WEBVTT - Don't Drop the T 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:15.200 Welcome to wok af with me Danielle Moody. As this 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:17.400 month of Pride comes to a close, I wanted to 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:20.320 call some attention to what is arguably the most forgotten 0:00:20.520 --> 0:00:24.799 or even vilified letter under the LGBTQ plus umbrella, the 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:29.280 T for transgender people. In recent years, there has been 0:00:29.280 --> 0:00:32.360 a revival of anti trans bills throughout the United States, 0:00:32.720 --> 0:00:37.280 especially restricting healthcare and athletics for transgender Americans. Last week, 0:00:37.320 --> 0:00:39.560 I was joined on my Patreon, which you can join 0:00:39.720 --> 0:00:42.760 right now at patreon dot com. Slash woke af by 0:00:42.800 --> 0:00:47.360 Ilia Parker, creator of Decolonizing Fitness and participant in Fit 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:51.640 for Us. Ilia's mission is to detoxify fitness spaces, and 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:54.920 together with these organizations, they are working to make supportive 0:00:54.960 --> 0:00:58.880 and safe spaces for people of all genders and sexualities. 0:00:59.000 --> 0:01:00.920 As many of us leave of our home gyms and 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:05.120 head back into society, it's important to make them better, healthier, 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:09.160 and more inclusive spaces for fitness, and Ilia is doing 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:12.080 his part to effect change and raise awareness. Once you 0:01:12.080 --> 0:01:16.120 hear our conversation, I hope you do as well. Elia. 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:21.240 Let's talk about how this all came to be. How 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:26.000 Fit for Us moved from being what I have read 0:01:26.040 --> 0:01:29.960 and learned from like a WhatsApp chat group, to an 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:36.039 actual organization. And why, Absolutely, that's a great question, Danielle, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:39.440 And I'm excited to be here. So I think with 0:01:39.560 --> 0:01:42.880 any institution, because we need to look at fitness first 0:01:42.880 --> 0:01:47.960 and foremost as an institution, and historically institutions are usually 0:01:47.960 --> 0:01:52.640 embedded in white supremacy. So fitness, when we talk about fitness, 0:01:52.680 --> 0:01:56.280 we talk about a group of individuals that create a culture. 0:01:56.760 --> 0:02:00.200 And this culture is usually dominated by white system men 0:02:00.720 --> 0:02:04.080 six men who are able body, who are thin, who 0:02:04.120 --> 0:02:08.120 are aesthetically pleasing by European beauty standards, and so on 0:02:08.240 --> 0:02:11.880 and so forth. So fitness Fit for Us was a 0:02:12.000 --> 0:02:18.200 call to that, a call to so decolonize away from 0:02:18.480 --> 0:02:23.360 this toxic fitness culture into more of a culture that 0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:27.919 is not only carving space for black folks, but also 0:02:28.040 --> 0:02:31.520 celebrating black folks and making sure that we highlight the 0:02:31.600 --> 0:02:35.600 inequities and do something about it. So I love that 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:39.360 Fit for Us now is bringing members of the black 0:02:39.360 --> 0:02:43.480 community and fitness and wellness spaces that also exists beyond 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:47.600 the typical, the stereotypical version of what we think is 0:02:47.639 --> 0:02:51.040 a personal trainer or a wellness professional, and then you 0:02:51.080 --> 0:02:55.080 start bringing in the more marginalized voices within the black community. 0:02:56.080 --> 0:02:58.799 You know, one of the things I found so interesting 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:03.679 as I was reading up on your work and on 0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:07.799 Fit for Us is, you know, when we think about 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:12.280 how black and brown bodies have been policed, when we 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:16.680 think about you know, you just brought up these European 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:20.960 standards of beauty, even with some of the biggest athletes 0:03:21.160 --> 0:03:25.960 in the world. Right I'm thinking about, you know, Serena 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:31.280 Williams and how disrespected her body and just herself has 0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:36.480 been throughout her career, and thinking about right now the 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:42.000 attacks on trans youth right in Florida, in these places 0:03:42.040 --> 0:03:47.240 where they're saying, oh, transgender girls can't play sports with 0:03:47.320 --> 0:03:50.600 their peers, right, which is a really big part of 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:54.360 