Over the past few years, fitness has become one of the most trending topics on social media. For every hashtag dedicated to fitness, there is brand capitalizing on the trend, whether it be adding athleisure to their collections or blog posts dedicated to getting it right and tight. These brands, however, don’t seem to be talking to us, as African-American faces are oftentimes exempt from conversations about health and fitness.
It seems like we're only being sold on the unorthodox short-term fixes like 'Flat Tummy Tea' and waist trainers. The art of learning and challenging our bodies through healthy eating and exercise isn’t a dialogue in our communities as much as it is in others- so we continue to tip the scales of hypertension and obesity. However, with a carefully curated playlist and donning all Black, personal trainer Irv “Zeus” Hyppolite is changing that one burpee at a time.
Irv’s Instagram feed fills the void of those hashtags, spotlighting the many clients he’s helped reach their fitness goals through his personalized training programs. From viral blog posts exposing the damaging effects of waist trainers to his choice of Jay Z lyrics under each photo caption, Irv is unapologetically Black, and he taps into the only culture he knows- committed to making it better the right way. His latest and wildly popular effort exists in the “Inner U” boot camp, a weekly high-intensity workout; for us, by us.
From the moment you walk into Irv’s “Inner U” boot camp, you’re greeted by the 6- foot stature of a body builder. For a first-timer, apprehension is normal but there’s family in the room as a variation of brown faces file into two lines preparing to leave their hearts on the floor. Any other month, you’d be doing high kicks to Shawty Lo’s “Dey Know” or push-ups to Migos but during Black History Month, the soundtrack has shifted to a more targeted sound- with a message that far surpasses your desire for a summer body. “This is bigger than you. This is bigger than us. Don’t you quit. Don’t you fall. We’ve come too far for you to fall now.” Irv’s voice bellows over Nina Simone’s “Strange Fruit” playing in the background. For 60 minutes, Irv takes you through painful moments in Black History, with a difficult workout out to match. His most chilling moment- burpees while saying the names of African-Americans murdered at the hands of police brutality.
Black T-shirts became drenched in an unrecognizable mix of tears and sweat as the names of Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland and Philando Castile were screamed throughout the fitness studio. In that moment there wasn’t a person in the room too tired to push through. Each individual in the packed room gave everything they had and left with more than they bargained for. “It’s a damn shame we had to do this many.” said one attendee in reflection. The pain of the workout was replaced by the harsh realization that we’re still fighting for something bigger in this country. After his last boot camp, I sat down with the New York-based trainer, to discuss his training method and his goals for Inner U.
Robin: What is your goal for the "Inner U" boot camp?
Irv Hyppolite: My goal with this class is to find a way to make health and fitness fun, and relevant in the Urban/African American communities while teaching more than just fitness. I say that because we don’t understand health and fitness the way that we should. Our youth are dying at earlier ages from heart attacks. So I created a platform in Inner U where we merge health and fitness with the music that we love and a message in every class. This position I'm in, I look at it as I have this responsibility to help us live.
Inner U was designed to ensure you are better than who you were yesterday. That’s it. I know who I am as a trainer. I know my reputation of being tough and really intense. So I know that in this class to get through it, you really have to become another person. You have to find that person with limitless strength that lives inside of you and show that person off to the world. Once you’ve done that- it’s a game changer. You realize that anything in life is possible. If you got through this you can do anything, and we’ll do it together. As far as music- it’s the cornerstone of our culture. It’s important to us too. Using that as an anchor is the best way for me to teach.
Robin: How do you choose your soundtrack?
Irv Hyppolite: The thing about music is its energy, it’s euphoric. You know where you were when you first heard a certain track. You always know how certain songs make you feel. So when I pick music, the goal is that it connects back to why you felt that track. Why you fell in love with it. I relate everything back to music. When I can take music and find the commonalities with how different people feel it- it becomes a sight to see. You watch the room light up to one song and think deep on another. So watching the energy shift in the Inner U class is the most impressive thing ever. It’s an experience.
Photo: Lens Porter
Robin: There’s a variety of skill sets in your class but the pain is the same for everyone. You see the pain in their faces through each set and you see the same glow of victory after completion. How do you use the music to take them away from that pain and force them into mind over matter space?
