In this episode of my Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Actor and Fitness Model, Adam Lindo, known to audiences from his appearances on Blindspot, The Blacklist, Power, and Deception.  During the interview, Adam will discuss his recurring role in multiple episodes of the upcoming seventh and final season of "Orange is the New Black," where he is being cast as Carlos Litvack.  The final season of Orange Is the New Black can be seen on Netflix starting on July 26th.

Also during the interview, Adam will discuss what it was like being a police officer and working as a fitness model before the acting bug hit.  As a fitness model, he once weighed in at 260 pounds before changing his diet and becoming a vegetarian. 

Adam will also discuss how he got into the acting business and what he believes it takes to succeed in the industry.  Adam has just finished wrapping up another movie, “Clifford the Big Red Dog” and is working on producing movies as well.  He is a rising star in the acting world but more importantly, he is a positive role model who believes that the sky is the limit, if you only believe!

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Kristoffer Quiaoit and Victor Macias, founders and creators of Nui, a cookie brand on a mission to annihilate sugar addiction. During the interview, Kristoffer and Victor will discuss the impetus for creating a cookie based on the ketogenic diet and how that diet helped them to lose weight and increase mental clarity. Each decadent cookie has less than one gram of sugar, which is naturally found in nuts. You could eat a whole box of 16 Nui cookies and still consume less sugar than one traditional cookie. The cookies are low carb, gluten free, and keto friendly! 

After baking Nui cookies in their home kitchen for themselves, friends and families, Quiaoit and Macias, created a website and posted about their cookies on Reddit which led to initial orders. The next step was two very successful Kickstarter campaigns that raised over $200,000.  They were recently featured on my favorite TV show, Shark Tank and offered investment deals by Sharks, Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, and guest Shark, MLB Allstar, Alex Rodriguez and they chose to go with Alex Rodriguez!  During the interview, Kristoffer and Victor will also describe what it was like pitching their cookie deal to the sharks and how they prepared for this moment that changed their lives forever.  This was an amazing and inspiring interview of two young first generation immigrants, whose parents showed them that hard work and perseverance always pay off.

In this episode of my Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Jennifer Cohen, best-selling author, performance coach, fitness and wellness authority and entrepreneur.  During the interview, Jennifer will discuss her exercise philosophy, provide fitness tips during the holiday season and discuss her latest book, “Badass Body Goals” The Booty-Building & Waist Trimming Journal is a personal trainer in a book. It teaches you everything you need to know about booty-building, fat loss, and working out effectively to meet your goals, and then provides 10 weeks of complete, guided workouts you’ll use to make outrageously quick progress.  Each chapter comes with a video tutorial that readers can access through HabitNest.com so you can work out with Jennifer Cohen from anywhere.

Early in her career, Jennifer emerged as an influential role model and game-changer for the fitness industry, best known for her savvy, straight-talking reputation and belief in a “no excuse” approach that forgoes the fitness fads and focuses on long-term, sustainable results.  Jennifer has been a spokesperson and consultant for brands including Nike, Weight Watchers, KIND Bars, Polar Heart Rate Monitors, Muscle Milk, Victoria’s Secret Sports and more. She has been named “Greatest 100 most Influential People in Health and Fitness” and “#16 Most Impactful Fitness Entrepreneurs” by Web MD. She was the host of CW Network’s fitness and lifestyle program, “Shedding for the Wedding” and a regular guest on network television including “The Today Show.” Cohen has also been a contributor for publications including Men’s Health, Mind Body Green, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post and more. She currently has a regular column on Forbes.

In this episode of my Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Jessica Smith and Wendy Bush, the founders and creators of the Kidpreneur Business Expo, an annual event that was created to highlight kids who own and operate a business with the support of their parents and other mentors.  This extraordinary event will take place on Saturday, November 24th (“Small Business Saturday”), from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the NJ Convention and Expo Center, located at 97 Sunfield Avenue in Edison, New Jersey.  During the interview, Wendy and Jessica discuss in detail, the importance of entrepreneurship for children and how the Kidpreneur Business Expo will not only showcase many businesses started by kids from all over the country, but will also inspire children attending the event to want to start their own businesses.  There will be entertainment, workshops, fashion show, fitness exhibitions, product giveaways (for the first 100 people) and much more.  Take a few minutes and listen to these powerful young women talk about this very exciting event.  For more information, contact Jessica directly at kidpreneurbusinessexpo@gmail.com.  Vendor and sponsorship opportunities are still available.

In this Episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Shanae Jones, affectionately known as the Hip Hop Herbalist and the owner of Ivy’s Tea Co., a pop culture and Hip-Hop inspired holistic health brand that provides herbal tea and herb-infused honey. She is a graduate of the Sky House Herbal School and The Black UpStart. Shanae became known as the Hip-Hop Herbalist after breaking stereotypes and bringing very traditional herbal remedies to millennials using the trendy and ever-evolving vehicle that is pop culture. Shanae hopes to change the way you see tea drinkers and introduce more African holistic health remedies into the holistic health industry.  During the interview, Shanae will share the many benefits you will receive from drinking her herbal teas, such as detoxification, boosts your immune system, improve gut health and much more.

 In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I’m joined by Jacque Peppel, a native Floridian, born in Tampa, Florida, a month before Pearl Harbor.  Jacque’s passion is helping people to achieve abundant health.  She is trained as a Health and Wellness Coach, a Life Coach and Spiritual Counselor.   

Most of Jacque’s life she suffered from respiratory and digestive disorders.  Fifteen years ago, she came down with an autoimmune disease which attacked her bones and muscles.  Her pain and suffering was so bad, she had to take sleeping pills to counter the effects of the other pills the doctors prescribed, which kept her awake.  During the interview, Jacque will share what steps she took to heal her body naturally of the disease.  Jacque is now in her 70s and proudly boasts about not being on any medications.  Jacque’s story is one of faith, inspiration and healthy living.  She is very involved with her church and credit’s her faith in God for bringing her this far. 

