TRANSFITCON,

About the event

BUNDLE PROFILE #2: TRANS FITNESS CONFERENCE

STORY:

In 2014 I created a Facebook group to help five friends and I stay accountable with our fitness goals. I called the group FTM Fitness. In less than 2 months, we were over 800 people because there were no other group related to fitness geared specifically to Transmen. With that realization, I decided to create a blog where I would put all the resources and articles that I found and find a way to relate them to our community. I started receiving emails from all over the world, and often in different languages. Many Trans people were asking questions or needing resources relating to their fitness goals or their overall transition or personal life in general. Many people were also asking me how they could compete in a bodybuilding competition without outing themselves, or if they would even be allowed to compete. So I started a poll to find out how people would react if we create our own bodybuilding competition. The results were overwhelmingly positive, and so I decided to gather a few friends over to discuss some planning ideas.

Over the years in my transition journey, I’ve had a personal experience dealing with depression, suicidal attempts, homelessness, losing a job, health insurance, my long-term relationship and more. It was during that time, however, that I decided to start over and mold myself into my own ideal version of the man that I’ve always aspired to be. That’s when I began a 90 days mental and spiritual fast and started learning more about emotional intelligence, neuro linguistic programing and improving other aspects of my life.

Even though I knew that the idea of a bodybuilding competition was unique and that it would attract a big audience, I didn’t want to limit my impact on physical appearance. So I decided to create a 3-days conference with the theme “Fitness for the mind, body, spirit” that would cover all the 5 core areas of a person (Spirituality, Family/Relationships, Finances, Personal Growth, Fitness/Nutrition/Health) so that they would have some applicable life knowledge. The conference would then host the bodybuilding competition as the highlight event.

In less than 3 months, I put all my resources together, and gathered close to 80 people for the conference with the help of friends and my girlfriend at the time. The second year, in 2015, I was approached by CNN and Al Jazeera for a cover story and our audience was a little over 120 people. As of now, 2016, CNN is coming back and there is a documentary in the works produced by a major media company. We are expecting approximately 150 people.

MEDIA:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/10/living/transgender-bodybuilding-competition/

http://projects.aljazeera.com/2015/11/trans-bodybuilding/

PHOTOS:

http://ftmfitnessconference.com/2014-photo-album/

https://www.facebook.com/ftmfitnessworld/photos/?tab=albums

VIDEOS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XIv8mLwDGM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT2JuNi8ZoE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsTHaOYBpUc

PAST ATTENDEES:

With past themes like “Unified transformation” and “The warrior within you”, we were able to not only attract influential people in the trans community but also bring in Trans people from a very diversity range of backgrounds which makes it one of the very few conference where age, religion, orientation, race, and socionomical background doesn’t matter. Everybody comes in as “me” and leaves as “us” because they understand the power of inclusion and unification.

This is what past attendees have said:

“Leading up to the conference, I was anticipating a lot of fun, a lot of socializing, a lot of learning, and a lot of muscles. While there was an abundance of all of those things, there was also another element that I wasn’t entirely anticipating; a lot of emotion. Meeting the people I met and hearing the stories I heard touched me in a way that I haven’t yet figured out how to describe. From beginning to end, I was so incredibly touched by it all.”

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“…I remember, now. I remember that I have been offered a rare and exciting opportunity in this life. I am occupying a space that many people don’t get to. I am a part of a radical social movement. I am building myself from the ground up, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And I am walking a path that only a few others walk. I remember, now, the importance of having a relationship with that small group of people.”

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“You said something in your opening keynote about the three elements of a community. I recall them as being unity, a common vision, and service… You have given me an intangible but profound gift; the ability to remember who I am. And for that, I thank you.”

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EXPANSION GOALS:

Over the years, through FitCon, I’ve build a network of Trans people and allies around the world. I’ve received messages from people in Dubai, Russia, South Africa and India who were not able to get a visa to attend the conference. My goal within the next 5 years is to expand on all continents:

• Mexico

• UK

• Australia

• Philippines

• South Africa

BUNDLE PROFILE #3: RIGHT MIND, WRONG BODY

ABOUT THE BOOK:

"Right Mind, Wrong Body" is written from the perspective of a Transman who has taken the time to reflect on his life's experiences; from the lessons he's learned, he put together a guide to help people find the missing keys in every area of their life. The book is meant to inspire people of Trans experience but anyone can benefit from it.

