We recently connected with Garba Onadja and have shared our conversation below.

Garba, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I would like to talk about my latest project, which is a docu-fiction series about me as MisterG. The project is entitled WhoIsMisterG.

WhoIsMisterG (WIMG). Recently featured alongside Hollywood actor Ernie Hudson in the Gym2Fridge series by Men’s Health, MisterG continues to expand his inspiring narrative with this original production. WhoIsMisterG (WIMG) offers viewers an intimate and dynamic look into the life and philosophy of one of the most sought-after fitness gurus in Calabasas.

Known for his charismatic personality and transformative training methods, MisterG takes audiences beyond the gym in this witty, heartfelt, and sometimes humorous series.

The idea came about just recently after over 25 years of training clients, conducting group fitness class, and martial arts classes; and keeping hearing from my clients, students, and others around me how exceptionally captivating, motivating, inspiring, and even entertaining “MisterG” is. So I thought to myself what if I was able to bring about that persona of “MisterG” on camera and show the rest of the world what those clients and members have been drawn to in MisterG. The title Who Is MisterG encapsulates just that.

The most exciting things about this production are the the inspiration and the educational components of the show, while being entertaining. Effectively, the show highlights inspiring personal journeys of clients from all walks of life, blending fitness with real-life transformations. Each episode delves into the unique goals, challenges, and triumphs of MisterG’s clients, showcasing how his work transcends physical fitness to empower lasting change.

Garba, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

After nearly 30 years of in combined fitness and martial arts industries, owning and running my own gym and fitness / martial arts studio. I can say that I am probably the most – maybe the only – (definitely the longest) career independent fitness and martial arts professional in the U.S.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the lesson I had to unlearn is my reliability on others to help me grow my business. I had made the mistake to partner with someone that would handle the social media and technology aspects for promoting, designing, and marketing my fitness business. As the face and talent of my business, I would then concentrate my efforts in doing what I do best and making money for the company. I knew I needed help and sustained support from someone better at designing website, and Internet Technology than I do and help me grow. But I grew frustrated with that person as he wasn’t very cooperative and effective in managing time, and even listening. As talented as he was, he wasn’t a team worker even though at first, he had actually played that role well.
After many years of frustrations, and expenses I realized he was using for his own selfish agenda. So I had to cut him loose and save myself from further headaches and expenses.
During the pandemic shut down, I took the available time to learn all that I need to learn about building websites with WordPress and other Internet technology. By then everything related to the internet has gotten easier to use, less expensive, and far better. It’s so rewarding and so satisfying to have control of your own marketing and growth of your business. Technology has made it so much easier and even better to run business with less man power.
So I had to unlearn dependency on others on that front and rely more on myself. I am so happy for that.

How did you build your audience on social media?

It’s not easy to build an audience on social media when you are a “nobody”, let alone an audience that pays; that is an audience that buys your products and / or services, or that you can influence to buy a third party’s (sponsor) products / services.

When you are a celebrity, a public figure or other prominent personality, you can get huge followers almost instantly. Nonetheless, Internet technology has made it much easier for anyone to be able to make a name for themself. However, like in real life (physical business or marketplace) you must be different, authentic, and relevant (fulfill a need or interest) for your audience.

So start by offering something that meet those requirements, then stay true to yourself. As someone says “don’t try to be somebody else; they all taken”; which brings me to WhoIsMisterG project (WIMG).
WIMG is the idea I came up with recently to build my Internet presence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://elementsofg.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@whoismisterg
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/studiog-fitness-and-wellness-calabasas