Francois & iraimi diatta
entrepreneurs of the year
Founders, Empower Nutrition & Orion BJJ
“Brockton chose us before we ever chose Brockton."
— Francois & Iraimi Diatta
Francois and Iraimi Diatta’s story begins with a simple but powerful calling: helping people feel better, physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Through their own active lifestyle, rooted in martial arts and nutrition, they saw firsthand how deeply health shapes every part of life. Wellness was not just about fitness or food. It was about confidence, discipline, energy, mindset, and the support people need to keep going. That belief eventually led them to open Empower Nutrition in Brockton.
What started as a small idea grew into something much larger.
Empower Nutrition became a space built around wellness, positive energy, and real connection. Customers come in for healthy shakes and energy teas, but they often leave with something more: encouragement, accountability, community, and a reminder that they are not walking through life alone.
For Francois and Iraimi, that matters because Brockton is not just where they opened a business.
It is the city that showed up for them.
During one of the most vulnerable seasons of their lives, Brockton embraced their family, supported them, and reminded them that they were not alone. That kind of love left a mark. So when it came time to build something, there was never a question about where.
“You don’t turn your back on the community that lifted you up,” they shared. “You pour back into it.”
That is the heart of their work.
Their personal stories add even more depth to that mission.
Iraimi was awarded the prestigious Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 2012, traveling solo for an entire year and living across four continents — an experience that reflects courage, curiosity, independence, and a deep capacity to connect across communities. Francois is a black belt in jiu-jitsu and was ranked the number one brown belt in the world in 2024, a testament to elite discipline, consistency, and mastery.
Together, they bring those experiences back into the city they serve.
For Francois and Iraimi, community is not abstract. It is personal. They have been part of graduations, comebacks, breakthroughs, and difficult seasons. They have watched Brockton show up for itself again and again, and that has pushed them to keep going.
Being named to the GBYP Freshman Class of ’26 gives them a moment to pause and recognize how far they have come — but they are clear about one thing:
They are just getting started.
They are building a healthier, stronger Brockton. A city where people feel seen, heard, and supported in their health journey — not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too.
A community that moves, grows, and wins together.
Building Empower Nutrition in Brockton is not only a business decision. It is gratitude in action. Every shake served, every conversation shared, every customer who walks in feeling low and leaves feeling encouraged is part of how Francois and Iraimi say thank you to the city that believed in them first.
Their boldest test came almost immediately.
Just five months after opening their doors, the pandemic hit. As brand-new business owners, there was no roadmap, no playbook, and no certainty about what would come next. But Empower Nutrition was deemed essential, and Francois and Iraimi took that responsibility seriously. People still needed support. They still needed community. They still needed to feel well.
So they showed up.
And Brockton showed up with them.
The same people they were trying to serve became the strength that carried them through. That experience shaped everything about how they operate today. For the duo, resilience is not just a word. It is a way of life — and it is something they are proud to reflect back into the community every day.
Their work also extends through Orion BJJ, their jiu-jitsu school, where discipline, confidence, and personal growth take another form. Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is about far more than physical training. It teaches humility, patience, focus, resilience, and the ability to stay calm under pressure. On the mat, people learn how to keep going when things get difficult — lessons that carry far beyond the gym.
Together, Empower Nutrition and Orion BJJ form a broader ecosystem of wellness and empowerment. One space helps people build healthier habits and community. The other helps people build confidence, discipline, and strength. Both are rooted in the same mission: helping Brockton become healthier, stronger, and more supported.
quick hits
entreprenuers of the year
Industry
Health, Wellness & Fitness
Businesses
Empower Nutrition
Orion BJJ
Focus Areas
Nutrition, fitness, confidence, accountability, and community empowerment
Defining Moment
Staying open during the pandemic just five months after launching Empower Nutrition
Mission
Building a healthier, stronger Brockton
Brockton In One Word
Resilient
why they stand out
Francois and Iraimi Diatta stand out because their entrepreneurship is rooted in gratitude, resilience, and transformation.
Their story is not simply about opening businesses. It is about being lifted by a community and choosing to pour that strength back into it. Brockton showed up for their family during a vulnerable season, and their work through Empower Nutrition and Orion BJJ has become a way of showing up in return.
That is what makes their impact so meaningful.
Empower Nutrition has become more than a wellness shop. It is a place where people come for energy, routine, encouragement, and connection. Orion BJJ adds another layer to that mission, creating a space where discipline, confidence, humility, and resilience are practiced every day.
Together, these businesses create a wellness ecosystem that reaches people physically, mentally, and emotionally.
What makes Francois and Iraimi especially compelling is how early their resilience was tested. Opening a business is already difficult. Opening a business five months before a global pandemic, and choosing to keep showing up anyway, required courage, adaptability, and faith in the community around them.
They did not just survive that season. They were shaped by it.
Their recognition as Entrepreneurs of the Year reflects more than business ownership. It reflects their ability to create spaces where people feel seen, supported, challenged, and empowered to become stronger versions of themselves.
They are not just building brands.
They are building habits.
They are building confidence.
They are building community.
And they are building it here.
Francois and Iraimi’s story is a reminder that entrepreneurship is not only about what you build , it is about who becomes stronger because you built it.
Through nutrition, jiu-jitsu, wellness, family, and community, they are helping shape a healthier and more empowered Brockton.
A city they describe in one word:
“Resilient.”
A city that showed up for them.
A city they are now showing up for.
A city they are helping move, grow, and win together.
This is only the beginning.
Explore the full Freshman Class ’26
a new generation of leaders, creatives, entrepreneurs, and community builders shaping Brockton’s next chapter.