NFL
By: Joe Cardoso
It’s great to be back sharing the stories of some of the best up and coming names in the world of fitness. With must of us still stuck at home and also unsure of a lot of things, self-reflection and getting in shape has been important for many people. It’s more than just physical shape but mental as well, and our featured athlete this month is just that. The saying that came to mind after this interview is that everyone’s journey is different, and that’s ok. The spotlight shines on the state of California as we introduce you to a young woman who is only beginning to forge her path. Introducing Connor Morgan!
Joe Cardoso: How did you go from a normal 9-to-5 to discovering fitness and turning it into the career you have today?
Connor Morgan: I went to the University of California polytechnic university of San Luis Obispo and graduated with a degree in business marketing and a minor in communications. No one in my family is an entrepreneur, so that wasn’t even a thought in my mind. I had several offers coming out of college in the marketing and sales department, but I knew I wanted to be in LA. I got my first job out of college with a company called “bay cities.” I started as a sales intern and moved my way up to a project manager in less than a year of working with the company. I was great at what I did, but I was unhappy. I felt like living in LA. I was watching all of my friends live their lives so happy, and I was stuck behind a desk. It wasn’t until I went through a really bad heartbreak in LA and not having a lot of friends there that I threw myself into the gym. I became obsessed with getting a “payback body.” The longer I was in the gym, I set more goals and started challenging myself on how I can be better at my craft. It eventually led to me competing in bodybuilding and taking on fitness full time since I loved what I did and how I made myself and others feel.
JC: Going back to the early days at what point did you feel it switched from just wanting to be in shape into this could be my new path?
CM: It hit me that this could be my calling and a career path when every time I knew I was going to the gym, the feeling I’d get inside. I was so happy, motivated, and fired up. I didn’t have this feeling in any other place but the gym. I felt like on my best days, my worst days, I could use the gym as my outlet to scream, cry, shout, rejoice, whatever it was I was feeling the gym became just that for me.
JC: How did friends and family react to the move?
CM: My dad is a preacher and is also very traditional. I’m a natural daddy’s girl and everything I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve wanted to make him proud. I was always the golden child in my family, so to take a different career path that was different from what anyone in my family knew was hard for me. I felt like I let my dad down, and all I ever wanted to hear him say was that he was proud of me. Once I started doing this and he saw how happy I was he eventually came around to support me in everything I did but it took time.
JC: For those of us who don’t know anything about it, explain holistic nutrition?
CM: Holistic health pertains to caring about a person in the sense of a whole. Providing for your physical, mental, spiritual, and social needs. It’s rooted in the understanding that all these aspects affect a person’s overall health, and being unwell in one aspect affects you in others. I came about this when I was experiencing several health problems myself, and all Drs wanted to do was throw meds at me. I realized that even with the medications they were prescribing if one area of my life was off or unbalanced, nothing else flowed or had harmony.
JC: It doesn’t take long to hop on Instagram and see you go HARD in your workouts. Where does the beast mode mindset come from?
CM: I am a natural competitor; I’m a Aries, so I’m a fire sign so anything I do I try to compete, which makes it fun for myself and allows me to challenge myself. I believe that anything a man can do in the gym a woman can do if not better, and I’ve tried to tailor my workouts to that mantra.
JC: How important is it to you to be a positive voice and role model for women of color? It’s a group we don’t see a lot of in the industry.
CM: It’s HUGE to me and something I’ve prided myself on, but I will be honest when I used to go by the name @MixedMorgan on Instagram I received a lot of backlash from people, especially my women following. People thought I was trying to use the name in a place of superiority when in reality, it was an IG name that just described me exactly as I am. I’m mixed with black and white. Being a woman in this industry and then you add on a woman of color. I want to stand up and speak on so many aspects that get overlooked. But unfortunately, I feel like my voice is downplayed a lot because I get the “how can you call yourself a woman of color when you’re mixed.” The reality is, regardless of if I’m mixed, I’m black at the end of the day. When you look at me, you see my African heritage that I couldn’t be more proud to be. My big curly hair, my big lips, my large eyes, and my skin that drips melanin. If that’s not enough to state or give my input on issues being a woman of color, I don’t have anything else to give or prove to you.
