Game Changers: The Conscious Culture Men With Vision 2020 Edition | Page 27

Physical Therapy meets Sexual Healing MEN WITH VISION 2020 Body & Brains Growing up, Antonio never quite felt that he received adequate encouragement. Even his high school principal discouraged him from pursuing his career goals. However, he did not let the lack of outward support handicap his growth. "With me, people telling me I couldn’t do things actually motivated me to do them", Antonio states. "So that in and of itself was not a limiting tactic for me. I think as people got used to me accomplishing the things I said I was going to do, the problem shifted to them becoming so accustomed to the fact that I would get it done that no one also bothered to try to help. So I end up doing a lot of things on my own and kind of floundering around for a while. So it’s not like it doesn’t get done, it just takes a long time to get done because I seem to lack support when it comes down to it." He looked inwardly to explore what he could do to make a foot print in history and soon decided that he wanted to, "become a vehicle to help those with little to no guidance, especially young men.” Antonio knew all too well the stresses caused by the lack of positive male reinforcement in his own life and he knew that he could make a change in the lives of others by offering direction to youth. "When I first came into physical therapy, I had never met a black physical therapist. I would say I want to be a physical therapist, and the response would be ‘oh that is a really hard program to get into'. But I didn't let that stop me. And since a black physical therapist was foreign to people at the time, people would meet me and say 'he is a therapist? You mean a PT assistant or PTA?'. People couldn’t believe that I could be what I was." Antonio not only became a Physical Therapist but was the Director with one of the most well known clinic's in Georgia. "Now it’s not such an uncommon thing to see black physical therapists because you can walk into an office and be in a room full of them. But when I started, that wasn’t the case. There were other black PT students ahead of me in other classes, but it wasn't until I graduated and passed my board and looked in the mirror. That was the moment, I saw a black physical therapist." In TraMel's case, it seems that art imitates life because he is getting his start in an industry where not many people look, think, or act like him. Not to mention he did the reverse. He first got his education, started his career, then had a family, "As long as you stay the course and continue to operate in spite of your fear, you can achieve great things". TraMel has a new single out now called "Drippin" streaming on all platforms. and is now going full steam ahead into the world of music and entertainment. "I’m satisfied with what I have been able to accomplish in my career and I think it is time to expand beyond everything in the physical therapy realm. It’s time to put more time and energy in the music side of my brand. People may think I'm backwards, but I say I am up to the challenge. A Challenger Brand". Challenger brands are experts in the world of disruption. They have a vision of the future that requires a complete change in the status quo, and that pushes people to take notice. They have huge goals and life-changing ambitions, and they’re prepared to do something bold to transform the current market. As far as what he is looking for in a partner, TraMel needs someone who is willing to take this journey into unexplored territory with him while understanding that he will be pulled in multiple directions. "Between the music, my kids, and being a director of the PT Clinic, it doesn’t end when I go home. It sometimes spills into the evenings, sometimes it spills over into the weekends. My partner would need to be someone who is understanding and supportive. A confident woman that complements me and adds value" Learn more about TraMel at officialtramel.com GAME CHANGERS MAGAZINE    |    27