GUTS AND GLORY “GERSHON BLYDEN: ERNIE DELGROSSO THE MIDAS TOUCH” WRITTEN BY AKIN FADAIRO 26 Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - <strong>Innovate</strong>
Most successful businesses are born out of necessity. Whether it is from social or personal needs, filling the void that affects others is tantamount to creating many of the leading innovators of our generation. Meet Gershon Blyden, co-founder to: InHouse Group, Triafit, and LegacyChamp.com. Gershon is no stranger to the competitive spirit. Originally from a wealth management background, Blyden adapted the skills he learned while navigating the investment marketplace and charting the financial success of the wealthy, to giving back to the small businesses that need it most. His unique ability to implement strategic financial maneuvers has constantly yielded success for the companies he has mentored and advised. So much so that he was able to co-found InHouse Group, an investment firm that provides capital and critical business acumen to minority owned businesses. Located in New York, InHouse Group has helped many community based enterprises achieve financial success in industries where small minority owned business have been historically underrepresented. And it was no surprise that he brought that invaluable experience to his latest endeavor –TriaFit. The world’s Ironmen and Triathlons are words that from the outside seem to only include a select group of people that have superhuman abilities to push themselves to the furthest extent of what their bodies allow. But what many people don’t know is that this is a sporting division of which is terribly underrepresented by culturally diverse groups. A creative and unconventional entrepreneur, Blyden witnessed this disparity firsthand after completing his first Ironman competition with two of his closest friends. The success of this great achievement had been marred by the fact that he and his friends were just a handful of the African-Americans in the race. A race that was documented on film by Affiliate Media LLC and is titled: “From Ordinary to Extraordinary”. From his Ironman experience, Blyden has questioned why there is such a great disparity of racial representatives, where African-Americans count for just 0.5% of all participants throughout the sport of triathlons. Through his research, Blyden discovered that African-Americans, although generally accepted as being naturally athletic, were stereotyped as being incapable of the discipline necessary to compete in and complete endurance races. Blyden was so disheartened by this misconception that he decided to leave his corporate career in the financial sector and focus his unique perspective and personal passion for enriching the lives of others through TriaFit. TriaFit is a cutting edge triathlon fitness brand dedicated to raising awareness and promoting cultural inclusion. Triafit educates new generations of competitors on the lifestyle benefits of triathlon competitions. “I wanted to tackle that stereotype while serving as a trailblazer and representative, to expose this great sport to a new generation of diverse athletes,” states Blyden. The push and desire to answer the questions that others have either overlooked or just failed to deem as important, is something that Gershon Blyden holds dear to his personal ethos and is a mantra that has partially driven him to the successful heights that he has achieved thus far in his career. His success has also been shaped by his dedication to accountability and perseverance. His former career at some of the world’s most famous financial institutions has given him the foundation and the experiences to truly understand what it takes to make a fledgling business successful. He believes that “it’s not just an all-star product … it’s also about managing a team of people, communicating a consistent message to your customer base, creating protocols so [the company] can operate efficiently, and creating a culture where everyone will be enthusiastic about the company.” Adapting to the constantly changing consumer market place, Blyden is focusing his efforts on the underrepresented factions of Triathlon sports and through LegacyChamp.com is giving fitness aficionados like himself a place where they can network and have a centralized digital home to post their stats, find fitness tips, and to generally exchange information about their love of sporting. Gershon Blyden has taken two of his favorite things, things that ordinarily wouldn’t be paired together, and is living his entrepreneurial dream. From his strong business acumen and his love of sports, Gershon is on his way to building a fitness empire through unconventional means. Throughout all of his endeavors, he encourages cultural diversity as a way to foster and promote a variety of different opinions and perspectives. “I am a firm believer that cultural diversity in an organization fosters creativity, flexibility and adaptability… I’ve solved complex problems by virtue of being surrounded by so many diverse viewpoints.” By seeking out a wide variety of backgrounds, Blyden is taking small but purposeful strides to challenge and change the stereotypes that drew him into his endeavors to begin with. LegacyChamp is just another example of this policy: “At LegacyChamp, we are an extremely diverse group, unlike most tech start-ups. Cultural inclusion and diversity is one of our advantages because we can see everything that our competitors see and many viewpoints that they do not.” His extensive portfolio boasts many successful endeavors and he is determined to change the fitness industry on Ironman. Gershon Blyden is an entrepreneur for the digital age, one who is embracing the change that has come with the evolving scope of the consumer marketplace. With that in mind, he isn’t in it for the profits. “I hope to inspire people to do whatever it is that they have always wanted to do. Create your reality and own your legacy. Discover your personal genius and live the life that you truly want to live.” With these words TriaFit and LegacyChamp will represent not only the products of determination, hard work, and community support, but they will also represent the change that can happen when one person stops to question and want more. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: JASON GREEN. GERSHON BLYDEN, AL SIMPSON, FRANK WILSON PHOTOGRAPHY BY DARIUS JEFFERSON Raine Magazine Vol. 8 - <strong>Innovate</strong> 27
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