How Fit Is Your Lyfe?

How fit is your life? This is the Elevate Polk podcast, and I'm your host Chrissanne Long. And with me today as my co-pilot is my new great friend Nate Kendrick.

Hey Chrissanne, excited to be here again, excited to talk to our guest today.

Are you excited that I stopped calling you Nate the Great?

You know what, uh, I was actually getting kind of used to it, but it's all, it's all good.

Okay, well, we'll flow. I might bring it back, but I was feeling, I was I was feeling like Nate the Great kind of kept a barrier between the two of us.

Yeah.

And now that you're becoming such a good friend of mine, I feel like I just need to kind of roll into something new.

Yeah.

Okay.

So we're evolving. Well, we've got a guest with us today. We're excited to introduce you guys to Isam Morris. He is the owner of Fitlife Fitness, therefore How Fit Is Your Life, our episode name today. So welcome to the show, Isam.

Thank you. Thank you, Chrissanne and Nate. Thanks for having me.

Absolutely.

So let's get started with a little bit of background on you and your entrepreneurial yourself, but let's start with your existence in Polk County. You know, how long you've been in Polk County, where you grew up, what's your— who you're— where your hood is, all of that kind of stuff.

Okay, so, uh, so I grew up, um, actually was born and raised in, uh, Lakeland, Florida. Uh, so really, so really a Polk County, uh, true breed.

Yeah.

Um, uh, pretty much I bounced around a little bit, uh, growing up. Uh, I stayed in Arvandale Lakeland, you know, here and there, Eagle Lake, you know, played sports growing up.

And what were your sports?

Football, track. And that's, I would say, I regret because I could have played more sports. So sticking only to, I felt like I was holding myself back, but those are the sports I played.

But you had other things to do with your days in high school, right? Keeping you busy doing other things.

Yes, I guess so. I guess so. But, um, yeah, so I attended Lakeland High School, uh, first 2 years.

Go Dreadnoughts!

You're a grad of Lakeland as well, right?

Okay, last, last 2 years, unfortunately, Nate, I finished at Bartow High School. Oh man, so, uh, Go Jackets! I am an alumni for Bartow Yellow Jackets, but, um, graduated in 2014, and I, I guess I started my journey, um, since then.

Okay, so you graduate from high school and then you go off to—

Yes, I go, I go off to college. So, um, I Ironically, here's the thing. So I went to several different colleges. I started off in North Dakota on a football scholarship. Okay. Stayed there for less than a year. Then I transferred to another junior college somewhere closer. Still, you know, still playing sports, involved with school, things of that nature. You know, end up finishing my college journey at West Florida. So I did major in business administration, minor in exercise science. However, I did not finish. Okay. So, so I left my junior year. You know, at the time I said something silly. So I said, you know, if, if I'm done playing sports, I'm not gonna do school anymore. Which was pretty, which was pretty not a smart thing to do. My grades were, were exceptional.

So, so it was really just the, the loss of sports that made you lose the interest in school?

Yes. Yes.

It wasn't grades, you didn't, you didn't get kicked out. Right. It was just, I'm suddenly like, I, I've lost interest 'cause there's no sports for me.

Yeah. See, I'm, I'm a, I'm kind of the person like on action. So when growing up, especially my early years in college, as we're young, patience is the hardest thing for us being young. So I just grew impatient. I grew impatient on my junior year. Things were looking up as well though. So my original goal was to play National Football League. So things were looking up, I ended up getting some connections. One day at practice, I just fell outta love with it. So walking towards, you know, a ball was overthrown. I'm walking towards the ball and that was the moment I realized as soon as I picked it up, like, I kind of wanna do something else. I've been giving my life, you know, I was still young, but I've been giving my whole life to sports and things like that. I know there's something else for me. I know I can accomplish a lot more than this.

So that moment that you're done with sports, you then decide what?

Entrepreneurial journey started. Nice. So this was 2018.

It was because you missed a pass, is that right?

I really missed those. I didn't miss that one.

I didn't miss that one.

So, but yeah, so my entrepreneur journey started and what kind of got me to that entrepreneur journey was leading into my last year in school, my uncle was like, man, you should be a personal trainer. He was like, you work out all day, you might as well get paid to do it, things like that.

So your uncle was also a personal trainer?

He wasn't a personal trainer. He just knew, he just knew that it could be my niche just because that's what, that's what I pretty much did in my spare time.

So he saw it inside of you already?

Correct. But, but I was telling him, you know, you know, I play football. I can't, you know, I can't sit around and train people. Yeah, I got to train myself. Things of that deal. But eventually, so as I'm growing, growing out of the love for football, I'm at University of West Florida. So I'm walking to the gym. So as I'm walking downstairs, there's a flyer to my right, and on the flyer it says personal training class. I look into it, I'm like, okay, you know, I'm just, I'm just give it a shot.

So Unk planted the seed, planted the seed, and then you saw something shortly. I mean, what was the, what was the time difference between when that idea?

So, so the summer, we'll say the summer of, say the summer of 2017. He planted the seed. So, you know, going into my junior year, you know, I threw it out the window, didn't really think about it. But, you know, that flyer kind of slapped me. And, you know, from there I reached out to the instructor, Chris, at the time. And, you know, he got me enrolled into the class and it was over from there.

Okay. So, so you became a personal trainer at that point in time?

Correct.

Really? Just one-on-one personal training, right? That was how it all kind of started?