In this week’s episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I’m joined by former Baltimore Raven, Matt Lawrence, a graduate of the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Co-Founder of Lawrence International.  During the interview, Matt will share what it was like growing up in Hartford and Bloomfield Connecticut, two very different sides of the track and how that experience played a major part in shaping his young adult life.  Matt’s role models were his parents, who both have Masters degrees and stressed the importance of hard work and education.  While playing in the NFL, Matt was involved with the Presidential Council for Fitness and Nutrition where he volunteered his time to make a strong impact in the young lives who looked up to him. Wanting to make more of a global impact, Matt attended the Wharton school of business. While there, he was able to gain the critical information needed to build a sustainable business model that Lawrence International has today. Unfortunately shortly thereafter, Matt was sidelined and forced to retire due to a very severe concussion. Matt currently suffers from debilitating conditions due to his TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and during the interview, dives deep into the effects TBI is having on him in his personal and business life.  In the midst of his condition, Matt still remains strong and committed to the organization he and his cousin, James Lawrence founded. You can hear the passion in Matt’s voice as he talks about what motivated him to create the organization and the many opportunities and skills Lawrence International is providing kids locally and internationally. Matt is now an ordained minister and credits his faith in God for bringing him this far.  It was a pleasure interviewing Matt Lawrence and learning about the outstanding work Lawrence International is doing locally and internationally for the youth.

In this week's episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Pariis Garcia, a professional track & Field super star who runs for the Puerto Rican Athletics national team.  Pariis graduated with a Bachelors in Psychology and a Masters in Special Education from St. Johns University. Pariis is also the Brand Ambassador for iON Performance Care and is the creator of a fitness and nutrition blog called “Fit Curls”.  During the interview, Pariis will discuss how she was selected to run for the Puerto Rican Athletics team. She will also describe her rigorous training routine and visualization techniques before a race, and what motivates her to succeed.  Pariis is a strong believer in education and athletics but all of this is second to her love for family and faith in God, whom she credits for her success.  Pariis is young, and driven to succeed.  She is also committed to giving back to those less fortunate, which was evidenced by her support for the people in her homeland of Puerto Rico during the recent hurricane.  Pariis took the initiative and partnered with an Evangelical Baptist Church in NYC and collected donations to deliver to the devastated areas in Puerto Rico.  This is truly an amazing and inspiring young woman, who believes that whatever you conceive and believe, you can achieve.  What a pleasure it was to interview Pariis Garcia.

In this week's episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Certified Group Fitness Instructors/Personal Trainers, Kristina Lewis-Rodriguez and Cassandra Phifer, co-directors of FITBK, a borough-wide health, fitness and wellness community-based initiative based in Brooklyn.  During the interview, Kristina and Cassandra will discuss their personal journeys into a healthy lifestyle.  They will also announce that on Saturday, September 22, FITBK will host their first ever FITBK Inaugural Awards Gala Celebration at KAI Studio in Brooklyn.  This event (the first of its kind), will honor  leaders and luminaries in the health and fitness industry including fitness advocates, enthusiasts, educators, local government officials, media personalities and local supporters in support of FITBK's mission to improve the health outcome of people of color within at-risk communities as well as immigrant communities in Brooklyn.  The event is hosted by Jennifer Bisram, Multi-Emmy Nominated Television Journalist/Reporter for PIX 11 News.  This year's honorees include: superstars and unsung heroes in fitness such as Trinidadian soca music recording artist and CEO/Founder of AZAFIT, Fay-Ann Lyons; CEO of Just-Train and personal trainer to actor/comedian Kevin Hart, Ron "Boss" Everline; Fitness Coach and Personal Trainer Anthony Gibson; the national organization Black Girls Run Inc.; and Lisa George, Fitness Professional.  All proceeds from the event will help fund FITBK's NO-COST health, wellness and fitness educational programs offered throughout Brooklyn and Queens.

 I really enjoyed interviewing Kristina and Cassandra, as they talked passionately about FITBK's NO-COST weekly results-driven aerobics and core strength training classes and their upcoming Awards Gala Celebration, which is sure to be a MAJOR success and the start of something big.  For more information on the fitness classes or to purchase tickets for the Awards Gala, call 718-940-2200 Ext. 115.

In this week’s episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Orvel Douglas, a Certified Nutrition and Diet Specialist.  Orvel’s journey into nutrition started out over 20 years ago, when he weighed over 200 pounds and within 8 weeks through proper nutrition and exercise, lost over 50 pounds.  During the interview, Orvel Douglas, who is a Fruitarian, will explain the differences between being a Vegan, Vegetarian and Fruitarian and why he believes that the Fruitarian lifestyle is best and more effective when it comes to detoxifying your body and improving your health.  Orvel will also list the types of fruit he recommends for anyone wishing to try the Fruitarian diet and why eating these fruits work so well in reversing chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, arthritis and more.

For the past 2 years, Orvel has hosted a bi-monthly Fruitarian Challenge on Facebook, where you can find hundreds of testimonies from people all over the world, who have taken part in his challenges and received amazing results.  According to Orvel, even if you don’t complete the monthly challenge and try eating just fruits for a few days or a week, you will receive enormous benefits that can change your life.

If you’re looking for a possible solution to obesity, diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure or whatever ails you, the Fruitarian lifestyle just might be worth a try.  This has been a very informative interview and I for one will be eating more fruit.

 For more information on the Fruitarian lifestyle or to set up a consultation, you can reach Orvel Douglas at orveldouglas@yahoo.com.