Lynch Hunt grew up in south New Jersey with a dream of playing professional basketball, but soon lost his focus in his college years. Hunt was arrested in what was said to be the largest drug bust in Burlington County, NJ history.
He has now fully turned his life around and has started his own entrepreneur journey and hopes to touches lives from all around the world. Check out his full interview below and be sure to follow Jukebox Culture on Instgram.
Where are you from? I’m From New Jersey; a small spot with a big city vibe
What was life like growing up? Growing up in the city, the hood or the projects is pretty much the same everywhere – poverty, crime, drugs, violence and single parent households, every where you look go and see. There are no realrole models, so the people I looked up to and wanted to be like were drug dealers, rappers and ball players.
What inspired your brand? I had what I call a SEE MOMENT (Significant Emotional Event). After I stopped playing sports, my weight ballooned up to 295lbs and one day I was playing basketball and couldn’t do a fraction of things I used to when I was a star athlete. So I decided to make some changes. I told myself, this is not me, this is not who I was meant to be,and this not how you’ll remember me. I lost 70lbs in 6 months and I fell in love with fitness and the process. I told myself that people are going to want to do what you did but they won’t be able to just flip on a switch like you are capable of. I went to prison and that’s where I kept learning, studying, practicing and mastering everything about health and wellness, personal development, psychology,self-help and human behavior.
I got 7 certifications and begin to prove theories and started creating processes and methodologies to build a foundation on.
What was the first song, event or experience that really boosted your career or brand? The release of my book Prison to Prosperity truly boosted my career. There was an event on the campus of North Carolina A&T State university that featured Eric Thomas as the key note speaker and Congressman Mark Walker and Congressman Jon Hardister as part of a talk back session and Q&A on Prison Reform and Law enforcement. Professional football players like Tarik Cohen, Doug Middleton and Tony McRae came out to support also and my book and story inspired Congressman Mark Walker to draft legislation and create a Bill called the Prison to Prosperity Act.
Who is your biggest inspiration? Every day is filled with new ideas that inspire and motivate me. The word inspire comes from two words – In and spirit. Every day I wake up, I expect to be inspired. I seek out the new ideas that are going to move me forward into success. I find my motivation daily by moving in the spirit of what is righteous and in alignment with my higher self and a higher thought process of what is next for me and my family and my community. So it’s not a matter of who, it’s a matter of what. Inspiration is two words put together. In the spirit (the spirit flows through us), so literally inspiration can never really come from someone else, and I know this sounds cliche but it’s always ME v ME. I inspire me because I have to continue to become a new me by killing the old me.
What has been the most difficult part of developing your business? I got married when I came home from prison and my wife was established in NC. She was the only person I knew and I had to build a brand from scratch.
The hardest part was hiding my past for 5-6 years before we decided to tell my story. I didn’t have the kind of value built up in the people or the community that would allow me to tell people I just met that, that I just came home from doing 10 years in federal prison.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years? I see myself as one of the most sought after high performance and personal development coaches,and motivational speakers in the world.
If you could collaborate with a major artist or entrepreneur, company or business owner, who would it be? Jay Z, simply because he represents evolution and growth, ownership and artistry – he’s continued to recreate himself to stay relevant as an artist but to also grow in the business as a representative of the culture and of entrepreneurship ownership. Coming from the block to the boardroom is a true testament to the struggle that I’ve also had to endure.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start their own business or brand? Start with belief, believe in self, in your talent, in your service and have an unshakable faith in your own ability, no matter what season you are in or what the circumstances present. Focus on profits over process because money comes when you can produce the same results efficiently. But it also can go when you stop being consistent. Create systems that save yourself time energy and money so you can continue to evolve. Most importantly, focus on your journey and no one else’s.
