
Who: Michael Olajide, Jr., Co-Founder of AEROSPACE High Performance Center.
Before opening AEROSPACE in New York City, Olajide was a former champion boxer. He earned the nickname “Silk” for his smooth footwork, slick hand speed and head movements. His boxing record was 28 wins and 4 losses, with 20 wins by knockout. He had four championship titles and was the No. 1 ranked middleweight contender in the world. He suffered an injury from the sport, which caused him to go blind in his right eye, but Olajide remains an international fitness expert, teaching high-intensity classes built around boxing and jumping rope. He has worked with Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima, singer Mary J Blige and actors Hugh Jackman, Josh Hartnett and Mark Wahlberg.
Diet: Omnivore. Nothing is off the menu with the exception of fast foods and hormone injected food.
Health Resolution: Do a one-arm push-up like I used to when I fought. I think in order to maintain your physicality, you must continue to do things with the same intensity you had as a youth.
Most surprising thing in my fridge: Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. I do have an affinity for sweet and sugary foods. I go weeks without eating it and then I can have it two to three days in a row.
General thoughts on weight loss and healthy living: Have unconventional eating habits. Treat food as fuel, and don’t eat out of habit. We generally, as a society, consume far more than we need. The body can subsist on very little, especially if you aren’t in a profession that requires you to be physically active.
I feel health and wellness is, and will continue to be, the biggest problem for many nations that are fully developed, where convenience and convenient food is king. The human body in its perfect oasis will prefer to eat and lay about digesting food all day, every day. How we fight that is a problem of significant proportions and one of the most pressing we will face. The length and quality of life in terms of personal health will begin to drop significantly unless we find a way to combat the disease called over eating. No doctor or pharmaceutical will have the answer. It lies within the individual.
Fitness regimen: Jump rope, shadow box, run, pull-ups, sculpting exercises.
Guilty pleasure: Ice cream and Coca-Cola.