Holistic Self Mastery with Obi Chuku: Commit to your WHY!

Most people don’t fall short because they lack discipline.
They fall short because they have never seen themselves clearly enough to change.

In this episode of the Me Inc Podcast, wellness and life coach Obi Chuku shares one of the clearest examples of intentional reinvention. His journey from Nigeria to becoming a respected voice in wellness is compelling not because of the steps he took, but because of the clarity guiding each one.

Obi’s experience reflects a core Me Inc. belief:
✨ Human potential expands when identity, purpose, and performance finally align.

This conversation explores a grounded, realistic framework for rebuilding wellness and performance in the middle of real life — where careers, responsibilities, leadership demands, and personal growth all intersect. Together, we examine how to create alignment without burnout, without constant restarts, and without relying on intensity over clarity.

🎙️ In this episode, we cover:

• 🔍 Building unshakable motivation by anchoring to your “why”
• 🌱 Using gratitude and abundance to shift mindset and performance
• 🧩 Aligning movement, nutrition, and regeneration into one integrated system
• 🧠 Leveraging emotional intelligence to support sustainable progress
• ⚖️ Applying a coaching model that strengthens wellness, leadership, and long-term performance

If you’re stepping into 2025–2026 with goals around health, leadership presence, identity, or confidence, this episode offers a clear, practical starting point.

🎙️ Guest: Obi Chuku — Wellness & Life Coach
🎙️ Host: Nigel Franklyn — Me Inc Podcast

Transcript

Season Two Kicks Off

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So, welcome to season two of the Mi Yang Podcast, a platform where we explore the limitless, boundless um potential of the human condition. And so, welcome to season two of the Mi Yang Podcast. One of the things that I'm passionate about as always, and I'm gonna share more about this as we go through this this next season of the podcast, is that I've always been curious about exploring the human potential as well as emotional intelligence. And what we have today, what the platform is, is a series of conversations with individuals in that transformative space where we can all glean insights on how to be better. So for today's conversation, um looking forward to chatting with my good friend um who is a wellness coach who explores that human potential aspect of things in a very, very um sorry, I'm gonna start that again. Okay, um so here we go. And welcome to season two of the Me Yang Podcast. Um, excited to continue to share inspirational stories of individuals living a full full uh individuals living a fulfilled life and how we can actually glean insights from those individuals to um have us individually be better. Um I'm excited about the opportunity to speak with um my close friend and neighbor today. Yes, you know, don't laugh. I'm gonna I'm gonna, you know, I have my issues here.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

Okay, let's there are times you can you just don't want to force things, right? Uh-huh. Like you you've had a day. Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

No, no, not forced. You think it it feels forced?

SPEAKER_02 2:09

No, yes, like you you've had a day. It's been a stressful day.

Defining Wellness Beyond Buzzwords

SPEAKER_00 2:16

It's all right. It's all right, Obi. This this is the this is the this is um this is the equalizing part of it. So let's give it a shot. I think we're we're gonna be fine. All right, so here we go. Um welcome to season two of the Me Yang Podcast. Um, a series of conversations with individuals living a fulfilled life, uh, with the game with the aim to glean from those insights that they can actually share for us to all collectively better. Uh, the podcast is an extension of my my passion for wanting to explore the limitless potential of the human condition and also that intersection of how we all manage ourselves through emotional intelligence in our own self-mastery journey, or that idea of how we all are trying to be our best selves. For today's conversation, I have with me, and uh, before I even try to pronounce your name, um this has been an issue for me. I have some trauma from the first uh first season of the the podcast where I I was unable to properly enunciate the name of what another African friend, um, but I'm gonna give it a shot. So today I have with me uh Obi Chiku OK. Okay, yeah, yeah. That's uh 800. Oh wow, all right. You know what? I am a 70% kind of a person, so I am overperforming. But uh and dear friend and neighbor, Obi, who is a wellness professional, and um excited for us to have this conversation today. Excited for us to have you join us in this conversation today. Obi, welcome to the Meet Inc. podcast.

SPEAKER_02 4:13

Thank you. Thank you, Nigel. Thank you so much for having me on here.

SPEAKER_00 4:17

All right, so jumping right in. Um who's Obi? What does Obi do? What's Obi passionate about?

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Obi is Obi. Well, I'm a I'm a wellness and self-development coach. Okay, that's what I do.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

Yeah. Well, but that's so broad, right? So give me a little bit more about um, and I know your approach to wellness is unique. So give me a little bit more about wellness and human development coach.

SPEAKER_02 4:49

Okay, so with with wellness, we're looking at um wellness is broad, so you're looking at the movement aspect, um, nutrition, and the regeneration side of it. So when you combine all three, wellness.

SPEAKER_00 5:08

Okay, it it seems simple, but I'm sure it's more complicated.

