#INSPIRING
Dwayne Blakely
January 27, 2022
DEFINITION: filling someone with the urge or ability to do something
Dwayne Blakely just has a way.
A way with football. With fitness. And with inspiration.
Blakely, former NFL tight end, began his professional career in 2003. He played for the Atlanta Falcons and the Kansas City Chiefs. At the collegiate level, Blakely played for the University of Missouri. Growing up in St. Joseph, Blakely graduated from Central High School and dug his cleats in to the football field in front of the hometown crowd many a Friday night. He is also a semi-pro basketball player and an ACE Certified Personal Trainer.
But if you ask him, he would probably say his greatest accomplishment is still unfolding.
Blakely returned to St. Joseph following his NFL retirement. He started his own personal fitness business, Blaketivity Sports Fitness and Training, working with children and adults. He offers team training sessions, personal sessions and is part of the Book Ball youth basketball program.
“I loved my professional football career, but you realize you miss out on a lot of things, like holidays, and time with friends and family when you’re always playing and practicing,” says Blakely. “I just needed to be home.”
And for Blakely, “home” means so many things. It means the feeling of doing work you truly love – athletic training work, as Blakely says – that he would do even if he wasn’t getting paid. He encourages his athletes to do the same. “Find something that you love to do. It’s that motivation that will carry you through.”
Growing up on St. Joseph, he says he looked up to many area athletes and family members. He spent hours playing basketball at the former downtown St. Joseph YMCA. But his greatest inspiration may have been observing his mother, Freda, who coached at Robidoux Middle School. “I was always around people working hard, working out, enjoying sports,” says Blakely. “And I met so many people and felt like such a part of the community. This is something special about St. Joseph that I missed. We are grassroots around here, and we know each other, and that’s really important.”
Many St. Joseph natives will remember playing basketball, football, baseball, fast pitch softball or some kind of sport with one of his 15 uncles. Others will remember his aunt, Ernestine Blakely, a long-time and well-loved pastor.
“There are so many relationships here and that is the basis of who this community is. Doing what I do for people feels like service, and I love to see people just walk out the door with a smile,” he adds.
Along his athletic journey, Blakely says he learned that life is what you make of it, and opportunities are everywhere to make something of yourself. “As the business continues to grow, I want to keep it going for St. Joseph. They’ve been so supportive. The main thing I want to do is keep it rolling forward,” he says. (And roll forward it has. Blaketivity is hosting a busy week every week of personal and team training sessions).
A lot of things excite Blakely about personal training and fitness, but he says his goal isn’t to reinvent the wheel. Blakely says it’s to help his clients get a workout, boost their confidence and inspire them to go out and do something else as part of their life’s purpose once they leave the gym.
For Blakely, that purpose includes an uncommon devotion to his hometown and the people who make it great.
Or, as he puts it: “Every day is a chance to get motivated toward something that matters. I’m thankful for that.”
#PRESERVATION
St. Joseph is a city of stories. Like historic towns across the country, there are blocks of amazing homes, business buildings and neighborhoods. Founded in 1843, St. Joseph’s location along the Missouri River and national mid-point created an economic and residential boom fueled by Westward expansion, transportation and communication industries.
#DEDICATED
Striding through the doors of Artcrafts Engraving Co. transports you from the modern streets of St. Joseph back through our history in manufacturing.
#APPEARANCE
Local organizations are passionate about coming in at the ground level toward helping residents with the clean-up efforts that go along with living in a historic river town.
#PATRIOTIC
When you think of St. Joseph you might automatically think of the Pony Express or the historic architecture, but it’s doubtful many St. Joseph residents can picture the city without the big, gray airplanes that routinely fly over town.
#STRONG
What does the road to a dream look like? If it’s a sports dream, there are early, dark mornings – lacing up shoes before any lights flicker on the block. There are late nights, pushing past physical and emotional limits, even when it seems out of reach. There are countless sacrifices at every turn. And there are often amazing mentors and coaches, right there to say, “We don’t quit. Not today.”