#fitnessmotivation

Screenshots of the GrpFit app

If you are looking to achieve your fitness goals for the new year, then the GrpFit app will help! This fitness social platform will help educate you on workouts and health info to keep you on track with your aspirations. Not only does the app provide education, but it’s also a place where people can interact with others who are actively reaching or looking to reach their health goals. I had time to talk with the CEO and co-founder of GrpFit, Richard Bailey, to discuss the benefits and what to expect from the fitness platform.

Dapper Dr. Feel: What made you come up with this platform? At what point did you think Black people need this?

Richard Bailey: The idea came from a previous project that my partner and I came up with called Crowdfit. The idea for that finds an exercise partner in your area based on your fitness goals. For example, if you were preparing for a marathon, you could find someone in your area that was training as well.

It was met with moderate success back in 2016 (its first year) but then we hit a huge wall in engagement and growth. What we discovered was that people were more interested in the social aspect, (i.e. profile display, what people ate, how they worked out, etc.) At the time, social fitness wasn’t a popular item, even today fitness apps don’t really cover the social or community side of fitness.

Fast Fact: Richard Bailey (GrpFit co-creator and CEO) inspiration for health/ fitness came from being active in youth sports and competing professionally in dance from ages 8-23.

DDF: What was your next move after your research?

RB: With this information we went back to the drawing board, keeping the same motive but approached it in a different way. While researching we ran into some eye-opening stats in relation to black health. These stats included, 76% of the Black community is obese, 43% suffer from hypertension, death by stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and the list goes on.

We started doing our diligence to find out more solutions for the Black community in health and fitness. To our surprise, there weren’t a lot of solutions from a consumer tech perspective. There were a lot of Black publications, non-profit and public organizations that tackle health/fitness as a separate vertical. The only issue is that they were regional and local in nature, not globally. It was at that point we had an epiphany and decided that we needed to be the first consumer tech product that specifically dedicated Black health and fitness. That’s when we launched GrpFit, which was late 2017.

FYI: GrpFit has workouts varying by length, time, and difficulty and provides workouts that can be performed anywhere.

DDF: Basically, your product is a one of a kind social fitness platform for Black people?

RB: Yes, our goal is to be a one-stop shop. Providing information, inspiration and being the catalyst for change in health and fitness in the black community.

RB: Our goal is to partner with different certified trainers and fitness influencers. We partnered with a few in the past, this time last year we worked with Gym Hooky for a new years resolution fitness campaign. We also worked with 21 Ninety, a Black millennial woman lifestyle brand under Blavity. Travel safe fitness. Periodically we reach out to influencers and certified trainers to partner with content for campaigns or just being a guest blogger. Although we don’t have much content on nutrition, we look to add more content in that area in the future.

DDF: What should first time users expect from the GrpFit app?

RB: We expect first-time users to embrace the community behind health and fitness. Seeing somebody like you, living a similar health and fitness journey is huge. For example, if you are a mother with a huge family that doesn’t have time to work out, you can come to the [GrpFit] app and see other women that fit those criteria. You can see what things they are doing to stay in shape and hopefully get some inspiration. GrpFit is serving as a tool for motivation, information, and inspiration is huge, it’s our biggest goal!

Motivational quotes from the GrpFit Instagram account.

DDF: What advice would you like to give people who want to improve their health and physical activity?

RB: Although its the end of the year, it’s okay to start on your fitness and health goals now before the new year. So sign up and log onto GrpFit to get your journey towards health started.

Fast facts: According to the CDC, The leading causes of death in the African American community are: 43% heart disease related, 41% stroke-related, and 29% cancer-related. Although the numbers are still slightly high they are steadily on the decline. With educational, social and interactive tools like GrpFit, the numbers will decline even more.

Check out the GrpFit app which can be purchased at the Apple store. For the Android users, there are still plans to release the app later but for now, you can check out the GrpFit Instagram and Facebook page for content.

Richard Bailey (Co-Founder &CEO of GrpFit) and Christopher Ketant (Co-Founder of GrpFit)

Fitness enthusiast, Jean Titus (@titusunlimited), has been an internet sensation and inspiration to many for his approach to fitness. Not only does he push himself physically but he also takes into account his overall wellness. His Instagram page is filled with health quotes, demos, and information for a healthy lifestyle. Taji Mag was able to speak with Titus, aka Fit Grandpa, about his keys to overall wellness.

