Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Harris.
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?
I’m 31 years old from Mount Vernon, New York where I grew up playing sports year-round, I went from baseball straight into football, then into basketball season. As I reached middle school and high school, I focused primarily on basketball. I attended Mount Vernon High School which is known as one of the best basketball programs in the country. Excelling both in the classroom and on the court I received a full scholarship to play basketball at the University of New Haven in Connecticut. After my basketball career was over, I moved back home to New York where I worked with kids at a Sports & Arts after-school program and coached them in basketball and different activities.
Even though my basketball career was over I continued working out and trained like an athlete 4-5 times a week. In 2013 I packed up my things and headed west to work with my Uncle and his clothing brand in Los Angeles. With no plans of ever becoming a trainer or in the fitness industry, I continued working out consistently in Los Angeles and would even make little 15-second videos of my workouts and post them on Instagram. The feedback I received from my videos were to a surprise, a lot of people would ask if I was a trainer others would be messages stating how I motivate them to want to work out. This gave me a brand new confidence and I continued posting fitness content and even made an instagram page (@trainwithseanharris) strictly for fitness.
With an overflow of people asking if I was a trainer and the motivation I gave people, I said to myself “why not take fitness more seriously and perhaps make it a career”. I then studied and earned my certification to be a personal trainer. I now have 8 years of experience in training, also my Instagram following has grew substantially and I’ve become somewhat of an influencer working with well-known brands on campaigns. I also got into acting while living in LA. I’ve booked national commercials and print jobs for companies such as Nike, Gatorade, Northwestern Mutual, and Under Armour to name a few. As for the future, I will continue to help others by motivating them through my content and training business as well as expressing the benefits of living a healthy active lifestyle.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, as previously stated I attended college but did not graduate so I didn’t really have a plan on what I wanted to do after sports. Then, on a complete limb I up and moved to Los Angeles at the age of 21. I didn’t have consistent income, I literally was figuring things out on the go. But something inside of me wasn’t going to let me quit. So I decided to take fitness seriously since I already had a passion for it, and made it a career. Which also opened other doors with opportunities in acting and modeling.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m a certified personal trainer/fitness influencer. I specialize in explosive athletic training, fat loss, and muscle gain. I’m known for my intense workout videos on Instagram & TikTok. I’m most proud of how I motivate others through my consistency and hard work. With that being said, I’m never satisfied and know there’s always room for improvement. What sets me apart from others is the fact that I have many skills and talents and I enjoy the creative process. I brainstorm all my content, I film and edit all of my content on my own. I plan on taking photography and videography more serious this year.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Making my family proud and being able to do things for them makes me the most happy. I know it took a lot of sacrifice from my parents while raising me, whether it was driving me back and forth to games and practices my entire childhood, to just always providing for me. So being able to repay them for that is what makes me happy and is my WHY.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: instagram.com/trainwithseanharris
