Big Mike and Andre Bowser

I am excited to introduce our readers to amazing and caring people who live, work, play, and do business in our community and city. Learning about people of all lifestyles, talents, and personalities who I think would be interesting for our readers to enjoy. San Diego has a wonderful diversity of individuals who make our slice of paradise the greatest place to live and enjoy each other’s uniqueness.

How did you end up in San Diego and what do you love about it?

I’m a San Diego native, I know that’s rare hearing now with San Diego’s crazy price of living everyone leaves but I’m a water person it brings me peace and San Diego is surrounded by it so I’m always at a beach recharging my batteries.

What gets you most excited about life?

My purpose drives me, if you know me on a personal level you know that I am nonstop, but I love to work and do things that I know are making a difference.

As a businessowner or employee what makes your business stand out and how has it changed your life?

Running Club San Diego has been a journey of many highs and lows, there is a bunch of negative history that I’ve been left with to rewrite and fix but I am up for the challenge. The goal is to create a true safe space for everyone to be themselves and be embraced for doing exactly that while being in clean fun environment creating positive memories.

What small act of kindness were you once shown that you’ll never forget?

When I first took over leadership at the Club, it was right after the fire we had and I was giving a new hire orientation to about 15 people, and I was shy and didn’t even stand. Marc pulled me from under the table to stand up and lead my portion of the orientation. That moment changed my life in many ways it was the first time I felt love so deep and it forced me to get out of comfort zone which has helped me grow as a leader.

If the universe could grant you one wish, what would you wish for, and why?

For parents who are not ready to have children not be allowed to have them, not taking peoples right away but if there was some kind of magical way the universe automatically stopped people from being pregnant who are not ready to raise a child. I want this because I was born from a couple that wasn’t ready and shouldn’t have been parents and yes, I’m here and yes, I’ve fought through all of the things that I had to because of the choices they made. But people shouldn’t be born already having to fight to survive.

If you were given the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world, and were able to take one person with you, where would you go, who would you take and why?

I would love to go somewhere in Spain, to be able to find my “Latin Papi” husband. And I would take my fur baby Kaden because I want him to explore the world with me.

If you had a chance to spend one million dollars on someone, or any group of people, who would it be and how would you spend that money to better them?

LGBTQ youth entrepreneurs that want to make a real difference. I wish I had someone besides myself believe in me with the financial resources when I was younger it would have taken away a lot of negative thought patterns and traumas that I’ve had. I have always been an ambitious person with many goals to achieve but not much support so I would love to be able to be the person I needed when I was young, broke, and with a dream.

If you could give someone advise about your art, hobby, or business, what would you tell them?

Perfection is an illusion, but greatness is a vision.

Loving yourself is so important to becoming the best of who you are. Please write a couple sentences to describe your loving self and how you want to live your best life?

The journey to self-acceptance and loving myself has been an interesting one, by looking at me now, you wouldn’t think that I once weighed close to 500 pounds and being in a community that is so vain it was so hard being an overweight black feminine person. There was a lot of loneliness and feeling of being unworthy but I was given beautiful love driven advice from people and decided to make a change. I have routines that keep on track and a bunch of positive mantras that I have always around me to keep me in a positive mindset, its actually part of my mission at Club San Diego is to help everyone feel beautiful and confident at least while being at the Club, I know how one real positive comment can transform a person’s view of themselves.

Gratitude is so important in each of our lives, what are you most grateful for, and how do you pay it forward?

I am most grateful for being given a second chance on life; we all have a past that we are either ashamed or embarrassed about. But I was given a chance to rewrite my future and not have my past define me. And with that I help mentor my young staff on making the right choices and one day I hope to be a motivational speaker to help others become the best version of themselves.

@itsandrebowser