North Philadelphia teen's weight loss journey leads to music-making passion
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- When he was 14 years old, Naj Harold weighed about 300 pounds. And when he set out to lose weight, he gained so much more in the process.
"When I first started, it took me three years to transform my body," he said. "I just did it from all powerlifting. In total, I lost 70 pounds."
The teen started working out at his grandfather's place before moving into the high school gym as a football player. But now, he does most of his exercise at the Columbia North YMCA in North Philadelphia.
While there, Harold was introduced to the Teen Tech Center, a multipurpose lab that provides kid members with access to computers, cameras, and even a recording studio.
Harold, already a music fan, decided to take his rapping skills into the booth.
"A lot of people in the streets nowadays in my generation do drill rap and just talking about killing other people and stuff like that," he said. "So I said to myself, how about I make some music that people aren't used to hearing in the streets? So I started doing pain music."
Now, Harold produces songs about topics like losing his father to gun violence shortly after birth. And in the future, he wants to become a professional powerlifter and high-profile bodyguard.
To learn more about the Columbia North YMCA, visit their website. To hear more of Naj Harold's work, visit his YouTube channel, 'Naj The Lifter.'
RELATED: After surviving crash, Pa. man becomes speaker and author
