Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrice Chatmon.
Hi Patrice, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m from Dallas, Tx. I grew up in South Dallas. It was rough so I was molded by my environment to be a little rough around the edges. It adds a sprinkle of additional spice to my personality so I’m cool with it. During the majority of my childhood I attended school on the south side but I went to High School in a different district which I believe changed my trajectory. Shortly after I graduated high school I was enrolled at Stephen F. Austin and finished my final years of college at The University of North Texas. While in school I studied Kinesiology and Psychology. This is what fueled the start of my fitness journey. I fell in love with fitness in college. My friend would go to the gym to train and would occasionally take me with him. He was in the military at the time so he had to do a routine fitness test. Initially. I was majoring in Nursing but my newfound love for wellness prompted me to switch to Kinesiology. I’ve sustained this lifestyle every since. People often mention their bad habits but I like to point out fitness as a great habit of mine that has turned into a lifestyle. I always say that Kinesiology taught me all about the body (physical plane) and psychology helped me understand the mental/emotional planes. In addition to that, for the past six years, I’ve taken courses and conducted research in metaphysics, philosophy, and deepening my understanding of the spiritual. This year I created an organization where I can nerd out and share all the information I”ve learned and will continue to learn.
Alright, 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?
There isn’t such a thing as a life without struggle being that the sole purpose of challenges are to evoke growth. A huge obstacle of mine has been the conditions I was born into. Aristotle once said, “Give me the child until he is 7 and I will show you the man”. It hints at the fact that during this period of development children are like sponges and these formative years are a huge determining factor in who we become in our adult lives. As a child, each day I went out into the world and saw violence, prostitution, drugs, poor housing conditions, and people who were really struggling to stay afloat. Honestly, I didn’t even have to go out anywhere to witness this, I could simply look out my window and it was all right there. There was no representation of success or healthy habits around so how was I to know what I could achieve. It took years of psychological reprogramming to simply believe that I was capable of becoming anything beyond what I had seen growing up. But that environment was derived from a system designed to keep me in a state of hopelessness and despair. Luckily a power greater than me carried me through.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I have an organization called Harmony Collective. I created it to have something which housed all my passions under one roof. At the base of this organization is fitness, since that’s where it all started for me. I host fitness workouts from various modalities such HIIT style bootcamps, pilates, yoga, etc. At the start of each session I usually incorporate an educational component on one of the many topics I’ve researched such as spirituality, metaphysics, philosophy, holistic wellness, etc. These are short, engaging segments. The workouts last between 30-45 minutes. Lastly, there is a 5- 10 minute mindfulness component at the end (breath work, meditation, reflection, etc). These classes are at the heart of the organization but the goal is to create a network of healers, mental health professionals, herbalist, etc as a resource for people in underprivileged communities especially.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Probably the fact that I do come from such humble beginnings.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://weriseinharmony.com
- Instagram: harmonycollectiveatx
- LinkedIn: Patrice Chatmon
