Maje Ayida speaks out

What is Eden Lifestyle all about?

Eden Lifestyle is a wholly indigenous sports and wellness consulting firm with a global outlook and a vision to take ownership of the conversation in the health and fitness landscape in Nigeria and become the reference point in the provision of fitness solutions.

Your company was so visible in 2013. What’s your vision for 2014?

Our aim is to become the foremost wellness company in the land. As such, in 2014 we plan to continue growing, transforming even more lives. Last year has been simply amazing and I give all the glory to God. When I started this company, I had a simple dream to develop wellness facilities in Nigeria, but so much more has happened, teaching me to rapidly broaden my horizons.

You were a banker and now an entrepreneur who is into fitness. Tell us about the two worlds?
I spent about a decade in banking. It was the dream I thought I wanted. In fact, it was all I knew considering I came from a banking family. At the time I was living in London, I became obsessed with the idea that the coolest thing in the world was to work in the city. When I finally landed a job, I found I enjoyed saying I was a banker more than actually being one. It was hard work that I really wasn’t inspired by. I moved back home and settled in Abuja where I continued in the same industry. Now, I am an entrepreneur and pretty much doing what I love. I would love to tell you it doesn’t feel like work, but it does. Its hard work but I happen to enjoy it. The company is an extension of me and as such is deeply personal. It was hard at first because I could hear the cynicism in people’s voices when I told them what I did. One particular friend would ask me ‘how’s your blog?’ with a veiled judgment that we all know. That was on account that all he knew I was doing was my online lifestyle portal, This portal, which started as online research, became the main spring to everything I do now. Again, all glory belongs to God. He knew what I wanted before I knew how to dream. The obvious advantage of my current lifestyle is that I set my own schedule. I was never a 9-5 kind of guy. Sitting behind a desk all day was just not my thing.

Why did you dump banking for the fitness world?

I know banking is a safe world to live, with decent, steady pay. But the truth is I had no love for it. When you have no love for something, you are usually not very good at it. Believe me; I wanted to be great at it. As I said earlier, I was under pressure from a banking family and from myself believing it was my dream. My passion for activity was always there. I just didn’t recognize it as something I could make a living from. I am just so grateful that I grew some balls and started Eden. One thing I can tell people is ‘don’t let lack of resources stop you from going after your dreams.’ I had literally nothing when I took this chance. Little expertise with even less money. But I started working with the best in different wellness fields. Take a look at the list of contributors I have on my online portal. I honestly would not be where I am today without them.

You look absolutely good, firm and very young at 41. What is it you are doing differently that people don’t do?

Thank you for that. I will take that as a compliment. I am nowhere near where I could be but I try my best to practice what I preach. Plus I have to look the part. I exercise a lot. I have always been a sportsman, so I just do what I love, which is what I tell people. If you hate running, you will find it that much harder to motivate yourself to get on a treadmill. Find what you love doing. Do you prefer yoga? dancing? I also try to watch what I eat. I like my food so I practice portion control. Where people falter is when they try to do too much and end up crashing and burning after a week. Lifestyle changes take time. Pace yourself, implement one healthy habit at a time.

Which celebrity in the world dead or alive would you have liked to coach on a healthy/active life style?

Hmmm, celebrities pay good money oh. It would have to be Oprah. I’ll take working on retainer with her.

Who in the world will you like to dine and wine with?
You mean there’s anyone else besides Mandela? Okay, I won’t go for the obvious. Definitely, Sir Richard Branson. I would pick the man’s brain apart.

Tell us about your background?

I have 5 older siblings - 2 boys and 2 girls. So, whatever the cliché of being the youngest are, I’m it. I left Nigeria when I was about 8 years old and started boarding school in England. I went through the full education system before returning to Nigeria in 2000 after a few years of working in London. At first, there was a reluctance to move home. It’s easy to get caught up in life in foreign lands, but it’s the best thing I could have done. With all the issues here, I still love it. its home, it’s where I belong (I don’t love not having electricity though). Early on in my life, I made a close set of friends that have stayed very close till today. That’s something very rare and I truly appreciate it. I like the concept of family, be it by blood or not, these are the things that add value to life. It’s all part of wellness.

 

 Maje speaks out on an interview about his 10-12years relationship with Toke.

If you were to title your 2013 with a song, who would be the musician and what would you prefer the title to be?

The song for my year would be ‘Leap of Faith’, though it would be rap song by Jay-Z with Anita Baker singing the hook.

If you were to go on an island for an exotic weekend, what are the five things you will take along?
Wifi, workout gear, a good book, a good woman and a good escape clause

You seem quiet but your publicised relationship via social media and blogs just hit the rocks after 12 years. How did you handle a relationship for that long and what happened?
I don’t think relationships are things you handle or manage. Relationships are part of your life. They are part of who you are and probably the most complex thing in the world.

Earlier this year, you did the first part of traditional introduction to your ex’s family. What exactly went wrong after that?

Wrong? I don’t think I got that memo, and if that memo got circulated, I can’t discuss it here. Everything about our lives here is a journey; a journey that I’m just glad to be on.

You guys have been on and off for 12 years. Do you see yourself going back to her considering all your tweets about your ex not focusing on your relationship rather attending events and making appearances as she claims in blogs?

I write a lot of stuff on social media. Some about me, some about life, maybe something I saw, maybe someone else’s experience, maybe my mood at the time. The idea is that someone somewhere may be feeling that same thing. Sort of like the comfort you get on knowing that you’re not alone when you hear a song that speaks what you feel. One thing I will say just as a general life tip, ‘don’t make permanent decisions based on temporary feelings.’ (not my words).

Who is your kind of woman or are you one of those who love to date women in the limelight?
I’m like the United Nations. I have love for everyone. I feel anyone that says they would only date a particular type of person is limiting themselves from the beauty that is the human soul. It can take a lifetime to truly know someone; we are continually evolving. Two people together grow together and transform one another, just as experiences in life transform the individual. In other words, no, I’m not after women in the limelight.

Describe the last time you remember feeling happy?

That’s easy; this morning. I’m happy to have breath in my lungs, to be a functioning being, happy and grateful to God. But I know what you’re asking so I would have to say a few weeks ago when Eden won the award of Fitness Brand of The Year. Those that understand my journey know what it meant to me. The company is an extension of me; it’s who I am. Knowing my work is of any value to others is the kind of validation you can’t buy. I only launched this January 2012 and so much has happened in that time, most importantly to how I value myself. I remember standing on a balcony on New Years Eve 2011 with my best friend and telling him I was starting a new path, and he said to be ‘fly, bro, just fly’.

What is your biggest regret?

My biggest regret is not having the courage to start my company sooner, while my mother was alive. Maybe it was God’s plan for me to start when the time was right, He knows best, but everyday I wish she could see by progress and be proud. It hurts to my core that she left me when I was still searching for my purpose.