and yeah, and many people are coming to know Jesus through that ministry at the gym. Yes. Um, so that's exciting. And and part of what we were getting together today about is you were telling me your passions are faith, family, fitness, and finances. Amen. In the name of Jesus. And I love that.
SPEAKER_00:And I just, you know, one in that order, I believe, and they're all vital. But I believe they are that is the ordained order of how we should live. I do. I believe I'm passionate about it.
SPEAKER_01:So before we get into that, give people that don't know you maybe just a quick overview of your your story.
SPEAKER_00:God's good. Uh I I've we we talked about this on the way in. Having everything taken from you is humbling. I had a be I I've had a beautiful life. God has blessed me in a mighty way. Nashville, Tennessee, married at a young age, two young sons, born Colin Lou, Love of My Life, Kring 3. We um God had a good plan for me. Sin can overtake that plan. Sin can take you down a road that you never thought you were going to be able to uh even think about going down and derailed what God had said. But God never ever gives up, and God will always leave a 99, keep chasing that one, and he kept chasing after me. We I went down a road of divorce, of infidelity, of a lot of sin, a lot of alcohol, a lot of pornography, a lot of uh depth of depravity, and it took me um to the depth of loss and the depth of pain. And we said this coming in, having everything taken from you is very humbly. And God got my attention on April 6, 2021, and it'll never be the same. Moved us here, got connected with a mighty, mighty powerful men of a group group of men at Destiny Church that you and I know real well. And it's been a remarkable story of grace, of forgiveness, and of passion for what I want to do.
SPEAKER_01:But how did you come out of that though? Because that's not easy. A lot of people that are in that depravity, in that dark, how how did you get to know Jesus?
SPEAKER_00:There was a there was a depth of loss and a depth of emptiness, and there were two directions to go. And I remember it on the beach in West Palm Beach. Two directions I'm gonna go. We're gonna go self, we're gonna go have the human, the the selfish side, or we're gonna give this whole thing up and we're gonna start the process. And God really spoke to my heart on this process and this purification process. 1 Peter 1:7. I felt like I needed to be purified and I needed to start over. And that was the that was how it started. And I knew it in my spirit that this is your fork in the road, Travis. This is 47 years old, John, uh, lost everything. My wife, my sons, my businesses, my money, my career. And God said, this is your time. And it was worth every step of the way. And that what God's done since that time, on healing, restoration, on really directing me to my passion, which is encouragement for men, motivating, encouraging men that we can be and do anything and everything God has for us. So that's where it started. And it's been a beautiful process. Now we're four and a half years in, and I'm I'm connected with some guys that are truly family, guys I love into the depths of my soul. And this is what God created me to be. And it took those losses and those relationship pain and that suffering to be able to be the man that God wants me to be now.
SPEAKER_01:Wow. And now you're, you know, I know you're leading small groups and you're in business, uh fitness, faith, family, fitness, finances.
SPEAKER_00:Um I got a real passion for that. God has given us talents, and He's given me a real passion for that. Uh it's a great way of our the way community connects. Uh I I grew up in that world fitness world, basketball world, competitive world, played at a high level, was able to play internationally for a couple of years, came back to Nashville, Tennessee, got a grad degree in human performance and sports science. So it's always been in me, this fitness, this passion for life. And then now God's directed it in a way to really motivate and encourage men. And it is a community of relationships. There's something that you can really connect with, guys, when you can sweat together, when you can suffer a little bit together, when you can sacrifice together, and it makes us understand what how God really wants us to be. Fruit of the Spirit, first one's love, last one's self-control, self-discipline. And I think it truly, I believe that it truly impacts everybody in our life. And we have the relationships that we've developed here through small group that has led to a fitness activities. We got guys that do jujitsu together, train together, flag football together. There's just such a connection that you can make and uh guys open up. And Matthew 28 tells us to go in all of the world and preach the gospel. Every area of life. That's just a certain area that God really has given me a passion for. This fitness, this physical activity, and the self-esteem and self-worth. John Maxwell said, I read this recently, that encouragement is oxygen for the soul. I want to encourage these guys. I want to motivate them and encourage them and let them know what they're worth. We got guys from all different ages, ranges. Yeah. Some just coming to know Christ, some have been in the have known the King of Kings for 40, 50 years. We train together, we talk together, we pray together, and it has become something that my fire is lit. It grows every day for it.
