mission to change the lives of 1,000,000 men while making an enormous impact on the obesity trend in our country.

What is your entrepreneur story? How did you come about building your business?

I am happy to share! I spent the first 6 years of my career working in an intensive care unit as a registered nurse and during that time I saw some extremely scary and disturbing things. Many young people, some as young as in their mid-30’s, were losing their lives or having open-heart surgery after procrastinating with their health for too long. The extra 30 or 40 pounds they were carrying around over the last 10 years were catching up with them. It was during those years when I realized how serious the obesity epidemic in our country truly is.

Later in my career, I got into corporate wellness and became a personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist, and developed an extreme passion for fitness and nutrition. After years of trying all types of different diets and strategies, I discovered a way to be able to eat all the foods I love while still maintaining a fantastic physique. It was during this process that a light went off in my mind. I decided I wanted to help other men do the exact same so they could be around to watch their children grow up to do amazing things and avoid becoming a statistic. That is when I started Dad Bod Health and now I am on a mission to change the lives of 1,000,000 men.

What is your business model — how were you able to grow so fast?

My business model is quite simple and I believe that is why I have had the success that I have had. I offer programs at all different levels based on each person’s individual needs. I offer a variety of online courses, fitness programs, and fully custom programs so I can meet people where they are at in their fitness journey. I also started The MAN UP Community which gives men of all different fitness levels a place where they can go to get support and accountability. Within The MAN UP Community, these men have access to custom meal plans, stress management resources, the Dad Bod Health fitness app to track their progress, a weekly newsletter with up-to-date men’s health information, and most importantly an exclusive accountability group of like-minded men trying to become the best version of themselves. In my experience, there is nothing more powerful than the support of a community all looking to become the best version of themselves.

Can you give me an overview of who you are, what is your educational or overall background? What are some of your achievements?

Absolutely! I am a husband and a father to the best son on the planet. I am extremely passionate about fitness, nutrition, and all things health. I believe my purpose is to help other men realize that living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be complicated. I am a registered nurse, personal trainer, health coach, and fitness nutrition specialist. I take pride in being almost 40 years old and being in the best shape of my life. I have been featured in Men’s Health and Weight Watchers and I have contributed to several publications such as Future Sharks, On Mogul, Kinja, Mel Magazine, and The Olive Oil Times. I am also the host of THE Dad Bod Pod podcast and have made guest appearances on many different podcasts.

What have you learned through your experiences as an entrepreneur that can be used by aspiring business individuals?

The entrepreneurial journey is certainly not an easy one. But nothing worth doing is easy. So I have learned to embrace the struggle. Just like with fitness. If you put in the workday in and day out it will eventually pay off. There are times when I don’t feel like making a post or a video. There are times when I don’t feel like putting in the work. But that is what it is all about. Putting in the work whether you feel like it or not. I once learned that an average video will outperform no video every single time. That stuck with me and now I just show up every single day. I also learned that people want the real you. So I try and be as real as I possibly can. I am fully transparent about my journey and that in itself has inspired many people in my life.

What makes your business so unique and successful?

I think the one thing that makes my business model unique as well as successful is my approach. I firmly believe most men simply want to feel better. Of course, it is easy to say you want a 6 pack or you want to look like an Instagram model. But at the end of the day most men just want to feel better, look better and gain confidence during the process. So my approach is unique because I coach and teach the blueprint for sustainability. If it is not sustainable it is likely a short-term fix instead of a long-term solution and that is not what I want for other men. I strive to teach them a simple structure to follow that makes living a healthy lifestyle very reasonable and many of my clients actually tell me they never knew it could be this simple. I place a large emphasis on mindset as well as sleep, stress management, and many other things that add up to the big picture. Once they get everything dialed in it becomes like clockwork and they can continue these healthy habits long term because of how simple I make the process.

What have you learned through your journey as an entrepreneur?

I have learned many valuable lessons throughout my journey as an entrepreneur and I am sure I will learn many more along the way. Being an entrepreneur can be a scary journey but when you are as passionate as I am about helping others it just becomes part of who you are. Long hours, working on the weekends, sacrificing family time, sacrificing time with friends, and many lonely moments as you try and figure everything out can be overwhelming at times. But when I feel the most pressure I operate at my best. I try and stay focused on my mission of reaching the lives of 1,000,000 men and knowing that I may be the reason they are able to extend their lives and watch their children grow up to do great things. That is pretty powerful and is a major motivator for me to press forward when times get tough. Building a business doesn’t happen overnight and we are all on our own individual journeys. But as long as you show up every single day and put in the work eventually your results will pay off.