Yes. Yes. So going to the gym at 6 in the morning, running, jogging, jogging to the gym. And then I would, and then, you know, I would, I would work on, you know, my personal training. I would do my research, do anything I can to, to help make this, this official. So, you know, study late nights, and, and just continue to work on it. You know, and I would say, say 20 March, March of 2018. So when I finally went and took the test. I failed, failed the test by 3 points. Oh man, I was devastated because I had a plan, everything written up about to pass it. Yeah, so, uh, failed. I was crushed, I was crushed. I'm driving— I took it at, uh, USF, so I'm driving back home, driving back to Lakeland. I'm like, man, I guess I ain't get no money today. So, so, um, so I actually gave myself a week, um, you know, study, study real hard at it. I've started doing some hands-on things with it. And they actually tell you, I went through ACE, so they actually tell you what was the issue.

Got it.

So I took it a week later and I passed flying colors. Woo-hoo! So I was very excited. But what I wasn't expecting for, I went to the gym that night and I was training, I was doing some leg presses and a guy came up to me, his son played for Lakeland at the time.

Got it, okay.

So he came up to me, he was like, hey, I see you in here doing your thing, this and that. Was wondering, are you a trainer? So I told him, funny thing is I got certified today.

The day that you got certified, somebody comes up and says—

Correct. And he was like, okay, I got my two boys, this and that, because you can see when I'm training and things like that, I kind of be in the zone. It's kind of, I just be locked in. So I think people can see that.

They can tell that you're taking it seriously.

Correct. So he grabbed, he gave me his two boys and they were like, how much you charge? I didn't come up with my price either. So I just threw something. I was like $100 a week.

Oh man.

I just threw it out there. So.

For both boys? So basically $50 a week for each one? Correct.

For as many times out the week they want to train, of course. So they wanted 5 days. So that's what we did.

And, um, so $10 a day.

So you could put it, you could put it together like that.

Got it.

Okay.

Um, you know, it's, it, it started, it started, you know, um, started going from there.

So I'm gonna share a story similar, um, when I was actually sharing this yesterday on a, um, a CoLab mastermind call. And, um, so when Craig and I started our business, I didn't have a background in business. We just kind of eased our way into it and it was Similar, you know, things like just the right people, the right time, the right situations. You know, kind of for me it was a, I kind of had hit a bottom. Right. And so entrepreneurship became my lifeline. It was my way out of kind of an unpleasant life that I had been living at that point in time. So we started to build the business and our SEO and our website and our social media. And I was being very present in the networking world, in the community. And I get our first call for social media marketing. And the question comes up, how much do you charge? And I was completely unprepared to answer this question, but I had been a teacher for 10 years before I became an entrepreneur. And so to me, $30 an hour sounded like a lot of money, right? Yeah. So I'm like, I go to Craig, I'm like, we got our first client. He goes, awesome, you know. And, and he didn't really ask the question, I just said, we're going to, we're going to get $30 an hour. And he looks at me like, we don't work by the hour, we work by the result, you know. So it was a, it was a learning experience for me. And but the cool thing that the key to that was we took away— we were paid to learn some of the things that we were still figuring out in our business. Like we didn't have everything figured out. This is our very first client.

Yeah.

So at some point in time, you know, even though the price wasn't what we necessarily ultimately needed it to be, it was at a price point where it was acceptable to them that they understood we were still learning, right? So that was my journey. That was our side of the process is like, what are we going to charge? Well, the— and the client was great. It was a really excellent learning experience for us. So you got the opportunity to kind of learn the ropes of how are you going to run this business by these two boys that you were taking under your wing and starting to train, right? And it was strength training for them, I'm assuming?

Yes, it was, you know, it was a little bit more than strength training just because they're athletes. So, and, you know, they lift during, you know, they have a course for lifting at school. So, you know, some days we didn't have to do too much strength training. So involved in other things, you know, agility, things like that.

How did it feel to have your first clients?

So it felt amazing. You know, I felt like things were coming together.

Yeah.

It was everything I worked hard for, for months to, to have it come that fast as well. So, it kind of felt like, okay, this, this may be my calling. Mm-hmm. You know?

So, when, when I met you, that's what I understood you were doing. Okay. So, I was like, okay, he's a personal trainer. That's great. Awesome. You know, so that was the initial thought. So, then I, you and I sat down and had a conversation and you blew my mind because that was what you did at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey. But it, that is not what you're doing now.

Right.

So, let's talk about, let's just kind of fast forward a little bit into where you are now and what your plans are, because as I, as I, as I say this, it's kind of exciting because you're a, you're a tech entrepreneur. So you went from, I'm gonna be a personal trainer, to I'm now going to create a technology that is going to help me help others train, right? Okay, so talk about what Fitlife is today.

Yeah, so, so now Fitlife, unfortunately, we got, we got the opportunity to, um, to, to create a software where now we can help people all over. So, um, not just locally, um, So, and that's where we look to head. So initially I had this crazy idea of I want to get the entire world fit. Definitely, definitely want to start in the US. And because we have like the numbers as far as like obesity, things going out to negative health, negativity, those numbers are way too high. I feel like a little bit higher than it should be. And we just don't have enough people taking exercise seriously. And Exercise is just not about looks. It relates to you going to what you're doing throughout the day, how you're feeling. And I definitely feel like adding exercise into how you feel you can fit it in will make you feel a lot better and eventually, you know, make, make, make the world a better place.

So how is tech going to fit into this new business that you have here or the next level of your business?

Right. So, so initially with, with one-on-one, you know, with me clients, you know, we would run some consultations through paper. Now we have the technology, the capability to where we can keep up with everything digital. So now we can keep, we have something called FitTrack in Fitlife. So now you'll be able to see as well your BMI, your body fat percentage. All right. So you'll be able to know what those things are. You'll be able to see your progress literally day in and day out. And from our end, we automatically update your progress by the sessions you attend, right? So once again, we're still keeping an eye on you just as we are doing one-on-one personal training. We're just taking a step back, right? Putting tech forward. That way we can help you a little bit more accurately and a little bit more better.

