Fashion Gxd Magazine - Leighton Edwards Entrepreneur Cover (Print Issue NOW Available)
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Here at Natural Herbal Labs we formulate and manufacture premium, organic and herbal health products. Our products are formulated to naturally and organically help improve a person's quality of life.
If you have any questions or concerns about which product may be the best for you, based on your specific health need, please do not hesitate to reach out to us for a little bit more information on our herbal products. We are here to assist you and provide you with additional knowledge to improve your holistic health.
Tell us about yourself?
I am very passionate about health and fitness. I am a people person & it is my goal to change the world with healthy, natural products & fitness. I am a leader, very strong minded & humble, yet I am very confident in my knowledge of herbs, their benefits & fitness.
How did you begin your journey in fitness?
I got into fitness in high school. I was in 9th grade when a girl made fun of me and said that I was too skinny. She asked why I was wearing an open V-neck shirt with no chest - that's when I started working out.
I started lifting weights every day after school and as a result, my physique started to change, so naturally, other kids started coming to me for fitness tips. And as I gave them tips, it turned into 1 hour workout sessions.
A few years later, I was enrolled at Norwalk Community College, in Connecticut to earn a 2-year associates degree in Exercise Science. I also did my internship at the Norwalk Community College gym and was given the role of gym/facility manager. My role included human resources, cleaning the facility, and training clients that came to the gym - It was a mandatory internship requirement that I trained actual clients.
For example, I had to know how to modify my training sessions to meet the different health needs of my clients. I had to know how to train someone that had high blood pressure, a male or female client with irregular heartbeats, someone who was wheelchair bound, or a male/female who was a diabetic, 250lbs and 5ft tall and so on.
I enjoyed my internship and did such a good job that the clients started to tip me $20 - $25 for the hour. I then found out that other trainers were charging clients $100 - $120 per hour. So, naturally I decided to privately train clients for 1 hour and only charge $50 - this was back in 2006/2007.
In 2007 when I graduated, I was hired by NY Sports Club, in Stamford, CT. And that is when my Personal Training Career officially started - I was now a Certified Personal Trainer.
THE MAN BEHIND THE LEGACY
How did you begin your journey on herbal healing?
I have been into herbs since the age of 9, while growing up in Jamaica. I grew up among a lot of Rastafarians and elders in the community with knowledge of herbs. At the age of 9, I contracted a serious scalp infection that was similar to ringworm and for 1 year my mother took me to many different doctors that prescribed many different types of medicated shampoos, ointments, creams and oral medications, including antibiotics; and nothing worked.
And as a 9-year-old boy, other children made fun of me for that entire year, even when I wore a hat to cover the infection - they shamed and mocked me, even sometimes took my hat away - it was horrible and the infection continued to get worse.
It wasn’t until an elderly woman in the community approached my mother and asked, “don’t you see his head is going to rotten off? Everything that you've been doing isn't working. Why don't you wash his head in warm water, rub Aloe Vera all over his head and put him in the sun.” My mother took her advice, we did the same routine every day and within 1 Week the infection cleared up.
That was when I realized just how powerful herbs were and that they could be used as natural medicines to heal ourselves.
Three years later when I caught the chickenpox, that same elderly lady again said, that instead of using the medicated lotions that the doctors were recommending, that we should instead go pick some tamarind leaves, steep them in hot water and when the water cools, that I should bathe in that tamarind water - and within a week the chickenpox went away.
This is now the second time that I was sick and herbs healed me. So now I was even more interested in learning about specific herbs and their healing benefits.
Years later after migrating to the United States and falling in love with working out and wanting to be just like my idol Arnold Schwarzenegger; I decided to be a bodybuilder. I started entering bodybuilding competitions but I wanted to go the natural way. I also noticed that many of the bodybuilders would take certain diuretics to make their abdominal muscles look more profound.
THE MAN BEHIND THE GLOBAL IMMUNITY BRAND
I wanted my stomach to look ripped as well, so I knew that the herb senna would send me to the bathroom and the more that I went to the bathroom the flatter my stomach is going to be, as a result I started boiling the leaves and made a tea; but then I also remembered that dandelion is another herb that would make me sweat and urinate allowing me to get rid of excess water weight, so I also started boiling the dandelion leaves and root to make a separate tea.
Then a light bulb went off and I decided to combine the two, the senna leaves, the dandelion (both root and the leaves), boiled them together and made a tea - and this was my first herbal diuretic formulation.
