Since he immigrated to El Paso as a teenager from Ju?rez, Carlos Chac'n has been building on his talents, with undeniable drive and much success in life and business.



In the mid-'90s, he founded and owned World Gym franchise, which led him into bodybuilding and promoting fitness competitions in El Paso. In 2001, he received the Promoter of the Decade award from the Amateur Association, for promoting more than 100 shows in one year.

These days, he still travels to Las Vegas to judge fitness competitions. But he is also becoming a familiar face in Austin and working with Texas Gov. Rick Perry. Chac'n, who campaigned for Perry, was recently named to the Texas Board of Examiners of Psychology.

He is the only El Pasoan to hold two gubernatorial appointments from the current governor. He is also on the Texas Skill Standards Board, which determines the minimum requirements for most Texas licensed professions and technical jobs.

"I believe what drives me, in addition to my faith, is the belief that we are here to evolve into somebody and better ourselves. Assets and money won't go with you to the burial place -- but your actions and who you touched define you," he said.

"I am defined by my children. So my family and children are my driving force in wanting to excel," he said. "And by teaching by example, I can teach them you can be anything you want."

El Paso attorney Jeff Minor, who has known Chac'n for 10 years, is not surprised by his friend's accomplishments.

"He's driven as a father, as a businessman and just everything he does. I think it's wonderful for El Paso, and he will be a wonderful representative for El Paso," Minor said.

Though Chac'n is not a psychologist, he said he believes he will be able to maintain a balance between the general population and the licensed professionals serving on the board.

"I've always been fascinated by the psychology of people. I was an anthropology major in Mexico, so I have some background on human behavior and tendencies," he said.

The board's role is to grant and revoke licenses and oversee the process for out-of-state psychologists seeking licenses to practice in Texas.

Chac'n said he is impressed by what has been accomplished in the field of psychology.

"They are diagnosing children with chemical dependency at a younger age and better able to control behaviors that before were just dealt with in as society as outcasts or unfit," he said.

And his interest in health endeavors goes hand in hand with being a father. The divorc? has always sought opportunities that allow him to spend time with his two sons, now 15 and 21.

His new roles in Austin allow him to commute there and visit his older son, who is a student at the University of Texas at Austin.

Before, being around a gym and fitness was a way to do something with his boys when they were younger.

"It brought me closer to my children and was a way of keeping healthy," he said.

Once he started operating health gyms, he also began to work with personal trainers and became interested in bodybuilding.

"It was one of those things where you have the time and resources and you learn your own capabilities and you just apply yourself," he said.

He took part in competitions in Southern New Mexico and is proud of placing in the top three in six different competitions within six weeks in the late '90s.

By nature, he is competitive.

"When you do things for a very long time, there's a time when it comes very easily and you want another challenge," he said.

He also is a consultant in computer technology and works for Grainger, which supplies the military with equipment and other items.

He credits his mother, an active volunteer in Ju?rez, with instilling civic duty into him.

"My mom has been a president of a Lions Club in Ju?rez and is always doing a lot of charity work with battered women and doing things for children in the colonias," he said.

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