Earl “E.DOT” Hackney III was born on the east side of Detroit Michigan. His parents had a total of four children, three daughters plus their youngest and only son, whom they named Earl. I had the opportunity to speak with Earl about what led to his personal decision to walk away from a music deal as a secular artist and run toward Christ.
When God is calling, you have to answer.
I am SUPER excited to announce that over the next few weeks, we'll have a series of posts from guest bloggers. It's a big deal for us, because it allows us to collaborate and connect with other like-minded souls, and to share their amazing life experiences with you, our beloved Shazzy Fitness family. Each of our guest bloggers has been prayerfully selected, and share our same characteristics of high standards, integrity, courage, confidence and most of all, faith.
I am often asked how I came up with idea, what was the inspiration for Shazzy Fitness. Of course, I have to give all glory and honor to God. I'm really not sure exactly when I began to think that I might actually start a business. That came many, many years after the concept was revealed to me. I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. It seemed way too risky, way too unpredictable.
I really can't believe the weekend is here. The entire week has been a bit of a whirlwind. Today is actually a very special day because we will be leading the first official Shazzy Fitness class at a church in Alpharetta, Georgia. Since releasing the video, people have been asking us, "Where can I take a class?".
Today's workout is the VICTORY workout. This workout contains one of the fan faves - a Bollywood inspired routine that is probably one of the most talked about routines on the DVD. It has a lot of repetition, which makes it fairly easy to learn - but the moves are deceivingly intense.
As many early mornings and late nights that we've spent planning, rehearsing, filming, creating ... well, you'd think we'd know everything about each other by now! Strangely enough, although we all agree that Team Shazzy is like family now, there are many times when we still find ourselves very much still getting to know each other. Last month, I had a chance to sit down and talk to Vera Rose about her decision to become a professional dancer and choreographer. We'd spoken about it a few months back, and I knew then that this was a message that needed to be shared.
As important as physical fitness is, it is also important that we keep in mind our “spiritual fitness”. Spiritual fitness can be developed by studying the word of God and strengthening our relationship with Him. I like to refer to this as working out with the word. The word of God bears fruit. Keep this in mind next time you find trouble or sorrow. God is always with you. When you confide in him you can find comfort, joy, and peace.
They say that college should be the most care-free time of your life – boy were they wrong. Coming into college, I was that misguided freshman who really believed that I would never take an 8am, I’d have too much free time, and that independence was something I should relish in. I never imagined that my days would start at 7am (sometimes 6!), that watching TV would be a privilege and that with independence came financial independence from my parents’ bank account as well.
On Monday January 13, 2014, we made our television debut on ‘Atlanta and Company After Noon’ with host Rashan Ali. No surprise - Team Shazzy was incredible, as always. Our newest dancers – Coty and Kristin - fit right in, as if they’d been on with us forever. I say "us", but our choreographers and the dancers really do all the work. Two years later and I still stand in awe about how God brought us all together.
There are only 24 hours in a day and sometimes it just feels like we need more. But we’ve got a secret that can help you make time to have fun, build your faith and get in shape! Every year we all make resolutions to better ourselves. These often include getting into better shape, building our faith, and making more “me time”. Shazzy Fitness allows you to do all of those things in one easy to follow DVD dance fitness work out. Shazzy Fitness DVDs offer multiple 10-minute, heart-pumping routines to faith-based hip-hop music specifically choreographed to maximize the fat burn while fitting into even the busiest of schedules.