That's awesome. That makes sense. So I had a question. I'm curious because when you look at kind of the framework of Polk County, it's not necessarily known for a lot of tech entrepreneurs. What steps did you take initially when you had this idea to execute?

Right. So, so, um, I was coaching at, I was coaching at Orange Theory Fitness.

Mm-hmm.

Right. So, um, I still coach there by the way. Um, so, um, I didn't have no wifi or anything at my, um, at my crib at the time. So what I did was, um, I went to the library. So I got a library card and I signed up for the library. You can only max out at 3 hours a day. So, so I would, I would go at like 10 in the morning, uh, cuz I would coach. About like 3. So I would go at 10 in the morning, max out my hours. I would use Google Slides and I would just literally, you know, put the idea from PowerPoint to PowerPoint just to show the development team the idea behind this tech that we're trying to build. And I did that for the entire month of, I would say, February and March. Got it. After February and March, and obviously, you know, COVID started creeping in in March for us. Um, after February, March, I pretty much had the concept and the idea down.

Got it.

Um, it was, and it was over like 40, for, uh, about 42 Google Slides, 42, uh, PowerPoint pages, literally from, from step 1. Okay. When, when someone signs in, this, this what they need, this what the screen should look like. These are the features that should be on the screen to the next step, all the way going towards the end of the experience outside of the platform. Mm. Got it. So, so once I've, um, figured that out, um, I got the right team. Writing the, um, the team where we started, um, we started getting the, uh, getting, getting the build done, getting the work done.

You were building out wireframes, man.

Yeah.

Nice.

Okay.

Okay.

So back up one step before you're at the library.

Okay.

You're coaching at Orangetheory, right? You get us— you get this crazy idea. What do you do immediately upon the first time you get this inkling, this thought, this idea, hey, I want to do something with tech and fitness? What's the first thing you do?

So the first thing I The first thing I did, I was at a friend's house and the first thing when it popped in my head and we were watching the All-Star Game. So back in 2020. So when it popped in my head, I was like, hey bro, what you think about if I make a platform, you know, someone can access, you know, not mobile phones, but you know, TV, PC, laptop. I make a platform to where you can stay engaged with your health, fitness, learn a lot as well, how to stay fit. Know how to stay healthy and eventually be able to do it on your own as second nature.

And what did he say?

He was like, man, that sounds crazy, bro. But that'd be a good idea if you can get it. That'd be a good idea if you can get it. And I was like, okay, I guess I gotta get it then. So that, and I went to work that next day on it.

So right the next day?

Yes, sir.

Right after that, idea to action.

Yes, because, you know, ideas don't stay. So I didn't have no pen or paper with me at the time anyway. So I was like, okay, I gotta get to work while the idea is hot. While the ideas are rolling.

Yeah.

I gotta get to work on this.

Good deal.

I love that mentality. Like you said, ideas don't stay, you have to execute. Do you feel like because you have that background in being an athlete that you are able to quickly apply it to entrepreneurship?

Definitely, definitely. And I think being an athlete more so helps with discipline on the entrepreneurial side.

Yeah.

So I can thank sports. Sports for that one.

So I'm still— I'm wanting the— since we're having this conversation on audio only, I'm really wanting the listeners to be able to visualize what being a Fitlife customer is going to look like. What— when I become a subscriber, so this is a monthly subscription, correct? Okay, it's all online and it's not a mobile app, correct? It is actually— are we still working with the stick model where they're gonna get it?

So we're not— so we're not doing the stick. Okay, I'm not doing the stick, so you'll be able to access it on your smart TV, your desktop, tablet, and you'll also be able to see it soon on kiosk as well. So if you're familiar with like, um, if you're familiar with like, um, we'll say Redbox. No, we all know what Redbox is, but we'll actually have something like a kiosk where it's just a completely flat screen, flat, um, flat screen. Marketing and advertising inside the video. So the plan with the kiosks is for you can actually subscribe right from the kiosk and you can actually get your workout in, your training in from there. You know, you can log in into the kiosk. So we're looking to have those kiosks set, you know, around parks or something inside apartment fitness studios.

Okay.

Got it.

Okay. So yeah, so little areas where, you know, someone, you don't need much space. And you can, you can get it in.

Okay. And then I'm a subscriber. I log into my platform or my hub and I click on a workout that I want to do. So I'm looking at agility, I'm looking at cardio.

From start. Yeah. So from start to finish, we, as you creating your account, the create account signup process. So we're actually taking that creating account as a consultation pretty much. So it's, so you're not just, putting in email, making a password, things like that. So we're actually getting, you know, the height, weight, things you would normally do on a one-on-one assessment with a personal trainer. That way we'll have the information into our team as you move forward.

Okay.

Right. So once you create your, create your profile, you'll, you'll be able to choose a few levels, right? So based off and initially starting, it's going to be one workout session. All right. One workout session a day. So we're not going to, we're not going to have, you know, strength training here, yoga. All this going forward because normally, you know, when you're just starting off getting into fitness or getting back into it, you really, something like that could be overwhelming. Mm-hmm. Right. So you, you want complete direction, right? And that's what we provide. Um, and you'll be able to see your calendar calendars, for example, like, uh, okay, if you got, if we got core and conditioning on, on Tuesday, you'll be able to know what's coming forward. You'll be able to see on the screen. Okay. Um, is it weights today? If not, right. If so, uh, you'll have weights, um, If you don't have weights available, we also have weights on our platform you can purchase, but we also have another video if you don't have weights.

Okay. So there'll be an alternative if I don't have the equipment.

