Toms River health influencer mourned

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In the short life Kishon Richards lived, helping his clients achieve the most extraordinary fitness goals – regardless of their age – has been his top priority.

“Kishon wanted nothing more than to bring health and happiness to others,” said Justin Butler, a lifelong friend. “He encouraged customers from all walks of life and laughed at the idea that someone is too old to achieve anything.”

Richards, a tree climber for Good Tree & Stump Removal in Jackson, died on Nov. 6 after his 2009 Ford Ranger crashed into a guardrail on Jackson Mills Road and drove further into the woods along the pavement where it hit several trees bumped. The cause of the crash is still being investigated.

Kishon Richards, 28, remembered being a fitness instructor who inspired others to achieve their highest goals.

The 28-year-old turned his passion for strength training into a side job as a certified personal trainer and became known as the coach who told everyone that they are never too old to reach their ultimate goal.

Butler recalled a time when Richards told one of his 46-year-old clients that their age didn’t have to keep them from doing advanced yoga and handstands. He even told her that she had what it takes to be a yoga teacher, which she has since achieved.

“Kishon’s goal was to use discipline and fitness to teach people to love themselves, and he achieved that goal in his short life, whether he knew it or not,” Butler said.

Butler said that his best friend, Richards, who had more than 10,000 followers on his Instagram fitness account, mostly became a personal trainer because he loved fitness and wanted to help others achieve their goals.

“He benefited from it, but he did it more because he just loved it,” said Butler. “He was overjoyed when people got results from his training.”

Richards also planned to open his own gym in the future.

“He was very passionate,” said Butler. “He had a drive that is very rare in this world.”

He spent the first few years of his life in Dominica before his family moved to the United States at the age of four. His mother Olive Emmanuel believes that this is why he has always tried to prove that he can be successful.

“He was the child of an immigrant and wanted to prove that he could do it better and more successfully,” said Emmanuel.

Richards struggled with depression, and his family and friends said he had overcome many of his struggles shortly before his death.

Kishon Richards inspired clients, regardless of their age, to achieve their highest fitness goals.

“He’s had a lot of internal struggles to contend with, and most of them he has overcome,” Butler said. “He had recently expressed how happy he was.”

They even said Richards told them the last month of his life was the best month he had in the last five years.

“That makes it even more difficult that he got over it all and now he’s just gone,” said Sister Keydella Fuller.

Richards, who started weight training in high school, began documenting his fitness journey on Instagram in 2015 because he wanted people to realize that his life was far from perfect.

“He wanted to share his struggles and depression with the world,” said Butler. “He wanted people to see that while it looked good and great on the outside, under the surface they didn’t really know what was going on.”

Butler said that many of those Instagram followers looked up to Richards as a role model and even those who didn’t know him personally had nice things to say about him.

“I was inundated with messages on Instagram with people saying nice things,” he said. “Even people who had very brief interactions with him said he made quite an impression.”

His sister added that she felt he was making a positive impact on everyone who met him.

“He was definitely someone who made a lasting impression,” said Fuller. “When you meet Kishon, you will remember him.”

Nicolas Fernandes is the early morning news reporter. He has lived in New Jersey all his life and previously worked as a feature writer and sports reporter. Contact him at 732-540-4401 or nfernandes@gannettnj.com