Meet Danny Fluker Jr of Black Boys OM

Today we’d like to introduce you to Danny Fluker Jr.

Danny, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My first Yoga teacher was a black man. I remember thinking that I saw myself in him and how important that representation was in my own life and I then imagined that representation for other Black men and boys. I was inspired again after becoming a Yoga teacher and witnessing all black men show up to a Meditation workshop I co-taught.

That day in the sunlit filled room of my brothers meditating in Yellow Mat Yoga studio in Historic Oakhurst, a seed was planted in my heart surrounding what cultivating specific special space for reflection, movement and meditation for Black men would look like. This idea later turned into conversation around wellness leaders in our communities. Slowly I began to build a network of these wellness leaders. This network became a grassroots Movement that today numbers 125 Black Male Yogis in 70 locations both national and international. That movement has now become a nonprofit. An idea became a passion and this passion has fueled something that seeks to inspire healing and wellness in our communities globally through this network of leaders.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My biggest struggle has been attempting to teach Yoga full time with three other part-time jobs in addition to building this network and brand with the end goal of establishing a nonprofit. It has been a lot of energy in a lot of directions. There was this internal battle surrounding my idea that I was doing all of this and surviving and not thriving. Yet despite there was a deep fulfillment in teaching and building and a necessity to embrace centering and grounding practices for myself along with healthy rhythms of rest. I’m still out here. Still going.

Please tell us about Black Boys OM.
Black Boys OM exists to Inspire Wellness by creating a connected community of Black Leaders who are already using the tools of Yoga and Mindfulness to create positive and lasting change in their local communities. (Schools, gyms, Faith orgs and Correctional Facilities / and Prisons) We are most proud of our diversity and number as a wellness collective. Our grassroots efforts reflect our individual and collective work in the various locations where we are and now as we transition into an actual non-profit a new phase of our journey begins.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I’d like to think all things unfold as they should. I guess I’d try and get out of my own head more often than not. I tend to worry a lot which takes me out of the boundlessness of the present.

Contact Info:

• Website: blackboysom.org
• Phone: 770-815-0543
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackboysom/

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