Today we’d like to introduce you to Makeda Smith.
Makeda, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I am a veteran entertainment industry publicist who has also received international acclaim for my pro-aging flow movement/fitness practice. My Jazzmyne Public Relations agency has represented a who’s who of talent for well over 35 years now. As a popular viral performance artist, I began to explore movement as medicine over 12 years ago, when, at the age of 50, my personal world was in crisis. I launched “Flying Over 50” as a dance movement brand to encourage women to embrace the aging process with sass and grace and now, as a YOGABODY Certified Breath and Stretch coach, I launched “The Makeda Method.” The Makeda Method is a portal that helps you establish your own personal practice for health and wellness layered with grace! I also just recently released a 30-day motivational journal on Amazon, “Flying Over 50 at Any Age.”
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I started my PR agency over 35 years ago as a single parent mother of two. At the time, I made the decision to quit my job and work from home. Although working from home is pretty normalized now, it was unheard of back then! Many doubted my longevity and success and told me I would never survive in the entertainment business without an office on Sunset Boulevard. In addition, as a Black woman, most of my clientele was Black as well. Many shunned me for that, but decades later, I was recognized as an urban market specialist!
Working in a male-dominated business decades ago was very challenging. Today, we have terminology (and laws) for a lot of the abuse we suffered quietly back then. I was born in Los Angeles but was raised in Chicago, and I honestly believe that experience provided me the willpower and hustle to survive. Winter and snow are great character builders, lol! I used to say that too much sunshine can make you soft.
But seriously, yes, the struggles were real and many, but I choose to focus on the victories instead. I’m an over 60 granny. My PR agency is fully operational to this day. I’m a pro-aging movement influencer who pole dances, and I just started a wellness coaching practice and released my first book. I am a survivor and a thriver!
We’ve been impressed with Jazzmyne Public Relations / The Makeda Method, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’ve run my public relations agency for over 35 years now – working with A-list celebrities and top talents in the business. I’m well known for my work in the entertainment field. But I always laugh when I tell people that when you Google me, I think I’ve received just as many accolades, if not more, for my pole fitness regimen!
I took up pole dancing as a fitness practice when I turned 50. At the time, the market had crashed, and since I was real estate investing at the time, I was deeply affected. The market crash collapsed my world, personally and financially. I lost my home, my cars, my properties, my dog, and my man. I was depressed and suicidal, having lost everything. But I had to live and survive for my daughters.
I was encouraged by a chance meeting one day when I was walking down Hollywood Blvd. Hollywood is a wacky place and I noticed a woman doing a split in the middle of the sidewalk while being photographed. Next thing I knew, that same woman was walking right next to me! It felt like a scene out of a movie.
Her name was Magda, and we started a delightful conversation. In the course of that conversation, I asked her age. I figured we were similarly aged. I was 50 at the time, but she was so full of life, and I was battling depression. When she told me she was 75 I could not believe it! I asked her what was her secret. She said, “Yoga, darling. I started practicing in my 40’s.”
I knew then that I had to start back working out and that it was crucial for battling my depression. I signed up for a yoga class a few weeks later, but it was strenuous and yes, stressful at that time. I came across a Groupon for a series of three pole dancing classes. The cost was so inexpensive that I purchased them on impulse. To this day, I don’t know what made me buy them. I had never ever considered taking pole dancing classes for fitness.
I waited until the Groupon was about to expire before I actually attended the first class and fussed at myself for making such a foolish purchase, lol! That first class, however, changed my life. Entering that dance studio felt like entering a temple. Sacred synchronicity was in play as the first 15 to 20 minutes of the class were spent doing yoga as the warmup. For an entire hour and 15 minutes, my brain was so entrained that the rest of my world fell to the background. I didn’t think about my failed romance, my failed finances or my failed life. Upon the completion of class, I knew I had uncovered some sort of secret elixir, and I knew I had uncovered something magical that would save my life!
I threw myself into a pole fitness journey – and the rest – as they say – is ‘her’story! Pole dancing led me on a path of fitness that reinvigorated me. I created Flying Over 50 as a movement brand to encourage older women to awaken their inner goddess. Most recently, I’ve received my certification as a breath work and deep stretch yoga coach and launched an online wellness portal, The Makeda Method, where I specialize in coaching seniors to use breath and movement to mitigate the stress of aging.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
The characteristic that has served me well professionally is my strong spirit of discipline and determination. When I started working from home over thirty-five years ago, I never had an issue staying focused and getting my work done. I often attribute that skill to having completed my graduate degree program. Academia is a great training ground for completing projects on deadline!
I also believe my spirituality and faith has carried me through the darkest of times. When the market crashed in 2008, the effects lingered through to the next decade. There are so many times I really just wanted to give up but knowing that I am surrounded by a legion of ancestral angels has miraculously served me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jazzmynepr.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flyingover50/ and https://www.instagram.com/themakedamethod/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jazzmynepr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jazzmynepr/
- Other: https://www.themakedamethod.com and / https://www.flyingover50.com
Image Credits
Steven Harvey
The Perfect Image Digital Graphics & Photography
