In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Dr. Arabia Mollette, Emergency Physician and Internet TV host out of the South Bronx, in New York City.  At the age of 5, young Arabia envisioned herself becoming a doctor but wasn't sure what kind of doctor she'd become until two tragedies occurred in her life. At 17, she became a teen mom to a precious baby boy, whose life was tragically taken away at four months old. Six years later, her youngest sister was shot and killed while riding in a friend’s car. Both tragedies caused her to question the doctors about their medical explanations, and it sparked a desire for Arabia to make a difference in her community.  During the interview, Dr. Mollette will take us on a journey from her youth up until today, sharing some of the obstacles and challenges she had to overcome and how her belief that she was placed here to fulfill a higher purpose enabled her to realize her dream to becoming an Emergency Physician and offering medical help and advice to people all around the world.  Dr. Arabia has even launched her own podcast called “The Visit with Dr. Arabia Mollette”, where she provides free medical advice, while discussing a variety of topics such as  wellness, mental illness and more with the guests on her show.  This is an amazing story of how a young, African American woman turned tragedy into triumph.

In this Episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Jameelah Struthers, a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Group Fitness Instructor and co-host of Professionally Fit radio, out of Southfield, Michigan. Jameelah’s fitness journey began after her mother, who lived a very active and healthy lifestyle, was diagnosed with Brain Cancer and was given 8 months to 3 years to live.  During the interview, Jameelah will take us on her personal journey battling depression, anger and grief and how starting an exercise and nutrition program started her on the road to recovery, physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Jameelah will share how healthy eating has affected her thought processes.  Jameelah believes that by cutting out refined sugars, bread and other processed foods from her diet, she now has more mental clarity and positive thoughts.  Jameelah believes that there is a connection with the foods we eat and how we think.  Jameelah will also share her exercise philosophy, which she believes is the reason why she was able to lose 25 pounds.  Jameelah operates a Facebook page called “Get Fit With Jaye”, where she gives fitness and nutrition advice. 

After conditioning her own body and mind to achieve her goals and developing a passion for health and wellness, Jameelah now spends her time helping others to achieve their fitness goals.

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Bruce Cardenas, Chief Communications Officer for Quest Nutrition. Prior to joining Quest, Bruce served in the U.S. Marine Corp. where he was assigned to the security detail for one of the Marine Corp. generals.  While in the Marines, Bruce participated in various sports such as powerlifting and football.  After leaving the Marines, Bruce pursued his life-long dream of becoming a police officer and joined the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).  While in the LAPD, Bruce started a high end security firm providing security for music executives and celebrities such as Mariah Carey, Courtney Love, Rickie Martin, Mark Anthony and many others.  During the interview, Bruce will share how he met the owners of Quest Nutrition at a local gym, and how that relationship evolved into him becoming the Chief Communications Officer for the company.  Bruce will also discuss the Quest mission and the Quest Nutrition products, which include protein bars, powders and chips.  The products are in 90 countries and the protein bar is the top selling protein bar in the market.

Bruce believes that developing long-lasting relationships is key to any successful business. His natural entrepreneurial ambition, combined with his strong affinity for connecting communities through meaningful relationships, has solidified his place with the Quest family. 

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Nicole Rodrigues, CEO and founder of NRPR Group, a strategic positioning agency in Beverly Hills, which was awarded best PR agency in the city. More than 16 years ago, Nicole worked in-house as a PR coordinator for the Oakland Raiders, while also cheering for the team as a Raiderette. She’s developed and executed strategic campaigns for some of the biggest names in business, such as Yahoo!, Dolby, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony PlayStation, Hulu, M-GO, Toon Hero, Demand Media, MobiTV, and the Oakland Raiders.

During the interview, Nicole will take us on a journey from her childhood, growing up the oldest of 9 children in Fremont, California, working 3 jobs to pay for her college education to pursuing her dreams as a cheerleader for the Oakland Raiders and becoming the owner of a very successful PR company.  Nicole will also discuss the important role exercise and nutrition played in helping her to achieve her goals and why, while in the 8th grade, she decided to give up drinking soda and how that has impacted her life.  Nicole believes that in order to be successful you must have a positive mindset and limit the amount of negative people in your life.  Nicole doesn’t believe in excuses.  She believes if she can live her life’s dream and purpose, coming from humble beginnings, anyone can.  Nicole didn’t know how she was going to achieve her goals but stayed on a positive, health conscious path, believed in herself and her abilities and became a trailblazer.

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Zhivi Williams, CEO of Leading by Example and Passion Driven, out of Charlotte, North Carolina.  Zhivi is a Health, Wellness and Fitness Accountability Coach, motivational speaker, Personal Trainer, and author of “Who Needs A Gym” Using Social Media for Weight Loss”.  During the interview, Zhivi will discuss various chapters of the book, which was written for men and women who don’t know where to start on their fitness journey and for those who are on a budget and may not be able to afford a personal trainer, but still need the inspiration and support that a personal trainer can provide, but at no cost using social media as the fitness platform.  The book also includes information on how to get free online healthy eating and weight loss support, meal suggestions, exercise routines and much more.  Zhivi will also discuss her online coaching business, her 30 day challenge which will take place each month starting in January.  You can also workout with Zhivi on Facebook every morning.

