Written By: Samanatha Cee

Photography: John Sosa Photography | Assist Wardrobe Stylist:Denise Styless | Makeup: Nydia Figueroa | Hair: Tia Lia Kim | Publicist Yvone Forbes

Eszylfie Taylor Interview for GXD Magazine

Conducted/transcribed by Devyn Imholt

Q: Where are you from?

A: Pasadena, California.

Q: What is a financial advisor and why is having one so important?

A: A financial advisor is someone that helps you create and maintain your financial planning. It’s important because if you plan enough then you will hit it with amazing accuracy.

Q: Can you tell us about your journey and what inspired you to start a career in finance?

A: I am very entrepreneurial. My journey started one way, I wanted to make a lot of money and create financial freedom for myself. That shifted over the years to really having a passion and the mission to help other people and make an impact in the world. That’s what drives me today.

Q: What type of clients do you typically work with?

A: I work with a variety of people. Athletes, entertainers, celebrities, business owners, and professionals. Over the course of my career, I’ve worked with everyone you can think of.

Q: If someone doesn't have that much money for a financial advisor would you be able to work something out with them?

A: I think it’s important for people to get educated and to get guidance. Whether they work with an advisor or they use a DIY model, the true key is getting educated, one, and second, taking action and doing something.

Q: What is some financial advice you can give to entrepreneurs and public figures?

A: A true business runs in spite of you, not because of you. Build out your business and make sure you have something that has scale and that runs independent of you, or at least could, in time, run independent of you, so that you’re not stuck on a hamster wheel.

Q: Are you only working with celebrity clients? Would you be able to tell us who you have been working with recently?

A: I’m working with good people. I work with all kinds of people. The reality of it is most of my clients are professionals and business owners. The celebrity clients probably get more notoriety but I work with many professionals.

Due to confidentiality, I don’t get into the nuances of who I am working with in specifics. I can say you watch them play football on Sundays, you watch them on the big screens, you buy their music. I think the one thing that I would impart in working with celebrities and the average person is, really, there is not a lot different. They put their pants on one leg at a time too. They have hopes, aspirations, and fears like anyone else, it’s just the way they make their money is different.

Q: You have a reality show now airing on a major network called Mind Body Money that you are the executive producer for. Where can we tune in and can you tell us what the show is about? You also have an app that correlates with the show also called Mind Body Money. Please tell us about the app and how we can effectively utilize the app on a daily basis.

A: The show airs on Impact Network. Mind Body Money is basically a show that chronicles my journey and the people in my life’s journey to become the best versions of themselves. We have seen cribs and lifestyles of the rich and famous and all of these things, so we see what’s possible, but what we don’t ever get to see is the how. How do you get it, and more importantly, how do you keep it? That’s sort of what the whole show is.

The app is meant to give some actionable fans more information than the show can in thirty minutes. There are a variety of thought leaders and professionals across those three disciplines, of mind body and money, providing insight and guidance to the user. It’s designed to help everyone be better.

Q: What made you want to expose your personal life on television? I'm sure we will see all the ups and downs where you are uncomfortable at first. Any regrets?

A: I don’t know that I ever really wanted to expose my life. The reason I wanted to do it is that I think it’s important that America sees somebody who’s a man of color, who’s a professional, who’s building business, who stands in their family and is trying to make it. By no means am I perfect. By no means do I have all the answers, but, you know, I’m grinding. To see what that journey looks like I think is important. More people in America are going to walk my walk and resonate with what I’m doing than they are a Hollywood athlete or entertainer because those are the minority. How many of us have a business? How many of us have kids? How many of us have challenges with our health, mental or physical, or with money? That’s a majority of people, right? I feel like I’m able to cast a wider net and have a greater level of relatability than the athlete or entertainer.

I don’t regret anything. Everything happens for a reason. Could I do things different or better? Yea, sure. I feel like I am exactly where I am supposed to be and so I embrace it. No winning or losing, there’s winning and learning. I’ve had a great deal of learning experiences and challenges through this and I feel like I’ll be better on the way out, for sure.

Q: You are a yoga instructor as well. How has yoga helped with your mental health and peace of mind? Is there one simple yoga position that you recommend that we can all do each day to prepare for our day?

A: Really, focusing on both the physical and spiritual reset. It’s something I can do to focus on myself, you know, to improve myself, and have balance. You can’t work work work work and give give give give and not fill your own cup. You’re emptying it, you can’t be of much use to anybody

I’m a big believer in manifestation. People could take a moment to close their eyes and bring their hands to a prayer position at their chest and just give thanks. Thanks that they woke up this morning, thanks that they can move their body, thanks that they can push forward. Big inhale breath in, big open mouth exhale, and go win the day.

Q: As a man who wears many hats including being a dad how do you balance work, TV, and personal family time?

A: You have to be pretty intentional about it. Days fly by and I get pulled in a lot of directions, I used to deem taking breaks as weakness. Now I think they’re necessary to maintain connections with your friends and family and to have balance. A work in progress.

Q: You also love working with the youth. Can you tell us about your Basketball league and the event that you have coming up?

A: I have a basketball camp I founded nineteen years ago called Future Stars. I do a camp every summer for kids in LA. I have two charity fundraising events that I put on each year to raise money so I can scholarship kids to come to camp and also finish school. I have an upcoming charity gala here in LA where I have a list of clients, friends, and celebrities that will come out and support. Musical performances by Jordin Sparks among others. Super excited about that, what a great night it will be.