creating community and self esteem in young people. Can you 0:03:54.520 --> 0:04:00.960 talk to like your response to this target that is 0:04:01.000 --> 0:04:07.680 happening right now, particularly around trans youth and sports. We've 0:04:07.720 --> 0:04:13.280 always highlighted the hierarchy that exists in the LGBT community, 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:18.200 and because of that hierarchy, we've always positioned what we 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:23.599 thought was important for LGBT voices, and throughout that we've 0:04:23.600 --> 0:04:27.680 seen an erasure of trans people, and particularly back to 0:04:27.839 --> 0:04:33.840 black trans people. So with marriage equality that usually lifted up, 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:38.960 CISS had assumed or this normal package of what LGB 0:04:39.240 --> 0:04:44.560 looks like, it diminished and further erased trans folks. And 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:47.000 so now you're seeing an uptick in this type of 0:04:47.040 --> 0:04:51.960 anti trans legislation. So we give a direct pushback. Number one, 0:04:52.000 --> 0:04:56.080 I do want to say that we've constantly been doing 0:04:56.160 --> 0:05:00.880 this work. So people now are understanding because it's hitting 0:05:00.960 --> 0:05:05.800 more of online spacious social media. Everyone's conscious people want 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:09.160 to know. But we've been working against the erasure of 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:13.200 trans folks way back when when cross dressing laws were 0:05:13.240 --> 0:05:16.800 in effect, way back when, even when you go all 0:05:16.839 --> 0:05:21.320 the way back to enslavement and the legal the forming 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:26.559 of disrupting the enslavement and then you having the slave 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:30.159 patrol calls that coming out of that, all folks who 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:34.320 existed beyond the gender buyingary had to deal with this 0:05:34.440 --> 0:05:38.640 type of So now what we're doing is we're calling 0:05:38.800 --> 0:05:42.600 attention to that, but we're making sure we let folks 0:05:42.680 --> 0:05:45.520 know that this hierarchy exists and we have to do 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:49.160 away with the hierarchy even within our community. You know, 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:52.880 it's so important that you say that because I was 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:56.960 one of you know, many people who was on the 0:05:57.000 --> 0:06:00.839 front lines with regard to marriage equality. And I've been 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:04.400 you know, I worked on the hill and did various 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:08.360 forms of policy work on social justice issues throughout my career. 0:06:09.200 --> 0:06:12.560 But I can remember being on Capitol Hill and this 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.640 is you know, this is many years ago, and them, 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:22.720 you know, wanting to create lgbt inclusive legislation, but having 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:27.720 an active conversation about removing the t removing just let's 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:32.480 just focus on lgb We'll come back, they were saying. 0:06:32.560 --> 0:06:36.120 And these were you know, these are politicians, legislator, these 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:43.240 are people also within the LGBTQ advocacy space saying no, no, no, 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:45.760 we're good. Well we'll come back for them. And I 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:48.840 remember sitting at a table and saying, no, you won't. 0:06:49.440 --> 0:06:52.880 You never circle back. We're here right now because you, 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:57.800 because of how people have been marginalized, you'd never circle back. 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.520 And I said, and if you can't with in the 0:07:00.560 --> 0:07:05.200 context of our own community, within the LGBTQI a community, 0:07:05.520 --> 0:07:09.120 recognize the importance of lifting everyone up, particularly the most 0:07:09.160 --> 0:07:13.200 marginalized of us. If your responses will will come back 0:07:13.360 --> 0:07:19.000 at a later date, like what does that say about 0:07:19.000 --> 0:07:24.480 our inclusiveive inclusivity when we're asking the mainstream CYS society 0:07:25.560 --> 0:07:29.800 to include us, and but we are acting actively excluding 0:07:30.680 --> 0:07:35.760 trans the trans community from the work because it's too 0:07:35.800 --> 0:07:38.440 hard right this in these word that they do you 0:07:38.640 --> 0:07:43.360 feel like there has been any movement in a way 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:48.000 to have more inclusivity or do you feel like as 0:07:48.520 --> 0:07:52.640 part of the trans