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Dre Baldwin a/k/a DreAllDay, a former professional basketball player turned Mental Toughness Coach and Expert. He coaches, consults, and speaks with audiences ranging from business owners, salespeople, content marketers, branding executives, sports teams and high schools.  Dre is the author of 11 books including The Mental Handbook, where he writes about having a “bullet proof” mindset.  During the interview, Dre will take us on a journey from his youth growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, playing Division 3 basketball to becoming a professional basketball player and a Mental Toughness Expert.  Dre will also discuss the importance personal development and visualization played in the achievement of his goals and successes.  Dre Baldwin lays out a blueprint in this interview that anyone can follow, if they know how to apply information and have the mental toughness it takes to stand out from among the crowd. 

Dre Baldwin is now a top speaker and motivator in his field, having published over 5,300 videos since 2009 with over 120,000 subscribers, and 39,000,000 views of his YouTube channel.  This is a very inspiring interview from a young man who knows what he’s talking about and is living his dream!

In this episode of Six Weeks to Fitness, I am joined by Chef Isra Gordon, owner of Delicious Endings Catering and Tea House, a full-service catering company out of Brooklyn, New York, that promises to engage your appetite with ingredient-driven, health-focused global gourmet cuisine.  Chef Gordon was born and raised on the island of Grenada and is a graduate of the New York Restaurant School Culinary Program.  She is a highly trained chef and pastry chef with over 27 years of experience in the culinary industry.  Chef Gordon’s personal recipes have been featured in cookbooks and magazines, such as “One Sweet Cookie” and “Kuji Magazine”. 

Chef Gordon’s Delicious Endings Catering and Tea House has extensive experience catering to those with dietary restrictions and preferences, such as raw foodists, vegetarians, pescetarians, and others. Delicious Endings Catering and Tea House also carries over 30 different types of teas, some of which are carefully formulated by Chef Isra, to treat diabetes, dementia, high cholesterol, weight loss and much more.  Delicious Endings Catering and Tea House is the culmination of Chef Gordon’s passion and years of experience in the culinary world.  Chef Gordon believes that the obesity epidemic can be linked directly to the food we eat, the amount of sugary foods and drinks we consume and the lack of exercise.  For more information about Delicious Endings Catering and Tea House, visit www.deliciousendings.com or call Chef Isra at (917) 364-8276.

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am joined by Reea Rodney, author, mother of two and childcare provider.  Originally from Trinidad, Reea migrated to Brooklyn, New York in 2006 in search for a better life for her family. Because of her passion for her work as a childcare provider and desire to help children, Reea was inspired to write children’s books. She wanted to assist not only the kids who were under her care with the day to day issues they may be facing, but kids all over the world.  Her stories addresses topics such as adjusting to change, fear, separation anxiety, bravery, imagination, witty personality, love, compassion and teamwork. Although Reea’s first book, “Juniper and Rose: Sisters and Best Friends Forever,” was written in 2012, Reea held back from releasing the book until October, 2016, due to fear and low self-esteem.  It wasn’t until Reea read Steve Harvey’s book “Act Like A Success, Think Like A Success” that Reea decided to take that leap of faith and publish Juniper and Rose, which is receiving rave reviews from parents and children all across the country.  Reea’s success reminds us of that quote from Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich”, where he states “whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, he can achieve”.  Reea is starting to achieve great success with Juniper and Rose, the first of a series of books about these adorable twin sisters.

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I am pleased to welcome back to the program Shaniqua Garvin, a single mom, event planner and CEO of her lifestyle blog, Brown Media Mama.  During the interview, Shaniqua will discuss her upcoming event “Fall Into Fitness” presented by Sisterhued, the first of many fitness events she will be hosting from New York City to Los Angeles.  The event will take place on Sunday, October 9th from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Fit 4 Dance Studio, located at 154 Utica Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y.  Sponsors and contributors include Fit 4 Dance Studio, Fiji, Suja, Raw Food Central, GoGo squeeze, Pipernilli, Outside of the Box Creations, Boiron, 22 days nutrition, Skaklee, Pipernilli and Amped hydrate. There will be Belly Dancehall classes, giveaways, refreshments, panel discussions conducted by Laci Chisholm (owner of Fit4Dance), Golda Smith,  MPH, CPT, and Damian McCleod, Acupuncturist.

In this episode of our Six Weeks to Fitness podcast, I will be joined by Shaniqua Garvin, a widowed single mom, and event planner, raising her young son in New York City. She is the founder and CEO of her lifestyle blog, Brown Media Mama.  During the interview, Shaniqua will discuss her weight loss journey which began after losing her husband to heart disease at the age of 38 and how this tragedy motivated her to improve her health for the sake of her son. While working on her weight loss, Shaniqua was told about an open casting call that Oprah’s “O” Magazine had to spotlight women and their weight loss journey.  Shaniqua wrote in to the magazine and explained how the loss of her husband inspired her to lose weight and how she could not do it alone.  To Shaniqua’s surprise and excitement, she immediately received a call from the magazine and was selected among 9 other women to share their weight loss journey and grace the cover of the April, 2016 “O” Magazine with Oprah.  Shaniqua will share what it was like to meet Oprah and Gayle during the photo shoot and how that experience has changed her life for the better.  Shaniqua is determined to share her story on the importance of taking care of your health.  This is a very heartfelt and inspiring episode.