Right. So Fitlife is pretty much a place where you can train, eat, and learn, right? So we're not the typical fitness— we don't call ourselves a fitness company. We're a lifestyle. Got it. Right. So this is not a place where you can, you know, track macros and things like that or an app where you're just getting fitness. You're actually getting the entire thing.

So what's going to come first, the app or the kiosk?

So the app will come first. Got it. So the app will be here in a few weeks. We're looking at the latest, maybe the second week of March, but definitely a little bit sooner.

Got it.

The kiosk is part of the marketing strategy. So the kiosk may fall in maybe towards the end of March going into the first week of April. Got it.

And what have the obstacles been along the way?

Man, it is, uh, it's an obstacle every day.

And how many iterations in are you now? Like, you know, you, you had your first idea and you, you probably threw something on the ground and said, all right, we're gonna try something else. We're gonna try something else. So how, so how many obstacles and like how many iterations down the road are you?

Obstacles, I would say about, um, I would say at least 4.

Mm-hmm.

Say at least 4. And these, um, and some may not be major obstacles. but we'll say the iteration part is maybe like the 5th time.

5th iteration? Yeah.

So I had a lot of information that I have from personal training moving forward with this. And I took a lot of questionnaires, Q&As, things like that from clients. So going into this, something changes just about every day.

Right.

So I guess the best thing right now is we're looking to have something that'll hold, that we can put in trajectory.

So, and the reason I asked that is 'cause I think there was a time, a couple of iterations ago that you were actually thinking more of like an Amazon Stick, right?

And now that's not part of the, the, yeah, that's, that's not part of the equation. Um, it, it was part of the equation, the Fire Sticks, but, um, we're bootstrapping right now. So when you don't get the necessary, you know, funding ahead, you have to, you have to make adjustments. And that's, that's with any company.

I love that.

So, um, but you know, adjustments are temporarily.

So, um, so, so the funding doesn't decide whether you're gonna succeed.

Yes.

The funding decides that you're gonna do it another way.

Yes. Yeah. So the, the, the, we're gonna do it regardless. There you go. So, um, we're gonna do it regardless. It's just, okay, we'll do it this way. And then when this, this opportunity comes, we'll, we'll, we'll see what, what, what it's looking like when we get there.

I love that. Cause I feel like a lot of times entrepreneur entrepreneurs get stuck where they're like, I built the business to a certain point. Now I need cash.

Right.

And they just stop. but you're like, no, I'm not gonna stop. I'm gonna just go around, right? Keep doing what I'm doing. And when the cash comes, the cash comes.

Cash comes. Yes.

And huge.

They, they do get stuck. You're right on that one. Because I was, I was kind of like, um, in the middle of it, be, um, because when I wrote my first, uh, my first pitch deck and I also had like, okay, I'm going to start, I'm gonna start seeking funding about June. Had no idea, you know, as had no idea I was, I was where I was gonna get it. I didn't even, you know, I, I didn't know, but, uh, you know, I, I had it in my pitch deck and I planned that, that it would happen. And, you know, I just kept staying persistent, uh, stuck with the plan and we actually end up getting, getting funding in that time. So it doesn't always happen, which what I learned from, uh, cuz we're still in the same round. Um, so, you know, we, we're just, we're just making, making that pivot.

And there's still more funding needed. It's just, you got, you gotta percentage or a fraction of what you needed, or where is that? Yeah.

So, yeah. So funding, funding is always needed.

Yeah, absolutely. So you're still in the seed round though?

Yeah. Pre-seed. Pre-seed. So, um, we'll actually, we'll actually, um, yeah, so we'll say about, about the, uh, yeah, we're still in the pre, pre-seed. We're kind of like almost kind of, kind of in that, that, that seed, like making our way towards there, but we're still in the pre-seed. Um, just because we made that pivot, now we're looking at this much capital to potentially, we're able to bootstrap on our own.

There you go.

Right. So, so that's, that's the big difference from that, from that pivot.

Got it.

And you know, as, as we work on the business, work on traction and things like that, get that business going, get people fit, it'll come.

How was that process on raising capital? Because I feel like that's not taught anywhere.

No, no.

There wasn't a course for that.

And you know, you got, you got YouTube, you got, You guys, you got, you know, you got the web, but those things don't compare to literally actually sitting across from this investor. And because, you know, the investors, they're gonna hammer you.

Mm-hmm.

Right. So I've been, I've been, I've been hammered. Literally, I've been like, soon as I got in the car with the investor, I got hammered. My first question.

I understand exactly what you're talking about. Yeah. It's, it's dealing with not necessarily constant rejection, but constant resistance, right? So it's like, oh, well, what about this?

Right?

Well, this is what we're going to do with this and this. Well, what about this? This is what we're going to— and being prepared, right? And being prepared for questions you didn't prepare for and saying, you know what, let me get back to you on that.

Right?

Yeah. So, and being able to say that, and that's a hard thing because you feel like you have to know everything.

Yeah.

But when they, when they identify that there's maybe a little bit of a hole or a gap of something you hadn't thought about before, being humble enough to say, you know what, I hadn't thought about that yet, so let me get back to you.

Right, right. And, and that's definitely, you know, the way to say it. I actually, and I actually got, um, I actually choked on one of my investors. We going to the Four Seasons, you know, having some brunch. I actually choked on the first question he asked me. Uh, he asked me, what is your breakeven? Like, my breakeven? What are you talking about? Um, and then, then, then, um, and I was saying that in my head, but you know, off, off rip, right away, you know, he let me know you know, you gotta, you gotta know that from, you know, from the start.

Yeah.