community you're still fighting to be 0:07:52.800 --> 0:07:57.560 recognized and seen within the community as a whole. I 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:00.640 think that's where I want to bring Fit for Us 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:03.720 back into this conversation, because that's where I see the 0:08:03.760 --> 0:08:06.840 movement work. Because what happened was when we think about 0:08:06.880 --> 0:08:11.880 the harbor dreadful bathroom bills in my home state that 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:13.480 got a lot of attention for that, it was a 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:17.920 lot of grassroots organizing that inform legislative policies that shut 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:21.360 that down. A lot of grassroots organizing is happening now 0:08:21.680 --> 0:08:24.120 to shut down a lot of the anti trans legislation 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:27.080 that we see. And so when we have organizations that 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:29.920 Fit for Us, that reach to the roots of community, 0:08:30.240 --> 0:08:33.040 that pull those community members up who've been boots on 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:36.400 the ground, myself included. I've been a grassroots organizer for 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:39.720 about fifteen years now and so when we merge with 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:44.040 organizations where you have the grassroot influence who really value 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:47.079 our lived experience and the work that we do, and 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:50.439 then are able to partner with corporations and companies and 0:08:50.600 --> 0:08:53.760 other major ords that we never ever be on the 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:57.160 radar for, that's where the work. That's where we feel 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:01.800 included and not only included, but literally dismantling these systems. 0:09:01.880 --> 0:09:04.840 But because we can't be included in systems that are 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:09.240 rooted in white supremacy, that's never going to work. You know. 0:09:09.640 --> 0:09:15.160 In the self article that Fit for Us was profiled 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:20.040 in the Conversation. Part of it was about how, following 0:09:20.520 --> 0:09:23.920 the murder of George Floyd that we all witnessed and 0:09:23.960 --> 0:09:30.400 then now the trial which retraumatized many of US, companies, 0:09:31.040 --> 0:09:38.440 you know, particularly health and fitness companies ran to declare there, 0:09:38.480 --> 0:09:41.360 you know, we're we're anti racists, like we don't stand 0:09:41.360 --> 0:09:44.559 for racism. And you know it, during Pride Month they 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:49.120 run to put up their rainbows and commodify pride. Right, 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:54.560 how do you make how do you build the bridge 0:09:54.760 --> 0:10:02.400 between the commodification that is happening around inclusivity? Right, these 0:10:02.600 --> 0:10:05.640 health companies and fitness companies saying Oh yeah, we're doing 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:08.559 these you know, we're doing the work by putting out 0:10:08.640 --> 0:10:12.160 their statements, but then it doesn't actually connect back to 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:15.679 the instructors that they're employing the people that are coming 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:18.640 into the classes. So how do you build that bridge 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:24.760 between making these very you know, declarative statements but then 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:31.280 not actually changing structurally and through your policy, we continue 0:10:31.320 --> 0:10:33.360 to hold them to account and hold them to the 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:36.560 fire and essentially tell them to cash in on all 0:10:36.600 --> 0:10:39.160 the promises they made, and then we show them how 0:10:39.160 --> 0:10:42.520 to do that when we partner with organizations that are 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:46.040 actually doing that work. For example Fit for Us. Now 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:52.480 I have the opportunity coming up to be one of 0:10:52.480 --> 0:10:56.120 the feature keynote speakers for a diversity, Equity, Inclusion and 0:10:56.200 --> 0:11:00.600 Belonging panel that's happening with Class Pass Fit for Us. 