Today we’d like to introduce you to Omar Bolden.
Omar, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I would say I got to where I am today first and foremost through my ambition, drive, and resilience. I earned my way into a career in the NFL, playing for the Denver Broncos as safety for four years, before retiring due to injury. It’s always tough when things like that happen in life, but you learn and grow from it.
I’ve always loved football since I was a kid, and I will always be grateful for my NFL career. I’ve always loved fashion as well as fitness, and post-football career was my first opportunity to explore things that I love other than playing football, so I delved into it without hesitation. I attended New York Fashion week in 2016, and that’s where my entrepreneurial experience began. From there, I ended up relocating to NYC for a few months and worked alongside the CEO of a fashion brand called Reinge, where I learned the in’s and outs of the fashion world and built a network of good people.
I began using my social media platform to model fashion and soon became a multifaceted fashion and fitness authority. I used my experience and professional athletic training to begin my fitness training company for athletes and professionals, called Optymyze Training. Alongside this, with my increasing fashion influence and following on social media, I started a company called Uplift Management to manage myself and my brand representations. I believe it’s important for all influencers to understand their business value and the business end of having a social media influence.
I am also producing my own fitness clothing line called Optymyze Clothing which I will release this year, combining both my passions of fitness and fashion under one umbrella.
Has it been a smooth road?
Absolutely not. I think there is no such thing as a smooth road to success in life. There are many obstacles that we need to need to overcome, and they are different for all of us.
I have learned to pivot passed them, by being flexible, changing approaches, and learning more about myself, to name a few strategies. Some of my struggles, and a struggle for other professional athletes too is learning how to transition from a professional sports career into the next phase of our lives. We are not taught how to do this, and I think it is something that as someone who has gone through it, can address and bring to the forefront. It’s like the 800 lb gorilla in the room that no one talks about.
For me, it was particularly challenging because it was due to injury, and came right after a Superbowl win, but I live my mantra of Positive Living, and I kept an attitude of gratitude throughout it, and just knew I had to keep moving, doing something. If I stayed stagnant, I knew I would be in trouble. You can apply that philosophy to almost anything in life, keep it moving.
Pivot and turn along the way as you learn, it’s OK to make mistakes, but keep moving, and grow from the mistakes. That’s really all it’s about. You’ll always find yourself where you’re meant to be.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Optymyze Training, Optymyze Clothing, and Uplift Management story. Tell us more about the business.
Optymyze Training as discussed is to train athletes, NFL clients, people from all backgrounds and different levels of fitness. I love helping people achieve their fitness goals because I think a healthy lifestyle is key for living positively.
Health really is wealth. I just want to make a difference in people’s lives here, and it’s fulfilling when people remember you as someone who helped them achieve their dreams or goals, or take them to the next level in a professional sporting career.
What separates me is that I live what I say. I have experienced injuries and learned how to come back from it and make myself healthy. From all these experiences, I learned how to help my clients with everything in training, from how to work with their injuries to their levels of fitness, to get them where they want to go.
I am known for my positivity, my workouts which are creative, and unrivaled, and I am proud that I am the healthiest and in the best shape of my life. What am I proud of as a company? I’m so busy working, that I am not even thinking of celebrating. I still have work to do and people to help.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Fitness is always relevant. Clothing is always relevant. Social media ain’t going anywhere. It’s only going to grow, so learn how to capitalize on all that.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: omar.bolden
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