Meet Tabay Atkins, Vegan Nike Athlete And America’s Youngest Yoga Instructor

Tabay Atkins is nothing short of an incredible young man. At only 16 years of age Tabay is a Nike athlete, America’s youngest 500 hour certified yoga teacher, a certified reiki master teacher, certified vegan chef, and now the owner of his very own vegan food truck “Tabay’s Mindful Kitchen“. His inspiring mission to give back to others has catapulted him into the spotlight, and we are excited to have the chance to chat with him. 

You’re America’s youngest 500 hour certified yoga teacher. How did you get started on your journey? Were you always interested in becoming a yoga instructor?

I wasn’t always interested in becoming a yoga teacher. I didn’t even know yoga’s existence until I was seven years old, but once I did, I was extremely interested. My yoga journey started when my mom got cancer. I was six years old and yoga was not part of our life at all. It wasn’t until after she beat cancer that she first started to practice yoga. After two and a half months of practicing yoga, she completely recovered from the effects of chemotherapy and cancer. At that point, I was seven years old and just found my dharma. I wanted to be a yoga teacher to heal people with this wonderful practice that I saw heal my mom. I didn’t want to become the youngest 500 hour certified yoga teacher in the world for the title, I became the youngest because I was so determined to start teaching, that I just happened to be the youngest.

Do you follow a structured yoga program or does your yoga practice change each day?

My personal yoga practice is relatively structured. Most of the time, I do a vinyasa practice, and just change the intensity depending on what I need that day.

What are some resources people can access if they are interested in starting yoga or becoming an instructor?

It is now easier than ever to get access to yoga resources. During the pandemic, everything went digital. Classes, training, and everything in between. It has started to go back to in-person, but online is here to stay. If your schedule or location makes it hard to incorporate a yoga practice into your lifestyle, online content makes it a lot more accessible, but nothing beats the old fashion way of in-person yoga! Online is a great resource, but if you have access to live, in person classes or training, it is a great thing to take advantage of. 

You practice and live by a mantra: “Think good thoughts, speak kind words, feel love, be love, and give love.” Can you further describe what this mantra means to you, and where it came from?

Our words reflect our thoughts. If we are thinking bad thoughts, we won’t be speaking kind words, and we don’t want that! When our thoughts and words are aligned in kindness, we will feel love, be love, and give love. We definitely need a lot more kindness in this world, so I share this mantra everywhere I go, in the hopes that it will create a brighter future full of good thoughts, kind words, and love. This mantra has been part of my life and my teachings for so long, that I forgot its origin! But, in recent history I have seen other proverbs and mantras that are similar. One that is very similar is an old Zoroastrian saying that goes: Pendare Nik, Goftare Nik, Kendare Nik. In Persian, it translates to Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds. It is basically the same as my mantra, which proves that it is a pretty universal concept.

You are also a Nike athlete. Do you remember the moment you found out the exciting news? Was it exciting seeing yourself in Nike stores?

When Nike reached out to me, I couldn’t help but feel so excited! And when I saw my picture in the store, oh boy! What a day that was!  I first found out when my friends were sending me pictures from different Nike stores around the world, of them next to my picture. I didn’t even know about it until they sent me pictures! After seeing their messages, I knew I had to see it myself. My mom, grandpa, and I were in Las Vegas, and we went to the Nike store at The Forum Shops. Although we already knew about my pictures being in the stores, we couldn’t believe it when we saw it. It was really exciting!

Tell us a little about your journey into veganism. Was it a difficult transition?

Before going vegan almost 5 years ago, I had a feeling that it would be a hard transition, but I knew it was the right decision to make. When I went vegan, I learned how easy it really is. That inspired me to help people make their transition to a plant-based diet easy. 

You now own a fully vegan food truck, “Tabay’s Mindful Kitchen”. What are some of the items people can find on the menu, and what are some of your personal favorite dishes?

On my new food truck (@TabaysMindfulKitchen), I have created the menu to include a large variety of vegan versions of everyday comfort foods. The reason I opened this food truck is to make healthier versions of peoples’ favorite foods accessible, so everyone can find out how easy it is to switch to a plant-based diet without missing the flavors you love. One of my favorite menu items is the whole food, plant-based Pho. It is not just my favorite, though. It is the most popular recipe in my cooking classes, my entire family’s favorite food I have made, and one of the most popular dishes on the truck! That is why I named it, Everyone’s Phavorite Pho!

Who are some of your inspirations and role models?

My mom is my biggest inspiration. She is who inspired me to teach yoga, after seeing her incredible recovery from cancer through the practice of yoga. She also inspired me to be a chef. She has always made cooking so fun for me. She has taught me so much, and I love that both of us are yoga teachers and chefs and get to work with each other! 

She is also the one who inspired me to give back the way I do. She is the most generous and kind person I know. She is very selfless and has done so much for so many people, never wanting or expecting anything in return. She has always supported and encouraged all my dreams and given me the best life possible. Everything that I do is because of her, but the way I do what I do is inspired by my teachers and mentors. My philosophical and physical yoga teachings are strongly influenced by my incredible teachers, Jason Crandell, Shana Meyerson, Angel & Gopala Yaffa, and everyone else who has shaped me to be the teacher I am today.

What advice would you give to other young people trying to find their dharma?

Your dharma is your calling. It is what you believe you were sent to this world to do for this world. Like I say, “Everyone has a purpose and everyone will discover it at some point in their lives.” Once you know what your dharma is, go after it. Don’t wait. The time will never be just right, but if it is, seize the moment.

What else are you working on/ have in store that you’d like readers to know?

Besides Tabay’s Mindful Kitchen food truck, I am working on writing my cookbook. I am also planning on hosting a yoga/cooking retreat. All updates and announcements about my upcoming projects can be found on my social media which is @TabayAtkins.

This will close in 0 seconds