We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Odie Tolbert a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Odie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
After 16 years in Corporate America, I decided to become a certified personal trainer to pursue my purpose of helping others. My passion for a healthier lifestyle started at an earlier age from a personal battle with obesity and witnessing my father’s health decline over the years, which eventually led to his death. Since then, fitness has been a long-time desire of mine to impact individuals on a day-to-day basis.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Being that my top priority is fathering a beautiful 10 year old daughter, I wanted to ensure that I set the right example in my home where I stress the importance of taking care of your temple. Fitness eventually led me to branch out into the fashion arena. Both fitness & fashion goes hand in hand, when I person looks good, he or she feels good. It’s all about exuding confidence and I’m able to help those in these areas. As it relates to fitness, I currently partner or has partnered with various organizations such as Children’s Museum of Memphis, Shelby County Schools, Southwest Community College, Baptist Memorial Hospital, iHeart Radio, and Memphis Women’s Foundation – just to name a few. I have been featured in USA Today, Memphis, Health and Fitness magazine, The Commercial Appeal, and on ABC 24/CW 30 – all recognizing my efforts towards health-conscious living habits. As it relates to fashion, my goal is to continue leaving my mark & making an impact in this industry.Being the lead male stylist for Dillard’s, my work can now be seen on a national level on all Dillard’s sites worldwide for major brands – Murano, Perry Ellis, Rhone & Southern Tide.Through faith, my overall goal is to educate citizens on the importance of their health/wellness and how it influences everyone and everything around them. Anyone can contact me on my fitness website where all of my information is located or any of my social media pages. From there you will find any information pertaining to the services that I provide for my clients.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Having a Bachelor’s degree in Business has allowed me the opportunity to think holistically regarding the front & back office. When you are an entrepreneur, you are every department – CEO, Finance, Marketing, HR, you name it. Because of my years of experience in Corporate America, I learned early on the importance of leveraging relationships. Integrity and trust are both at the top of my list when doing any business in any field. I’ve always had a customer 1st mentality and this has crossed over into my current fields.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Clients over the years have followed me throughout my added professions. The principal is the same, people do business with who they trust and that’s why I’ll always be in business regardless of the industry I choose. For this reason, partnerships are critical to my success. I’m very open to conversations/dialogue/meetings that will aid in my purpose for fitness & fashion.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iamcardiofitness.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamcardiofitness?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= | https://instagram.com/iamprostyling?igshid=Zjc2ZTc4Nzk=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iamcardiofitness | https://www.facebook.com/iamprostyling
- Other: Odie Tolbert 901-598-0453 iamcardiofitness@gmail.com | Email: iamprostyling@gmail.com
Image Credits
Erica Dunlap