Before Phillip Solomon ever picked up a dumbbell, he was flipping through the pages of the Muscle & Fitness magazine he’d occasionally pick up at an airport newsstand. At the time, he was a teenager struggling with his weight. He eventually developed an obsession with sculpting better triceps—long before he even knew the work it took to develop a set of arms like he sports today.

So when we sat down for this interview, the irony wasn’t lost on Solomon.

“This is the dream of the dream,” he tells me. “It was the only magazine I bought, every flight, every time. It means the whole world.”

Solomon is a former middle school teacher with two master’s degrees, a one-time musical theater kid, a first-generation Caribbean-American, and a proud member of multiple marginalized groups. He’s also now a breakout star of NBC’s Deal or No Deal Island reality TV show and fitness coach at Barry’s in Austin, TX, where his classes are fully booked on a regular basis.

However, behind every workout and camera-ready flex is a brutally honest story about pain, weight loss, depression, and self-discovery that lead him to find his way and “why,” which is to help others realize their potential.

After hearing his journey, it became clear he’s the kind of person who will always remind you about the light in you, even when you feel like it’s nearly faded.

From the Classroom to the Gym

Before moving to Texas, Phillip Solomon spent 12 years teaching seventh grade at New Jersey’s Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School. For many people, Grade 7 may have been an awkward chapter of a young life that’s best left forgotten. But Solomon hoped to take what he learned as a teen to help his students make some memorable middle school moments.

“Seventh grade was easily the worst year of my life,” he admits. “You’re 12, half an adult, half a kid, the world’s falling apart. So I went back there as a teacher to make sure my kids had the exact opposite experience.”

That same instinct to guide others through chaos, insecurity, and doubt still drives his work today. Only instead of grading papers, he’s leading sweat-drenched sprints and pep talks on treadmills and weight floors. His message, however, hasn’t changed.

“I don’t provide you with anything other than the space to remember your strength, your power, and your resilience,” Phillip Solomon says. “You’ve survived 100% of your hard days to get to where you are right now, and that has nothing to do with me. I’m simply just reminding you of how far you’ve come already.”

Philip Solomon: ‘Fitness Saved My Life’

Before the NBC spotlight, before his fitness classes were packed, Solomon was quietly unraveling. College brought him to the edge. He shared he grappled with depression, anxiety, even self-harm, and it was weightlifting that pulled him back.

“I do not use this phrase lightly,” he says. “Fitness saved my life. It was the only reason I’m still here.”

At age 20, he started training for a Tough Mudder, then a Spartan Race, then a half marathon, and now his eyes are set on his first bodybuilding competition.

On Masculinity and Mental Health

Going on reality TV requires a whole other level of thick skin. Phillip Solomon knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park to be who he truly is and take all the punches of the online world. “I almost said no,” he admits. “Because I knew I was going to be vulnerable, truthful, honest.” But then he remembered his own advice to his clients and students: “Do something every day that scares you.”

Whether on camera or behind the scenes, Solomon stays true to himself, no matter what. Underneath his physical strength, his power lies in something deeper: emotional honesty. Especially at a time when strong men still feel the need to hold back how they truly feel.

He says he’s often told he has a “commanding masculine presence that isn’t off-putting,” which he takes as a compliment. “I’ve always tried to lead with compassion and empathy,” he says. “You want to own masculinity without misogyny. I can lift with the bros and still support a mother of three who just needs to feel seen and heard.”

He talks openly about body image issues, disordered eating, speech impediment, ADHD, and the unconscious racial bias that he believes still haunts the fitness industry.

As the first black male instructor at Barry’s in Texas, he says he had to work twice as hard as his white counterparts to fill the room when he started. “Some people came to my class because it was the only one available,” he remembers. “And then they stayed,” he adds with a kind smile.

Solomon new obsession is staying active—in fact he admits that taking some needed time to chill isn’t his strong suit. “I haven’t relaxed since 1997,” he says with a laugh. He does live by two non-negotiables that keep his heart at ease and mind set to accomplish more. A 30-minute morning cardio and what he calls an allergy to settling.

“I’m allergic to two things: penicillin and complacency,” he says. “You don’t have to do something big every day, but you should always want more for yourself.”