Moraes and Palermo Pay Tribute to Cruz

By: Justin Felisko
December 18, 2018

PUEBLO, Colo. – Three-time World Finals event winner Robson Palermo can still hear the words – and the precise, militaristic tone in which they were said – as his body screamed in agony with sweat pouring out of him at XTC Fitness & Sports in Tyler, Texas.

“Keep going!” Tony Cruz would bark.

“Push yourself!” Palermo’s long-time trainer began to beat into his head.

“Don’t stop! Don’t stop!”

Palermo then laughed on Monday morning as he reflected on his trainer and friend’s life.

It was 2012. Palermo was struggling to return to his World Championship-contending form because of shoulder injuries.

He was nowhere near the shape he once was.

Cruz kept barking the commands, but Palermo could not keep up.

Therefore, Palermo apologized.

“I am sorry,” he said.

Cruz then stared back at him.

His face only got more intense.

“No. You are not sorry,” Cruz said. “You are just weak.”

Palermo’s workout routine just increased another hour in that moment. Instead of an hour-and-a-half session, Cruz put Palermo through a rigorous two-and-a-half-hour regiment.

It was less about rehabbing his shoulders, but rather building back Palermo’s mental strength.

Palermo was mentally weak, more so than physical, and Cruz knew there would be no physical recovery if the mind was not recovered as well.

“Finally, when I finished the training, I felt good,” Palermo said. “And I said, ‘OK. You got me. I feel good. You change my mind. I was weak.’”

Palermo wanted to tap out, but there was no quitting when Tony Cruz was your trainer.

Palermo will always remember the encouragement Cruz gave him throughout his 12-year career.

Anthony (Tony) Bradley Cruz, 57, passed away on Saturday afternoon in Texas, when a tree fell on the road and he was unable to stop his motorcycle in time.

Palermo, who has lived in Tyler since the late 2000s, was stunned to hear of Cruz’s death Saturday night when he was brushing his teeth before bed. His wife, Priscilla, had received an email with the tragic news.

Cruz’s death has rocked the Tyler community.

Cruz – a performance specialist, trainer and motivational speaker with close to three decades of experience – was a staple in the Tyler sports scene. He trained a series of athletes with a unique blend of physical training and sports psychology.

The Flint, Texas, native worked with military members, Division I athletes, football players, tennis players and athletes of all ages.

Prior to becoming a full-time trainer, Cruz spent 22 years in the media industry.

Cruz, who was also a first lieutenant in the Texas State Guard, owned XTC Fitness & Sports in Tyler for six years (2011-2017). In 2017, he closed XTC and transitioned his business to the Tyler Athletic & Swim Club.

The fitness guru grew to have a special appreciation for professional bull riding after beginning to train three-time World Champion Adriano Moraes in the mid-2000s.

Cruz and Palermo first met in 2006 via Moraes.

Some of Cruz’s best work came that year as he helped Moraes become the oldest World Champion in PBR history at 36 years old.

“I met Tony towards the end of my career, and I guarantee you meeting that guy is one of the reasons that I won my third world title,” Moraes said on Monday. “He was a very, very motivational trainer. He wasn’t just a physical trainer. He was also a psychological trainer. He was a person that never gave up.

“He was very crucial in me winning my last time. He was very intense with training because I was a pretty old guy. He knew exactly how to inspire me, encourage me. That is why he was one of the reasons why he was so important to my career, especially at the end. When you are in your prime, it is easy, but when you are getting old, and are not as young anymore and not in your prime, it takes a special person to work with you to try to get the best out of you. That is exactly what Tony Cruz did for me.”

Moraes was already en route to Texas this week to meet his son, Antonio, as he prepares to move to Nashville to pursue a music career. Adriano altered his plans to make sure he could attend Cruz’s memorial service on Wednesday at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler. The service begins with a rosary at 2:30 p.m. CT.

“He was so much more than just my physical trainer,” Moraes said. “He was a mentor. He was a coach. But the most, he was my friend.

“That is what I am going to miss the most. I am going to miss my friend Tony Cruz. It is going to be a very, very sad day because home in the U.S. is not as complete anymore. I am going to miss him. I lost a friend.”

Two years after helping Moraes win a third World Championship, Cruz teamed up with Palermo to help the Rio Branco, Brazil, native win the first of his three World Finals event titles.

Cruz then helped train Palermo again during his 2012 World Finals event-winning season.

While Priscila was still in college, Palermo would commute three hours a day from College Station, Texas, to train alongside Moraes with Cruz in Tyler.

“We were pretty much together all the time because we lived in the same town,” Palermo said. “Even if it was not a big training, I was near him working out. He has been a part of my career for a lot. The last year, and the past year, we was training pretty good together.”

Australian bull rider Justin Paton was training with Cruz on and off since the beginning of last year. Whenever Paton was in the U.S., he would try to connect with Cruz.

Cruz helped Paton rebound from a torn PCL last year and helped him gain 12 pounds of muscle.

“Working with Tony in the gym was an experience I’ll never forget, and in no way was I prepared for it,” Paton said. “He had a way of getting the best out of you and building you up mentally. I don’t think there is a brief way to describe Tony in the gym, but if I had to try, I’d say he was ambitious.”

Robson had just seen Cruz at church a few weeks ago. The two had coached a bull riding clinic together last month as well.

“It is hard to lose a guy like that,” Palermo said. “He is a very close friend. We spend a lot of time together. Sometimes we go eat together. Barbeque together. Drink together. He is kind of part of the family.”

Cruz not only motivated Palermo inside the gym, but outside of it as well.

Palermo has begun to train aspiring bull riders in Texas, and he hopes to one day own his own bull riding school.

He will continue Cruz’s legacy through his own coaching now.

“My goal is to open up a deal here to train young kids,” Palermo said. “Start at the base. How you prepare yourself to go to those big events and this and that. I know most of those kids now have been coming to the tour have been training good. Some kids, though, don’t have it in their mind to do good on the (first) year. I am going to try and help out those young kids. To teach them how to handle the pressure. The way you handle when you are hurt.”

And, sure enough, Palermo uses videos of himself training with Cruz as examples for the kids.

“I have been using all of his training videos,” Palermo concluded.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

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