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:04.280 As partnering with these organizations, this puts me in a 0:11:04.360 --> 0:11:09.120 room with major, major companies who can directly see and 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:12.120 learn from the folks who are doing this work. And 0:11:12.160 --> 0:11:15.440 then we help them build the blueprint. We know this 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:18.840 takes tim We help them build the blueprint and we 0:11:18.920 --> 0:11:21.760 show them what to do and continue to hire us 0:11:21.800 --> 0:11:24.600 and bring us in these organizations so it can be 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:26.880 done because there's a lot of companies out there that 0:11:26.920 --> 0:11:29.679 are actually doing the work. It should be more, but 0:11:29.720 --> 0:11:31.920 it's folks that are out there doing the work. Now, 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:37.960 what does it look like? What does success look like 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:40.720 for fit for us? What does it look like to 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:46.600 feel in a way we are making progress, We are 0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:53.000 denting this very enormous industry right and changing it for 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:58.120 the better. That's a great question. I think understanding that 0:11:58.200 --> 0:12:04.440 it's a consistent thing. Understanding that we are reflective of 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:09.520 our community and we actually help to move away from 0:12:09.520 --> 0:12:12.319 some of the disparities that black and brown folks face, 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:17.679 in particular black folks with multiple intersecting identities of oppression, 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:22.079 and also realizing that the onus as a collective, especially 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:25.880 since we're so rooted in doing the work for black folks, 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:30.000 that it always shouldn't fall on our shoulders. So success 0:12:30.040 --> 0:12:33.079 for me also looks like the looks like the partnerships 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:36.640 that we're merging with major corporations continue to do the 0:12:36.679 --> 0:12:40.960 work and elevate us with resources financing, putting us in 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:44.800 the right rooms, with folks continuing to amplify our work 0:12:44.840 --> 0:12:47.560 as best that they can. Because I just have to 0:12:47.640 --> 0:12:51.360 be explicit, we can do this work, but we need 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:56.199 help with the greater community always. Do you feel like 0:12:56.240 --> 0:13:01.280 you've had to do how to do like purposeful education 0:13:01.520 --> 0:13:06.640 process to explain to people how white supremacy works in 0:13:06.720 --> 0:13:09.480 this space or do you think that pete folks get 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:12.000 it right, Because I feel like we're in a space 0:13:12.120 --> 0:13:16.080 right now in so many different ways, still having to 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:20.440 explain to people how that one that white supremacy and 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:23.920 white privilege exist, that we're still in that place and 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:29.600 so getting to the actual work of unlearning this behavior, 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:33.520 we're not even really on that path because we're still 0:13:33.520 --> 0:13:35.439 It's like I'm trying to convince you still the sky 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:38.160 is blue. Well, I can't move into gravity and all 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:41.000 of these different facets of the atmosphere and what have you, 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:44.480 because I'm still in this like very elementary place. Do 0:13:44.520 --> 0:13:48.120 you feel like that? Yeah? And I feel like more 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:50.280 so because I think white folks get it. I know 0:13:50.320 --> 0:13:52.160 white folks get it. You can't not get it. I 0:13:52.200 --> 0:13:55.680 think it's more so white folks feeling like we have 0:13:55.760 --> 0:14:00.840 to be palpable or we have to coddle their feelings 0:14:00.880 --> 0:14:04.320 and make sure it's delivered in a particular way. And 0:14:04.360 --> 0:14:06.280 so I want to lift up even the privilege that 0:14:06.320 --> 0:14:09.480 I carry with that as someone who is light skinned, 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:12.480 someone who speaks well, someone who has a little bit 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:15.720 of accolades, that white people listen to me a little differently. 