Things like that. So what I, what I can say, the, the most, um, interesting thing about, you know, going to seek funding, you're going to talk to these people who's experienced, um, and who's been there before. So you, you, you really, you really don't want to go into, um, to, to not really necessarily looking for money, but information. Mm-hmm. And, and that's, and that's, and that's what, uh, that's what I learned from each No, each time I step out there, I, I learned something coming back that I can take home and work on.

Yeah.

Do you feel like there was grace when you presented to these investors, even if you didn't have all the answers and they were willing to say, you know what?

Oh yeah. Oh yeah, definitely. Because I'm, I'm not afraid, you know, if I don't know this, okay.

That's awesome.

I, I don't, I, I don't know this.

I'm not gonna pretend. Yeah.

So because I'm, I'm willing to learn it.

Mm-hmm.

You know, I'm willing, I'm willing to learn it. Yeah.

I love that point because I was in a meeting not too long ago. With a potential investor and one, one of the things they said is honesty is the key. That's, that's, that's how you win. Tell us straight up.

Yeah.

Don't sugarcoat anything.

Right.

And that's huge.

Because the investor's investing in you.

Absolutely.

Right.

The idea has to be solid. Yeah. The idea and the information that you're sharing with them about the plan and, and how you're going to, to execute the plan. But ultimately they've gotta believe you are somebody they want to get into business with.

Right.

Absolutely. Yeah.

And if they don't think that they can trust you, then that's an automatic no, I'm out.

Right.

And it's sometimes it's a pride thing. It's swallowing your own pride and saying it's okay that I don't know this. It's okay that I may not be able to answer it right now, but I will be able to answer it. So that's the key. The key is you do answer it.

Right.

And you come back to them with the answer.

And you can't get down about yourself just because you don't know it.

Absolutely.

Yeah. Yeah. And so all of that experience being an athlete and, you know, you know that it's— I'm going through this right now with one of my nieces and she's a 14-year-old, made varsity softball. and she's, she doesn't wanna make any mistakes.

Mm-hmm.

And so as soon as you can get past that part, part, you know, I'm like, okay, and you're going to make mistakes, right? You're the, the greatest hitters of all time, or the greatest pitchers of all time didn't throw 100% strikes, didn't hit home runs every single time that they were up to bat. So they were making more errors than they were making, you know, executing perfectly. And so you've gotta get past that fear of failure, if you're going to be a good athlete. And so that prepared you because you didn't make every tackle or you didn't catch every reception and you didn't get every touchdown that you ever wanted. You lost a few games along the way, but that defeat didn't defeat you.

Right.

And that's the key, I think, for this entrepreneurial energy that we're building is like, are you comfortable with failure?

Yeah, you got to, you got to be comfortable with, with failure, but more so you got to be ready for hard work. Um, and that hard work may be long hours, maybe long nights, or it may just be spending that useful time to learn, to learn your craft, um, and improve.

Yeah, for sure. For sure. Well, I, I, I'm excited for you on this adventure that you're on. I think that it's super— I'm so impressed. I mean, when we sat down the first time and we talked, I, I didn't know how your business was evolving and where it was going, but, and I'm just, I'm, I'm super— I'm cheering you on. I, you know, and if there's anything, you know, listeners, if you're listening and you think you have some ideas on contacts or connections that you can help Mike with, ISOM, and help him maybe connect with somebody that can help him along this journey, because this is the beginning. We're still in pre-seed.

Right. We're still, we're still in the beginning.

And, um, you know, I just really look forward to, you know, how this plays out because I, I, I have faith that it's going to be a success.

Hey guys, so I was listening to Guy Raz on his podcast How I Built This, and the other day he was basically talking about the effects of COVID and what was happening. And there was a really fascinating new statistic that he was talking about, and he basically said the number for employee identification numbers had increased to half a million this year compared to this time last year. And what that means to me is there's a lot of people that are stepping out in faith and saying, "Hey, I'm going to start my own business and I'm going to do that no matter what the circumstances." So to anyone out there that is trying to transition and thinking about positioning themselves towards entrepreneurship, you have the ability to do this. You guys got this.

I would love for you to talk to the listeners about what do you think we could do better in Polk County for entrepreneurs that are emerging like you are?

Just having a layout where we can see a vision, you know, because when you look in the sky now and around Polk County, you know, Clouds, you know, maybe some birds, but you know, and you really want to see, it doesn't necessarily have to be tall towers, anything like that, but you want to see like some sort of firework. It just doesn't feel like that entrepreneur spirit. And it's a shame because it might be in a lot of us in Polk County and we just need something that just catapults and gravitates those entrepreneurs to come out and say, okay, I'm not afraid to chase my dreams. I'm not afraid of rejection. 'Cause you'll get that, you'll get that a lot.

Right, right. That collective voice is louder and stronger than the single person, right? Kind of fighting their way through the battles, you know? And we talked about a network, you know, do you feel like you have a solid network of people to kind of bounce your ideas off of? I mean, you talked about your friend who you threw the idea at while you're watching the All-Star Game.

Mm-hmm.

But as far as, you know, getting advice and counsel and resources to just, you know, Who do you talk to? Like, how are you building that network?

Yeah, so you talk to everybody.

Anybody who will listen.

Talk to everybody, even if they don't listen.

I love it.

Even if they don't listen, you know, everywhere you go, you want to be ready to spill out, you know, what you got going and do some research on it, see what people say and just believe that your goal, your dream, is, is strong enough, um, stronger than those, those rejection things that have come along that path.

So I think I know the answer to this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway because I think this is an important part of this process for all of us to recognize. If I asked you, if I asked the 17-year-old Isom, are you going to be an entrepreneur someday? What would your answer have been?

I'm going to the NFL.

So There wasn't any other option. That was it.

That would've been it.

Okay.

That would've been my answer.

