It's been a long journey; but approximately 18 months later, the official JungleLift online shop is finally live. It only seemed appropriate to launch 'Fiercely Blog'd' with a celebratory hello infused with a little inspirational consideration.

The idea of creating an active lifestyle brand sprung up during a family visit in Miami, Florida. I had invested 9 years working for Canada's largest sport nutrition company and built a large network of amazing people who live and breath an active lifestyle. It was time. My sisters are heavily involved in health and fitness; it's their life, their business, their daily norm. My dad was a bodybuilder back in his younger days (way back in his prime). He often recounts his daily morning routine of downing raw eggs for breakfast then hitting the iron. He's a superhero. The passion was there, and I feel it every day.

My sister, Lorraine, is a fitness monster – she built a reputation as the ‘Squat Queen’ (Instagram @lorrainehaddad). I'll never forget the day she put me through an intense leg workouts - right before our last set of squats, she handed me a pair of compression knee sleeves and said: “here, put these on”. I looked at the sleeves then looked at her in slight confusion... they were ugly and dull. I had never worn knee sleeves before. They kind of looked like my grandmother’s old stockings but much thicker. I put them on and remember churning out the greatest set of my life! I asked her what company made them and she replied with, “I have no idea actually.” A light bulb turned on…

Everybody in life needs a mentor and genuine support

For me, mentorship is crucial because it shapes your perspective on how goals can be achieved efficiently. Keep in mind; mentors come in all different forms. I have a mentor who I call and ask questions, and then I have a few online mentors who don’t even know I exist, yet. I consider my ‘online mentors’ more so influencers, but nonetheless, they have all influenced my daily habits, including how I run my business.

My brother-in-law, Marcos, is one of my biggest mentors. He’s always willing to help and has a strong sense of genuine business ethics. While in Miami, he was hosting a seminar on how to create your own brand and use Amazon as a sales channel. Since I was on vacation and always looking for opportunities to invest in my personal growth, I attended - what a life changer. As he presented his strategies, I kept thinking about the compression knee sleeves my sister handed me at the gym. All of a sudden I thought, what a great opportunity to put my brother’s content to the test, and create a brand of 'active lifestyle accessories' that would allow people to achieve their fitness goals and live an active lifestyle. I started with a 7mm compression knee sleeve and wrote our mission statement: 'To provide “every body” with unrivaled products geared towards enhancing overall life performance'.

My family and close friends have been my strongest support system. My parents and my sisters, Rima Avellan and Lorraine Haddad are the true definition of my companies slogan, BE FIERCE. They are the truest hustlers and everything I know, I've learned from them. When times seem tough, they back me up and spot me. They are the reason JungleLift exists today.

The Jungle is about survival of the fittest. But don't be fooled, being the "fittest" extends beyond strength or intelligence... it signifies those who are most responsive to change. Through vision, determination, persistence, building a fierce network and setting goals, we are here today.

My name is George Haddad, founder of JungleLift. I prefer simply, Geo, Geo of the Jungle. Thanks for checking in and stay fiercely awesome - the world is your Jungle.

- Geo (of the JungleLift)

@thegeohaddad (Instagram) 

@thegeohaddad (Facebook)