“I really want to be an entrepreneur and own a gym. I want to help people work out and learn about the body. I got into fitness through sports, like football, boxing, and powerlifting. When you’re in football, working out is like second nature. I felt like I didn’t win the day if I didn’t work out. It was something that I had fun with, and I want to have fun when I go to work. I want a gym that’s almost like a hard gym and then has a commercial side to it. When you do powerlifting, you can’t go to a commercial gym to work out and deadlift. I want a powerlifting side where we can do hard workouts and be comfortable, and the other side will be a commercial gym for everybody else. We would want to reach everybody.

Actually, I just transferred back to JSU from another school in Texas. I left JSU in 2020 to play football out there. Once I graduate, I’m going to move back to Texas. I already have friends out there who are on the same page as me. Right now, it’s six people on the team, but sometimes it grows. I’ll discuss my idea with somebody, and they’ll ask if they can assist. And it’s not just personal trainers. I have people who do videography, which is good for marketing. I have people who are good with accounting. And I’m the CEO.

I know a lot of people who want to be entrepreneurs are just trying to get rich quickly, and they aren’t really focused on the process. They don’t really see the small steps, like making your first $1,000 or $2,000. But there are steps to it. You’re probably going to mess up like a hundred times until you get it right. And I’m not trying to live a fast life with a flashy lifestyle. I just want to be able to take care of my family, my future kids, and my kids’ kids. I want to set something up for them so they’ll be straight.”

– Alvin, senior business administration major from Hattiesburg, Miss.