What skills and attributes make you as successful as you are?

My passion for health and fitness, as well as my passion for helping others, are key factors in my business having the success that it has. I genuinely care about other people and I always try and over-deliver. My goal is to provide as much value as I possibly can to the world and give other men the tools needed to become the healthiest version of themselves. I work extremely hard to create engaging content so my audience can get the maximum benefit in the least amount of time. We live in a busy world and it is easy to put your health on the back burner. So I am very passionate about creating real sustainable solutions so even the busiest people can implement healthy habits into their lives and benefit long term.

Why is online business, marketing, etc important?

Online business and marketing are important in my industry because it gives me the ability to reach people I wouldn’t normally be able to reach if the internet didn’t exist. I can literally help any man in the world who has an internet connection. An example of this is The MAN UP Community I started and some of the people who are in the community and doing very well. They live in the UK and still benefit greatly from the support and resources available in the community. When I found out people overseas were benefiting from all of this value it made me extremely proud and grateful that the internet and social media exist so that I can make the largest impact possible on the obesity trend in our country as well as the world.

Is there anything, in particular, you’d like me to add in the articles?

Just as my Men’s Health feature points out I was once overweight and out of shape. That was a very hard life to live and I never want to go back there. I am 5’10” and at the time I weighed 232 and had zero energy, low back pain, low libido and became sick and tired of being sick and tired. Again, that is a hard life to live.

Now I am 172 pounds and in the best shape of my life. I tell you this because being fit and healthy is also a challenging life to live. But at the end of the day, we owe it to ourselves, our only body, to work toward becoming the healthiest and best version of ourselves. Life is too short to procrastinate with your health and when you realize that life is hard regardless, you owe it to yourself to take responsibility for your life, hold yourself accountable and make decisions today to make your future self proud.

Social Media

Personal Website: www.dadbodhealth.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/dadbodhealth/

The post Jason Priest on Creating a Fitness Revolution appeared first on CEO Medium.

Here are few tips to help you pull through when your work becomes overwhelming and you’re on the verge of neglecting your health:

• Make a decision to prioritize your health.

Yeah, your schedule might become so tight that your health no longer becomes a priority. But it is still up to you to re-prioritize. How do you do this? You have to decide to do certain things that would be beneficial to your health in between your tight schedule. Things like taking a break from work to rest, drinking enough water, moving around after sitting for a long time could be just what your body needs to function more effectively. 

• Set a reminder 

If you know there is a tendency to neglect your health, you might want to set a reminder; anything to keep you in check. It would be easy for you to take conscious steps in looking after your health when you do this.

• Do not miss your doctor’s appointment. 

This is very important if you ever want to start being intentional about your health. It will help if you don’t allow anything to prevent you from meeting up with your doctor’s appointment. You have to find a way to fit it into your schedule and attend by all means.

• Plan healthy meals

There is a tendency for you to eat unhealthy meals all in a bid to meet up work deadlines. If you want to stay healthy, you have to avoid this. Create time to plan healthy meals. Set aside time to make meals that would get you through the week. This way, you will not have to spend time thinking about what to eat and end up opting for fast foods, which can be quite unhealthy when consumed continually. 

• Stay Active 

Staying immobile for too long can be harmful to your body. If you are always seated at a desk in your workplace, you should take a moment to walk around so that you can have a healthy blood flow throughout your muscles. You might get so busy that you decide not to stand from your desk until you are done with a certain task. This might be a bad idea as your muscles can become stiff and leave you wishing you took a break when you ought to.

Whenever you find yourself neglecting your health because of your busy schedule, you should remember that your work would be impossible without a body in good condition. That should be enough motivation for you to take good care of your health. 

The post STAYING HEALTHY ON A BUSY SCHEDULE appeared first on CEO Medium.

Over the course of her college career, Jackie gained 30 lbs, lost all confidence, and created a terrible relationship with food, alcohol, exercise, her body, and herself. It wasn’t until after graduation when she was finally able to take a step back and realize what was really going on. The problem was one that many women face these days because of the current “diet” or “weight loss” cultural norms. These norms say people can lose weight fast. They promote methods of weight loss or change that are not meant to last for a lifetime. They also only consider two main elements: getting the body moving and changing up the amount of food that is to be consumed.

Let’s be honest though: weight loss is completely non-linear, it takes a different set of skills to keep the weight off once it’s lost, and there is so much more that plays a role in improving our overall health than just a meal plan and workout program can account for.