I was excelling in the competitions; I even won a few 1st place trophies. Other competitors started to take notice and they started asking me about my methods, all i would do is go in my bag and show them the herbs - and they would be shocked to know that I was naturally achieving my results, with no pills, synthetic drugs or boosters.
Many wanted the herbs but once I explained that they had to boil it to make a tea, they were discouraged by the additional work. They only wanted the finished product. They wanted me to make the tea for them … and so I did. I started to boil the two ingredients (senna leaves and dandelion (leaves & root); I got bottles and gave it to them, but then they gave me money in return. Once they gave me money, a lightbulb went off - I was like wow, I could actually sell this. I then started to call it the BBL Cleanser (Body By Leighton Cleanser) and created a small, but simple label and started bottling the tea in plastic bottles. I then started giving it to my fitness clients for free, so that they could try it. Once they fell in love with it I started to charge them. I started off selling it for $5 a bottle now today it retails for about $25 and is now known as The Flatbelly Tea. After much more research and expanding my knowledge of herbs, over the past few years the formula has definitely gotten better, it contains much more herbal ingredients for additional health benefits.
Since then, I have grown and now manufacture several other natural and herbal products that benefit people with many different health issues.
Some of the products include: The Immunity Formula with Elderberry, Echinacea & Mullein; The Diabetes Formula; The Hempseed Tonic with Cannabidiol Hemp Extracts (CBD), Moringa, Turmeric & Soursop; The Super-C Turmeric with Amla, Neem & Astragalus; The Libido Formula; Liquid Elderberry blend with Zinc, Vitamin C & Echinacea; The Immunity 21 with 21 essential herbs and Mushrooms.
THE MAN BEHIND THE GLOBAL IMMUNITY BRAND
How does your athletic sportswear connect with your fitness and herbal healing products?
I have always been a person that likes to dress up and look good and I also love to see when people look good. Looking good makes people feel good about themselves, but that is not why I decided to start my sneaker line or why I decided to put my logo on clothing for my clients.
I started putting my logo on clothing and items for my clients as a thank you to them - it was to show appreciation to my clients for training with me, and then others started wanting to purchase the items (hats, t-shirts, tank tops, socks, etc.).
I started the sneaker line not for fashion, but simply because many of my clients were asking me for advice on the best sneakers to purchase for my classes. Clients that had flat feet, high arches or knee problems would experience pain or discomfort and were restricted when doing certain exercises.
It did not make sense to me that I was recommending other sneaker companies when I could simply make my own sneakers that were specific to the needs of my clients and many others. So, I decided to contact a manufacturer that could help me make specific sneakers that would support people with flat feet, or had high arches and for individuals with knee pain or people that worked in industries that required a lot of standing or walking.
I knew what I wanted the sneakers to look like, so I sketched it out, took it to a graphic designer and had the image digitized and then I sent it to the manufacturer. The colors that I chose were because I am big on fashion and so I went for bold, vibrant colors - that give off good energy.
Many of my clients are young women and women tend to love colors that make them feel and look good.
If you had to connect fitness healing and fashion, how would you do it?
It’s very simple because I genuinely care about the health and wellness of others. Once I have you as an audience, not only am I talking to you about my fitness classes. I am discussing which of the sneakers may be the best fit for you, which of the product(s) may be the best one for you to take based on your personal health and goals. I will naturally share my knowledge of herbs, diet etc.
And remember, my “fashion” sneakers are not just for fashion, they provide wellness benefits that support your back, knee, hips and arches and in addition be comfortable and trendy. In addition, my natural, herbal products address many health benefits and don’t just target one specific issue in the body. It is my belief that when you’re healthy you look good and you feel good.
THE MAN BEHIND THE LEGACY
Many of my clients come to me for health reasons or because their doctor is recommending that they take their health seriously or simply to start a fitness regimen and lose weight. As a result, it is very easy to tie in all aspects of my business with my clients - People want to look good, feel good and be healthy.
What's next for you on your journey?
It is my goal to travel the world to share my knowledge of herbs and fitness, sell my products and teach my fitness classes to stadiums filled with people.
I would ultimately like to do healing and cleansing retreats where people not only get access to my products and fitness classes, but they also learn about diets and changing their lifestyles and health in general.
How can people find you?
People can find me online at www.naturalherballabs.com
Phone: (866) 515-2945
Email: BodyByLeighton@gmail.com
Fitness Page: www.BodyByLeighton.Live
Instagram:
Natural Herbal Labs (@naturalherballabs) • Instagram photos and videos ,
Leighton Edwards (@bodybyleighton_mogul) • Instagram photos and videos
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