SPEAKER_02 5:11

And that's how I kind of it's it's really broad. We can spend days talking about it. Okay, yes, it's combining all three of them and having a holistic approach.

unknown 5:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 5:28

All right. So then the the idea, the me ink idea, and it just uh as a as as table stakes for the the audience, the me ink idea is that we as individuals are our best ass our most valuable asset, valuable asset. And to achieve peak performance, there's that understanding that it's important to make investments in your physical, spiritual, and mental well-being, right? So going back to that um those that that three-legged stool. However, I must say, and I always try to say, that spiritual part of it is not the churchy spiritual part, it is the things that don't laugh, Obi. You know, there's wrong with the church's spiritual part. No, no, but I just want to make sure that because our spiritual journey is all different, right? So I just want to make sure that individuals appreciate that it is that very basic view, the yet complicated view, that spirituality is those things that make you feel good, right? So a little bit more. So you said wellness and then life coaching, right? That's what you said. And can you give a little bit more on that as well?

SPEAKER_02 6:40

That's uh personal development coaching, you mean?

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Yeah. So you also shared a little bit about the personal development coaching. Share a little bit more about you know that you gave wellness. What's the the personal development coaching action?

SPEAKER_02 6:56

In life, we do have goals, we have dreams, aspirations, and desires to do things. But how how are we able to achieve those goals? So we sort of get in our ways, you know. You have cultural beliefs, you have the limited beliefs, we all have that, and that's what gets in the way. So, what I do is we we address that issue.

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Okay. So helping individuals to get out of their way, right? Um, so what's formative into you arriving at this place of hey, this is my passion? So wellness is your passion. What's what's some of those those things contributing to you being in this place, this position in life today?

SPEAKER_02 7:49

I've I've always been curious about human behavior and also the resilience of the human body. You know, watching growing up as a kid, seeing a woman get pregnant, um, having a baby, you know, she goes back to the the body takes form, a different kind of form, and you see people who get injured and recover and move a certain kind of way due to injuries. So I always wondered, I was curious, like, is it possible? Is there a way where yes, the body's resilient to the point where it can heal itself, but how can we get you to move how you did before an accident? So it was just that curiosity.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

So the reforming the how the body like essentially expands and contracts, how it it it shapes to me different stuff.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

The body's amazing to adapt to whatever you give it, right?

Me Inc: Investing In Your Best Self

SPEAKER_00 8:52

Okay, all right. Yes, so tell me a little bit more about curious about the human behavior, right? Because I know that you have, and I'm gonna make sure that some of the stories um that you've shared with me come out here today. So I'll pull it from you. You have the most interesting background because although you're you're now doing this, right? Like, what are some of those those experiences that contributed? And when I say experiences, I mean not just um not just the the formative parts of it, but some of the jobs that you've done. Like what's what's contributing to you being here now?

SPEAKER_02 9:29

I mean, it's again, life is a journey, right? Right. Okay. So I've chosen all right, you know, I've chosen to move in areas, so be it career-wise, um, countries, whatever. I I've chosen, it's a choice because I'm curious about us human beings and human behavior. And I worked in law enforcement for a couple of years and moved to South Africa, and I got my certification in exercise science and started my job as a personal trainer. Um, during my time in South Africa, I dabbled into some what you may call modeling.

SPEAKER_00 10:15

What do you mean, what you may call modeling? It's always interesting how how um how um how people undersell themselves. Okay, dabbled in modeling.

SPEAKER_02 10:26

Okay, go ahead. So, because I was curious about that as well. Um I I got to see uh get a glimpse of that world. And um yeah, just it's just how life has been. And I moved here to the States and continued my career as a personal trainer, but I also kept on developing myself knowledge-wise and experience.

SPEAKER_00 10:51

Okay, so it sometimes everyone actually goes personal trainer, and you know, my hard wiring goes people who help you to um who are into lifting heavy things, you know, putting heavy things down and picking them up, right? I I but I think you're much more you're much more than that. So I'm gonna try to give you your flowers here. Is that well, you're the top tier um trainer at Equinox, right? That's not a small fee. So I I don't know. Well, I'm always curious when people tell their stories how that doesn't come up. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_02 11:30

Okay, how do you think about that? Yeah, we're we're gonna do that again. Um because Equinox is broad, and when you go top tier, it's yeah, because you never know like who's watching, and there's always I've I've gotten recognitions. There are so many top trainers, but I've gotten recognitions as well. But I wouldn't um I I was not there are people who are higher than me, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

But that doesn't mean that you're not still high. You know what I'm saying? It's top tier is broad.

SPEAKER_02 12:05

Um okay, yeah, top tier. Okay. Because I agree that that um levels, their tiers of equinox. Okay. So I did, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:18

Okay. So it's interesting whenever individuals tell the, and I'll take it here again. So another take. It's interesting when individuals tell their stories how um, and I don't know if it's how they undersell themselves, right? But it would be what you just did. It's like you're you're one of the top-tier trainers at Equinox. That's not a small feat, right? From uh if you're thinking about what people are paying to get a specific results, that's that's as high on the hierarchy as you'd possibly go, right? But you don't mention that. What what why why is it that you don't mention that portion of it? Just curiously, as we continue to go through this conversation, right? Um, why don't I mention Yeah, that you know, like you undersell yourself. Because you this is your this is what you're passionate about.

