The journey to becoming The PHuncle wasn’t a straight line – it’s been more like connecting dots that were there all along.
I started out as that personal trainer who thought everything came down to “just do it.” You know the type – counting reps, tracking macros, wondering why everyone couldn’t just make “better choices.
But life has a way of showing you there’s more to the story.
Transitioned to a health coach and started seeing the whole person. Not just their exercise form or nutrition logs, but their real life in context: their stress, their schedule, their struggles. That’s when I realized – we’re not all playing the same game with the same rules.
Once I started seeing these patterns, I couldn’t unsee them. One person struggling with these barriers? That’s a coaching opportunity. Thousands facing the same obstacles? That’s a public health issue.
Why The PHuncle?
As one of the few Black men in public health, I knew we needed different voices telling these stories.
The name PHuncle? That’s Public Health + Uncle, pronounced “Funkle”, as in Fun Uncle.
You know, like that uncle at the family gathering who breaks down complex topics in a way that just makes sense.
No fancy jargon, no talking down – just real talk about real issues affecting our health. The Rich Auntie counterpart if you will.
The Mission
My role here is to
- Break down public health concepts without the academic speak
- Show how systems affect our health choices
- Share knowledge that empowers communities
- Bring cultural perspective to health conversations
- Make health education feel like a talk with family, not a lecture from a textbook
Because at the end of the day, health isn’t just about individual choices – it’s about the systems, structures, and stories that shape those choices.
Ready to see health differently? Let’s break it down together so our collective nieces, nephews, and young folk can live in a world better than they found it, with equitable opportunities to improve their lives for generations to come.