SPEAKER_01:And people I know you're encountering there going through a lot of the tough times in this world with uh divorces and you know addictions, addictions, and financial, a lot of financial depression, anxiety. And um what are you saying to those people? How are you ministering in the gym and out in the marketplace?
SPEAKER_00:I want to be a light. I want to be Matthew 5. I want to be a light for them and let them know there's hope. And I believe that that's a great uh example of what God's done for me. When I lost when God got my attention, I lost it all in April 6, 2021. Master's degree, was a teacher, was a uh coach, had a businesses. I moved here and I worked for$12 an hour picking up trash at a DR Horton neighborhood and inlet. I was humbled. I needed to work, I needed to be able to know that if I'm faithful in the small, God will be faithful to me in the in the larger things. So I took on that. All glory to God. But when when the guys are in those loss, when he's when they're in those suffering seasons, hey, he's there. He's walking through this thing with you. And this is a season for you to be faithful. This is a season for you to suffer, to understand, to lean into him and know that he's got big plans for you. But it's that consistency. You gotta stay through it. I tell our guys all the time, consistency is the superpower. It is. You got to stay consistent in the suffering, in the loss, and in the times of abundance. Can't take him for granted. The Israelites are a perfect example. You know, I tell our guys a lot, hey, listen, they had every, you see how they God rescued them from loss. They turned, they forgot about him, they took him for granted. He was always there. He provided the manna, he provided the quail, he always took care of him, he provided the Red Sea, we know that. But God will provide, God will, God will walk through it with you. So that's my my um, I think what God really has put on me just to encourage them and give them hope. I've been through it. I've been through it, and I suffer through stuff today. But um, you know, new levels, new devils. God's gonna attack. He's taken away some of my addictions. Thank the Lord, they're gone. But there's new things that come, there's new temptations, there's new fears, and um, it just it forces us to lean into him. Wow.
SPEAKER_01:That's so good. Talking with Travis Kring about faith, family, fitness, and finances. I just I just love that. And they're all important. I mean, it's it's in that order, though. It really, you know, because we put God first, yeah, and then our family, and then we put our business and our hobbies and things. We got to get that in line.
SPEAKER_00:Um the fitness side, I want to be sure that I I don't ever get that guys know it's just about making our body this vessel. You know, there's a um there's a great scripture in 1 Corinthians 10, 31 that talks about everything that we do, everything we do, do all for the glory of God. Our body, we got to take care of it. There's different levels of that. But we have to take it, this has to be our priority. We have people that need us, people that depend on us. We want to be strong, we want to be confident for them. That's where that fitness comes in, and then the community that comes from that, the relationship that comes from that. And I'm about healing and restoring souls. My my job, which is a blessing, is Phoenix Restoration. So we restore people's homes from water losses, from mold, from fire damage. And it's a beautiful situation. Shane Pratt hired me a few years ago to be able to help me restore people's homes, and that's exactly what I want to do with restore people's hearts and their families and their health. So God intertwined those things in a beautiful way, and I'm just so thankful for it. And it my passion grows for it every day.
SPEAKER_01:What you're doing too is we're all called to you know be a pastor in the marketplace. Yes. Yes. We may not do that for a living or on Sundays, but when we go out in the marketplace, you know, we need to serve God to minister. Amen. Uh I think we're all in we're all in full-time ministry. We are. We're not supposed to just do that, you know, go to Sunday church and you know, they're it's great. We go and and and we encourage everyone to go, to get in a Christ-centered church, and as we say, get into the Word of God, read the Bible, get up in the morning and in the evening, read the Word of God every day, and get into a small group that you can do life with, be accountable to, be vulnerable. Um, but but be, you know, what what what you're doing and what I'm uh so just in blessing you in your job and everywhere you go, you're you're sharing the love of Jesus. You're you're you know, meet people where they are and just uh love people.
