The Sokafit Team rolled into Tobago for a second time and this time touching two communities on the weekend visit – Plymouth and Roxborough.
Sokafit Co-Director Lisa Wickham, remarked that the Tobago response was overwhelming. As this bmobile-supported initiative rolled into Roxborough on Day 1, Wickham said in a release, “Roxborough was out of this world but what I really enjoyed was the turn out by men – big strong men because aerobics traditionally tends to be labelled a female exercise.”
Day 2 saw the team rolling into the beautiful, fishing village of Plymouth, where the coaches took participants through an energetic and invigorating session. The bmobile-powered Sokafit caters for all levels of fitness and all body sizes and types and this is reflected in the selection of coaches. Newbies can feel safe in the hands of Lead Coach and Head Choreographer LaShaun Prescott and her team Tiffanie Dean and Leann Cotton. Prescott is a trained choreographer with a 3.91 GPA from New York University and School of Music who understands how dance can keep you fit, which she has used over the years to give her a toned and fit body structure.
The two-day exercise was well supported by fitness groups across Tobago such as Dosfit Studio and Xtreme Fitness along with No Behaviour Crew in Roxborough. Ten-year-old Raylon Taylor shared his experience, “It was great. I enjoyed the dances and the music. The workout was fun, especially with the Dosfit crew around me.” Raylon’s mother Deltia Taylor also commented on the experience, “Sokafit was an awesome, new experience for me. The energy and vibes were real, which took my mind off the actual exercise, so I just enjoyed and went with the flow. Participants could be seen in deep concentration as they tried to grasp the moves of the Sokafit coaches but that certainly didn’t stop them from having fun. “It was challenging and yet fun keeping up with the dance moves while working out to the music. I thought it was a really great initiative taken by the Sokafit facilitator and her team to bring it to Tobago,” said Caressa Wilson. Dosfit Manager/Owner Jayvon Carrington shared, “It was a really nice experience. I was fortunate enough to do both Roxborough and Plymouth. It was nice to see a bunch of people from all over Tobago coming and enjoying Sokafit.
It’s the fitness system that has taken T&T by storm since December 2015 but not only as the new craze or new fad. Sokafit is aimed at improving the wellbeing of Trinidadians and Tobagonians by using our very own soca music and soca dance.
Wickham said Sokafit can be used as one of the ways people take care of their health in an effort to stave off some of the non-communicable diseases especially, for example hypertension and diabetes. Wickham explained that Sokafit can be likened to what Zumba is to Latin America, as it is fitness that adapts the traditional moves of aerobics, into exercise that reflects the T&T culture, using the energy, rhythms and waistline movement of soca music and soca dance.
Wickham has been particularly grateful for the support of bmobile, who she said has been with Sokafit from inception. “bmobile has been on board from Day 1. Seven schools were done in Tobago. We want to take it to the communities, getting fit one community at a time, becoming one fit nation,” said Wickham. As she further emphasised the importance of having fit communities, Wickham added, “We are really happy for bmobile to help us do this. We see them as part of our team. They truly understand the value of bringing fitness to communities.”
Onica Blackman, Enterprise Marketing and Communications Manager, TSTT, Tobago Operations noted, “Sokafit is really a unique experience for fitness lovers and even if you’re not into exercise, you may very well enjoy it because it has a great element of fun. At bmobile we believe in promoting holistic individuals as well as communities and this makes Sokafit one of our special projects with which we have fostered a long standing partnership.”