SPEAKER_02 13:11

This is what I get so it actually doesn't define who I am. So it's okay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, so if I experience certain things or I achieved or gotten certain recognitions, I don't it's it's what I don't use it to define who I am.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Uh-huh. But in in a bit in a business where so you're still in business for yourself, right? Yes. Um, don't you st don't you think that that's like um something that individuals look to when they they come to you, let's say, to procure your service, right? So there's like that. I hear you on not defining yourself in that way, but then still we're in a world where you need to have some definition of self so that individuals will will attach to that, right?

SPEAKER_02 14:00

So how do you I I I agree, but but if I put a cap on, oh, these are my qualifications or certifications. Learning is a lifelong process, so I'm still learning and acquiring more certifications. So if I stick on there is no space on a card to put all the certifications of group okay, so but then you still have you still have to put one on. Now, however, here's the thing I'm a personal trainer, right? So I use the knowledge acquired from all of this, you know, certifications and learning to I use it to my um how would I put it? I have to take a do another take. Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 14:47

Okay, no, that's fine.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

Yeah, I was about to learn that something.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Uh huh. The thing, the thing though is that maybe just saying it and then not worried about what will come back, right? So just saying the facts, you know, hey, no, this is yeah, this is what um, or maybe it plugs into what you achieved, and then we go from there, right? You know? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:12

So I was I was what I was trying to say is um like I do acquire that knowledge and certification and I apply it in my world, in my skills. So I'm able to broaden my client base.

SPEAKER_00 15:30

And yeah, so that's how all right. So then you go back to it. So the idea is we're gonna go back into why undersell yourself, right?

SPEAKER_01 15:40

Okay.

Obi’s Origins And Curiosity

SPEAKER_00 15:41

Um, and then you can tell you can go back into like that's not how it's actually done, you know. Um, and then and then we go from there. So you go, we're taking again. So Obi, that's so interesting in hearing you share your background because I would say you're under selling yourself, right? Because there are so many certifications and things that you're doing, even if we start with simply stated you're um you're one of the top tier, you were one of the top tier before going out on your own, you were one of the top tier trainers at Equinox, right? So how do you undersell yourself in that way? Like, what's that about?

SPEAKER_02 16:24

I I I wouldn't say I'm underselling myself. I I choose not to let that define who I am, because if if I've acquired a certain amount of knowledge and just said, hey, this is it, this is a certification, I'm not growing any anymore, I limit myself. So I've chosen to just keep acquiring more and diversify my and broadening my um expertise. So this way I'm able to diversify my skills, so which lends itself to having more clients. That's how I that's how I approach it.

SPEAKER_00 17:03

No, I'm with you, right? I'm with you on that one. But I I'm just going, it it's always it's always interesting for me to to note when we get a chance to tell the world who we are, what is what is it that we choose to actually share. Um so going back, right? Every time someone tells me that they've moved and you're saying four different places, four different countries, uh five different locations, like I I often want to dive into what's that story about. Because as human beings, we don't necessarily seek out change, but you seem to have purposely or intentionally seek to move or seek new things. So walk me through a little bit about where you've lived and what was driving you to move to other places, right?

SPEAKER_02 17:56

Yes, and um my first move to South Africa was intentional. I wanted to study, I wanted to um get my certification, which I did. And life happens, which it would you may call circumstances, right? Which lend itself to me moving to the US and finding myself here, I've moved from DC to New Jersey. So if I look at my world, I've I've moved quite a bit, but I I I look at it through a different lens. Like you and I talk all the time, and I've come to learn advancement of any kind is preceded by a crisis. So whatever is happening, so whatever is going on in your world, it's it's meant to happen to push you to the next level. So I don't like being pushed, Obi if you don't like being pushed, life is gonna happen, and you just have to so you might push yourself. Why not just push yourself to begin? Before you do, okay.

SPEAKER_00 19:14

So you intentionally seek out many of it, right? One of the things that's interesting though is that you know, like starting, we we have um we have that Pentecostal foundation in our oh yes, but but that doesn't, you know, that doesn't say like go out and see the world, right? Usually a lot of my um a lot of the individuals will have that let's stay here mentality. Yes, right. Um so what what's what's that what's what's that about?

SPEAKER_02 19:43

So I have um that's a very good question. Um growing up in in that kind of household, right? You you you observe, you look around you, and it's it's a community, all right? It's a culture, tradition, you can call it that. And you grew up in, you know, if you grew up in this world, and you start to question things, right? So um tradition can basically I call it group habits, right? So you it goes from one generation to the next. All right, and if you pay attention, these are habits, so the results are gonna be very predictable. So people around you, you know, go through the same thing, they're gonna get predictable results. So I'm observing and thinking, okay, if these are the results from generation to generation, no one is really moving, no one is, you know, whatever. Let me do something different, let me move out. You know, so that's how I approached it.

