As one of the fastest growing young influencers of our time, Doug Elks is a fitness persona and entrepreneur that is taking his audience one step further. Growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ellks learned how to use his entrepreneurial prowess at a young age. He sold sneakers at his highschool after noticing a high demand for them from his basketball team. Understanding the importance of experience and exposure, Elks was always asking questions and began to surround himself with people of value; he believed in the value of all human beings as containing different traits rather than monetary assets. During his time at Western Carolina University, where he played basketball and majored in marketing and management, Elks decided to start his own business named Ambition In Mind (AIM). AIM was a separate instagram account that contained motivational content, health and wellness, and fitness tips all aimed at targeting an audience of aspiring young adults. After graduating from Western Carolina, Elks decided to take AIM a step further and introduce a podcast. The “AIM podcast” featured fitness influencers, olympians, business owners, and entrepreneurs that all gave motivational advice as well as entrepreneurial tips. The podcast grew Elks overall publicity and prompted him to become a self-proclaimed consulting influencer himself. He describes this type of work as going further than the conventional creator. Not only does he post on his social media accounts for other brands but he helps companies from a marketing perspective as well. He does this by getting more involved in the individual brands themselves and creating marketing campaigns by giving advice and ideas for future movements.
Elks childhood played a large role in shaping his ambition and drive, for the hardships he faced early on in life have made him who he is today. Those two words, “ambition” and “drive”, are what sculpted the rest of his journey, the interactions he had, and the businesses he created. In November of 2022, Elks launched Kaizos, a supplement brand that focuses on providing clean products marketed to the community. His flagship product, the Better Sleep Cocoa Mix is made to help sleep performance. It’s free of melatonin and even propels better gut health, all while being clean and paraben free. The Kaizos tagline, “One Percent Better”, is a reflection of the values that Elks supports in his everyday life and motivates his audience to adopt. He wants to promote the idea that if we can make ourselves just one percent better in any aspect of our lives, then we are one step closer to personal success. Kaizos stands out among other nutrition brands because of their high regard for quality. This makes the brand not only based in nutrition but a movement in itself that revolves around people. Elks believes in investing in the community in order to build a family. Kaizos is set to begin creating more products apart from the Better Sleep Cocoa Mix after its hard launch in January of this year.
Doug has goals to expand his business ventures even more this year in 2023. He wants to be able to bring even more incredible, high caliber guests on his podcast AIM, and offline he wants to continue to build personal relationships where he helps people with business opportunities and marketing. Some guests already seen on the podcast include Nick Bare, founder of Bare Performance Nutrition, Joe De Sana, founder of Spartan: the world’s leading endurance sports brand, and Nick Simmons, two-time Olympian and CEO of Run Gum. Elks believes that AIM sets itself apart from the sea of podcasts being broadcasted today by consisting of a modest environment fueled by discussion. AIM focuses on actual values of continuous self-improvement, business, health, and wellness. After realizing the importance of experience and exposure, Elks has used these two specific ideals to mold the way he builds relationships and evidently his career. He is the example of the versatility modern influencers possess as not only online creators but well-rounded individuals that inspire and motivate our youth.
