TROY HADEED

Short Bio (50 words) Option 1
Troy is an author, yoga teacher and social entrepreneur who is continuously excavating the human experience while aiming to make God more accessible, discover what it truly means to embody love, and aid humanity in realizing that we are far more connected than we have been led to believe.

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Short Intro (100 words)
Troy Hadeed was born in Trinidad, wrote his first letter to the editor at 10, has taught yoga internationally for over 15 years, and has founded several successful businesses, including a hemp store, a waste oil recycling business and a yoga studio.
He has walked coast-to-coast across central America, navigated the world on a ship, spent prolonged periods in silence and darkness, and is continuously seeking to make sense of the human experience.
In all things, Troy hopes that his life will assist others in rediscovering a relationship with the God of their understanding while inspiring people to embody more compassion, understanding, and love.

A Brief History
I was born in Trinidad to a father of middle-eastern descent and a mother of Irish ancestry. I was seven years the youngest of three brothers in a Catholic home and, in many ways, benefited from the path my brothers cleared for me.
I didn't break the rules in conventional ways, that would have been too easy. I challenged social norms and questioned anything I didn't think was in alignment. I had a close relationship with Christ that I maintain to this day but called 'BS' on many views of the church and organized religion. Reggae culture and Rastafarian influences had a huge impact on my youth and exposed me to a reality outside of my privilege, and instilled within me a sense of responsibility to make a difference in the world.
At 14 years old, I was sent to detention, where a teacher gave me a text on yoga to read and I went to detention every lunchtime of my own free will to read more. I didn't realize until recently the impact that had on my life, but when I graduated from University people would ask what I'm going to do with my life......I would respond, " I'm going to teach yoga." - The thing is, at that time, I wasn't even practicing yoga or didn't think I was (Yoga is far more than just postures and in many ways I had been practicing yoga for a long time.)
After running a hemp store (not a head shop) for seven years I opened a waste cooking oil recycling business and sold it some years later to dedicate my life to studying and teaching Yoga. Now an international yoga teacher, public speaker, and author (seeking representation), I am excited to see what life has in store and how it all unfolds.

In Human Form
Troy was born in Trinidad & Tobago and has lived there for the majority of his life with the exceptions of attending the University Of Tampa and his regular stints of travel and exploration. During his senior year at university, he participated in a study abroad program called Semester At Sea which took him to fifteen different countries and exposed him to a wealth of cultures and experiences. After graduating from university, Troy traversed Costa Rica coast to coast on foot, spent prolonged periods in silence, and immersed himself in the study and practice of Yoga. After graduating, Troy returned to Trinidad to open Trinidad’s first Hemp store (not Head shop) which he ran for eight years before starting a biofuel business, and then finally nurturing a beautiful yoga studio and community known as One Yoga Trinidad—recently rebranding as BeyondYogaTv.
Troy currently lives on the forested North Coast of Trinidad among the majestic hills of Paramin, continues to share the practice of yoga, and spends his mornings writing on the wings of hummingbirds and coffee.

As a Yoga Teacher
While his Asana practice only began in 2003, the underlying teachings of ‘living yoga’ have been a part of his life for as long as he can remember. In the last decade, he had the honor to further his study, practice, and teaching under the guidance of amazing teachers. Troy has come to understand that the practice of yoga as a practice that transcends physical postures or any other box we are tempted to put it into. He views the practice as a ‘training ground’ of sorts where through intimate and intentional focus we deepen our relationship to mind, breath, and our personal understanding of God.

As a ‘yoga teacher,’ Troy’s intention is to share a depth of practice that embodies a form of prayer, and allows every practitioner to connect to something beyond the physical aspects of the practice. Furthermore, he aims to continuously create a space that is accessible to all—regardless of their faith, age, or physical limitations.
With mindful and intentional movements, Troy brings an intimate and powerful dimension to today’s yoga class that helps bridge the gap between the pure essence of Yoga and today’s disconnected world. At the foundation of his teaching is not the breath but one’s relationship to the breath. He feels that it is essential we discover that no posture, no transition, and no moment is ever the same; we discover what it means to live in the present moment—the only moment when we can know and feel Genuine Love.
“I have always said that if I did not believe the practice of Yoga increased our capacity to love, and reconnected us to the God of our own understanding, that I would walk away from it immediately.”

As an Author
Troy always had a longing within him to write. He actually wrote his very first publication at age ten— A plea to the world for an end to war and environmental destruction. That editorial of a ten year old was published in his national newspaper and directly sent to President George W. Bush, Saddam Hussein, and Mikhail Gorbachev (With the help of his amazing mother). It would appear that he was a ten year old on a mission.
At eighteen, he had all intentions of majoring in writing & philosophy at the University Of Tampa, but this dream would have to wait a bit as he was encouraged (a.k.a ‘lovingly blackmailed’) to pursue business and Spanish.
Now 20 years later, it all makes sense—a series of divinely inspired experiences have all come together with precision. Troy completed his first book in 2022, to be released in late 2023 and his journey as an author is merely beginning.
When asked about his feelings towards his writing journey Troy had this to say,
“My priority is not writing for the entertainment of readers—for me personally, that would be an inauthentic use of my energy and time. Everyone has their calling fuelled by that burning desire. While my writing may be entertaining to some, and is sure to make your heart smile and have you ‘laugh out loud’ from time to time— my calling is not entertainment. I also struggle with considering myself as an artist and have a hard time viewing my writing as self-expression. Writing feels like more of a calling, a duty of sorts.”