Our deepest fears and our worst troubles can only be overcome after we've dealt with our true "self" from the inside out. Only when we've chosen to peel the onion of our being can we truly have the happiness that transcends our material world. Neo defines success as understanding and utilizing the power of choice. This is our true human/spirit nature, not based on fear and restrictions, but on love and freedom.

This book is for people who are looking for more happiness, peace and fulfillment in their journey; it's meant to help you unlock any area of your life that does not yet feel complete. It may give you a renewed sense of freedom, inspire you to strive for more and drive you to feel more empowered in your current circumstances by discovering the tools that are already within you.

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“His courage, optimism, and insight can be beacons for anyone struggling to touch ground with their deepest, essential self while creating success and community. This book opens the way." — Max Wolf Valerio, author of The Testosterone Files.”

TOPICS:

• Trans visibility throughout history and in the 21st century

• Hierarchy of needs

• Your personality

• Your mind

• Emotional Intelligence

• Your will

• Religion/Spirituality/Science/Energy

• Understanding duality

• Characteristics of fulfilled people

• Mastering your habits

• Increasing productivity

• And much more.

VERSIONS:

• Paperback
• Kindle
• Audio

PLANNED TRANSLATIONS:

• Spanish
• French
• Portuguese

BUNDLE PROFILE #4:  INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TRANS BODYBUILDERS

OVERVIEW:

For 3 years in a row now, we’ve been the leading authority of Trans Bodybuilding through TRANSFITCON. To date, we've received emails from Russia, South Africa, The Philippines, India, United Arab Emirates, Mexico and the UK. Each one of them wanted to participate in some ways, as a competitor, trainer, presenter, judge, or just a spectator. Very few could make it; most couldn't come because they were denied a visa or couldn't afford the traveling costs. Creating the International Association of Trans Bodybuilders will help us bring the competitions to them.

This project will create ambassadors who will educate the world, simply by showing up and having the opportunity to share their stories. It will continue the legacy of Trans athletes like Kye Allum, Janae Marie Kroc, Fallon Fox, Chloe Jonsson and other athletes who have been discriminated against by the sports industry and very often, by media personalities.

GOALS:

Separating the competition from the conference will achieve these goals:

• It will give the competition the personalized attention that it requires to reach a bigger audience: This will allow us to market and host the competition in different regions in conjunction with different LGBT or Trans conferences or separately as a standing event of its own giving access to people who would otherwise not be able to travel to Atlanta.

• It will allow the TRANS Fit Conference to rebrand itself as a conference, not only focused on physical fitness but also on the different areas of one’s life: finances, relationships, spirituality, personal development. Hence the slogan “fitness for the mind, body and spirit.”

• It will have a completely separate organizational board of directors who will give it the much needed and required focus to implement our goals and objectives.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Be officially recognized worldwide as the leading authority of Bodybuilding for people of Trans experience

2. Create a training certification program and membership accreditation for all the competition’s judges

3. Standardize all the competitions with the same rules, expectations and membership affiliation for all competitors

TEAM:

I am very confident that I have gathered a solid board of directors that include Michael Wick, founder of SMM International, Janae Marie Kroc, world record-holding powerlifting champion, Michael Woodward, Director of Gender Odyssey Conference, and Bucky Motter, head judge of TransFitCon since 2014.

HOSTS:

Within only a month of its conception, we were able to secure these partners to host a bodybuilding competition in 2017 for a combined audience of close to 10,000 people:

• Gender Odyssey Conference

• The LGBT Center - Orange County

• The Philadelphia Trans Health conference (Pending Approval)

Why should you sponsor?