SPEAKER_00 20:48

But every time you move, it's uh it's jarring for the nervous system, right? Every time you make significant changes, um, there is an adjustment period. How do you how do you manage the the move from place to place, right? Because you're you're uprooting everything and starting over. How do you how do you wrap your head around that?

SPEAKER_02 21:10

Because yeah, go ahead. Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 21:12

No, please, go for it.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

You say starting over. I don't look at it as starting over. No, tell me more about that. Because it still existed, right? You are you are your person, you are who you are, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:25

So you're just continuing on the journey. Last in the last season, um uh Soule, my my dear friend from uh Niger shared the same thing, but because every time that there is some significant change that's happening here in the US culture, we all experience a significant sense of loss. You know, it it doesn't come as easily, right? It's not easy as okay, I'm continuing on this journey. It's usually uh met with, hey, I'm starting over significantly and going from here, right? But I I I'm gonna hold on to that and and we'll come back to to um that idea.

SPEAKER_02 22:07

I I I get the idea starting over, but personally, I I don't look at it as starting over. I just if I'm in a new country, all I have to do is observe the you know, the culture, see how people show up, and the principles which have been ingrained in me growing you know from my childhood. Treat people with kindness, respect, empathy, and you know, manage yourself, have self-control. So just like the basic principles. And I you hold on to that and you show up anywhere.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Okay. I I we should figure out a way of bottling that to sell it, right? So that's so you know, because that's that's so much easier said than easier said than done.

Law Enforcement To Coaching

SPEAKER_02 23:01

Okay, now there's a quote from David Hume from the 17th century. Okay, and this is this is about religion. So he said the proper office of religion is to regulate the heart of men, humanize their conduct, and instill the spirit of temperance. So if you look at that, what is it talking about? It's talking about self-control, kindness, empathy. That is basically what religion is. Okay, all right. Okay, so if you hold on to those principles, you you are a religious person, but it's been it's been pushed to one extreme, as you know.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

So all right, so I'm with you, right? But I hope you do appreciate that that mindset is very different than what most people would um most people would employ, right? So when I say that, like I and I think maybe this is a good story where you make a good point where you can share how you actually move from South Africa and started working at the um the equinox in in um in DC. And when I say that, it's it's because your mindset is that set point that um that set point of how you see the world or that prism that you take your world's life's experience through and decide how to interpret it, right? So I'm saying to you that your point of view is very different, quite unique. So maybe this is a point where you can actually share moving to the US from South Africa um and finding that first job.

SPEAKER_02 24:55

Yeah, after I moved to the US, I obtained my documents where I could work. And I decided to, I already decided I was gonna continue my job as a personal trainer. And by thinking about that, I pulled out my phone and looked up top, you know, luxury gyms in Washington, DC at that time. And Equinox was at the you know, equ Equinox came up as number one. So I I decided to walk up to Equinox and get myself a job.

SPEAKER_00 25:39

Tell me more about walking up to Equinox and get yourself a job. Because I I I wish I could model some of those behaviors, but walking up to Equinox and getting a job.

SPEAKER_02 25:50

I I I understand what you know the question being asked. But I've over the years, this is my mindset, right? If I want something, I will go for it. And I don't talk myself out of it. I don't, whatever it is I say I want, I just apply myself and move. So I want I had chosen to work at Equinox, the top two. And there was no how are you gonna get there? or you know, all those voices I didn't pay attention to any of that. I showed up and got myself a job.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

Okay. I'm still trying to drill down into showing up and getting yourself a job. Like, what what was that process like? What was the what was the approach you used to secure that first job?

SPEAKER_02 26:46

I've had the experience and the knowledge in the field, and I believed I could um improve on that and working at a gym with such a reputation when it comes to um education. I I felt this was a place for me. I want to start there. And I I went over to Equinex.

SPEAKER_00 27:18

I think what I was trying to pull from you is the idea of you know, when you started, oh, I saw it. This is what I wanted to do. Um, so you know, I I picked up the phone, I saw it, and I called at the gym. Or I went down to the gym, I try to find someone I asked to speak to, you know, more into the details of the story. Oh, the story. Yeah, the story, right? So, and that's where you can actually, you know, be as you know animated as you'd want to be. It's like, okay, this is a little bit different, not not everyone actually sees this, but this is how I wanted to, you know what I mean? Okay. So, Ovi, you undersold yourself a little while ago, and I think your mindset is so very different than what everyone uses, like what we utilize here in the US. Um, and I I think this is probably a good place to for the audience to hear about the story of you being hired at Equinox in in DC. So, do you mind sharing a little bit more about that story? Oh, sure.