Taji Mag (TM): What keeps you motivated towards a healthy lifestyle?

Titus: It is the belief that I haven’t reached my peak yet. I take the responsibility of being a profile name on social media seriously. When you see 181k followers on your account that you have inspired and motivated, it makes you feel accountable. That is because you don’t know how your actions might impact others. I believe that what you put into the universe comes back to you. Given that responsibility to be a good example is what motivates me.

TM: Besides exercising, what other areas do you concentrate on to improve physical wellness?

Titus: I meditate, detox my environment, and clear my mind because I believe that fitness is all-encompassing. You have to be fit mentally before you are physical. If you are not fit mentally, then, sooner or later, your physical follow suit. Like I mention in my 28-day plan, detox is not only a physical thing it’s also a mental thing as well. You have to detox your contact list, your situation, and your environment.

TM: Some people use fasting as a form of detox, what is your standpoint on fasting?

Titus: I did a wellness Wednesday on fasting on my Instagram account. When done correctly It is something that I recommend. If you can properly deprive yourself of food it can test your mental will and if done properly it can be to your benefit. Intermittent fasting does work, but the problem is that people use it as a quick solution. People say they are going to fast for a couple of days after leading an unhealthy lifestyle for a long period of time. That is not what fasting is meant for but if you are going to have it as part of a systematic thing I would advocate that. You can’t out train a bad diet. People think you can go to the gym and only put an hour’s worth of work but that is not going work by itself. It is the other 23 hours with that workout that help determine how healthy you are going to be. First, we make our habits and our habits make us.

TM: Can you give us an example of how you detox outside the physical?

Titus: For example, if you are in a toxic relationship or have a toxic friend. You will only go so far while you are existing in that toxicity. It’s like living in a house that has asbestos. No matter how much treatment or medication I give you after you leave that house, you won’t get any better unless you remove yourself from that environment completely. You have to extricate yourself from those toxic things and toxic mentality.

TM: Can you be fit on a budget?

Titus: Not having the financial means to be fit is an excuse. At the end of the day, people will buy what they want. Healthy food is expensive but you see those very same people paying $8 for a cup of coffee. Other people may say that they don’t have enough time to make breakfast but will go wait in a drive-through line at McDonald’s for 15 mintues. They justify their choices with excuses. Living healthy is an investment but people will try to make it look like an option. Being healthy should be your primary obligation because if you are in the hospital you can’t help your family. So your health should come first, it should be your primary objective to ensure that you are capable of helping your loved ones. You do that by taking care of your overall health and wellness. Anything short of that and you are doing a disservice to you and them.

TM: What is your advice to those seeking occupational wellness? Can this affect your working out or should you let it?

Titus: I would never tell one to quit their job because everyone is not in the financial situation to do so. But if you are going to work your job and not work on an exit strategy, then it becomes a choice that you are making. Unlike A couple hundred years ago, when you had people that were enslaved, you have a choice! I don’t care what job you have, you don’t have to stay there unless you are in prison. The problem is that people in those job situations complain but when they go home they do nothing. That in itself is depressing. When you are actively working on an exit strategy, you are working on an endgame. Even if the endgame is 2 or 3 years out, keep trying and eventually you will succeed. I did a post that says “Your salary is a bribe to give up on your hopes and dreams.” Your job doesn’t have to be a bribe, it can be a means. If you are using your salary towards your dreams then it is a means.

TM: Regardig your clients, what do they look forward to while participating in your program?

Titus: The 28-day plan is about building a better, healthy lifestyle. I made the plan easy to follow and easy to duplicate. It is not overly restrictive and it’s not a fad. Anything taken out of diet should remain out of your diet. It’s not one those diets like the cabbage diet, that is not sustainable. My plan is sustainable and it’s balanced. The key to success is to have balance.

You only have one body and it is wise to take care of it. To quote Carrie Latet, “If you don’t take care of yourself, the undertaker will overtake that responsibility for you.”