SPEAKER_00:I'm called to be a light. We are we're called to be salt and light for all people. This happens to be the area that I'm real passionate about and that God's given me a talent and an ability for. And and I gotta use it, I've got to use it. I mean, I'm called to be a vessel for that. And the the gym community, the fitness community, is is a great way because every we're all in there together. We're all do we all have our different motivations, our different goals for that. But we have a but we're the the the day starts off. Our vibe is right here at Grand Fitness. Starts at 8. We got a big group. We all train, we do our things together, then we pray every day at 9, and it's growing, John. It's growing, you know, like you talked about, it's growing huge. We got 30 every week, every week. Started with two of us. And but it's pieces. You talk to guys, you see them, you invite them. Then that that prayer at 9 a.m. leads to another conversation, that leads to maybe inviting them into a small group, that leads to connection with them. And that's what it's about. It's every piece, using that as an opportunity to make connection. And I love and am deeply passionate about connection with men, to be able to say, hey, where are you? How can I help you? People want to feel valued, they want to feel worthy, they want to feel loved, and they want to feel and not feel judged. And uh I want to give them hope. I want to let them know that no matter where you've been or what you've done, God will forgive you, and there is a beautiful, bright hope and future for you.
SPEAKER_01:Let's talk a little bit about family. Uh, because I know a lot of the the guys that you're ministering to and and and that I I see out there is a lot of people have gone through divorce or maybe having troubles with their marriages, and gosh, I know that's the way the enemy is. You know, he wants to tax the family marriage, so he does. Talk to us a little bit about what you've learned, you know, having had a marriage that didn't work, yeah, and what have been your learnings from that? And what are you sharing with other men? You know, uh great question.
SPEAKER_00:But you could do different with that attack the enemy back and not be on defense. I love how we now have our department of war in the government. It's not a department of defense. We change it to department of war. This is a spiritual warfare every day. I I was doing some research recently. We go through 13,000 decisions per day. Can you imagine that number? 13,000 decisions from from what we're gonna eat, what we're gonna do, what we're gonna think, when we're gonna get up, all 13,000, 13,000 opportunities the devil has to attack us. And in the in when we're fathers, when we're husbands, he is attacking that family.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:So what I want to share and what I tell guys is attack back. When those thoughts come, take them captive and fight right back. He comes at us with what could be, what's better, temptation, fear, um, insecurity, all the things. And we want to attack him back with scripture, with what God does have for us. And know that he has good plans for us. It's it's tough. He wants to come after the family, he does. And it is a difficult. I had two sons, have two sons, and we were we were young and married, and it's a stressful, busy, difficult time. You've got young kids. It's it's hard. There's nothing easy about it. But what we can say is that look, this thing right here that God has is a mighty powerful vessel. The devil wants to destroy it. So armor up and attack him back. Wake up in the morning, put him first. I I quote Romans 12, 1 and 2 every morning when I wake up. I quote it, today's the day. Today is the day. Let's call I do not want to conform to this world. I want to be different. I want to put him first. And it is an ongoing process every day. Like talking to God, rebuking the devil when he when he sends these thoughts and these negative feelings and these fears, rebuke him back and attack back. So those are key components. Not just receive it, not just fight it off. No, he's coming. He's coming, so let's fight back.
SPEAKER_01:I think a lot of it is um we we need to get pride out of the way. It's huge. Huge and and and and um and and seek forgiveness. Um pride's a tough one, it is. Because a lot of what in relationships we we always we think we're right. And it's them. Yeah, you know, they're the problem, the the spouse, when a lot of times we need to look at ourselves and see what where am I being prideful? What what can I change about myself? And then go, you know, go to our spouse and say, you know, I'm sorry, you know, would you please forgive me? But there's so much pride there in these relationships that that pride and unforgiveness gets in the way. And if we can be better at, you know, saying, I'm sorry, yes, you know, a lot of this is me, I'm the problem. Amen.
