As Spartners, spouses who are business partners, Troy & Shantel seek to develop and sustain communities where people’s lives are enriched through purpose, impact and connection. They didn’t always work together in this capacity. Troy was a fitness and wellness professional named New York City's best group fitness instructor in 2019. He founded the TB Effect in 2020 and has offered various wellness, parenting, lifestyle, and social media services. Shantel was an educator for 15 years, and led as a teacher, director and assistant principal. Her work was centered around equity and social-emotional wellness. After a move from New York to Atlanta, a home-birth and giving up one primary income, they joined forces to make the TB Effect their primary focus, where they worked to bring brands to life through meaningful storytelling and advanced media production. Their partnership is unique because Shantel never thought they’d be business partners. Troy always had an entrepreneurial spirit, and Shantel followed the traditional go to school, work 9-5, collect benefits mentality. Troy leaned into Shantel for her consistent desire to level up in her education, and Shantel leaned into Troy for his ability to make money from doing the things he enjoyed most.

It wasn’t until the home they almost closed on in Connecticut fell through three days before closing that they looked to each other and realized they left too much power in the hands of others. Troy had grown comfortable serving on one platform, and Shantel had grown exhausted in serving a place that wasn’t serving her. Together, they needed to reclaim their power and take control of the direction of their lives. As a result, when Shantel was 8+ months pregnant, they made a decision that would change their lives forever. They left New York and moved to metro Atlanta, where they only had God and each other to rely on. And through this, they rose… together. For so long, they ran on different paths, collecting bits of knowledge and experience that would catapult them to where they are today. Troy is a culture mastermind and lifestyle curator who, at his core, prioritizes cultivating solid partnerships and relationships with people and brands worldwide. Shantel is a scholar, thought leader, and servant who does everything with poise and purpose. Together, not only are they awesome parents and spouses, but they are amazing business partners. Spartners. Their unique pathways have taught them so many lessons individually, but most importantly, it showed them that the best partner they can ever have is the one they married. From the challenges life has thrown their way, they learned to lean into their faith and each other for support and guidance. Together, they now have the autonomy they desire, they work with a shared purpose, they get to build a legacy for their children, and they get to help others build legacies for themselves.