Recognition Without Labels

SPEAKER_02 28:28

So when I when I obtained my um employment authorization cards, I was given that and given the green light to work, I decided to continue as a personal trainer. But I also wanted to um learn more, like expand on my knowledge. So I try to try to figure out you know what gym to go to and also um get um more education. And Equinox was at the top, number one. And I I checked there was a location which wasn't far from where I lived, and I decided to go to Equinox and get me a job. I know so Yeah, yeah, that's really simple, Obi. That's really, really simple. Okay, I know, I know it's different, but no, here's the story. I I got to the gym, I walked up to the front desk and asked the lady that I wanted to speak to her manager. And she then asked me, she goes, What manager? The fitness manager, personal training manager, general manager. I'm like, oh that's a lot. I said, I am the personal training manager, and she goes, Oh, he's he's not available right now, but here's his number. And I took his details, sent him email, no response. I went over the next day, and it was another lady, and I already had the name of the personal trainer manager so I just show up saying I'm here to see Mr. let's call him John so I'm here to see Mr. John and she goes oh is he expecting you I'm like yes and she got a trainer to take me over to Mr. John's office and I get to the door the trainer says to Mr. John there's an Obi here to see you and Mr. John looked at me so confused like I don't know this guy and Mr. John had someone in his office so I said to Mr. John just give you a minute and he's just trying to figure me out so I sat down waiting for him he eventually came out and he was looking at me we then went into the office we both sat down and I looked I looked at him I said we've never met before but I'm here for a job and you got the job yeah okay yeah I got the job so in this world of manifestation you were able to manifest the job that you wanted yeah because I said I was gonna work there right but but but you're saying you're gonna work there that doesn't mean you're gonna get to that point right so what is the what is that thing in your mind that that's saying okay I can do this rather than I can't like if you're thinking in the past yeah you know because you you're you're doing a possibility mindset right like you're like oh there's nothing that's gonna stop me from working at this place so I am gonna go ahead and do that right you know what I mean yes yeah so that's what I'm saying how I sort of apply myself I mean there are so many experiences in my world and in my journey that they're borderline fictional you and I talk about that right it's not fictional but it just happens what would be one of the borderline fictional ones just curiously again this is an interesting one is we're gonna be here for like a long time but it was it was me um leaving South Africa to Nigeria back home to visit family and on my way back into the country for some odd reason my work permit wasn't valid and and I was sent back to Nigeria and everyone that I who knew me back they were all freaking out like oh my god you know your whole world is in South Africa what are you gonna do I said oh I'm gonna go back like how I said I I'm gonna go there was no oh this is it for me so long story one long story short I came across ran someone random on social media a friend of a friend that we got talking and he knew someone in immigration who I got into the country end of story so where there's a will where there's a will there's a way that's okay no nigga you're looking sleepier this camera on this one yeah but I think okay I'm going it it is right like the thing about it okay what's that no no I'm saying the thing about it is so when you're talking we can actually um yours will actually come up um so then we could actually take that off but let's let's let's do let's do come up no your your picture will stay on top okay because there's one or two of them so let's do if we do that what what what part of the story you want to transition to then so we talked a little bit about you and what's formative of you getting there and and and your story of getting there what what's the other part of it that we would actually say what like what would where do you want to to take it do you want to go into the um do you want to go into the definition of wellness now the practical application of it yes yes yes yes is there anything else that you'd want to say on the on the on the the the part of the story right no the the one I just shared let's crash that that story I'll have to have I shared that story with you I can't hear you oh I think my can you hear me I can hear you can you hear me can you hear me Obi?

Possibility Mindset In Action

SPEAKER_00 35:11

Yeah yeah okay yeah we can scratch that last part I might shared that one third video before yeah you shared it with me recently okay um I don't want the South African government to look well you already got your stuff here so you don't really need that's that question um okay so I'm going where which way do we go from it uh wellness right okay all right so all right so obi just taking it on to the practical axe aspect of this this wellness conversation right and you you have a a very unique view of of wellness and I would love to dive a little bit deeper into that but in a way that that makes it practical right so um tell me what you think like like maybe we can maybe we can go back and forth um on on what you would actually take a client through right so here I am beginning of 2025 I'm looking at my wellness journey and saying that I want to be better what's what where do we go from there? What's the practical way of the audience approaching um their wellness in 2025 or starting wherever they're at so I heard you say you want to be better what does better mean okay I don't know if trainers always ask me better but what does better mean um I mean you know I I I think from a um uh well a health perspective um want to exercise more uh want to eat better maybe drop a few pounds uh I think that's where I would go with the better part of that conversation okay so you want to exercise better sleep better move better drop a few pounds yeah I think that's I think that's yeah that's that seems like that would be the goal okay so what what does what would all that mean to you sleeping better well so let's let we go let's go back to it right so if we if we take it again right the the idea is like um when we get into that portion of it obi this is when you should come alive right like this is when you light up okay so you know even if it's like all right this is you know where we started with so this is where this is where I come in okay so all right and then you lean in to drive the conversation rather than you know pull from me rather than that because I'm trying to understand where do do we want do you want me to go into the web because it's so broad we can talk it's gonna go but this is your stuff right so okay so I'll take you through a very um a very my very simple approach is if I'm taking a new client in and that's different from what you normally see right but um yeah what what is it yeah you know what I mean okay all right so Obi um so to this shifting into this practical part of of the conversation of the wellness conversation that um the listeners will have right so how how can we how can you share some practical advice on individuals who were starting out their their journey in 2025 right um and I don't know where where to start but whenever you pick this podcast up if you want to start um that journey there's no time like the present so if it's the beginning of 2025 the beginning of 2026 whenever you listen to this podcast if you wanted to start on something um or wanted to start on that journey then where is it and and where where are you starting? So Obi, I'm gonna turn it over to you how how do we make this into a practical exercise where the audience can glean some insight into how they should be approaching this just short of reaching out to you to have you help them as well.

