Isayah P. — Black Pantháh

The first time I got into lifting, I can't remember. I helped out my uncle's oil company and played a lot of sports through my childhood, so work and weight were just part of the day.

High school is when I chose it. I got a gym membership myself and ran into a personal trainer named Orlando. He helped me out, he was always happy to answer my questions about bodybuilding, and eventually he taught me everything he knew — including how to teach, and how to be that role model. Seeing myself not being fat shamed day by day was amazing, and that's a large part of why nobody gets talked down to in my sessions.

Once I built my own principles and understood the language of bodybuilding, I was able to achieve very high weight at a young age. The compliments came, but what stuck was that people started asking me questions and spending their own time with me to talk about it more. After a stretch as a welder, an opportunity like this showed up, and the choice made itself.

Here's the part underneath all of it. You were given one body, and training it well is stewardship — a thing you do on purpose, not a thing you get through. That belief is why I refuse to just count your reps. Purpose means you should understand the work you're doing to the body you were given, and discipline is just respect for it shown on the days nobody is watching. Teach it that way and it holds up long after the session ends.

So the coaching runs on my philosophy plus my ISSA education, and both point toward you not needing me. If you cannot teach, you cannot learn.