Name: Ehinomen “Hollywood Hino” Ehikhamenor
Profession: Personal Celebrity Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor
Age: 35
One Word That Describes You: Energetic
A Benin City original, Ehinomen Ehikhamenor, otherwise known as “Hollywood Hino,” was a professional pugilist with otherworldly talent and international prestige. Hino’s parents worked hard as professionals in Nigeria to give him and his six siblings a decent lifestyle. A move to the U.S., specifically New York City, was meant to give Hino and his family an advantage better than their homeland could provide.
As an avid lover of sports, Hino Ehikhamenor’s inspiration to join the notoriously competitive world of athletics stemmed from being immersed in sports since he was very young. “Soccer was my first love,” he admitted to BE Modern Man exclusively. “I also played football and basketball in high school, but boxing was the biggest challenge for me, and it stuck.” Getting his start at 17 once he moved to Lefrak City, Queens, New York, Hino settled into the boxing life and used it to explore American culture. He quickly built a successful amateur career with one distinction being the New Jersey Golden Gloves. Through earning that achievement, Hino was invited to compete on the USA Boxing Team from 1998 to 2000.
Boxing didn’t lose its luster with Hino, but instead, his curiosity and
love for all things electric caused him to gravitate to other possibilities. “I was offered a job at a gym, and it was weird at first being on the other side of the pads,” Hino confessed. “I realized then that I had a knack for teaching and motivating people, so it stuck.” Almost overnight, he became the go-to celebrity trainer to the stars. Working out the kinks for the likes of Carmelo and Lala Anthony, Kelly Rowland, and Angela Simmons. “I work every day to get better, and use each day as a learning experience and looking for ways to get better; learning how to use these new techniques and equipment to incorporate into my repertoire.”Despite his absolute love for boxing and being in the squared circle, this 35-year-old conditioned athlete enjoys tackling the endemic of unhealthy eating within the African American community. “Through hosting my ‘Hollywood Hino Training Camp,’ I am able to enlist my members in physical challenges that maintains their physical transition while allowing me to connect Black men and women to nutritionists, dieticians, and also offer personal nutritional tips,” Hino says. By providing these tips for free or at low cost, Hino and his nutritionist, Vanessa Cunningham, are ensuring that our black families remain vital, healthy, and well aware of the dangers of unhealthy dieting.
While exploring the new opportunities that being a celebrity trainer afforded him, Hino began modeling, acting, and promoting events in New York City. Armed with strong features and an engaging personality, Hino became one of the city’s top party commanders through the colorful event series called “First Fridays NYC”.
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Hino offers the millennials a bit of advice when it comes to cultivating a successful career: “It all begins with a successful career in real life before you try to build one online,” he says. “I had built my program and reputation as a trainer before I ever put it on social media. You see me in real life teaching classes and training people, not just posting a bunch of selfies and inspirational quotes. ‘Likes’ mean nothing if they don’t translate into actual revenue, so hone your real skills, work on your craft, create a base, and then use social media as a marketing tool.”
A supporter of children and an advocate for AIDS awareness, Hino would also develop annual fashion shows with the proceeds donated to children in African living with the disease. He also went back to his first love, soccer, and created a little league soccer team called “The LBH Kickers,” and served as the team’s coach. “I aspire to inspire,” Hino
said when asked how his accomplishments have impacted the African and African American community. “I come from humble beginning and persevered to build my own build my own business from nothing. I hope that others can see that they, too, can reach their highest heights by simply using their God given talents.”As impressive as Hino is, the energetic force believes that his own narrative can help to change how mainstream media paints Africa and Africans through hard work and earned results. “Africans being poor and desolate is not the case of all or even most Africans,” Hino tells us. “Yes, there are those who escape their horrid situations in Africa; however, my life is a positive example that not all who emigrate from Africa are poor. No matter your status or stature, your work ethic dictates your success. You can come to America and survive or you can come here and excel and experience a lifestyle unlike any other.”
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As a BE Modern Man, Hino Ehikhamenor believes that to hold this distinction is to “be the opposite of what society thinks and projects.” Made in Africa, hardened in New York, and celebrated around the globe, Mr. Ehikamenor says that a BE Modern Man “is a successful, confident Black man who does for himself
while keeping his community and family in mind.” By not allowing the opinion of others to overshadow his accomplishments, Hollywood Hino continues to defy expectations, push forward to excellence, and proves that our normal is extraordinary. It is not in his nature to quit or cower to negativity. Instead, this admirable talent with fists of steel and a heart of gold pushes through obstacles with his head held high to the finish line.Hino, a man who believes in building bridges for those who have yet to come, earned his reputation through blood, sweat, and hard work. From competing for championships in the ring to getting the best out of his compatriots in life and the gym — Mr. Ehikhamenor represents the fortitude that we as a people have that grows stronger and more positive by the day.
We here at Black Enterprise salute you, Ehinomen “Hollywood Hino” Ehikhamenor, for contributing positive images of African and African American culture to the masses. Your mission of providing health awareness and being a beacon of resolve through effort and dedication frames us in an enthusiastic light, and is meant to be celebrated and appreciated.
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