We recently connected with Emeka Nwuba and have shared our conversation below.

Emeka, appreciate you joining us today. Too often the media represents innovation as something magical that only high-flying tech billionaires and upstarts engage in – but the truth is almost every business owner has to regularly innovate in small and big ways in order for their businesses to survive and thrive. Can you share a story that highlights something innovative you’ve done over the course of your career?

I truly believe that the most innovative thing I’ve done in my career is becoming more versatile in allowing my talents to work together as one. Very often do individuals find themselves limited to one field or one way of thinking, and I too in moments had to sit down and have a hard conversation about that with myself. The more I prayed and realized my passions, the more I was able to simply allow all of my talents to come together as one. For instance, as a teacher I serve to educate the youth. Teaching is a talent that I have, yet I also find myself giving personal training advice to other teachers and even having them join in on my fitness boot camps. In addition, I find myself sharing my love of poetry with my students and colleagues that some have asked me to create personalized written works for various occasions. To me, this is what I have dreamed of in many ways; using the versatility of my talents to the fullest in one accord.

Emeka, 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?

My name is Emeka D. Nwuba, born and raised in the great city of Houston, Texas. For those who are familiar with my work, many know me as Shredded 24/7 within the bodybuilding and athletic clothing industry. Since the year 2015 as a first time competitor, I have aimed to transform the grit and grind of training into the clothing you can wear and a lifestyle to live by. Fast forward to today, you can also gain a new creative approach to who I am as a poet. My poetry name is acEN’ heartz. I have always been a poet at heart writing avidly since my high school days, but now I aim to bring a collection of my personal works to all readers. Lastly, if you don’t see me in the gym or writing poetry, you can catch me teaching writing at KIPP Sharp Lower Prep College to my 3rd graders. One thing I want people to know about me is that I am very versatile; I aim to think outside the box and make every moment memorable.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice

I truly believe that NFTs are a reflection of creative individuals. When I say this, I believe that it is the new age baby of artists. Can you imagine that a few years ago, an underground artist, singer/ rapper, poet, and more could not gain traction so that people could be aware of their great works. Through the consistent boom of the internet and digital wonders, NFTs have helped to link artistic individuals to the masses and thus transform the idea that a monetary career within the arts is attainable more so now than it was then. So to me, NFTs are great especially when used correctly. Even for athletes and other of various backgrounds, NFTs have done the same.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

One lesson that I had to unlearn is that of stopping before the fire is truly burning. Many times it is easy to dump an idea or plan, when the initial reception of it is very low or non- existent. For me as a trainer and a poet, it is very important to never compare yourself to others. I say this because true success is not a predictable timeline. Success can occur at anytime, but it is the individual that sees the plan through to the fullest, that will reap the rewards of that creativity. As a personal trainer, I always wanted to have a large following and the same goes for that as a writer. Well, social media will make you question if your work is effective by how many likes or direct messages your receive, along with followers. No matter what society deems as success, these markers are at times very misleading. I had to learn that one single individual or a few individuals that reach out for training or really stop by to say they admire my written work is enough for me. Why? Well imagine it like this. If one person is know by fifty people then through that one person I reached/impacted, I actually reached fifty. So the lesson learned here is to keep pushing and realize that even through one person or none at the very moment, your vision will one day be received or heard by someone that appreciates it; that is success in the humblest of ways that will carry to many others whom you may never see or know.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shredded_24.7
• Other: Poetry Page: https://www.instagram.com/acen_heartz/

Image Credits
Flips (Background image for original written work)