JC: 2020 has been a doozy; how have you been staying in shape and also keeping positive thru it all?
CM: I’m going to be brutally honest with you, 2o20 despite all of the tragedies, this has been an incredible year for me. I am a flight attendant on private jets, so I’m always gone traveling for half of the month every month. I never really have time to sit down and take a breather to take everything in. This quarantine has allowed me to sit and be still, to focus on my purpose that was right in front of me for the longest, but because I was so busy, I didn’t have time to utilize my gifts. I am working on two businesses that came to me during quarantine, so I’m not mad about it.
JC: Who are some of the people who inspire you and keep you going?
CM: I would say my direct circle of friends inspire me, I don’t have to look far for inspiration, and that’s the beauty in it. So many people look to celebrities for influence or guidance when it should be in your very own backyard. If you arent around friends that push you to be the best you, then you aren’t in the right group of people. I have friends with their own businesses that have guided me every step of the way and what I need to be doing. They are millionaires in their field and not only provide great insight as to the dos and don’ts but also motivate me to want to be at the top right next to them.
JC: You are a sports nutritionist, how did that come about?
CM: I started my journey in sports nutrition when I was competing in bodybuilding NPC about seven years ago. I was so fixated on keeping my lean and muscular body after shows but couldn’t figure out how to keep it when I would indulge in so much junk food after my shows. I worked my butt off and could work out for hours in the gym, but realized if I was eating badly then it all went to waste. That’s when I wanted to learn more about the body and how food is really our fuel.
JC: With six months to go without giving it all away what do you have on deck for the back half of 2020?
CM: You know, if I learned one thing in 2020 its to not plan anything actually lol. My whole life I’ve been the planner, I plan eerie hour of every day and have a checklist of things to do daily and make sure I get them done every day before I call my day complete. This 2020 has taught me that we can make all the plans we want but at the end of the day God decides where and when we move. So I am taking every day with a deep breath and in stride. I of course have things that I hope happen, but if they don’t I will be just fine and learn to adjust. 
Bonus Questions:
JC: You LOVE to travel! If you could go to only one place where would it be and why?
CM: I would go to the Maldives, it has been one of my dream places. I love a good view and a book, I can envision myself basking in the sun all day with a book, no wifi and just truly enjoying where I am. I’m actually heading there end of August with one of my best friends and I’m ecstatic, it will be the only place I’ve travel all of 2020 which is quite surprising for me.
JC: Faith and mental health play a big part in your life, why is that?
CM: I’m a preachers daughter, faith always played a huge part in my life I just wasn’t aware until I got older and built my own relationship with God. You go through certain situations that there’s no other explanation of how you got through it besides God. When you’re on your knees in your worst moment and you cry out to God for help, and you see him move things in a way that confirms he heard you, what else can you say besides “THANK YOU GOD” and therefore want to live out your life in a way that honors him because you wouldn’t be where you are today if it weren’t for him.
JC: Who is Connor Morgan?
CM: Connor Morgan is a God-fearing, driven, motivated young woman with perseverance and resilience that you don’t find amongst everyone. She’s a young woman who has just discovered her purpose, her passion and is now wholeheartedly living out her purpose in helping people heal from the inside out. She’s daring and understands the importance of taking daily risks because the best things in life make you uncomfortable. She’s a woman who after 30 years of life, finally learned to love herself, unapologetically.
With this being the early stages of Morgan finding her lane, the sky is the limit and that is super exciting. Find her online and follow her journey through social media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connormorgan/
Website: https://barerootremedy.com
I want to thank Morgan for making time for TEAM NBS, and letting inside where she’s been and wants to go. She will inspire men and women to be the best versions of themselves and adds another strong voice from a woman of color to the industry. Who will the spotlight shine on next? Make sure to follow us @Nutsand BoltsSP, stay healthy and safe.
