Pivot Alum Joe Houston Jr. Builds on Success, Returns to Program as Mentor
For CEO and wellness professional Joe Houston Jr., also known as Mr. WeFit, joining the Pivot Program was all about refining his skillset.
“I can’t be a coach if I’m not being coachable,” said Houston.
Houston, who began his business WeFitDC in the height of the pandemic, joined the Pivot Program one year later in 2021 with the goal of reworking and growing the business.
“I said, ‘I’m gonna break this thing down and I’m gonna build it back up.’ And nobody really believed, but I stood strong…It was a big reset for me. A refresher.”
Since graduating from the program’s fourth cohort, Houston and his business have only continued to grow. He participated in an accelerator program at Johns Hopkins University for entrepreneurs in the D.C. community and was awarded the Equity Catalyst Award at the Pitch Competition.
Houston has begun expanding his organization further by integrating early education initiatives. In October, Houston launched a children’s book, “Mr. WeFit: Invasion of the Suga Monster,” aimed at promoting healthy eating from a young age.
Joe Houston Jr. speaks at the 2026 Georgetown Pivot Program Pitch Competition.
“I just really wanted to find ways that I can inspire kids to be healthy and also be fit in a fun way,” said Houston. “I think it’s important to try to do our best to make fitness fun. And that’s the whole thing about WeFitDC in general. We try to meet people where they are.”
Houston also won the D.C. Department of Employment Services Shining Star Award in 2024. His many successes have led him back into the Pivot classroom — this time as a leader. In addition to educating the Pivot Fellows about entrepreneurship and wellness, Houston’s business now participates as an internship host for the program.
Houston said his organization’s priority is inclusivity.
“‘When ‘I’s are replaced with ‘we’s, illness turns to wellness,’” Houston said, quoting Malcolm X. “And that’s one of the most powerful quotes.”
Houston said this community extends to Pivot, and he knows he always has a place in the program.
“If I need Dr. Lovegrove or any of them, I can continue to lean on them. So it’s not just actually what I learned from it, it’s just keeping that community together.”
This article is featured in the 2025 Prisons and Justice Initiative Annual Report. Read the full report here.