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:18.200 But I'm saying the same stuff that all my kindred 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:20.760 is same. So I think white folks get it. But 0:14:20.880 --> 0:14:24.760 once we get past the place of I want you 0:14:24.840 --> 0:14:27.600 to deliver it this way in order for me to 0:14:27.680 --> 0:14:32.760 affirm it and validate your experience that I'm really ready 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:35.120 and willing to do the work with you in a 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:39.200 sustainable way. Those are the conversations we need to continue 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:42.320 to have. You know, I want to talk about for 0:14:42.360 --> 0:14:45.400 a minute to because it's just, you know, it's popped 0:14:45.440 --> 0:14:50.920 into my mind about how how is the pandemic played 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:58.800 out in the feeling of inclusivity with working out right, 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:02.520 Like jims were closed, you know, places where you took 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:07.280 classes were closed, and then folks were online, right, So 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:12.720 the anxiety, maybe the fear of having to walk into 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:16.080 these spaces and not know how you were going to 0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:21.040 be treated. Did you find that in some ways for 0:15:21.520 --> 0:15:25.400 the community, if they were doing this kind of doing 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:29.160 health and fitness online, that it was a better and 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:32.920 safer place to engage like did you did you find 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:37.840 like any upsides? I would say to us being inside, Oh, absolutely, 0:15:38.200 --> 0:15:43.400 you know, because now on a greater scale, fitness institutions, 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:48.720 businesses everywhere has been forced to do essentially what my 0:15:48.880 --> 0:15:51.800 Kindred has been doing around the work of disability justice. 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:57.119 They've been wanting to make spaces more accessible and providing 0:15:57.160 --> 0:16:01.560 an online opportunity that's embedded in your practice is making 0:16:01.640 --> 0:16:04.680 spaces more accessible. And so this is a this is 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:08.720 a major shift for the fitness industry because I know 0:16:08.880 --> 0:16:12.240 a lot of companies have established so much of an 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:14.880 online presence now because of the pandemic, they're just keeping 0:16:14.920 --> 0:16:18.960 that factor in their business. So that allows for them 0:16:19.040 --> 0:16:22.880 to support a wide, diverse group of people that they 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:27.880 normally wouldn't serve. So this is great. Yeah, I found 0:16:27.920 --> 0:16:32.280 that too. You know, I say on the show often 0:16:32.400 --> 0:16:35.920 that you know, with obstacles, you know, you can look 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:40.000 at obstacles as opportunities, right, and the pandemic, you know, 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:43.240 presented a lot of obstacles also showed us a lot 0:16:43.280 --> 0:16:46.160 of the institutional issues that we kind of just swept 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:48.560 under the rug and figure that they would you know, 0:16:48.640 --> 0:16:52.040 figure themselves out at some point and they were exasperated, 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:55.440 exacerbated by the pandemic. But then there was this other 0:16:55.480 --> 0:16:59.440 side right where folks who had been traditionally shut out 0:17:00.080 --> 0:17:06.240 UM had a weigh in because everyone was online UM. 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:10.040 And so for folks you know who who have UM, 0:17:10.080 --> 0:17:13.600 who have who have disabilities, I thought to myself, you know, 0:17:14.080 --> 0:17:17.480 this is a tremendous opportunity right in to work in 0:17:17.560 --> 0:17:21.160 different spaces, in different places where you have been shut out, right, 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:24.720 not even interviewed, not even you know, looked at UM 0:17:24.760 --> 0:17:27.720 in any type of way. And I've been thinking, you 0:17:27.760 --> 0:17:32.600 know too, with regard again to to queer youth right 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:36.680 and the fact that being online and learning online UM 0:17:36.880 --> 0:17:40.000 decrease the bullying in some there was new ways of 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:43.120 bullying that I that I have heard about, but decrease 0:17:43.240 --> 0:17:46.040 the pressure, the social anxiety of what it means to 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:49.919 kind of show up in the classroom. UM. What do 0:17:49.960 --> 0:17:56.040 you feel like the community needs to do in order 0:17:56.119 --> 0:18:00.719 to continue to uplift the needs and center the needs 0:18:00.800 --> 0:18:04.439 of trans folks in the health and fitness space and 0:18:04.560 --> 0:18:07.800 in general. I'm really quick. I want to go back 0:18:07.840 --> 0:18:10.840 to what I just shared. I want to be clear 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.359 that there's still so much work. As you highlight it 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:16.320 to there's still so much