Olan H. Adeyemi is a Personal Trainer & Photographer, as well as this week’s #PeopleOfWilmDE! He was nominated by Victoria Linsey. Read his story below:
“I moved to Delaware for a role at JP Morgan and initially lived in the Bear/Newark area. I used to always come to the Riverfront for date night to go to the movies because they had the reclining seats and try out different restaurants like UBON. When my lease was up, it made the most sense to live in Wilmington as it was quickly developing and had new residences that fit my lifestyle better.
Some fun facts about me include:
- I grew up in Nigeria.
- I served in the DE National Guard for 6 years.
- I love doing street photography (I have some great ones of the people of Wilmington)
Wilmington is so untapped; I call it the land of opportunity. There are so many lucrative opportunities in the city from real estate to small businesses. I was able to open my gym here 5 years ago and it’s been very rewarding. Also, because most things are new for the city, it has a very renaissance energy and it’s like being part of something progressive.
Being in Wilmington has been very intrinsically rewarding, my proudest moments have been the lives in the community I’ve been able to impact through teaching health and wellness. From helping clients reversing diabetes, to building confidence and general improvement in lifestyle.
Wilmington has definitely helped me grow my brands. The people of the city are starting to demand and desire more and that is pushing small businesses like mine to provide premium level services. I travel to other cities like New York, Miami and LA to bring back ideas to Wilmington.
My night out definitely starts with drinks at De.Co, then dinner at one of the many options downtown like Bardea. I don’t stay out late, but on the occasion I do, a quiet late night spot in Trolley like the Crow Bar.
My favorite attractions are the New Downtown Wilmington and Riverfront. When I first moved to Delaware, there wasn’t much to do for young professionals. However, over the last few years, the Downtown and Riverfront area has bloomed into a very viable city for young professionals starting with great places to work, live and play and all the festivals in the summer including the Delaware Running Festival which I did for the first time last year.
I would like to see the city grow to be more health, fitness and wellness conscious, especially after what this pandemic has done to the world. I think a healthier, fitter and informed community creates a better quality of life for the entire city. I would love to see the city have health and wellness based events and I’m willing to volunteer my time to help make it happen.
I’m looking forward to being more involved in the lifestyle and culture of the city to bring certain types of events to the city like brunches and day parties. Living Downtown has allowed me to meet more like minded individuals looking for the same things.
I’m also very excited about the development projects in the city such as the Riverfront East project and the new luxury residences. I see so many opportunities in the future.
We are all in this together, so stay the course because the city is growing and there is a great group of progressive creatives, entrepreneurs, and young professionals ready to advance the city. As an adopted Wilmingtonian, I’ve seen drastic changes since I moved here such as the influx of new residences, really good restaurants, thriving small businesses and even the migration of people to Wilmington from other larger cities. If we keep this pace and momentum, Wilmington will be one of the best cities to live in.”
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