Malik Reid’s journey into fitness and his business venture in health, wellness, and personal training emerged during a tough time in the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming from a low socioeconomic background in St Thomas and growing up without a father in the household, Reid faced his own set of struggles. After leaving Jamaica College, he fell into depression and found himself at a crossroads. It was through this challenging period that he turned to fitness, ultimately leading to the creation of Nutri Motion.

“My fitness journey started in 2020. I was at home, and I started because genuinely, I was going through severe depression. As a youth, I was around 19 years old, [dealing with depression]. One of my friends was going through the same thing, and he was in a worse state than mine. Together, we decided to turn to fitness,” Reid, a 23-year-old who is working to complete a Sport Medicine major and Athletic Training minor at the University of Technology, told Lifestyle.

Reid said that to start his fitness journey, all he did was create concrete weights at home and began weightlifting and bodyweight training during the pandemic, “And, then after a while, I got so good at fitness [so] I [decided] to start personal training, when I was in my third year at UTech,” Reid added.

Fast forward to 2022, Reid started his brand, Nutri Motion, as a way to offer meal planning services and live out his love for cooking.

“…Plus it was a means to make extra money on the side, because I was only going to school at the time. When I was on dorm, I used to keep Barbecue Saturdays. I [would] normally make honey barbecue chicken and sweet potato fries [and sell them] from around 2 p.m. in the evenings to around 3 a.m. in the morning, it [eventually] became big. A lot of residents, advisors and students bought and the business grew from there.”

He continued, “I then got advice by a lot of people that I should start my own business, so I started transitioning to more healthy meals given that I was growing both as a trainer and a chef. I started making salads and protein bowls. That’s where it [Nutri Motion] originally started,” he said.

As he creates meal plans for his clients, Reid says he does his research by reading books and watching videos to prepare and perfect healthy recipes.

BODYBUILDING

Reid now has his sights set on outperforming his counterparts in the upcoming Jamaica Bodybuilding & Fitness Association (JABBFA) men’s physique competition in June. With that goal in mind, he is already bulking four months in advance.

“That’s my fitness goal for 2025. I’m on a bulk right now. Muscle gain, circuit and I’m looking forward to competing in June in the men’s physique category,” he said.

He said he is currently increasing his daily calorie intake by 300 to 500 calories to bulk, while also engaging in resistance and heavy weight training at least three times per week. And for bulking, he shares insight into his daily consumption pattern.

“I get in three solid meals per day, so a breakfast consisting of high protein in the form of eggs. I also eat rice cakes for carbs, and when I can [I add] almond butter and nut butter to the rice cakes. For lunch, I normally have high protein and moderate carbs in the form of chicken breasts, sweet potatoes and rice, and for dinner, it’s basically the same thing. In between those meals, I normally do a weight gain smoothie; so that’s a protein smoothie, which includes oats, bananas, vanilla [and] peanut butter,” he said.

For those looking to build strength, improve their fitness, or even step into entrepreneurship, Reid shares four key principles that have guided his journey:

1. Start small, and the stepping stones will appear. This means beginning with simple actions, like going to the gym and exercising, and then other ideas and objectives will follow.

2. Focus on achieving small goals, like eating clean, staying hydrated, and completing specific exercises during each gym session.

3. You only have one life, so make the most of it by taking action now. Start your fitness journey and take risks–because a risk is always better than regret, and doing is always better than not doing.

4. Live your life in the best version of yourself.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com