Today we’d like to introduce you to Darius Yancy.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Darius. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Right after high school, in 2009, I went straight into training to be a Pro MMA Fighter. Coming from a wrestling background, it made so much sense for that to be the next step. So I spent the next couple of years competing as an Amateur & Pro Fighter till 2014. By that time, I was in Texas to visit my Dad before going to Canada to better myself as a fighter with UFC vet Jeff Joslin. But I grew to love Dallas and ended up getting the opportunity to train others, which started at Crowbar Cardio with Molly Setnick teaching spin, circuits and other channels of group training while still training myself. Never before had I loved anything as much as training myself till I got the opportunity to help someone feel better. So one day, my Coach and #1 mentor Sayif Saud said, “why aren’t you at practice?” and me explaining like I was cheating on my sport. After telling him how I grew to love giving what I know more than competing, he said, “you’re doing a service to others and for that, I am beyond proud.” Not long passed till Sayif opened his own gym and allowed me to be one of the head trainers there, which has been ranked #1 MMA Gym in the world.
So I’ve now made it my purpose to bring confidence and strength to everyone via movement/exercise. I don’t call it fitness because not everyone does fitness and the title is watered down due to social media. But movement is something everyone does without question so I got certified in Functional Training. So in addition to everyone’s goals, I focus on conditioning the body to continue to make memories through functional training and confidence building through Martial Arts (boxing, kickboxing, self-defense to name a few) through the most enjoyable ways to sweat and in turn I created M.O.V.E. HQ. The M.O.V.E. stands for Making Others Value Effort because too many feel they aren’t doing enough but sadly are operating off of someone else’s timeline on Instagram. So with how I train my clients, they get to grow at their own pace in the most fun ways. Last but far from least, My wife Carley and I run a non-profit called Sweat 4 Service, so thinking on it all, I’m super blessed and so happy that God allows me to give the way I do.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When Covid hit, it definitely shook what I do cause I’m such an in-person type of coach/trainer. I LOVE humans! But, I had to tell myself what I tell my clients “improvise, adapt and overcome. So I used Instagram.com to still train clients is even acquired some new ones doing so! Since the quarantine has ended and our training facility is open again, I now require at least the client or myself to wear a mask, which most times is myself with it on because they are working much harder and it is high be breathe when doing strenuous activity. Its awesome Fortis MMA is never packed tight as we have a member limit and two turf rooftops so he’s impossible to be crowded. I love it.
I had to change the way we run our non-profit as well. No more, large groups so we now host a live event on social media and dedicate them to different organizations, which now can be anywhere so overall, this has helped me to expand all I do.
Please tell us about M.O.V.E. HQ.
M.O.V.E. HQ again focuses on making others value effort. So I specialize in Functional Training, which trains the body to move more efficiently and Striking/Self Defense to gain confidence and mental health with programming catered to my clients so they can advance with me via one on one, free additional group classes, movehq. A fun website with a live circuit, strength-based classes with an exercise library and I also give every couple of months what I call “Month of Champions” where I test our progress together over the course of three weeks worth of personal challenges and a 4th week for those who want to compete with others. Plus, I give challenges with modifications so everyone can join in! It’s a “we” thing!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memory is either beating my older brother in a basketball game for PlayStation or eating a zebra cakes. They used to cost 25 cents. Now they are 75 cents!!! But I don’t know that.
Pricing:
- $70 for 45 mins
- $90 for hour
Contact Info:
- Website: movehq.fun ( website is under construction & will be live Nov. 1st )
- Email: ourmovehq@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Photography for some images done by
Instagram @ta_visuals
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