When Elias Serrano walked into Sam Tejada’s podcast studio, most people probably expected a conversation about produce.
After all, in South Florida, people know him as “Mr. Avocado.”
He distributes massive volumes of avocados throughout Miami and works with growers and suppliers across the produce industry. His business has grown into one of the better-known names in the space, and the nickname followed naturally.
But once the conversation started on the “A Healthy Point of View” podcast, it became obvious very quickly that avocados were only a small piece of the story.
The real conversation was about survival.
It was about addiction, pressure, identity, faith, discipline, and what happens when someone completely changes the direction of their life after realizing the path they are on is destroying them.
Sam Tejada, CEO and Founder of Liquivida®, opened the discussion by talking about health and wellness, but Elias immediately took the conversation deeper. He spoke openly about peace, spiritual health, relationships, and the importance of fixing what is happening internally before chasing success externally.
That theme carried through the entire episode.
Mr. Avocado Reveals the Truth About Faith, Food & Healing | Elias Serrano | Ep. 140
Growing Up in Panama
Elias was born in New Orleans but raised in Panama, in a neighborhood called Carrasquilla.
He described it as a tough environment where people learned to survive early. There was no pretending life was easy.
He said growing up there forced him to become resilient because survival was part of everyday life. The environment shaped the way he thought, the way he moved, and eventually the way he approached opportunities.
Still, he never spoke about his upbringing with bitterness. Instead, he talked about gratitude.
Throughout the episode, he repeatedly said that he believes God guided him through situations that could have easily destroyed him. He spoke about wisdom, patience, and learning how to navigate difficult environments without allowing them to define his future.
For Elias, success was never just about money.
In fact, he said something during the podcast that completely shifted the direction of the conversation.
He told Sam that real success starts with peace. Not business, not status, not money.
According to Elias, people chase financial success without realizing they are mentally exhausted, emotionally unstable, or spiritually empty. He believes that eventually those problems catch up with people, no matter how much money they make.
He said if someone does not have peace internally, success becomes difficult to sustain.
The Life He Thought He Wanted
Before becoming “Mr. Avocado,” Elias lived a completely different lifestyle. For years, he worked as one of the top nightclub promoters in Panama.
He was surrounded by celebrities, athletes, nightlife culture, parties, alcohol, women, and constant attention. He mentioned spending time around major entertainers and sports figures while building a reputation inside the club scene.
From the outside, it looked exciting. And for a while, he believed it was.
He admitted openly that he drank constantly, partied almost every night, and became trapped in habits that slowly started damaging his health.
At the time, he thought that lifestyle represented happiness. Then his body started breaking down.
Elias said that by the age of twenty-nine, he was dealing with serious inflammation and joint problems that left him feeling physically weak and emotionally drained. He described reaching a point where he genuinely believed he was dying.
The lifestyle that once looked glamorous suddenly felt empty. And none of the things that used to distract him were helping anymore.
The money did not fix it. The nightlife did not fix it. The attention did not fix it.
That became the moment when everything started changing.
The Phone Call He Still Remembers
One of the most emotional parts of the conversation came when Elias described receiving a phone call from his brother. He said he was sitting in frustration, exhausted physically and mentally, wondering how much longer he could continue living that way.
Then his brother called and told him he had “the real medicine.” Elias thought he was talking about another treatment or another pill.
Instead, his brother told him something simple. He needed to give his life to Jesus Christ. At that point, Elias said he had already tried everything else: doctors, medication, temporary fixes.
Nothing had changed the direction his life was heading.
So he listened. He described that moment as the beginning of a process that slowly transformed every area of his life. Not overnight.
He repeatedly emphasized that change takes time. Little by little, he started removing the habits and environments that were destroying him.
The drinking stopped. The clubs disappeared. The lifestyle changed.
He began praying consistently, reading scripture, fasting, and surrounding himself with different people.
Many people want instant transformation, but real growth usually happens gradually.
According to him, people spend years building destructive habits and then expect healing to happen immediately. The process requires patience.
Health Is Bigger Than Food
Elias argued that people often ignore the emotional and spiritual causes behind their physical decline. He spoke about stress, toxic environments, unhealthy relationships, addiction, and destructive thinking patterns as things that eventually affect the body.
Sam agreed and expanded on the idea by talking about how difficult it is for people to succeed when their personal lives are constantly filled with chaos.
That part of the conversation felt especially honest because neither man tried to oversimplify life.
They acknowledged that relationships, pressure, and emotional instability affect every area of a person’s health.
One moment that stood out was when Elias shared that he had prayed for fifteen years before his wife eventually joined him in his faith journey. He said the experience taught him patience.
Instead of forcing change, he learned how to wait, grow personally, and focus on becoming a better person.
Rebuilding Himself Through Discipline
Elias explained that rebuilding his life required structure. He said four habits became central to his transformation:
- Prayer
- Reading the Bible
- Fasting
- Worship
He described prayer as a way of creating peace and clarity.
He described scripture as something that helped reshape his thinking.
And he spoke extensively about fasting. According to Elias, fasting helped him develop discipline while also helping him physically reset his body.
The experience taught him how emotionally attached people can become to constant consumption.
How “Mr. Avocado” Was Created
After changing his lifestyle, Elias entered the produce industry and launched a fruits and vegetable distribution company in Miami called Fresca Greens.
Ironically, avocados were not even part of the original plan. At first, he focused on products like broccoli, lettuce, and cauliflower. Then one supplier from Mexico kept calling him about avocados. Elias initially resisted because he did not know enough about the avocado business. Finally, he agreed to try. The first shipment sold almost immediately. Then the orders started getting larger.
Two pallets became ten. Ten became twenty.
Before long, he was moving enormous volumes of Hass avocados throughout South Florida.
That growth eventually earned him the nickname “Mr. Avocado.”
What made that part of the conversation interesting was that Elias never spoke about business success in an arrogant way.
Instead, he described it as something that grew naturally once his life became more disciplined and focused.
Today, his company works with major growers and distributors while supplying produce across the region.
A Conversation About Transformation
What made the discussion memorable was not the business advice or even the health conversation.
It was honesty.
Elias Serrano spoke openly about the consequences of destructive living. He admitted where he went wrong. He talked about addiction, ego, and unhealthy habits. And he also talked about rebuilding himself slowly over time.
By the end of the episode, it became clear that the nickname “Mr. Avocado” is only a small part of who he is. The bigger story is about transformation.
A man who once believed partying, money, and attention would make him happy eventually discovered that peace mattered more.
That realization changed his health. It changed his relationships. And ultimately, it changed the direction of his entire life.