Mark Ezissi, Taking fitness in Nigeria to the next level

Background

My name is Mark Ezissi, and I am from a family of four kids and two wonderful parents. I was born in Lagos, though my state of origin is Anambra. Studied here partly before I went to the UK to continue my education. Lived in the UK on my own and resided in Torquay before moving down to Birmingham to study Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham, I also have a masters degree in the same course. Discovered my love for fitness during this time as a student and have now embraced fitness as a lifestyle. Prior to fitness, I had a passion for dancing and I still do so. I taught street dance in the UK for 2 years while in college and performed in some showcases. Living the majority of my early adulthood in the UK taught me quite a bit and forged my personality into that which is reserved and discerning. I moved back to Lagos Nigeria 2 years ago. I enjoy travelling and visiting new places in order to experience new cultures. I am currently working my way to becoming a top class process engineer in the energy industry as well as help take the topic of fitness and health in Nigeria to the next level.
Growing up

Growing up for me was an interesting experience, particularly because I did so in different continents. I come from a Christian household so from an early age my parents made me understand the importance of spirituality in ones life and the importance of knowing God. So in that light I had a strong sense of right and wrong. Having older siblings also helped my natural growth as I could always go to them to discuss problems as well as learn from them. Being the last child though I did not get the normal “baby of the house” treatment, so this made me fairly independent from an early stage,because when my older siblings all went off to school, it was just I at home to figure things out. This character development helped my moving to England UK, as I was able to adapt to the new culture in the new town I was in. Being the only black in the small town at the time, I had to do well to blend into the system and style of things as a result I soaked up the English culture well. Thankful to God, I lived with a white family who treated me like their own even though I was just renting a room with them. This helped my learning/fitting in process more and reduced the usual home sick feelings. Also picked up the “do it yourself” lifestyle the western world practices. Taking the time to read a situation before acting is also another habit I developed with the many race related encounters I experienced. All these forged me into the man I am today, one who is reserved, discerning and goal oriented.
Fitness journey

I would say my fitness journey made its firstappearance while I was in college in the UK, though at the time I just went into the gym as a favor to my gymnast friend and helped her out with some of her routines. With time I began to pick up weights and engage in some training. However, my main dedication to fitness took form during my University study in 2010. At the time I played American football for the Birmingham Lions team as a line backer, and had to physically compete in games every week. Being the runt of the team, I pushed for longer hours in the gym in order to develop myself physically and keep up with the demand of the game. With time I started to realize how much better I would feel from working out and the somewhat therapeutic effect it had on me, and thus my fitness journey began. I started to read up and do more research on exercises, routines, and tips that helped improve my health and fitness. Sometimes I would have long chats with the physiotherapists for the team and pick their brains on ways to maintain a healthy body. From then on fitness was no longer a chore, it was no longer a forced routine, it became my lifestyle.

Challenges

I wont say I have challenges as such when it comes to fitness but like with all lifestyle decisions, keeping yourself interested, engaged, and committed to it is the majority battle. So I work to always keep myself informed on what is new in the fitness world and what new ways I can explore to keep my passion going. This could be in the form of new training regimens or new workout gear and so on.

In training people, what are your observations?

With some of the people I have worked with and trained, what first stands out to me is their reason for working out. I usually want to get feel for how bad they want it and why, this helps me understand how dedicated they will be and how much work I will have to do to motivate them. I find that some people have the wrong mindset and are so focused on the result rather than the process. My usual take is for one to fall in love with the process and then watch the results come when they do, that way the habit of staying fit is easily developed. Also there are those that do it because they think its cool, now with such people their interest never lasts, and as soon as something else that is considered cool pops up they are gone.

What advise do you have for people that want to lose weight?

Weight loss is quite the journey, so to those that decide to embark on it, I think it is very important that they dedicate themselves completely and not partially. Both good diet and exercise are the keys to opening that door. These two things complement each other for the desired results to be achieved in good time. Most people make the error of doing one and forgetting the other, as such they never achieve their goal. Again here I will insert my philosophy of falling in love with the process, it wont happen overnight so be patient and you will be very happy with yourself when it all starts to come together.

How important is being healthy and staying healthy?

I believe being and staying healthy to be just as important as making money if not more, in fact I would say the former is easier to achieve too. Now this idea is so difficult for most people to accept, but when you really think about it you see how true it is. Being/staying healthy requires little to no external factors whereas nobody can make money without the involvement of others. Nevertheless we still find in this part of the world, people don’t concern themselves with their health, and this I hope to change. It is best a person lives the full length of their life unhindered and not have it sadly cut short or made less pleasant because at age 40 they are not physically able to stand for 10 minutes straight without a back ache.
Not every kind of exercise is for everyone

This is such an important concept and very true. Everyone has different fitness goals and as such have different paths to take to reach them. Also everyone is made differently therefore some techniques or exercises that work for A might not be as effective for B. Having said this, the general status quo remains, certain exercises will always hit certain target muscle areas. So it is just key that one decides what their goal is and then start walking toward it. Reading up on exercises and their effect on the body helps with recognizing the usual pros and cons. Always stay informed rather than just copy what you see the next person in the gym doing or eating. It is okay to ask questions.

What do you hope to achieve with your trainings?

I hope tochange the general mentality of fitness as a chore or a difficulty; I want people to see it rather as a wise and rewarding lifestyle choice. After I got back to Nigeria in 2014 and saw the potential of the industry, the idea of fitwitmark my fitness brand was born, with the aim of inspiring a fit and healthy lifestyle for people. I want to assist people in getting into the best shape they can and maintaining it. I always like to say fitness is for everyone and is free, so why not take it. I hope that with time the brand becomes a household name and is synonymous with being healthy and happy.

 
KEMI AJUMOBI