Durham PE teacher leans into 'Mr. Strongly' character to make exercise fun

A Durham man teaching physical fitness to kids has taken on an influencer role.

"Mr. Strongly" is introducing young children at Hope Valley Elementary School to fitness and health. Joshua Crawford is a physical education teacher who plays the character to boost engagement and morale for kids learning the fundamentals of good health.

It's an idea reignited out of the modern relationship between young people and the content creators they see online.

"They respond to Mr. Strongly a little bit better than they do to coach Crawford," he said. "That's their world. These YouTube creators are their heroes now, probably more than athletes or movie stars are."

Crawford brought the character back to life this past year. He's now in his fourth year teaching at Hope Valley after years of being a fitness coach and trainer.

"Mr. Strongly is all about total health," Crawford said. "There's no good in having super speed or big muscles if your mental health isn't good or your social health isn't good."

Crawford said he decided to bring back his alter ego for the kids during the turmoil around Durham Public Schools and teacher salary disputes. Instead of succumbing to the disarray around the controversy, Crawford decided to invest even more into his teachings.

"There was so much negativity," Crawford said. "Some of it was understandable. I just felt like it was one of those 'what can I do'-type of things. I can double down and be super creative and get better at my job so let me do that."

Crawford says he's boosting some of his own outgoing nature and vibrancy while playing the character. There's multiple costumes and themes that Mr. Strongly touches on. And the children have responded.

"He's an eccentric uncle that is just super jazzed about fitness and believes that being healthy can be fun," Crawford said. "He's me."

Even the wrestling and volleyball teams at Duke have seen Mr. Strongly in action. Some Durham Fire Department members also got a workout in.

"You can't tell an 8-year-old this is going to be good for you when you're 40 or 50 because that means nothing to them," Crawford said. "So you have to make it fun."

You can check out Mr. Strongly on YouTube here.