We recently connected with Carla Parson and have shared our conversation below.

Carla, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

When you look into the Health & Fitness Community, you will certainly see that older adults, those with limited mobility, or disabilities are utterly overlooked. Often times, they are not provided with enough help or services to move their body, or not given services that are of high quality. Well, my business is dedicated to this community, and truthfully, I ABSOLUTELY love it. I love the smiles on their faces, and the pep in their steps. I love the increased strength, endurance, and flexibility. I love playing an essential role in helping my Warriors(clients) take control of their health and well-being. Beautiful thing is, both of my parents are my clients too, and they’ve been with me since I began.

Carla, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I first began my weight loss journey, I lacked motivation, and if my motivation was equivalent to a tank of gas, I was utterly on E. It was to the point that I had to seek motivation from an abundance of fitness inspirations daily to get that rush or push to persevere. One day, I read an article, and it unequivocally made sense. It was as though a light bulb went off in mind. The question posed was, “what is your WHY?”. Knowing your ‘why’ enables you to focus on your goals, and compels us to push forward. Knowing your why is YOUR MOTIVATION. You may be asking, “Carla, what’s your why?”. Well, I was a 365lb young woman with pre-diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, chest/joint pains, gynecological issues, and extreme anxiety from past traumatic encounters. From heartbreaks, molestation, armed robberies, battered with guns, ducktapped until unmovable, yanked across the floor by my hair, etc. I was broken, and instead of giving up on myself, I decided to fight, I rose from my bed of depression, and chose life…

In February 2014, I decided to take control of my health with the help of Gastric Sleeve, changing my eating habits, and documentating my journey on Instagram. In 2016, I began kickboxing, weight training, and step aerobics. Currently, I’m down over 100lbs and still pushing. In 2017, I became an Influencer and Brand Ambassador. Honeyyyyyy, fitness is my love language. It’s a blessing, it’s exhilarating, it’s therapeutic, and it’s simply a part of my DNA. In 2018, I knew that I wanted to be a Fitness Coach to help others incorporate movement into their daily lives, but unfortunately, it wasn’t my time. In 2020, I began my business during Covid, and I’ve been thriving every since.

When I began teaching workout classes on Zoom, at local parks, and in the parking lots of churches, I didn’t have a particular niche at the time. I simply enjoyed moving my body while motivating others, but something was utterly missing. There was a void. I fervently prayed, and I asked God to show me my niche; show me the community of people that I was called to serve. For the next few weeks, my attendance had drastically dropped, and the only people that showed up was my parents, Uncle Peck, and Pastor White, which was all of my senior and limited-mobility clients. Another few weeks passed, same outcome. That was when I knew that I was called to serve the underserved, and truthfully, they bring me the utmost joy.

“L.I.F.T.” is a “Low-Impact Fitness Training” program for those with limited mobility, injuries, and disabilities; for seniors, fitness beginners, and bariatric patients to incorporate movement into their routine. It’s functional strength and aerobic movements that’s done using a chair to either sit or use for balance. L.I.F.T. is designed to be a challenging workout to increase your heart rate and burn calories while improving strength, balance, coordination, and endurance.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My business partner is my husband, Dale Parson Jr. We met in 2010 on Tagged.com, unintentionally. Lol. He sent me a message saying, “Heyy beautiful. How are you?”, and truthfully, I didn’t reply. After he messaged me a few more times over the course of 3 months, I decided to message him back, and we have been inseparable every since. We were friends for 4.5 years, dated for 1 year, engaged for 8 months, and married for 8 years. Truthfully, he’s the best business partner I can ever ask for. Hands down. He’s definitely my biggest support system, my photographer, videographer, etc. Sunkiss Fitness LLC is successful because of his tremendous help, and expertise. Thank you HusBae. ❤️

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Honestly, it’s trusting someone that I assumed was mentor with my ideas, plans, and goals, however, in return, she used them as her own. I felt bewildered and betrayed, but because I’ve forgiven her, God is opening many doors and avenues for me. The phone calls, magazine features, event invitations, etc. If I had an opportunity to grace her with my presence today, I would simply say “Thank You! Because of you, I learned to embrace my pain. Pain always inspires creativity and change, which ultimately leads to greatness”.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sunkissfitness.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/sunkiss.fitness
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/sunkissfitness