

This is James Townsend. He's a CrossFit enthusiast in his 30s, and the co-owner of Automo CrossFit in Moorpark, California, just north of Los Angeles, in Simi Valley.
James, who used to be a wide receiver for the Chicago Bears, strives to bring the best out of his daughters, especially his 4-year-old, Prisais "Princess P" Brooklyn.
A quick scroll through Princess P's Instagram feed is all the inspiration you need to get your fitness life all the way together. Through their shared love of fitness, Prisais is taking being daddy's little girl to a new level. And she's got the reps to prove it.
She's doing burpees.
She can clear 10 pull-ups. (I can't even do one.)
And she has the push-up game on lock.
Princess P is anything but ordinary. According to her father, the gym has always been her playground. "She grew up in the gym," James tells me as we catch up for a chat. "She's been in the gym since she was two months. So, by me being in the gym, doing CrossFit with other CrossFit athletes, she always picked up on it. She was always watching. So, when I would get done doing a workout, I'd let her out of her stroller, and have her run around. One day, when she was 10 months, she just picked up a 2.5 pound dumbbell and started doing dumbbell snatches. And I had never showed her any of that."
Prisais has always had a natural love of fitness, and she's lucky enough to be able to share the time she spends working out with her pops doing CrossFit. "She's been doing this since [she was] between 10-14 months old. So, from there I would put her on a pull-up bar and she would just hang. She would go to the gymnastic rings and she would swing," he continued. "She would do the hollow rocks on the rings. And from the rings, she would start going higher with her box jumps. And she would go higher with her jumps. She would start doing pull-ups on her own and from there, I just started filming her and showing people it's okay to train."
It's not uncommon to see videos of Prisais doing box jumps, pull-ups, or burpees on Instagram. Her love for fitness has not only fostered a connection between herself and her dad, but it has also improved her confidence, strength, and conditioning for gymnastics. And according to her doting dad, baby girl can train!
James explained, "Every Tuesday, we have a daddy-daughter CrossFit day. Her and I spend time together and I get to have father daughter time with her. I love working out and I love CrossFit, and she loves it too so having her do it with me, it's just our bonding time."
James is also proud of how Prisais has managed to poke holes in the idea that children who engage in physical fitness end up having stunted growth, since their bones are not fully developed. "It's okay to let your kids do physical fitness and train them with strict supervision. A lot of parents these days think that if you let your child do physical fitness or weight training, it will stunt their growth or hurt their joints, which is completely false. It actually does the completely opposite. It betters her," he said.
Medical experts would agree with James. In 2010, the New York Times published a finding from the Pediatrics review, where researchers with the Institute of Training Sciences and Sports Informatics in Germany found that children and adolescents benefited from weight training.
"It's encouraged for your child to train because, in America, we are going through a huge epidemic of childhood obesity."
"A lot of schools are getting rid of recess. We grew up on jumping from jungle gyms, climbing trees and physical activity but to limit our kids and take that away, it's adding to the huge epidemic of childhood obesity," he said. "So, now I feel it's my duty to have my child be the face of it, where she can empower other young women and young boys to go ahead and want to do physical fitness to better their lives. To be more active and to put an end to childhood obesity."
Prisais, who is always the go-getter, has not stopped setting goals for herself, and has goals to complete 100 push-ups in a row. But on the way to her goal, she fully plans to continue doing gymnastics and CrossFit training with her dad.
It's that confidence and that drive that fuels the passion behind James and his mission. The smile in his voice as he talks about Prisais and his other daughters is pure and evident. "I'm very passionate. [About] just empowering my girls period. I'm a father of three girls and they are my everything," he said. "Just building strong women and allowing them to be strong and to be confident and fearless in a male-dominated industry such as fitness, it's the best thing I could give her and any other young girl out there."
Take a look at Princess P killing her box jumps below. She's truly amazing.
Eva Marcille On Starring In 'Jason’s Lyric Live' & Being An Audacious Black Woman
Eva Marcille has taken her talents to the stage. The model-turned-actress is starring in her first play, Jason’s Lyric Live alongside Allen Payne, K. Michelle, Treach, and others.
The play, produced by Je’Caryous Johnson, is an adaptation of the film, which starred Allen Payne as Jason and Jada Pinkett Smith as Lyric. Allen reprised his role as Jason for the play and Eva plays Lyric.
While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Feature image by Leon Bennett/WireImage
'Leave Quicker': Keri Hilson Opens Up About Learning When To Walk Away In Love
What you might call Black love goals, Keri Hilson is kindly saying, “Nah.”
In a recent appearance on Cam Newton’s Funky Friday podcast, the We Need to Talk: Love singer opened up about a past relationship that once had the public rooting for her and former NBA star Serge Ibaka. According to Cam, the pair looked “immaculate” together. Keri agreed, admitting, “We looked good.” But her demeanor made it clear that everything that looks good isn't always a good look for you.
That was all but confirmed when Cam asked what the relationship taught her. Keri sighed deeply before replying, “Whew. Leave quicker.”
It was the kind of answer that doesn’t need to be packaged to be received, just raw truth from someone who’s done the work. “Ten months in, I should have [left],” she continued. “But I was believing. I was wanting to not believe [the signs].”
Keri revealed to Cam that despite their efforts to repair the relationship at the time, including couples counseling, individual therapy, and even sitting with Serge’s pastor, it just wasn’t meant to be. A large part of that, she said, was the seven-year age gap. “He was [in his] mid-twenties,” she said, attributing a lot of their misalignment to his youth and the temptations that came with fame, money, and status.
“There were happenings,” she shared, choosing her words carefully. “He deserved to live that… I want what you want. I don’t want anything different. So if I would’ve told him how to love me better, it would’ve denied him the experience of being ‘the man’ in the world.”
But she also made it clear that just because you understand someone’s path doesn’t mean you have to ride it out with them. Instead, you can practice compassionate detachment like our girl Keri. “You can have what you want, but you may not have me and that.”
When Cam jokingly questioned what if there was a reality where a man wanted to have both “you and a dab of that,” Keri didn’t hesitate with her stance: “No,” adding, “I can remove myself and [then you] have it. Enjoy it.” Sis said what she said.
Still, she shared that they dated for a couple of years and remain cool to this day. For Keri, being on good terms with an ex isn’t a sign of weakness; it's a reflection of where she is in her healing. In a time when blocking an ex is often seen as the ultimate sign of growth, Keri offers an alternate route: one where healing looks like resolution, not resentment. “I think because I have such a disgust for ugliness in my life. Like, I don't do well without peace between me and everyone in my life. Like, I really try to resolve issues,” she explained to Cam.
Adding, “I think that's what makes things difficult when you're like sweeping things under the rug or harboring ill feelings towards someone. When you're healed, when you've done your work, you can speak to anybody when you've healed from things. I think maybe that's the bottom line.”
Watch Keri's appearance on Funky Friday in full here.
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Featured image by Paras Griffin/Getty Images