And does it surprise you that you're here now? I mean, does it surprise you to look back and go, I was gonna be in the NFL and now I'm an entrepreneur starting a business looking for pre-seed capital?

Yeah, it's still kind of, you know, making its way on me. I feel like it's just moving out of that fresh zone. But yeah, I can't, I can't, I don't, I don't think I'm at a place right now where I can envision and be like, dang, this is, this is, this is insane. So, uh, maybe, maybe if you ask that question, you have me on here in the, um, next year.

Yeah. We'll, we'll have to do an update.

Yeah, definitely. Definitely. Because like what Chrissanne just said earlier, what you're doing is awesome, man. Thank you. And it, I think it, I think it enables us to be able to potentially elevate Mm-hmm.

Oh, okay.

Polk County as a whole, not trying to be—

The whole point.

That's the whole point. But, but what, what tends to happen is individuals don't see this. And so, and maybe they don't see someone like them doing something like you're doing.

Mm-hmm.

In the space, which, you know, let's be honest, there's not that many people in the space that are of color in the tech space. But it's amazing because what happens is they see that and they become empowered and, and say, Well, I, I was originally thinking I was gonna go to the NFL, or I was originally thinking that I was gonna be an artist, right? A recording artist. But there's another route. I could be a business person and start something that I enjoy doing on a regular basis. I think that's huge. You're, you're opening up that door and that possibility for people to see that actually happen.

Correct.

Yeah, you're right.

And doing it in the open, you know, having this conversation here and being vulnerable and, and, And like you said, you're talking to anybody and everybody. But I think that's a key part of this discussion of Polk County. Like, we need to see you entrepreneurs. We need to know who you are. We need to know what you're doing. We want you to reach out to us. I mean, if somebody sends you an email after hearing this podcast, you know, you're going to be there and somebody that's going to say, hey, you heard me on, you know, Polk Elevate, Elevate Polk, how can I help? Because I think the entrepreneurial conversations that we're having— you're busier than all of us, you know? Like, you're the one, like, you're hustling, hustling hard, but you're still going to find that time. And so it's, it's who's going to take the time for us, right? Like, all right, so we want to give the time to those that are behind us in their journey, but we've also got to realize that there's a network, and there is a network for you, right? And I want you to realize that there, you know, you now have this contact with Nate, and Nate has a lot of contacts, especially in this in this pre-seed and this capital discussion and just coaching and even practicing your pitch.

Yeah.

You know, and seeing if it can get, you know, stronger and better and, and, and, and tighter as far as, you know, how you can make it clearer for, for your investors. I just think that, um, there's so much opportunity, and I just, I'm, I applaud you for sharing your story with us today. I want to talk now a little bit about your thoughts for emerging entrepreneurs, um, the people. So let's talk about pal for a second because I think a lot of, a lot of what you had shared with us off the podcast leads into the discipline and the person that you are now. But I get the sense that you weren't always that disciplined kid.

Yeah, so I was, I went, um, I wouldn't say, you know, not so disciplined, um, I would, I would say a very soft-spoken Okay. So, like, I barely talked, to be honest. Probably I still don't do as much as I should.

Okay.

But, you know, when I went to PAL, went to PAL during the—

Let's tell the audience what PAL is.

So PAL is Police Athletic League, right? So PAL is basically a youth leadership program. And in that program, you know, you experience things as far as like going on tours, college tours. You know, you go to different cities. you know, you hang out, have a good time, you know, meet other people who's also in programs, leadership programs. And that's how young the connection can start. But, you know, setting your goals right from there, mentorship, seminars, you know, Mr. Tim Abram, who was the guy at the time over PAL, definitely did a great job at that. So I can owe some of my credit to him.

Those mentors are an incredibly important part of our journey. Yes. The people who took the time to mold us, listen to us, support us.

Absolutely.

And just be there and just model, be role models for us.

Yeah. So I owe a lot to Mr. Tim on that aspect.

But you said something offline that I want to bring back in. So PAL, a leadership program, it brought something out of you that you didn't have at the beginning.

Yeah. Yeah, so I didn't really have, I wasn't as focused. I wasn't locked in, locked in at all on pretty much like where, you know, my future or where I was going into, you know, high school, which is, you know, young. So I'm not talking about future as far as, you know, 10 years, things of that nature. But, you know, what are my high school plans? What do I look to get out of this? And do I wanna go to college? What I look to do, so. Initially, the first day on PAL during the summer, I didn't go. I skipped the program. I walked to my grandma's house and just worked out or whatnot. Really wasn't feeling the little youth leadership thing. Just because I was always, I was the guy at the time, I hang out with friends. You know, we would play, we would play, um, play in the park all day. We would play basketball, whatever the case may be, and I would hang out. So, um, going into the Youth Leadership Program, it was more so like a direction, um, and, and that would be like my after-school thing. Um, and you know, you don't want to do any of that in the summer while you're young. You want, you want to, you want to go crazy, hang out. So, so first day I skipped it. Um, I didn't go. Um Second day, I kind of was forced a little bit. My mom forced me, you know, sat down, we introduced ourselves, and really off the first day I was kind of sold just because I can see the vision of where this program was taking me. And I wasn't like, I wasn't a sponge, but I knew I kind of had that feeling when someone knows what they're talking about and like if it's benefiting me or will it? So when Mr. Tim started speaking, we started going into that second day of the program. I could see, okay, I can hang out here for the summer, get myself together, see what direction I want. So when he started doing those college tours and we started going to different places, we went to Atlanta and we went to Miami.

What a cool experience.

Yeah, it was something. And it definitely like coming out of the program, my mind, was really not how it was coming in. So I kind of had a chip on my shoulder throughout my years in high school just off that program alone. It was that impactful.

So go ahead.