PARTNERSHIP BENEFITS

Approximately 1.4 million adults in the United States identify as transgender and a statewide health survey in Massachusetts that asked people if they were transgender found that 0.5 percent of people said they were. The combined buying power of the U.S. LGBT adult population for 2015 was estimated at $917 billion, according to an analysis by Witeck Communications.

SPONSORSHIP GOALS:

• Reinforce your brand and establish brand loyalty

• Establish trust with current customers and future prospects

• Become known as an ally of the Trans community

Expand your reach by connecting with the Trans community as a valuable target audience by taking advantage of these benefits.

SPONSORSHIP BENEFITS:

1. LEVERAGE: Assuming that you are interested in targeting the Trans community, this opportunity is a no-brainer because it is a combined bundle that includes all the different demographics of the Trans population, not only here in the U.S. but also worldwide.

2. BRANDING: For three years in a row, we’ve proven to be the leading authority not only in Trans fitness and bodybuilding, but nobody, as of now, have thought of bringing the entire Trans community through one unique event. This is why the media has noticed and this is why we will be doing it on a larger scale.

3. EXCLUSIVITY: We are offering category exclusivity for up to 3 years to only a select few companies because we want to recognize the businesses that genuinely care for and support the Trans community.

4. VISIBILITY: Have your brand noticed at every major Trans event:

• Physically: You get the opportunity to reach over 10,000 people at events in the U.S. alone and more when we branch out worldwide.

• Virtually:

  • Media: In just our second year running the conference, we have been featured on major media outlets like Al Jazeera America and CNN and we’ve just been approached by CNN to do another coverage for our third annual conference.

  • Documentary: A major production company is working on a feature length documentary that will culminate in this year's conference with the possibility for buyers like Showtime, ESPN and HBO. Being a sponsor is a long term marketing investment that will pay off for the entire life of the documentary.​

     ​5. DIFFERENTIATION: Most organizations don’t advertise in a book because it’s not a widely known marketing strategy. And yet, it’s one of the smartest way to reach out to large audiences because:

• Longevity: Books are never thrown away; your ad will have longevity as long as the book continues to pass hands

• Credibility: When people read a book that they love, the author automatically gains their trust and since the reader is in an informational and education mode, your ad will stand out

     6. IMPACT:

• Conference: I’ve never imagined the impact that my story, my journey and my small involvements in the community would have until I saw people traveling across continents to come to an event I put together, or an attendee successfully raising money to buy a bus fare to travel from across the states to attend the conference even though he didn’t know where he would sleep yet. I have regained faith in humanity when I saw participants who would otherwise never communicate or notice their commonalities, helping each other and sharing ideas.

• Book: The biggest impact that my writing has made on me was when I was on the brink of giving up and I received an email from a guy living in a town where he did not know any other Trans person; he shared his story with me and told me that he has read a few of my blog posts before but didn’t know I was Trans until one night, just when he was thinking of taking his life, he saw a post where I was sharing my feelings around my Trans identity. He thanked me for giving him hope; little did he know that he was the one who gave me hope that night.

• Charity: One of the best things that I’ve discovered throughout this entire journey is that true happiness and fulfilment comes from giving back. That’s why I’ve started the FTM Foundation where partial proceeds of my book will go to and I’ve chosen to give partial proceeds from the conference this year to the Atlanta Trans Housing Organization.

I have no doubt that it is possible to grow as a business with a marketing strategy that aligns with a cause to make a bigger impact on our world. And there is no doubt that this sponsorship strategy in particular is a cost-effective marketing strategy that will yield a very high return on investment.

Neo Sandja

NEO L. SANDJA

BRAND AMBASSADOR
 

OFFICIAL SPONSORSHIP PROPOSAL

CONTACT:

Neo L. SANDJA

 

OUTLINE
 

• INVITATION
• MARKETING BUNDLES PROFILES
• BUNDLE PROFILE #1: YOUR BRAND AMBASSADOR
• BUNDLE PROFILE #2: TRANS FITNESS CONFERENCE
• BUNDLE PROFILE #3: RIGHT MIND, WRONG BODY
• BUNDLE PROFILE #4:  INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TRANS BODYBUILDERS
• PARTNERSHIP BENEFITS

 

INVITATION

Dear sponsor,

For years now, the Transgender community has been overlooked. Today, it seems that we’re reaching the phase of human consciousness where the veil is removed. We’re essentially at the cusp of Trans visibility in the 21st century with over 1.4 millions of people who identify as Trans and a combined LGBT buying power of $917 billion in the U.S. alone.