SPEAKER_00:And it takes some serious humility. And being an at former athlete, coming, former coach, coming from that world, control what you can control. We used to tell our players that. So in the spiritual world, in this leadership world, what can I control? I can control what I've done. I can control that the sin, the offense that I've committed. She or he might not receive it, but we pray that they will. But I've got to look in my heart. I've got to show humility. I've got to put my pride aside. John Bevere's book, and you're you're your good friend and a great book, the bait of Satan is offense, is pride. Yeah. Control what I can control. I I've got to be humble enough to say, I made a mistake there. I didn't honor God in that situation. I didn't respond well, I didn't put him first. And I've got to passionately repent and turn from it. And then I, that's what I can do. And then I've got to trust God with what he's gonna do in the relationship in the future. But John, you hit on that huge. Or the devil wants us with pride and with um the spirit of offense and feeling wronged. And agape love is no record of wrongs, is no keeping score, is forgiving those that hurt us. And I got to be able to forgive those, but I've also got to be able to say, listen, I handled this wrong. And there's no uh what's great about talking to men and being in group is being able to share that, being able to ask, hear that guys have gone through that, hear that they've talked about that, and how it gives us confidence to be able to share it. Because we want to ball it up, we want to keep it inside. And I I tell our, you know, isolation is where the devil takes us to die. And he wants us to isolate, he wants us to be angry, to be fearful, to be uh offended, keep his thing inside. The greatest therapy we could ever go through is conversations like this, is men's group. It's the greatest therapy, and it is a healing, and the devil loses. That's how we attack him. He loses when we talk about this, when we are humble, when we ask forgiveness, and we receive freedom.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:How the other person responds is up to the Lord. But they will, you know, you think about when people watch and see what God's done in your life, you can't hide the fruit. And people want more of it.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and just looking at it where you were just a few years ago, the place you were in, you know, divorce, no money, desperate, addictions, just and and to see by you stepping into a personal relationship with Jesus and surrendering your life to Him where it has you today is you know, you're you're walking in freedom and joy. And when I saw you come up here today, I was like, man, I I don't think I've ever seen you not in a joyous mood, and and and you said it's when you have everything, we've talked about this, when you have everything taken from you, it's very humbling.
SPEAKER_00:171 pounds, no job, no wife, no children, no future, no prospects. That's what I thought. But God was saying, Hey Travis, I need to get you here. I now I've got your attention. Now the idols are gone. Now the arrogance is gone, now the self-righteous is gone. Now I can really mold you to becoming the man that you want to be. And I remember that. I don't have uh guilt or shame. God's removed that. All glory to God, He has removed it. But I remember it. And it motivates me every day. It motivates and encourages me every day to know that's what sin, that's the level of depth of loss and suffering that sin will take you to. And I don't want any of our guys to experience that. Any relationship I'm in, John, I would never want anyone to experience that. And you know what God does this is beautiful. He brings a lot of men in my life that are battling, that are suffering, that are tempted. And I say, I'm gonna tell you something, you don't want to be on this side. So I got guys that come to me, awesome guy, married, children, temptations coming in. They're being pulled out from another woman, they're being pornography issues. I say, let me tell you something, you don't want to be on this side. Let's fight this thing now. They're safe enough to share it with me without judgment. That's awesome. And uh, I can say, this is where the devil will take you so much further than you think you want to go, don't even get close to the ledge, bro. Don't even get close. Let's get back on track, let's put him first, and let's watch him heal and restore your heart. So that's where my passion comes from.
SPEAKER_01:What can you say to anybody listening that sees you now, you're doing great, and but but it's like, you know, I don't know this God. How how do I know this God is real? He's Jesus. What do you say to those guys?
SPEAKER_00:It my my my heart for that goes to we've got a where's your void? What do you desire? What what's what's your goal? And we we we have a we have a void in our heart that is specific for God. All of us do. There's a level of joy and peace that comes that you can't even describe, and I would share that with them. And having having God as a center of your life is not the absence of pain, not the absence of suffering. It doesn't all go away. There's just peace and there's confidence through that time. And I would just encourage, I had a guy reach out to me just the other day, real good friend, got his first Bible. Travis, where should I start? I was so proud of him. I was like, my man, that is a great start in the book of John. Read one proverb a day. Let's get started. California guy, not a lot of Jesus, didn't know much, but he sees what it does, and he's asking about it. And we all do have that. We have that void. No matter how you want people want to describe it, there is a void in there, and God's the only one that can fill it. And so I just try to share that with them that you know what, let's try it.
SPEAKER_01:Well, and and and he's always been there. You know, he's our father, he loves us, he's he's always there, but he he's been pursuing us, but we it's a two-way thing. We have to come back and and and and pursue him. Yeah, you know, and and and cry out to him in prayer and speak to him, and he'll speak to our heart, but we've got to take that step.