So back to Chrissanne Long's point, which she was talking about earlier about what you said offline, can you speak on how you talked about that, this ecosystem that you're talking about right now?

Right.

And you said that creating a similar type of ecosystem with entrepreneurship, can you kind of talk Talk about that.

Right, so yeah, so like a youth leadership for entrepreneurs and bringing those visions to life. 'Cause I definitely think if we have something like what we did with PAL with entrepreneurs, we can actually help Lakeland, Polk County in that matter of fact, take it where it wants to go for one, and two, take it where it should be.

Yeah.

So, and it's really the thing that I think you have to self-identify before. It's not like for you, it was a program that you were kind of pushed into, right? Um, I don't think that works in the entrepreneurial world. You can't push in somebody who is, is not desiring to be entrepreneur. So it's almost like they have to be, um, in the journey in some capacity. Because I've, I've been a part of some like Young Entrepreneur— there's the Young Entrepreneur Academy, and I think that's now kind of housed at Southeastern. It was part of the Chamber of Commerce for a while, and it was, it was, you know, programs for kids in, in I think 8th through 12th grade where they were— it was suggested that they go through this process of like starting a business or an idea that they wanted to turn into a business. And I think that that was more like checking a box. As opposed to a kid who says, like, when you were young, I know that you didn't initially think that you were going to be an entrepreneur, but you had that entrepreneurial mindset.

Correct.

And somehow you identified that, you know, granted it was after your father had passed away and you were looking for something and you were kind of seeking. But I don't think if we had gone to you at, you know, 8th grade and said, we're gonna turn you into an entrepreneur, what's your idea? You wouldn't have had an idea.

Yeah.

At that point in time.

That's absolutely true. I, I love that perspective, Chrissanne, because it can't be forced. It has to be a natural progression over time. Like with you, Isom, it was a natural progression over time. 'Cause, 'cause to Chrissanne's point, if she were to ask you when you were 17 years old, you're gonna be an entrepreneur, you say, absolutely not. I'm gonna be an NFL football player.

Right.

So I, I like, I like that perspective a lot. Yeah.

Right. So in engaging with that idea of young leadership, like it's, all right, young entrepreneur, but not young demographically, young at, in the in the phase of entrepreneurship. Right. Because I started being an entrepreneur at 34. Mm-hmm. And that's not necessarily young.

I love how you flipped it right there. Right. Because when someone see, says young, it's like, oh yeah, start at 10. But I'm a young entrepreneur as well.

Right.

We're all young entrepreneurs in, in, in that aspect.

In the context of time as an entrepreneur. Right.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

You don't have, you could be 50 years old and be young entrepreneur.

And you're still a young entrepreneur.

There's no age on entrepreneurship.

Yep. Right.

Absolutely.

And there's no late, you know, not too late to the game kind of thing. And I think that self-exclusion. So again, self-identifying, right? Somebody has said, you know, I think I have some good ideas. I'd really like to explore being an entrepreneur, but I don't even know where to start.

Right.

And then that would be an engaging opportunity for them to say, I want to apply to a PAL type of program where there's, you know, there are trips and experiences and connections being made and opportunities to explore. But like each trip is focused on one aspect of entrepreneurship, one one element, you know, it might be the capital, it might be, you know, you know, the legal contracts and things like that, or, you know, the form— the formation of your company. And each one of your times together with your group of people that are traveling through this young, you know, young entrepreneur— I say it in air quotes— young entrepreneurship program would be focused on helping you decide. So there is— there is an organization, a training that's called the Public Leadership Institute. And I went through this It was for people who were considering being a politician. And the idea is figure it out sooner rather than later. You know, don't get into a campaign and realize this isn't for you. So understanding that— so don't get into running a business or don't get into starting a business and to figure out it isn't for you. And then— and that's not really true because you can, you can still iterate and create a new opportunity. But it was the model. So it's like, all right, let's, let's hone in on what is a police athletic league, right? Concept for the youth look like in, in the sense of entrepreneurship that starts to give people the, the understanding that, hey, I could be an entrepreneur. Let's, let's, let's get that interest and let's massage it and let's help them shift their mindset. Because that's one of the things that you said, it shifted your mindset from when you started PAL to when you were done. You were kind of a different— you were a different person, right?

Yeah, that was, that was, that was like a self-evaluation. So it definitely shifted my mindset. So I'm not sure how anyone else feel about it, but that's what I took out of the program. So as far as like the entrepreneur aspect of it, doing something similar in that way would be not for like, if we were to do it in Polk County, would not so, not to be, not more so of trying to shift mindsets coming in towards entrepreneurship, but really really sharpen those minds that have that vision and have that goal to become great and just really, you know, have your back, you know, let you know, okay, we're here for you. We're going to help you however we can.

Yeah.

Things of that nature, similar to what the UCF Business Incubator is doing to me currently, to Fitlife.

Okay, cool.

Oh, you're part of the UCF Incubator?

Yeah.

Nice, man. You know, I went to UCF, right?

Yeah, you did?

Okay.

What you majored in?

Finance.

Okay.

That's awesome, man. That's awesome. That's exciting.

Yes, thank you.

And how does that program fit into your daily workflow at this point in time?

Yeah, so right now, like I said, I still coach at Orange Theory Fitness. So whenever I'm not there, you know, since because we're in marketing promotion stage, you know, now I'm out and about, you know, sharing FitLife and things like that. But most of the time, It's pretty much just going into the office when I'm done coaching and just, you know, going crazy, going crazy with the work.

And the office is at the Incubator?

Correct.

So the office, so it's actually, so actually it's an office. They have office space. So I don't have the office space.

Right.