Jackie started to really see change when she leaned away from the quick-fix mentality that floods the health and wellness space. She started slowing down, took other things into consideration, looked at lifestyle/routines/habits, got external support, and worked on her mindset and mental health.

Fast forward to today, she has completely transformed her mind, body, and life and is helping other women end the back and forth and quick-fix mentality. Live Free Fitness helps women through their signature program: Freedom Foundation (FF).

Real sustainable change takes TIME and a decent amount of it. It takes time, support, accountability, mentorship, guidance, and intentional action-taking.

Live Free Fitness programs are designed around FOUR major pillars.

DEEP HEALTH

Deep health means that our health is so much more than just following a meal plan template and workout guide. Our health is multifaceted. In order to have that true lifestyle change, the conversation needs to include routines, habits, sleep, stress, hormones, self-care, environment, relationships, etc. The list goes on and on…

This might seem daunting at first but LFF has three levels of programming to teach everything from the basics all the way up to mastery level health and wellness. There is Freedom Foundation (where 99.5% of people will start), Freedom Acceleration, And Freedom Mastery.

STRATEGY

When it comes to strategy, LFF factors in two very important values: sustainability and lifestyle. Sustainability is one of the biggest pillars. Whatever changes are desired, need to change that can still be done in a year from now, two years from now, and beyond. Otherwise, it’s just a waste of time. Focus on making changes that can be kept. Start with small changes and work up from there. The other value is a lifestyle, meaning lifestyle-oriented change. We are all humans with issues and problems but at the end of the day, we all have different things going on. What works for one woman is not what’s going to work for someone else. Each person’s lifestyle needs to be taken into account and needs to be part of the conversation.

MINDSET

This one is absolutely a 100% non-negotiable element of working with LFF. A change in mindset leads to sustainable change. It’s what makes it a change in lifestyle, not just a weight loss program. So many programs out there in the health and fitness space do not touch on mindset, and it’s a damn shame. Our mindset is the foundation for all of our thoughts, routines, habits, and subconscious patterns. In order to stay consistent, we need to shift our mindset to be in a more optimistic and deliberate place. Mindset coaching is included in most of our coaching conversations.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Sometimes people just need support to get to where they want to go and that’s beautiful. Coach Jackie spends thousands of dollars a year on her own coaching and mentors. She was a 2 sport college athlete and someone who loved nutrition but still could not get herself to do the things she needed to do, consistently enough to see results without a coach and community support. Having the right amount of customized accountability makes it easier to have higher standards, get supported, and get encouraged. 

Find out more about Jackie and  Live Free Fitness on

Website: livefreefitness.co

APPLY HERE TO WORK WITH LFF

www.jackiegeislerfitness.activehosted.com/f/5

The post Health Coach Jackie Geisler Helps Women Change their Bodies & More appeared first on CEO Medium.

He knows that many people struggle to achieve their fitness goals, be it muscle-building or fat loss, because of the lack of time, lack of knowledge, or lack of discipline. With everyone leading such busy lives today, it is so difficult to block out time for exercise, let alone think about the right food to eat. Furthermore, with the internet at the tip of our fingers today, misinformation, trends, and fads are all over, which makes it increasingly hard to find reliable information. This is fuelled by marking tactics from advertisements and social media that prey on desperate, lazy people who want shortcuts to success.

And therefore, he hopes to solve these problems by focusing on evidence-based methods and sustainable habits to change your lifestyle. With evidence-based methods, people can be assured that these are not just myths or fake news but legitimate approaches that have been proven to work. Also, sustainable habits will solve the problem of the lack of discipline and lack of time as he strives to make training and nutrition second nature so that people do not need to rely on sheer motivation. 

This is done through online coaching, where interested clients will be taken through a thorough interview to get to know their general profile, lifestyle, medical history, past workout experience, goals, and nutrition. A progressive and personalized workout and nutrition plan will then be given to the clients which will incorporate all the above factors, and constant monitoring and optimization will be done to ensure that the client reaches their goals. 

While creating the brand name for himself, there were many challenges faced, and the main one is creating a niche. With the low barrier to entry for online fitness coaches, it was important to be differentiated from the rest. Content creation can also be time-consuming, especially trying to find good research to debunk some of the top fitness myths and educate his followers. 

He aspires to change lifestyles one busy person at a time, to achieve their fitness goals sustainably. He also aims to use social media to reach out to as many people as possible to debunk fitness myths, by producing free, bite-sized content.

For anyone trying to start a business, be prepared to put in a ton of hard work. Remember the bigger vision behind why you want to do it and that will keep you going.