What does it mean for you as a business? Over the years, I’ve realized that every business is in the marketing industry because marketing is the glue that holds the business together. The market simply means people. As a person or as a business, the real success is found in the ability to choose who we align ourselves with to keep making an impact in the world.

Unification is empowering and understanding this early on has helped me not only in my personal life, but in business as well. There is an African proverb that says “if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” That’s why I am inviting you to be a part of a big movement that will greatly impact the Trans community, not just in Atlanta and not just all over the U.S. but worldwide.

I took the liberty to make it a personal life mission to unify the Trans community as if my life depended on it; this is what gets me up in the morning, this is what keeps me up at night and this is what keeps me alive. I’ve often heard that “where there is a will, there is a way” and “if the ‘why’ is big enough, the ‘how’ will reveal itself.” Empowering the Trans community is my “Why.” And this mission is bigger than myself.

I am inviting you to carefully consider this proposal with the understanding that we can discuss further to customize the proposal specifically for your marketing needs and business goals.
 

To your success,

Neo L. Sandja

 

MARKETING BUNDLES PROFILES

BUNDLE PROFILE #1: YOUR BRAND AMBASSADOR

As an author, speaker, business consultant and a mentor to the Trans youth, my goal is to align myself with a company that is willing to help me reach to a wider, international audience in order to create a bigger positive impact in the Trans community and beyond. As a company who is dedicated to expand and reach out to a wider and more diverse audience, you will never go wrong by choosing me as your brand ambassador not only for the Trans community, but for any platform that comprises of people who understand inclusion and community empowerment. As a brand ambassador, my goal is to represent your company in a positive light in all my involvements in order to increase your brand awareness and sales.

ABOUT YOUR PARTNER:

Neo L. Sandja is an author, speaker, business consultant and certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Life Coach through the Association for Integrative Psychology.

His book “Right Mind Wrong Body” was written for people who are looking for more happiness, peace and fulfillment in their journey based on the lessons he himself learned through his life’s transition.

He’s the founder of the first international bodybuilding competition for people of Trans experience as featured on major media outlets like AL Jazeera America and CNN. His business, FTM Fitness World, along with its affiliated annual conference #TRANSFitCon, focuses on empowering the Trans community in all 5 core areas of their lives: Spirituality, Personal Growth, Fitness/Wellness/Health, Finances and Family/Relationships through the motto “fitness for the mind, body and spirit.”

Neo considers himself a spiritual warrior and a transformational trainer. He defines being a spiritual warrior as someone who knows themselves and conquers their deep fears and limitations; and a transformational trainer as someone who changes people’s lives from the inside out by giving them the tools to create permanent change for success.

As a speaker he is very passionate about many topics including business and financial intelligence, emotional intelligence, spirituality and communication.

Neo migrated in the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2004 and started his gender transition in 2011. His life's mission is to transform people's lives through his writing, speaking engagements, personal life coaching and mentoring but most importantly through his personal day-to-day interactions.

MISSION STATEMENT:

CHANGE the world

Always seek divine TRUTH

Have an unending COMPASSION for people

Find WISDOM that only comes from the Spirit

Lead with INTEGRITY by knowing my true self and by being whole.

Book:

“Right Mind Wrong Body - The ultimate Trans guide to being complete and living a fulfilled life”

Affiliations:

Neuro-Linguistic Programming practitioner through the Association for Integrative Psychology; Member of the Atlanta LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

Speaking:

Speaking and training on various topics including Emotional Intelligence (E.Q.). Some of the audiences: Atlanta Transgender Day of Remembrance, Philadelphia Trans Health Conference, The Reformation Project, Black Trans Advocacy Conference.
 

Contact the Organizer Contact the Organizer