Irv Hyppolite: That’s very true. I welcome all levels, but for that hour all I ask for is 100% of what you have. Whether I’m playing trap music or soul…your body will try to take over- it’s up to you to hold onto that power and let the music help you. No matter how old you are or how experienced you are- if you have 4 minutes and 30 seconds of your favorite song to focus on you won’t even feel the pain anymore. The music takes you to a different place mentally. So I play music with intention. Especially during 10-15 minute intervals when the workouts are getting harder- the music gets louder and that’s all you feel. Your body will tell you to stop. It’s your brain that tells you to keep going as you’re rapping your favorite lyrics. It helps you find that inner version of that yourself that has the will to finish. And that’s what Inner U is.
Robin: Your Black History Month class is really special. Why was it so important for you to highlight victims of police brutality and bringing this conversation to the gym floor?
Irv Hyppolite: I thought of the people that made it into our History books- the Langston Hughes’ of the world. Then I thought..these are the same History books that didn’t give us the correct details about Emmitt Till and didn’t tell us how Medgar Evers really died. So I didn’t want to go that route although those names are equally important. We wouldn’t be where we are today had it not been for them but I look at Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and Tamir Rice like martyrs now. These guys are African Americans that died because of senseless acts of discrimination. We’re still dying for this. In a weird way, they died for us to be better, so I think it’s important to celebrate them just the same way we would Langston Hughes and Malcolm X; because while they didn’t have a cultural impact while they were alive, they’ve changed the world. There is no Black History Month without acknowledging them.
Robin: Last year there were over 200 African Americans killed at the hands of police. How many names do you plan to hit? How many burpees?
Irv Hyppolite: Writing down the names while I prep for camp gets really frustrating because there are so many. It hurts. But we’ll do as many as we can over the course of this month. At least 100- then we’ll keep going. We won’t just stop when February is over.
Photo: Irv Hyppolite's Instagram
Robin: You’ve almost created a family of strangers in the Inner U attendees. What is it that you think glues this unit together to not quit and to show up every week?
Irv Hyppolite: I think it comes from this feeling of solidarity. You don’t know this person next to you from a hole in the wall but you know they’re there for the same reason you are. We’re all wearing black so there’s an automatic sense of unity. You find comfort in that. There’s strength in numbers. So your push up is now my push up. My sweat is your sweat. And given that it’s Black History Month, a lot of us realize that we have seen the same plight. From Martin Luther King Jr. to Mike Brown these names affected all of us. The moment you realize how much work we still have to do it’s a different ball game. This isn’t just about jumping jacks. This is about making sure we live longer and produce more kings. More life. So you’re not even worried about letting yourself down. You’re worried about letting your neighbor down on the push-up line. So you’re going to give me that burpee for Alton Sterling and say his name. You’re going to give me another for Aiyana Jones and say her name. We’re going to fight through our pain because of their pain. What we’re going through for that hour has nothing on what they went through. They didn’t have a choice. We do. So at that point, you don’t even care that this is the hardest thing you’ve done all day. We have a collective understanding of why we’re here.
Robin: “This is bigger than us” Is that the mantra of the Inner U boot camp?
Irv Hyppolite: Absolutely. What you’re doing right now [health wise] will domino over to your kids, siblings, parents etc. A healthy lifestyle is important and they don’t talk to us enough about it. I believe that we have a firm responsibility to leave this planet better than we found it. Healthier than we found it. We can control that part.
Robin: What is next for you and the Inner U boot camp?
Irv Hyppolite: There are some really exciting things coming to Inner U in a few weeks, but we’re going to keep doing this. Together. Every Monday I’ll be waiting and ready to help you not only change your life but remember why your life is important. My goal is to impact the culture from a historical and celebratory standpoint. I want to keep merging the lines of health and fitness in our culture. I want to touch as many people as possible. Whether you’re there or not you’re a part of this family. My goal is for it to become the leading force in Health and Fitness for minorities. This doesn’t mean the exclusion of other groups. Celebrating our Blackness doesn’t take away from other cultures. It just says we have a lot of things to fix at home…and Inner U is going to fix it.
The Inner U Bootcamp happens every Monday at 6:30 pm in NYC. You can reserve your spot in class at QuantumLeapFitness.com and follow Irv for workout tips, and his daily motivation on Twitter and Instagram.
