PHOTO | Maddie VanderKooi
Sound Mind Sound Body Academy is a health and wellness platform formed to help college students improve their mental and physical health.
Research has shown that 70% of college students gain weight in their undergraduate years. It has all shown that one-third of college students struggle with their appearance.
SMSB Academy wanted to provide a way that college students could improve their mental and physical health. The team wanted to provide for college students in a convenient, flexible and affordable manner.
“We have a passion for helping others, especially college students,” said Demarco Britton, a senior emergency management major and COO of SMSB Academy. “We want to help improve academic excellence, as well as mental and physical attributes.”
SMSB Academy also provides the opportunity for college students to expand their knowledge and career options in personal training.
There are a variety of programs that SMSB offers. In addition, they offer nutrition, exercise programs, or a combination of both. Programs can last between 3 to twelve months.
SMSB offers online training as a way to set them apart from other options available to college students.
Although SMSB Academy works mostly with college students, they also work with other client demographics.
“The habits you have now translate to the habits you have when you are older,” said Tyler Thompson, a junior Finance and Business Analytics major. “That is why our main target is college students.”
Currently, SMSB Academy has a partnership with the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). This allows the team to provide college students with a discount on personal training certifications.
They also have a partnership with Campus Protein that allows for student discounts on a wide variety of supplements.
SMSB currently consists of around 11 employees that are in and out of the state.
“I give all the credit for our success to the team,” said Jaedon Mitchell, founder, and CEO of SMSB Academy.
SMSB Academy hopes to expand its online fitness training and nutrition coaching programs to all colleges throughout Arkansas. Eventually, the team hopes to be at every college campus in the country, so they can provide more students with the resources they need to improve their mental and physical well-being.
SMSB Academy is using social media and contacts as well as the physical or health education departments to reach other colleges.
Recently SMSB Academy launched merchandise. They have a wide variety of apparel from crop tops to visors but also offer workout logs and supplements. All merchandise can be found on their website at www.smindsbody.com.
To reach a member of the SMSB Academy team, there is a contact form on their website. Once a document is filled out, a fitness professional will reach out. They can also be found on Instagram @smsb_academy.