SPEAKER_02 39:42

Okay. So there's so many ways to approach this and you can go online you can check whatever but personally I always tell my clients you have to start from inside let's get that fire going right so what does wellness mean to you all right and whatever answer that comes up you know you keep digging to get to your why you need something to you know just to get you going. So how long can I hold on to this you know how where do I prioritize wellness in my world? Is it the top is it so you want to commit to that and I thought by committing to what you prioritize you end up seeing your results. So it's not just wellness wellness as a whole it's you're looking at your nutrition I mean it is wellness nutrition regeneration movements right so okay you have wellness.

Moving Countries Without “Starting Over”

SPEAKER_00 40:43

So where you started so so let let's maybe Obi this is if you'd entertain me here let's like take me through that process and have the the audience listen in right so okay uh what what what's so I'm coming to you what's what's um you know what what's the process let's maybe we we we kind of go through it refine it understand it in my scenario so what's that what's that what does that look like so you're saying we've established a goal is that what you mean no take me through it like I'm new client you're gonna help me to crush my goals in 2025 which we're actually doing right as a new client right tell me why are you here to see me what is this why are we meeting I I in 2025 I wanna I wanna have a more pointed view on um my my overall wellness my physical wellness right um so I want to be better and I want to seek out an expert to help me to be better. I know that I don't have that information so I'm trying to get an expert to help me to be better. Okay I keep hearing better what does better look like to you um exercise more eat better better sleep um I think I think that's it drop a few pounds um those are some of the the the better parts of this conversation if you will that I would okay yeah so sleep well exercise drop a few pounds yeah what have you what have you tried in the past um so I give my background so former college athlete um developed uh an irregular heartbeat in my early 20s um figured out that I didn't enjoy lifting heavy stuff up and putting it down so then I I kind of went in that kick of the cardiovascular health because I had the heart issues so for years I did triathlons um so I did I did uh from sprints all the way to an Ironman um and you know I think I was always going always running on empty so I stopped doing all of that a few years ago started doing more yoga I've always done yoga maybe for the last almost 15 years or so but I've tried a number of different things I am 47 years old um so I found a weightlifting program or weight training program for individuals above 40 that I've tried in the past so a bunch of different things but you know my my my background former c college athlete who is very active who wants to to um look feel look and feel fit okay so college athlete who wants to look and feel fit right so you did you did mention you you did the triathlon and um did you mention Iron Man? Yeah okay so what led to you going that extreme uh you you're calling it extreme I didn't call it extreme at the time I I think you know um you know a friend sent me a note after the after the so we're gonna take that out I shouldn't have said that but go ahead no no but I think it's cool right because I I do believe that there's balance right but what I would say though Obi when you're doing it so if you look at it right so it's like you're sitting like this right at times but when you lean into it you sometimes do this okay oh I see this in my face. So yeah so it's like almost like it's kind of sad that you have to maybe come a little bit closer so that you're talking into the mic so you can hear it. Um but that's too close to the camera um so can't you hear me here but it's it's it's not gonna come through as crisp as if you're speaking up up here.

SPEAKER_02 45:26

Is this better um so you have I have the mic I don't want to I have it on here it can't come off the the edge of it so what you might be able to do is pull the okay right okay all right so this is it right I shouldn't move back and forth.

