When others talk about your positive virtues . . . rather than tooting your own horn . . . other peer groups tend to listen more intently.

That’s exactly what took place at the GENYOUth’s Gala when Fuel Up to Play 60 students Hayden and Makhi took the stage to sing a self-written, hip-hop number to inspire fellow students.

“Healthy all day, healthy all night. Eating good food, trying to keep our bodies right,” sang out Hayden, who attends school in South Dakota.

“Try to exercise even if it’s rainy, watch your food choices, and start consuming dairy,” continued the talented Hayden. “Drinking milk, eating yogurt keeps your body strong. Eating healthy everyday can never go wrong.”

More: Fuel Up to Play 60’s fuel

Hayden is just one of the 38 million school children from across the United States who has been inspired by the Fuel Up to Play 60 program — the largest in-school health and wellness program in the country reaching more than 73,000 schools. The original debut of this creative hip-hop song took place at a Fuel Up to Play 60 Student Ambassador Summit when student leaders from across the country gathered to talk healthy eating (Fuel Up) and exercise (Play 60) . . . hence the Fuel Up to Play 60 name.

In creating the melody, he worked with a fellow student, Makhi.

Blocks from Times Square
“Prepping the generation, not on one occasion, we can help them from across the nation,” Makhi sang out, picking up the pace of the song at the Ziegfeld Ballroom just blocks from New York City’s Time Square.

“We’ll make a grand sensation, not on one location, it’ll last us a long duration,” sang the New Jersey student.

“We fueling up, and we playing 60. Get up, stay active, and do it with me. I’m preparing for a better future and eating healthy helps get us there quickly,” he continued, singing his own take on the national Fuel Up to Play 60 program first started by the National Football League (NFL) and the National Dairy Council funded by dairy farmers.

“Prepping the youth for the future yeah! Teaching them just like a tutor yeah!”

“Fuel greatness, fuel greatness. There is no limit to my greatness.”

More: The NFL and dairy farmers are changing lives

Reaching consumers in their space
Fuel Up to Play 60 not only engages students in their schools, it gets students talking to one another about healthy eating. It’s a conversation that is — quite frankly — priceless.

For dairy’s part, the National Dairy Council is funded through Dairy Management Inc., and the dairy farmer-funded dairy checkoff. Since the launch of Fuel Up to Play 60, additional dairy organizations have stepped up to lend additional support including Domino’s, Land O’Lakes, Leprino, and Schreiber.