SPEAKER_00:That's right. That consistent obedience step, which is huge. And even when your heart, when it's new, I remember when I first moved back here in um June 15th, 2021, met Paul Hunter at the gym, he invited me to group. That's where I met Colby. God orchestrated that as beautiful. The only reason I wanted to go to group was so that everybody will hear about me going to group. My wife will hear, maybe she'll come back. There wasn't a lot of depth of that. It was it was a little selfish, but I but it but he got me there. Yeah, and I kept going. I kept going. And all the while, I didn't, I didn't say, I'm it's amazing because I sat in there for four or five weeks, didn't say a word, fearful, scared, but I wanted to be sure everybody heard that I was going to group. All the while, God's working on my heart. God's softening my heart. These pieces are coming in. I'm seeing men that have gone through stuff just like me. It gave me hope. God kept pursuing me. Just like you said, he kept pursuing me. Then you want more, you want to listen more, you want to talk to guys more, you want to reach out to Colby and Destin more. Let's have some one-on-one. How did you do this? What was your how how would you handle this? And the key theme, John, was always consistency daily. Trust God, let him work, let him sanctify your heart. And that's how it worked. Now we get to where I've seen it, and nobody can argue with your testimony. I mean, truly. They can question it, they can ask you about it, but you really, it's nobody can argue with it. God has done this in my life. He's done it, and he's gonna do more, and he'll do it for you. He'll give you freedom, he'll give you peace, he'll remove some of these things for you. And it's a daily commitment to really want to pursue that.
SPEAKER_01:And he takes away all the shame and guilt. That's a big one that is gone, and I think that's what a lot of people out there have a lot of shame and guilt about their life, the things they've done. They, you know, it's such a comparative mindset out there with social media, and we just we just promise you if you'll take the step, get into the word of God, yes, get into a Christ-centered church, get into a small group, take those steps. Everything, all the shame and guilt will go away, and and and and and Jesus will come into your heart, invite him in, ask him to be your Lord and Savior. And and the Holy Spirit. You'll ask the Holy Spirit to come in and you will your life will be transformed. It's wonderful.
SPEAKER_00:It's wonderful, and forgiving ourselves is a big one. Forgiving ourselves for the depth of our sin, the people that we've hurt. I have hurt people in my life. My actions have affected a lot of people in a negative, painful way. That's a hard thing to get over. But God does. The depth of forgiveness is so beautiful. It took, it took some time for me to really forgive myself. And God says, I have forgiven you, I've washed you clean. Really? You really forgive me and you remove my sin as far as the east from the west. That's a tough thing to believe at first. Then when you see and you read and you understand that, God loves us that much. He loves us enough to send his own one and only Son to die so that we can have forgiveness of those sins of the people that we've hurt. That's what was a great thing for me was understanding that. Forgiving myself and knowing that I'm a new, perfect creation. I've been made clean. And now let's hit it from here. So forgiveness is a big one, John. It is. Wow.
SPEAKER_01:Well, this has been so great. Wonderful. Um anything else you want to share before we go?
SPEAKER_00:Just thankful for the opportunity to be able to talk about our heart, what God has done in our heart. This stuff really is everything to me. And our our our our community, I want more opportunities with guys to talk about this and to share it. This gym community, this small group community, this this our our world. God keeps opening doors for me, and this is another one being able to be here with you and just be able to share what God can do. The magnitude of God and his love is never ending. Never ending, and he never gives up on us ever. So thank you for the chance to talk about that today.
SPEAKER_01:And before we go, I just feel called to pray for anyone out there that is just maybe in, they've been in isolation, depression, uh, shame, guilt, a lot of these things we've talked about, and they just don't know how to take that next step. They're just not sure. So we just want to pray and invite Lord Jesus in your mighty name, we pray for these people. You know who they are that are listening now, and Lord, we just ask that you meet them right now where they are and their needs, and that you come and you fill the void, and that they receive you as their Lord and Savior, and that they take that step to get to know you in a personal way, that they take that step to start reading your word, to get into a Christ-centered church and get into a group. Lord, we just pray that you will open doors for them today and in the days ahead for these relationships to come together in Jesus' name. Amen.
SPEAKER_00:Amen. And and reach out to me. I will be happy to. I'm on social media. Reach out. I have guys call me every week. And that is, there's nothing more important than when there's a need. And um, so I want you to know you can reach out to me. Travis Kring, Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. Yep. Travis Kring33 on on Instagram. I I will I'll pray with you, I'll spend time with you. This is what God has called me to do, and I'm passionate about it.