SPEAKER_00 45:53

Yeah so like if we could do if we can both keep like in this so if we both can keep in this space right here then that would be awesome. Just like this right yeah you know like if we both can be yeah um even if you if you pull your camera like forward just a little bit like that just pull the top of the laptop forward yeah that seems cool because your head's um to the top of it you know so that that's a good place to be right um okay yeah so and and I know that when we talk about it it would be it would be um it would be that same like pulling right so I think we start in a good way where you ask why would it be that extreme um and then we can actually go from there right so you can go we can start back from why well I never thought of it as I never thought of the Iron Man as being extreme at the time but looking back on it now I do believe that it's it is that right like I had a friend share with me just after finishing sent me the this article that said um the individuals who do things um as extreme as an Iron Man are the ones who found themselves stuck in a certain aspect of life and is actually undertaking significant activities to validate them. So that but that's where I was and I I must say unlike many others it took me eight years to get to that level so the Iron Man stuff was a lifestyle thing for me for a number of years. It wasn't just a bucket list item it was this is how I chose to wake up every day and what I chased. So it's a little bit different okay and you were doing this for eight years you said yes and it was a lifestyle okay so what changed um I didn't enjoy it um I didn't enjoy it I had a lot of injuries um and one day I woke up I was it was 5 30 a m in the morning I was going to the pool and it was cold out the pool was colder getting in the water at at that early time of the morning and I realized that it didn't really bring me joy right um I enjoyed exercising I enjoyed the benefits of it but as you shared that I I kind of went to an extreme an extreme part of that that conversation I I it became extreme for me right and I didn't enjoy that so I was trying I tried recalibrating so I dropped the identity of being a triathlete and then just try to find wellness and whatever that looked like or felt like from that point in a different way. So what aspect of wellness are you looking for so I like I like golf for instance I took a golf lesson today and felt like my back was tweaking right um so again at my my age the mobility part of it how do I stay healthy? How do I not end up with back problems or knee problems or hip problems? So you know what what are those what are those things I can actually do to bulletproof my body so that I can continue to enjoy life in the way that I I currently do now okay so more like functional training style. Yeah okay and is there is there a timeline for you in achieving this goal no um no specific timeline but I would I would like to see results if we're starting today would like to see results by by the summertime. What results are we talking about again the sleeping better losing a few pounds um right exercising more yeah so for your sleep what have you how how does that work for you oh wow so and this is maybe getting past the point of of sharing on the on the the the podcast but so I'm narcoleptic yeah yeah so that's the thing it it it goes into it digs you know like this question that's what I was trying to I I was trying not to I want us to like the surface stuff because but but no but but remember that's what we were saying about it right maybe maybe we should script we should script these parts of it more we should yes right because because no this is what I like it because this is exactly what individuals were saying they didn't have in the first season of the podcast so this humanizes me oh okay right but even even in this realm it should be scripted no yeah so we can that's what I'm saying we can script it okay so we can actually what we can actually do is excuse me we can we can download this one see what it is and then we can script it and go back so you know what I'm saying when I say download it like you tell me what you want to bring out but but like when when we get to this point I think the energy part of it should come up a bit right like this is when you're like taking control right and um that's what I'm thinking I I I could be wrong.

Faith, Values, And Self-Control

SPEAKER_02 52:04

So this is how I'll I'll I would do it with anyone because if I go any higher I get animated and it takes because I'm trying to get to your why so it's like we're talking yeah yeah but we're talking but when we talking we're talking like and and maybe this is this is where it's coming it's it's so if we're if we're in this space and we're talking about about this then should should we be a little bit more like and not animated but like like just up a few notches with the energy that's what I meant.

SPEAKER_00 52:50

You know but we can you know what we that's what we can we can we can download it and look at what these few episodes were like yeah this is our practice right until we get to main thing right so then we can see it and then say okay this is how we would want to come across with it.

SPEAKER_02 53:11

All right you know and then even even Soule is coming back on Wednesday or Tuesday or Wednesday so he can actually see it and tell us what what we what we probably should we should work on right okay um okay so let's let's we can try try it with a little bit more energy and see how that feels okay and then we can then transition into the other part of it right so you know for our conversation I think this is fine but I think if other people are listening in for the specifics when you're in your area I think um I think that's where the engagement part of it the back and forth you playing a little bit more should come in right so all right all right so um all right here hold on um okay um so yeah so Obi, how about we transition into that practical aspect of how we can actually help clients be like how you help clients to meet their best self what's that approach what's your differentiated approach to doing that okay first first thing I um I get to my clients why whatever their why is it should be it should be the fire to get them going. All right so why they're waking up in the morning why they have to eat this why they have to you know go to the gym we need to get to that why and get a fire going.

