Today we’d like to introduce you to Marvin Booker
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?
My name is Marvin Booker. I was born in East Orange, NJ and attended Piscataway High School in central New Jersey. I have been working out since I was 6 years old due to the curiosity of learning and challenging my body’s limits. Growing up with that innate nature, throughout my childhood and teenage years I was always competing in various sports. Eventually, I became an all-state linebacker in high school which led to me earning a full scholarship to play football at Rutgers University. I have been fortunate to play professional football in the NFL, CFL, CIF and other pro football leagues to master my craft. Through resiliency, discipline, perseverance, hard work and dedication; I have been able to battle life’s curve balls on and off the field to maintain success and strive for self-mastery. Through my business; Booker Fitness And Performance, LLC, I am able to help others obtain their fitness & wellness goals by using the wisdom I have gained through my life and training experiences. Through a holistic approach, I am curating relationships with clients to help them build a new relationship with their body which in turn opens up their perspective of the connectivity of mind, body & spirit and how it can affect one’s experiences in their reality on a daily basis. Whether you are a fitness lover or athlete, Booker Fitness And Performance, LLC can help you achieve your vision!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nothing is ever a smooth road when you are building it from scratch but it’s a very rewarding process to see it all come together. Right before the pandemic hit, I was living in St. Louis, MO training my body at a facility called Emerge Fitness to stay in shape for pro football opportunities and working in life insurance as an agent to maintain my lifestyle of pursuing football. I was networking with the XFL (UFL) St. Louis Battlehawks to get a workout and attending panel interviews with Merrill Lynch of Bank of America to leverage my skills as an insurance agent to transition to financial advisor opportunities. Now that I had two promising opportunities in front of me, I prayed on how I should handle wanting to pursue my football career with the XFL(UFL) and being mindful of how the skills I had as a life insurance agent had opened new doors for me with Merrill Lynch. Literally a week later the pandemic hit and started to shut everything down; no more XFL and Bank of America stopped their hiring process. In the months to come from March to May there was no work available in St. Louis. I eventually had a family member who told me about warehouse’s hiring “essential workers” in Central Pennsylvania. My work ethic and persistence for solutions pushed me to leave St. Louis, take a 19 hour bus ride to PA to start a 12 hr warehouse shift to keep money coming in during the pandemic.
During my time working 12 hour shifts; I would get off at 6am, go to the local gym to workout for 2 hours, go home to make breakfast and cook my lunch for work the next day, set my timer for 5 hours, then get up and do it all over again. My gym workouts were to continue my training for football (advantage if I’m still training and everybody is in the house “quarantined”) and to record workouts that people could do while they were in the house – Booker Fitness And Performance, LLC (@BookerFitness_) was alive again. This was the start of me creating a digital footprint for BFP,LLC on social media so I can extend services to people who were interested.
As the pandemic started to wind down, I realized that my location was not conducive to my growth for multiple reasons. In January of 2021, I was in a car wreck where my vehicle flipped for 300 ft and I had to free myself from an upside down vehicle. With 4 broken ribs and a laundry list of other severe injuries, in March of 2021 I still attended the planned event of me going to the National Scouting Combine by Jimmy Kibble for free agents looking to resurrect their playing career. By the grace of God I survived the car wreck but I also took it as sign that I am supposed to be doing exactly what I had insight to do. Once I was in my healing process I knew that it was time to start making an exit plan. My next move was going back to my home state of New Jersey, Houston or Atlanta. With thoughts of how to expand and monetize my innate abilities, skills and knowledge, I wanted to plant myself in an environment that would be receptive of the vision I have for myself and my goals. On a leap of faith, one day I followed my discernment to pack my car up and leave to Atlanta in October of 2022.
Since I made the choice to embrace my journey to Atlanta, I have been able to accomplish everything I said I wanted to do. I have continued my football training with Hammer Smith Sports in Sugar Hill for movement / weight training, obtained a Pass Rush Coach by the name of Dez Walker, made Booker Fitness And Performance, LLC official as a business, created Ace Advisors, LLC that has allowed me to partner with a Property & Casualty Brokerage by the name of Power X Insurance to maintain my insurance agent aptitude and field skills.
Currently, I am conducting my business with a healthy list of 1-on-1 fitness programs, I am extending myself to obtaining contracts with apartment complexes & athletic teams, as well as customizing community events centered around fitness & wellness.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The most important thing I would like to highlight is that I am a Performance Consultant. My training and expertise go beyond personal training and includes 10,000+ hours in fitness, prehab, rehab, conditioning and overall training. I know what it looks like, what it feels like, what its supposed to feel like, what the responses are and what the results should be over a period of time. I embody performance training for myself & others. If you are a Fitness Lover looking to run a marathon, challenge yourself with different workouts or just looking to heal your body through fitness; I have the knowledge to consult you towards those goals. If you are an Athlete looking to take your game to the next level; I will push you physically to be able to perform at a high level but we will also address the mentality that should be applied as you go through the program that will eventually give you an edge during competition.
I believe my approach in how I apply my program and how I individually connect to my clients is what separates me from the rest. People feel my energy, enthusiasm and care through my coaching and thats what makes the experience wholesome and contagious.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I do believe in taking calculated risks. I also believe that you should believe in yourself, especially if you consistently get a nudge to do something and to do it a particular type of way. To add to that, prayer is extremely important because it gives us the opportunity to consult GOD and to hear ourselves on what we need to do and how to build the energy we need to attack the steps required to complete the task.
It was a risk to leave St. Louis by bus to Pennsylvania, but I felt like it was the best option to make ends meet and stay in motion towards my goals. It was a risk to drive Lyft long distance and late at night before the car wreck, but I needed the additional funds to afford my trip to the National Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, IN to pursue my football career. It was a risk to perform at the combine with 4 broken ribs, but how could I let all my hard work and sacrifices I made over the years go to waste because I was temporarily hurt in the process of healing? It was also a risk to eventually get up and drive down to Atlanta with nothing set up, but it all worked out in the end because I knew there was a reason why I was getting pushed to do it. I believe all of the events that I listed, including things that I have not were ordained to guide me to be the man I was created to be and have the experiences I wish to see happen for me in this lifetime.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://BookerFitness.com
- Instagram: @BookerFitness_
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marvinbooker56/
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@marvinbooker56
Image Credits
Photo Credit:
– Zoa Photo
– Avalon Fotography
