This episode is dripping with gold gems from UCity local and Charlotte Fit Owner Taylor Calamese. Taylor, along with Hosts Jay Ward and Hannah Hasan, turns up the volume on business owners as creatives in the UCity area. Often, people see being a creative as relegated to painting, poetry, and the like. However, the part of us as humans that creates --that ever-present creative faculty that exists in each of us --is also at work when we build businesses, serve our fellow man, and create change in the world. What does it mean to be creative in the world of business-making and fitness? This is what we will explore in this month's episode!

"You build a business, but at a certain point, it's not yours anymore. It takes on its own life. It takes on its own energy, its own identity. Charlotte Fit is a space that I enjoy coming to. It's a space where I glean motivation, hope, support, and community. To experience that... it's something you can never get by just reading the website." -Taylor Calamese, Owner of Charlotte Fit

Guest Speaker

Taylor Calamese is a Charlotte native and the owner of Charlotte FIT-a boutique fitness company catering to individuals who desire a personal approach and customized workout experience. With a Master's Degree in Kinesiology, formerly known as Exercise Sport Science, Taylor implements motivational techniques to promote healthy lifestyle practices among various populations. She is a dedicated professional in the health and fitness industry and holds certifications as an Exercise Physiologist, Weight Management Specialist, and Fitness Nutrition Specialist. Her specific areas of focus are weight management, muscular development, toning, and sculpting. Taylor is widely known for her innovative workouts that promote fat loss and help clients effectively reach their health goals. 

In addition to personal training, Taylor is a Professor at Central Piedmont Community College, where she teaches Health and Physical Education courses. She also instructs and certifies future health professionals to become Personal Fitness Trainers for World Instructor Training Schools (WITS). Taylor's ultimate goal is to improve the health of communities on a global scale and push the standard of care and knowledge in the health and fitness industry.

Find Taylor online at: mycharlottefit.com and on Instagram: @prettyfit_trainer, @charlottefitsouth, @charlottefitnorth

Spoken City Hosts

Hannah Hasan: HannahHasan.com/ | IG and Tiktok : @iamhannahhasan | Facebook

Junious "Jay" Ward: Jwardpoetry.com IG @charlotte_poet

Boris "Bluz" Rogers: IG/TikTok @bluzbluzbluz

Thank you to our producers, Jennifer Dow and Jamaal Cowan, and our sponsor, University City Partners, for making this episode possible. 

Welcome to the Spoken City Podcast. In this introductory episode, you will meet our hosts, find out how they got to where they are now, and what this podcast is all about!

Spoken City Podcast is turning up the volume on everyday creatives in UCity. Spoken City is based out of the North East side of Charlotte, which produces some of the best artists, writers, thinkers, and leaders in our city. Creatives who are speaking their unique version of goodness into the world.

You will meet them and hear their stories. Their stories of creating, living, and making a difference in our community in a unique and excellent way. You will hear about their process, how where they live influences them, and how they do it all in the context of a very real life.

This podcast explores what a creative is, how a place influences a creative and their work, what being creative looks like in the dailiness of life, and how UCity “teems with life,” culturally speaking. 

Whether you are a creative or a leader that needs some inspiration or you are a person who has the desire to do something more, to see and hear something more, listen in. You might find that you already have access to more than enough to create and make a difference right where you are.