SPEAKER_00 54:51

Yes. So that's that so you're starting with a why that's so general right and and okay I'm thinking and this is just an idea but what what does that look like maybe we can actually role play through it and you can take we've had a similar conversation but we can guide or help a client see what that would be like um maybe by just us having that conversation how does that sound yeah that's fine let's let's roleplay let's do it okay all right cool now that's the right energy with the smile and with everything else obi that's what I was actually saying you know because I'm animated let's go all right okay all right so all right so here I am I'm I'm showing up my first day with you I reached out to you where do we go from here? All right Nigel so nice to meet you how are you today I'm doing great Obi how are you I am fantastic yeah yeah okay so you reached out to me and we're here can you tell me why we're here um I'm seeking professional help to get my to get back on the the fitness and wellness um wagon right um so um I'm looking for someone to help me to be um to be better in the the same wellness space so yeah that's that's how I put it forward I'm here because I am realized that I want to be better and I'm seeking out help to be better okay I I noticed you get you keep saying better better what does better mean to you wow okay so better better to me means um losing maybe 20 pounds um I'm the heaviest I've been in my life um eating better understanding that those two are connected and also getting some better rest and recovery so yeah okay so what have you done in the past oh man that's uh uh all right cars all right so well I'm 47 years old now um and a former college athlete it seems like a lifetime away but I believe that a lot of the those the the approach to that um kind of still permeates life um so a former college athlete I was a decathlete um multi-event person uh knee injuries uh subsequently to school I stopped and maybe for about eight years or so did nothing um other than work. I developed a regular heartbeat and from a cardiovascular perspective uh and also just because I think I enjoy doing difficult things I picked up triathlons and I did that for about eight years until maybe two or three years ago where I just decided that I was going to stop that and um because it felt out of balance uh and and then I wanted to seek out uh other things so I did more mobility work um I did I started a weightlifting program for individuals above 40. So I've done a bunch of different things but realizing I need help I've also tried an app um over time but I'm realizing I need help in that um one-on-one human touch aspect of it I felt was it the now was the right time to do that okay it sounds like um you've you've done a lot of movement and exercises I I think so yes being a triathlete that's uh that's a huge one iron man I'm guessing right why would you make that guess right okay Iron Man yes okay yeah that's that's very impressive and how long were you how long were you on that is it eight years eight years or so yeah from a a sprint to an Iron Man in about eight years nine years here okay and what happened why why did you not go just realized I didn't enjoy it so I woke up one day and wanted to do something else um wanted to see if I could explore wellness outside of that um very narrow I'm a I am a triathlete definition of wellness so what is your definition of wellness um that's a good one maybe that's something that you'd help me to to define as I go through the conversation right um but you know I can tell you that my um what I can tell you that over the years that I learned that my BMI is Is not normal, right? So like I don't I don't subscribe to any um, you know, I'm 6'1, I need to be 178 pounds. Like, you know, I don't subscribe to most of that. I think for me it's been a feeling. How do I feel in my body? How do I do I like what I see when I look in the mirror? Um, and when I do meet with my doctors, um, are the those markers, those significant markers for me now? My A1C, um my insulin levels, like are those things in order.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:42

Okay. So how do you approach nutrition?

SPEAKER_00 1:00:50

I think I still eat whatever I want to eat within reason. I'm not gonna make this easy for you, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:03

So you eat whatever you want within reason?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:06

Yeah, I I try not to I well, I I don't know. I think um I I've been very dogmatic about things, so I would be very narrow with my um with my with my diet. I'd be very rigid, and I I'm trying to let go of being rigid in a lot of stuff.

The Equinox Story: Asking For The Job

SPEAKER_02 1:01:28

When you say rigid, can you explain a little more?

SPEAKER_00 1:01:32

Um oh, so I'll give you, I can't give you my rigid, but what's coming into my head is my bread is rigid right now. I'm not gonna eat any flour, I'm gonna I'm not gonna eat any sugar. I don't like red meat. Um I I'm gonna eat one meal a day. Um, you know, um low salt. Uh I think that that is to me is rigid. I I want to be able to um not overindulge in food, but enjoy food, um and not just treat it as fuel, but I want to be someone who, you know, um I'm not that guy who my friends can go out and have dinner with, you know, or if we're going to have dinner, uh my dietary requirements is front and center for the group.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:26

Okay. So have you ever worked on a or used a meal plan before?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:34

I have, but it was for racing.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:37

Okay. So you haven't used anyone since then?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:42

No.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:44

Okay. And are you open to using one? Yes. Okay. So now when it comes to regeneration, how much sleep do you get?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:01

Uh five, six hours a night.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:06

Okay. Have you noticed if that impacts your performance during the day?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:12

At times, yep. And at other times, no. I think one of the things of learning that I learned over the years is to listen to my body. So if I'm if I'm dragging a bit, I will actually seek rust.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:27

Okay. So I I I noticed you mentioned wanting to look good in the mirror.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:36

You laugh, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:38

Yeah, but we all want to look good in the mirror, don't we? So um, what I've observed over the years is three things: your nutrition, your movement, and your regeneration. You want to have that all in sync. All right. Movement, meaning your exercise. It could be working out of the gym, going for a walk, cardio, yoga, you name it. That's the movement aspect of things. And then you have your nutrition side where you want to know what your macros are. So, you know, you want to know how much carbs you're eating. You're not just winging it. You want to have a plan. So you have the this are the exact amount of carbs I'm eating in a day. These are my numbers for protein, and these are my numbers for fats. So stick into that plan. And also your exercise. You then look at the sleep, which is recovery, you know. So when you have all that in sync, you would notice, begin to notice uh changes.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:43

Okay. I think I think that was really good, but it was long, right? So I think we went like almost 14 minutes.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:54

But let's I I can stop it here. Then we can talk about it, see what happened.