Kah Fitness

Email Address: contactkahfitness@gmail.com

Website: www.kahfitness.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/kah.fitnesss

The post Entrepreneur Kah QI on Building Kah Fitness appeared first on CEO Medium.

Since 2016, Afrobeat Fit has hosted over 500 small and large-scale experiences centered around dance, cultural access, and holistic wellness in various metro cities in the United States and Panama! With their most notable clients being the United States Coast Guard Academy, P&G Gillette Headquarters, Boston Chamber of Commerce, Harvard University, Black Health Matters Conference, and Qualcomm, to name a few. 

In the midst of COVID 19, Afrobeat Fit shifted their fitness centered programs, to that which incorporated access to both fitness and holistic wellness. The most innovative of events being Sweat Weekend. Sweat Weekend was a full-day virtual fitness conference that happened on National Fitness Day (May 2, 2020) where funds were raised for fitness professionals in need in the midst of COVID – 19. Close to 1K was raised, with 490 attendants from 27 countries across the globe. Other curated programs include the Booty Burn and Rise & Stretch segments which can be found free of charge on Instagram Live.  

Currently, Afrobeat Fit is still bringing the sweat virtually and fostering happiness, healing, and good vibes to various types of organizations which include corporations, community-based organizations, and colleges. In her free time, Kemi enjoys filling up her cup first, spending time with her family/soul tribe, dancing, and helping people unlock their inner power through Purpose Coaching. 

A few of Kemi’s greatest achievements include Women’s History Month Honoree from Forbes the Culture, Reimagining Education Honoree from #WFH, Fearless Mogul 19’ from Arian Simone of Fearless Mogul Magazine, and 2018 Text Connext Fellow courtesy of Black Enterprise!

Tell us about who you are and what you do.

I am the child of immigrant parents and a product of the Public School System. I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My first business started in 1st grade. I started selling stickers that my mom bought wholesale for .25 cents. I am currently the owner of Afrobeat Fit as well as a choreographer and a Sweat Coach. In my spare time, I help folks connect to movement or their inner power through Purpose Coaching.

Tell us how you created this brand and what was the sole idea behind it.

There was a time, I was not dancing as much as I normally would and was in an unhealthy rut. I was also prediabetic and had to make some changes. Afrobeat Fit had been an idea scribbled on a piece of notebook paper when I lived in Atlanta (working as an industry dancer. I took the initiative to finally bring the idea to life. I wanted to curate a fun dance fitness environment that was inclusive to all and culturally engaging.

Go in detail and tell us about how your brand works. 

Afrobeat Fit hosts events where music and movement derive from Africa. We host events weekly that are virtual. We also host events! We have hosted over 500 Sweat Sessions across the globe. 

What is your giveaway idea through this interview? Highlight something that may interest the readers on a one to one basis.

Fill up your cup first! You are the adhesive that holds everything together, if you aren’t operating close to 100% nothing else will. Grind culture is not sustainable. Work hard but always factor in points to rest and unplug. Lastly, only spend time with folks that make you feel like sunlight.

Explain the challenges you went through while you were working on brand creation. What are the challenges you go through on an everyday basis?

As an entrepreneur, every day can feel like a challenge as you navigate uncharted territory. Sometimes, it feels easier to just segway back into the workforce. Then I remember my “why” and keep moving!

How do you manage your finances through the services you offer. Any fundings etc received?

Afrobeat Fit has been financially self-sustained since its inception. In the midst of COVID, all program rates were diminished or dropped down to free in order to meet the needs of unemployed folks and to provide accessible and inclusive Afro dance fitness, dance fitness, and wellness classes. Afrobeat Fit was also fortunate to receive some COVID relief grants which aided in the continuation of services in 2021.

Tell us your future vision about the brand. How far do you want to take it? What is your dream about taking it to the next level?

In the next few years, Afrobeat Fit will be an accessible dance fitness class that anyone and everyone can take at any point in time. There will be Sweat Coaches across the globe teaching, dancing and sweat to afro tunes!

What message would you like to give to anybody who has a plan of creating something of their own and making a living through it?

The road of entrepreneurship is a journey, rather than a destination. Some days will be fruitful, while others may bear no fruit. Remember that no one owes you anything, but you do owe it to yourself to pour your everything into your venture. Your purpose is your power – keep going!

For more information visit: www.afrobeatfit.com

The post Kemi Asani: Owner, Choreographer & Sweat Coach of Afrobeat Fit appeared first on CEO Medium.