We get interactive with Hurricane, a Fitness Trainer and Model. Trust me when I say he is your MCM's MCM. He has a lovely personality and is also a social media icon.
Lets get to know you. Where did you grow up and how was it like?
I am Jeffery Duffour Nyanor I was born and raised in Kumasi all my life. All my schooling has been in Kumasi. I attended Montessori School right from primary school to Junior High School, I went to Opoku Ware Secondary School and then KNUST. I am in a family of six, made up of three siblings, my parents and myself.
What are three things about you that the public don't know?
The public don't know I am an Introvert, they don't know I am shy and finally they don't know I am an artist.
How did you get into modeling?
It all started when my cousin told me about this casting for modeling. She spoke to the directors of the casting and they called me up. So I didn't even have to buy the forms. They made me walk, put on a straight face and then I passed and was selected.
Why the nickname Hurricane? how did it come about
When you look up the meaning of Hurricane you find out that it is a strong wind. The emphasis here is on the "Strong" aspect. Hurricanes are known to change the lives of people negatively but this Hurricane is the positive kind, which brings positive changes in the lives of people through health and fitness.
Why did you decide to enter into fitness training?
First of all I started working out because I wanted to be healthy, look good in clothes and all that. Then I got to a point where I realized it made me confident and very healthy and I haven't fallen sick and been to the hospital in the last five years since I started working out. I wanted other people to experience the same thing; train others and make them feel good. A lot of people are not happy about their bodies because they know they are fat and cannot do much about it so then they need somebody like me to motivate them and to push them so that they can be fit and feel good about themselves and feel confident
Do you get support
from family?
No
I haven't had support from family since day one. My dad once said "Why
would I put you through school and you choose to become a Gym
Instructor", but now that my dad is realizing the importance of what I
am doing; getting the opportunity to go outside and training people so now
he's beginning to understand me. But I haven't gotten support from them
since day one.
What has been your
biggest challenge in modeling and fitness training?
My biggest challenge has been my family. They have not been approving of what I am doing this whole time. So my parents understanding me has been a very big challenge for me
Which personality(ies)
do you look up to in the modeling and fitness training industries ?
I don't have a lot of personalities I look up to but there is one that I look up to. He is Simon Panda. He's based in the UK, he goes around the world preaching to people about health and fitness. He has his own brand, work-out apparels and all that so he's a big inspiration
What motivates you
to do whatever you do or where do you draw your motivation from?
Determination, Drive and Discipline. Those are my three D's and also seeing people achieve their results motivates me
You are a social
media sensation; judging from the huge number of followers you have on your
social media accounts especially Instagram. How did you manage to reach that
feat?
I try to put a lot of stuff out there on my social media pages because if you don't post usually, people don't follow but if you post all the time, people go and check. I always try to put quality stuff out there. I pay photographers to take pictures so that my page looks good. Sometimes I pay not less than GHS 300 for photographers to take a shoot to post on Instagram. Some might wonder why I pay so much to put pictures on my Instagram? It's because I want my page to look good. People will tag others and it will go viral. Currently I have about 64k followers on Instagram and I am looking forward to increase to about a 100k
Tell us about some
of your most exciting moments as a model and fitness trainer so far
My most exciting moment was when I got an email from Men's Health Magazine to come and cast for the cover page and also when my clients get their desired results and are happy. During my boot camp in the states, most of my clients lost about 25 to 30lbs in about three months and that's like 10 pounds every month and that's really great. They were happy and even when I was coming back to Ghana some of them were crying and all that. It's an amazing experience
Have you won any
awards or nominations?
I was nominated for Most Sought-After Male in at the Business School Awards and also for the Most Famous and I won that award for Most Sought-After Male last year.
Do you work alone or
with a team
I used to work alone for a very long time now but recently I am beginning to bring other people on board.
At
what point do you consider to be your breakthrough point
That was when I got interviews form a couple of people and very big pages re-posting my stuff on the internet. I also got the opportunity to go the States to do a boot camp and all.
Where do you like to
hang out?
Well, I like to hang out most of the time in the gym. I don't do clubbing anymore. I used to club with friends but it got to a point that I had to wake up early in the morning and sleep late at night and so it wouldn't help if I club all night. So now I don't club anymore I rather hang out in the gym
Do you play any
sport? Which is your favorite
I play a lot of sports but basketball is my favorite. I learned how to play hockey, volleyball and even went to the extent of playing netball even though its for girls. I play table tennis too but I love basketball.
Is it true that when you work out in the gym and engage in a lot of running it stretches out your muscles?
No its a lie. That's why people don't like to do cardio. Running is a source of cardio. They think when you do a lot of running your going to lose your muscles but that's not how it is. If you want definition, you have to add cardio to weight training so that as you are losing fat, you will be building muscles
Are
modelling and fitness training lucrative?
If I tell you modelling and fitness training in Ghana is lucrative then I would be lying because even with modelling people want to use you for commercials and they don't want to pay. Recently, people hit me up that they want me to do a photo shoot for their apparels and clothing lines. When you ask them how much they are willing to pay and they start insulting you and go like "Ei you want money?" but I can't come and take pictures for free when you will go and sell the things and make money. You have to pay for my services. A lot of people also don't understand the importance of fitness and training. They don't want to pay a trainer to help them stay fit.
Tell us about your online training
I have a couple of clients around the world, in the UK and in the States where I train them online, like work-out coaching I give them routines and make sure they do it. We communicate online on Skype and Face-time pr sometimes I just call and I show them how to do the exercises and find out how they are doing with respect to their diets and all that.
What do you do to
relax?
Swimming. I love to swim, read and watch movies
Tell us about your
upcoming project(s)
I have a tour to various tertiary institutions in Ghana coming up and I have a tour in the United States coming up next year. I have work-out apparels coming up. Our t-shirts are out. Also a 12-week and 30-day challenges are also coming up. I do fitness exercises at the parade ground on Saturdays which is free for everybody, to help people realise the importance of fitness. My Website is also under construction; there would be work-out routines, work-out plans diet plans etc. It would come out by the end of the year
Have you had any
regrets so far with what you do?
I don't think I have any regrets but then it would be not doing Visual Arts. I didn't follow my passion and that's one thing that I always regret.
What food do you
enjoy most?
I enjoy Fufu a lot you know, typical Kumasi guy haha... but I also eat oat meals a lot because they are good for the body. A lot of people think that I take in supplements. Not that I have anything against supplements but I don't take supplements. I eat very well, I eat about four to five times in a day to feed the muscles. Some even ask me if I take steroids and I wonder if you will even find steroids here in Ghana? I don't take steroids and I don't take supplements.
Which countries outside Ghana have you been to?
I have been to the UK, I have been to the United States, Dubai and Nigeria.
Do you receive
criticism for your work? If yes how do you respond to them?
Yeah! a lot of them. It got to a point where people were like "Ei he doesn't train his legs", "He doesn't do this or that", "He's always showing off" some even say I am rude even though they have not met me.
As I said, the opinions of people do not count if you are doing the right thing. People who know you will say its not true. Sometimes I use the negative sides to improve upon myself like the legs issue for instance, I used to work on my upper body a lot but when people started talking about my legs I worked on them and now they are in shape!
When people say negative stuff about you, don't worry just use it to improve on yourself
How do clients contact you?
They send me emails at info@hurricanegh.com and hurricanegh@gmail.com. People also send me direct messages on Instagram and on Facebook.
