Fitness
Fitness Training
The Luka Ðukić story: How functional fitness can transform body and mind
Fitness is more than just performance and functional fitness pro Luka Ðukić believes it can transform you into a better person if you focus on one key thing.
Luka Ðukić grew up with a single-minded obsession: football. "My only goal was just to be a soccer player, nothing else," he says.
Adolescence has a way of rewriting plans however and a broken leg during his teens threatened to sideline Ðukić's dreams for good. It was then that his older brother, Lazar, a rising name in the fitness world, nudged him toward a new arena – functional fitness, a world where strength, strategy and discipline mattered as much as speed.
What began as a detour became a calling. Together, the Ðukić brothers carved a path from local competitions in Eastern Europe to the global stage, where the best functional fitness athletes in the world became not just their rivals, but their peers.
Ðukić has since carried more than medals; he carries a testament to perseverance, strength and the unshakable bond of brotherhood. Ðukić proves that greatness is not measured only in victories, but in the courage to rise every day, again and again.
Luka Ðukić is a model for how fitness training can also transform the mind
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
You've become a leader in functional fitness. Did you ever expect this level of fame?
Was it always your intention to become one of the best in the world?
If you set out to be the best in the world and that's your only goal, you'll feel like a failure every day unless you actually succeed. But if your daily goal is to complete two gym sessions and be in bed by 10pm, then by the end of the day you'll have achieved a small win. That's a powerful message for aspiring athletes.
The small wins every day will add up – they'll turn you into a better person and better human being. There are some days that you'll have to grind through, but with time, you will see benefits and it will become easier to stay disciplined.
Small wins every day will add up – they'll turn you into a better person and better human being
What have you struggled with in your training journey?
In the beginning, we really had to hustle to train properly. There wasn't great equipment or a place to train. We were just training in our grandparents' basement, where you couldn't drop the plates. We made our own boxes and our own wall balls.
Later, when I had started my studies and I had to catch a bus at eight in the morning, I would wake up at 4:30am so I could still train. Now, as I've progressed to being a full-time athlete, everything feels easier. I feel so privileged.
Ðukić is committed, but realistic that fitness is only one facet of life
© Christian Pondella/Red Bull Content Pool
It's really important to separate sport and life, so that you can be there for the people around you
Do you ever doubt yourself?
Obviously, there are doubts. You just have to remember that you will have bad days, you will miss a lift and you won't always hit the time that you said that you wanted to hit. But there are so many days ahead. It's about consistency. You can't control everything. I try to remind myself every day, 'Why do I do this?'"
Is your identity tied to your role in this sport?
It was for a long time. I think that I tied my identity to a leaderboard. It's very hard not to do that, especially when training is your entire day – you wake up, you train, you rest, you train again and then you go to sleep. But look at any sport and you'll never find someone who always wins. If you have a setback, that doesn't mean it's the end of the world.
In the future, I want to be a good husband, I want to be a good father and I want to be a good son to my parents. I think those are all much bigger roles. It's really important to separate sport and life, so that you can be there for the people around you, no matter how you perform."
How do you maintain the right mindset?
I remind myself that I love to do this and that I don't do it just for a place on the leaderboard. I would still turn up and I would still train if I weren't competing.
"When you hear you’ve motivated someone, that makes all the work worth it"
© Predrag Vuckovi/Red Bull Content Pool
What's the legacy you hope to leave behind?
I hope that I've inspired people through the way I've handled my career and everything that has happened in my life. People can relate to not giving up, to trying to push through whatever comes their way.
Over the past year, I've received many messages from people who are struggling saying, 'Seeing how you've navigated your life recently has helped me a lot.' We all fight for points, titles, prize money and recognition, but when you hear that you've motivated someone who is going through hard times, that makes all the work worth it.
