Hidden Gems: Meet Payton Prichard of Initiative Fitness

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Growing up, I didn’t do anything even remotely fitness related. I was always on my computer to pass the time, and our eating habits at home were not always the best. It wasn’t until my junior year in college that I decided that I wanted to feel better. I was overweight, and all I could think to do was cut back on certain foods and strictly drink water. I noticed slight changes, but I knew I needed to do more. I got a personal trainer, and I lost almost 30 pounds. Having a trainer helped me ignite my love for fitness, and so later in life, I decided that I should give that same gift to others. I want to help others, especially in the black community, figure out their way through their own fitness journey because I, at one point, needed that same navigation. Had I not decided to get a trainer, I doubt that I’d be this passionate about getting others to move their bodies AND have fun doing so.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I always have and still have difficult days where I may struggle with my eating and exercising by reverting back to the old ways I learned in childhood. It’s also difficult being in a whole new area, trying to prove myself to be worthy enough to help someone reach their fitness goals. Being trusted with someone’s health is not something I take lightly, so I can put too much pressure on myself for it. I try to get over these challenges by making sure that I’m not so hard on myself. If I notice that I’m falling off, I immediately think of what I can do to help myself get back into a routine.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Initiative Fitness is my personal training/lifestyle brand that I created to help others learn more about their bodies. There are tons of personal trainers out there, but my approach to personal training is different because I create a program based on how I see my clients move, not just by a number on the scale or whatever the next fad is. How someone walks, squats, or even stands still tells me most of what I need to know on how I can effectively help them reach their goals. I want to be able to reach as many people as possible, so I offer online training as well as personal training. I don’t want distance to be a reason why someone is reluctant to start back again. At the end of the day, I want others to refer to Initiative Fitness as a resource. Whether someone is training with me or not, I want them to feel comfortable asking me for help because I think that the main reason why people struggle with fitness in the first place is that sometimes, we don’t know where to start.

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
The most important thing that I’ve learned is to stay consistent. Running a business requires a lot of risks, and if they don’t work out exactly as planned, there’s no other choice but to learn from it and keep going. It is easy to feel defeated when things aren’t going as we envision them, but staying consistent will get you to where you want to go.

Contact Info:

• Email: trainwithpayton@gmail.com
• Website: www.initiativefit.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/initiativefit
• Facebook: facebook.com/initiativefitness

Image Credits
Shot by Savoy Dawnte “Polo” Gibson