We were lucky to catch up with Michael Mayers recently and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Sometimes, your mission can come to you instead of being something you initially developed. My fast rise and individual success in bodybuilding made others gravitate towards me. So, while I never saw myself becoming a bodybuilding prep coach, I was asked to help so many other budding athletes that I eventually recognized that my true calling and mission were bigger than my solo success.

There’s an underlying stereotype that there aren’t many quality African American coaches in this sport, which is disappointing. When you compound that narrative with some of the predatorial coach-client issues that women face, it creates barriers for many potentially talented athletes, especially women of color. Somehow, I am now in a position to tackle both issues.

As a former two-time All-American college football player, I have an inherent and contagious competitive drive. This drive, combined with my intentional practice of leveraging my resources, network, and talent to enhance my coaching, helps me provide my clients with top-tier service.

Michael, 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?

I am a former collegiate football player and alumnus of Elon University. I was a financial advisor for 12 years and now serve as both owner and head coach of Team Mighty Pro, a bodybuilding and fitness training company based in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Founded in 2021, we cater to clients who desire to reach personal fitness goals and amateur bodybuilders who want to “turn PRO.” We have a unique affinity with women of color, a significantly and typically underrepresented group within the professional bodybuilding sport.

In 2023, we achieved the remarkable accomplishment of producing three International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB) Pro Athletes within two shows. The team also had 12 overall show wins with professional and amateur athletes the same year. To date, the company has 50 members and 15 budding athletes. My company also has a budding apparel line.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My success came VERY quickly and unexpectedly. I was a financial advisor, but one of my best friends, Brandon, was into bodybuilding and kept asking me to try it out. I turned him down for years until I finally gave in. My former coach, Cesar Barretto, taught me everything I knew about the sport then, and this journey wouldn’t have come to fruition without him. Within months of lifting weights and dieting, I earned an IFBB Pro Card after competing in just two shows, which typically takes other athletes years to accomplish.

To this day, I am most proud that I was able to duplicate this process by coaching my good friend Leach Flack to “turn pro” right after me within two shows and a few months of work.

After these two successful runs, I kept my full-time job to pay the bills, but I had to decide whether to take coaching to the next level. My team was growing, and I was growing as an athlete. You can’t be great at one thing if you do too many other things simultaneously. You must be “all in” to be great, or you will just be “good” at many things. I want greatness.

The moment I decided to step away from my other job and continue to immerse myself in learning more about the sport, recruiting new members, and creating brand merchandise, I started turning the corner.

The mistake I initially made was being afraid to recruit women because the sport is predatorial. I was determined to stay far away from what others in the industry did, which hindered my growth in the early days. I decided to put that idea down and move with my love and respect for the game, and my team exploded overnight.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

I have tons of resources and content that positively impact my way of thinking on a daily basis, but my parents made the most meaningful impact on my way of thinking.

Even after being divorced, they were still in sync with instilling certain morals and values, and they were hard on me and my brother, which was the best thing for us.

My father is also a military veteran and ex-police officer, and I participated in and watched him start one of the most successful AAU Track and field teams in Virginia sports history. From watching him start the team with just my brother and me to now fostering some of the top athletes in the 757 area, this has indirectly given me an invaluable blueprint that has made me the coach and man I am today.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Letthemikebewithyou

Image Credits
Tae Kim