Hajj Flemings The Modern Athlete

Entrepreneurs are the New Athletes

I spent Saturday afternoon (Feb 22nd) with the Mayor of Birmingham (MI), entrepreneurs and professionals focusing on developing a holistic brand. The lines have been blurred between our work life and personal life. As entrepreneurs and professionals we tend to ignore our mental and physical health. A culture of no sleep, bad eating habits, ubiquitous access that people have to technology, and living in the hustle economy — are collectively taking its toll on people.

My name is Hajj Flemings. I am a former DII basketball walk-on at Michigan Technological University who works out 3–4 times a week at Equinox. I now train and run half marathons, to stay fit. In 2019, I had a health challenge that made me reevaluate my health and wellness philosophies. One of the first changes I made was shifting to plant-based eating. This was the catalyst to not only help me lose weight but more importantly sustain my 40 lbs of weight loss and decrease my body fat (which has decreased by 10% since June 2019.)

“Entrepreneurs are the New Athletes.” — Hajj Flemings

Entrepreneurs/celebrities like Jack Dorsey (Founder of Twitter/Square), Alexis Ohanian (Founder of Reddit), Kevin Hart and Karen Civil (Always Civil) are now starting to influence people’s eating, sleep and fitness habits. The Rebrand Workshop + Workout is a ‘New Luxury’ experience designed for Entrepreneurs and Innovators. My company, Brand Camp University, has partnered with Drought Juice and Equinox (Bloomfield Hills, MI) to create a unique experience for high performing professionals. It is a curated branding workshop coupled with a workout session.

Partners

Drought Juice: Thanks to Drought Juice the leading certified USDA organic juice brand in the Midwest (based in Detroit) for providing their Immunity Potion! Organic, cold-pressed apple, lemon and ginger blended with turmeric, cayenne pepper, and oil of oregano — on-demand. Packaged in their 50oz bulk cartons.

Equinox: Equinox is an American luxury fitness company that operates a variety of lifestyle brand: Equinox Hotels, Precision Run, Project by Equinox, PURE Yoga, Blink Fitness and SoulCycle.

“As we position ourselves to be the best version of who we are to achieve the goals we have set out for ourselves, sometimes we need a “reboot”, a total “rethink” of our fitness both mentally and physically. Welcome to REBRAND.” — Hajj Flemings

Schedule (An Overview of the Experience)

Rebrand Workshop

The branding session talk about time, purpose, wellness and sneakers ultimately helping people to develop a personal lifestyle brand.

12pm — 1pm: Rebrand Workshop led by Hajj Flemings (Founder of Brand Camp University)

Intense 45 — minute branding session for innovators that focuses on time, purpose, wellness and sneakers.

Rebrand Workout

1pm — 2pm: Group Workout Session led by Equinox

Intense 45 — minute workout session that helps entrepreneurs and innovators become more fit.

We typically ascribe the title, “Athlete”, to professional athletes… like Lebron James, Tom Brady, or Usain Bolt. However, Nike put it best: “Anybody with a body is an athlete”. If you are reading this post then you qualify! I would like to introduce ‘The New Modern Athlete’, which I define as…an entrepreneur, celebrity or professional who is proficient in their field. They embrace healthy eating habits, fitness and wellness so they can perform at the top of their game. They are driven to be the best version of themselves; like Kevin Hart who is helping to redefine what an athlete is.

The end goal is to help you perform better and do work that matters.