So I'm actually using the meeting room as the office because no one's in the office currently just because, you know, protocols of COVID people, things of that nature. But, um, but yeah, so, you know, no, no one's, no one's really, uh, taking that space, using it wisely. So I actually go into the meeting rooms and that's where I, uh, good for you. I get to work on.

That's awesome. That is so cool.

Yeah. I mean, honestly, first of all, like I said before, I love what you're doing and I love that no matter where, what their circumstance, I mean, you're in the, first of all, you're in the midst of COVID and you're still raising capital and you're still pushing this idea forward. Against all odds, right? So that's huge. I think to kind of circle back to the main reason of why we're doing this, I think it's now our responsibility to continue to empower people like Isam to continue to move forward to do what he's doing, right? So that when other people see him that are from Lakeland, they're like, oh man, I can do that too. I have the ability to do this too. Yeah, this is possible, right? And so it's, it's really being strategic on how we are communicating to the public with this message.

Yes.

So that they don't think that, oh, I can't do that because Isom was always an entrepreneur, right? I can't do that because Chrissanne Long was always an entrepreneur. I can't do that because Nate was always an entrepreneur, right? But this isn't the conversation that we're having, and it's, it's really flipping entrepreneurship on its head because I feel like entrepreneurship has evolved over time from Oh, that must mean you're broke, to, oh, I wanna be an entrepreneur, but they, they envision the Mark Zuckerbergs and the Mark Cubans and the Jeff Bezos and all these people that build these massive billion-dollar industries, but they can't put themselves in that space.

Right, right.

But to be able to put yourself in that space, cuz we're different backgrounds, different races, different socioeconomic backgrounds, and being able to say, I can be that too.

Yeah.

Huge.

That's so good. Huge.

Right.

That is so good. Yeah. I mean, I, I just feel so strongly that entrepreneurship is accessible to anybody who wants to hustle their asses off.

That's the beauty of it. Absolutely. That's the beauty of it. You could be in a one, one bedroom in Pakistan. Mm. If you wanna be an entrepreneur, you can, you can be it.

Because that, and that's, that's so true. I love this. I love this where we're at right now because At the end of the day, the only, the only person, the only thing, only person I'm giving the market basically a name is the market. The market is the only thing that matters, right?

Yeah.

It's not what you look like, it's not where you're from, it's the market. If you have something that makes sense and there's passion behind what you are doing and people and investors and your customers and your clients can sense and feel that passion, it's everything. It's everything, right?

And the product has to be good.

Absolutely.

And the customer service has to be good.

Absolutely.

And it has to be convenient and it has to be affordable. And, you know, but that's the market. The market is determining that. There was a time when convenience wasn't something that people wanted. They would go out of their way, they would drive across town, they would wait 6 weeks for it to be shipped to their door, you know. And now it's, it's the market is driving us to innovate and be faster and be more convenient and be more customer-centric instead of ROI-centric. You know, it's like, what's in it for me, right? Is now the customer saying, what's in it for me? Why in the heck would I do business with you? And you've got to be able to answer that. And if you can't answer that, that's on you. That's not on the customer. But you can't take it personally, you know. It's the— it's not rejection.

7 billion people in this world.

Yeah, just make your product better.

And, and one thing I would say, because you're, you're in the— I mean, it's a digital product, so it is a product, right? Is I was talking to, uh, an entrepreneur at Catapult today, and it sparked something that I remember before. When I remember the name, I'll send it to both of you guys. But basically he said there was an article that came out a while back and everybody kind of uses it now, but he said you just need 1,000 raving fans. Once you have 1,000 raving fans, they'll buy it if it's a dollar or $1,000. Yeah, that's all you need.

I think I read that same thing from Seth Godin, but he was talking about the same person that you're talking about, which I can't remember his name right now. Yeah, so, so we'll get it, we'll get it, we'll put it in the show notes.

Yes.

So, all right. Well, for anyone listening, I want you to be able to tell them how they could follow along with this journey, when the subscriptions are available, how can they get on the list, where do they go to reach out to even throw you some support if they've got some ideas on how they might be able to help you in this process?

Right. So, you can reach us at fitlife.fit. So that's the name of our web platform subscriptions, things that'll be available, we'll say about the second week of March. Maybe the first week. So be on the lookout for that. But in the meantime, you can still get fit, right? You can still reach those goals. You can stay fit. Just, you know, just reach out to us on the web. Check out our website, www.fitlife.fit. And, you know, you can get started. We have a sample package for you as you work your way into your first month. And be on the lookout, Polk County, March 20th, next month. So we're going to host Fitness Day Families. So Fitlife is gonna have, we're gonna have an event going on next month. Just, you know, you can bring your children out, family fitness, and we're gonna have a lot of activities, food, things of that nature, healthy food, of course.

Where is it gonna be at?

So right now we're looking at Ariana Park.

Nice.

Right, so that location may change, but you should be able to see the event go up on our Facebook page at Fitlife Fit. That is our Facebook page, so you'll be able to see the event. And stay updated with us.

Well, thank you so much for being with us today. This has been an awesome, awesome conversation. I hope that you will continue to connect with either one of us.

Absolutely.

And I just look forward to how we can build our relationship together as we grow.

Definitely, definitely. Nate, Chrissanne, I want to thank, thank you both for having me.

Absolutely awesome. It was nice meeting you.

Come back soon.

Yes, sir.

All right, well, thanks for listening, and remember, we have a new episode each week week, so be sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen. And remember to leave us a review. We promise to read every one. You can always find all of our episodes at elevatepolk.com. And if there is something you want to hear about on an upcoming episode, an aspiring entrepreneur, an emerging entrepreneur that you want us to feature on our show, reach out to us on Facebook at Elevate Polk.

Go Fit Life!

Go Fit Life!

Go Fit Life!