Who is Demarjay Smith? Here's Everything You Need to Know About the Youngest Motivational Speaker in the World
“Strength -- No weakness,” he says in a distinct Jamaican accent, shirtless and standing in a basketball court, with a ball stowed under his arm.
Demarjay Smith caught the world’s attention in 2015, after his father posted a video of him that went viral.
Also known as “the young Jamaican trainer,” Smith is now a social media sensation, a fitness expert, a personal trainer and a motivational speaker. And, he’s only 11 years old.
The impressive mindset that made him famous
In the infamous video that put him in the spotlight, the young boy delivers a powerful motivational speech, reminding viewers of the value of hard work:
“‘Either you work hard for it, or you don’t work hard for it,” he says.
"Me and my brother work hard for our stuff. It don’t come easy, in life you have to work. You have to be the shark of the ocean, or the fish of the ocean.”
Demarjay's enthusiasm seeps through the camera and his inspirational message proves that he’s wise beyond his years.
“All right, now we have to be the shark – take over everything, strength, no weakness, power, muscle,” he continues.
“You have to have that mindset so you got to come in here and dominate. When you say, ‘oh, there’s something wrong’, no, no, no! Don’t put yourself down, motivate yourself, keep yourself up, pumped and ready for any challenge.”
After witnessing his cousin being bullied, Smith became motivated to conquer his own fear of being picked on, and turned to exercise to build physical strength.
What is Dermajay up to now?
Since then, he’s become a YouTube celebrity, been featured on The Ellen Degeneres Show, where he’s become a regular correspondent, and has even challenged Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt to a race (which he won).
Smith left quite the impression on Degeneres, which led the the talk-show host to send him to an NBA All-star game, where he interviewed some of the biggest names in the sport and mingled with celebrities.
With thousands of followers across social media channels, Demarjay is force to be reckoned with and something says we’ll be hearing about him in the future.
Smith offers private, in-person training sessions as well as online training as a way to share his passion for fitness and motivate children his age to incorporate exercise into their lives.
His long term goals are to become a track star and a personal trainer.