work for those of us 0:18:16.359 --> 0:18:20.080 who are most marginalized. There have been spaces of opportunity, 0:18:20.640 --> 0:18:25.200 but it's disabled folks in general. We need to continue 0:18:25.240 --> 0:18:26.879 to do as much as we can to lift them 0:18:26.960 --> 0:18:31.359 up in fitness and wellness spaces period. But I think 0:18:31.440 --> 0:18:38.560 the work continues around being reflective as a practice as 0:18:38.560 --> 0:18:44.160 a person, what biases you hold, where your sticking points 0:18:44.240 --> 0:18:50.560 are with your exclusivity and fitness. Fitness is very very 0:18:50.800 --> 0:18:58.000 very exclusive industry that define certain people as experts that 0:18:58.280 --> 0:19:02.760 very rarely listens to particular groups. And that's why I 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:05.960 created Decolonizing fitness in the first place, to carve spaces 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:10.080 for those vulnerable boat populations who could benefit the most 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:14.600 from fitness and wellness services. So it's about being reflective. 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:18.240 It's about getting honest with what your practices look like, 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:21.639 what your business models are. It's about bringing in the 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:25.720 people who can understand and help you without exploiting them, 0:19:26.000 --> 0:19:28.600 And it's about getting down and doing the work. And 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:33.600 it's as simple as that. What is next elia form 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:40.119 fit for us and for decolonizing fitness. How can people 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:43.400 get involved if they're if they're interested in learning more, 0:19:43.560 --> 0:19:46.160 if they're folks that are listening to this that want 0:19:46.160 --> 0:19:50.840 to partner. Please absolutely, First, you can go to Fit 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:53.760 for Us dot org and plug in and become a member. 0:19:54.119 --> 0:19:57.080 You can follow Fit for Us on social media. Instagram 0:19:57.160 --> 0:20:00.880 is my favorite social media platform. You can follow us there. 0:20:01.280 --> 0:20:04.880 You can reach out to me directly on you can 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:08.480 reach out to me on my website, Decolonizing Fitness dot com. 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:13.439 And I'm always open to answering questions. So become a 0:20:13.520 --> 0:20:16.479 member of Fit for Us learn, especially if you're a 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:20.480 black fitness and wellness professional. If you're a corporation or 0:20:20.600 --> 0:20:23.920 work for a major organization, again, reach out to Fit 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:28.280 for Us. We're constantly partnering with companies I like I mentioned, 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:32.560 I do DAIB consultancy work for Fit for Us, so 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:35.719 I would love to come in and work with their organization. 0:20:35.880 --> 0:20:38.040 We have a wonderful team. I'm not the only one 0:20:38.080 --> 0:20:41.440 that does that inclusion work, but we have a wonderful 0:20:41.480 --> 0:20:44.120 team of folks that are willing to work with you now, 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:47.639 So just reach out to us and extend that branch 0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:54.040 to us and let's do this work. Acceptance for the 0:20:54.080 --> 0:20:57.040 trans folks in our community is crucially important. Whether you 0:20:57.040 --> 0:21:00.520 are under the LGBTQ plus umbrella or not, it is 0:21:00.560 --> 0:21:03.560 not an exaggeration to say that transgender people are under 0:21:03.560 --> 0:21:07.399 attack throughout our country. Finding against anti trans legislation in 0:21:07.400 --> 0:21:10.600 this moment and beyond is crucially important, but it's also 0:21:10.680 --> 0:21:14.680 important to create spaces of safety and acceptance. Since many 0:21:14.720 --> 0:21:17.280 of these hate bills are about banning trans athletes from 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:20.359 participating in sports, it's even more important to create an 0:21:20.359 --> 0:21:24.600 accepting environment. In the world of fitness. Ilia Parker, Decolonizing 0:21:24.600 --> 0:21:27.160 Fitness and Fit for Us are all doing the work 0:21:27.200 --> 0:21:30.840 to drive us towards that necessary reality. I will be 0:21:30.880 --> 0:21:33.679 having more of these conversations, so to hear them as 0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:35.959 soon as they go live, and to support me in 0:21:35.960 --> 0:21:38.880 my mission to make our world a woker place, consider 0:21:38.960 --> 0:21:42.840 joining the WOKEAF Nation on Patreon at patreon dot com 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:47.160 slash wokeaf You'll get five full one hour episodes every week, 0:21:47.240 --> 0:21:50.560 exclusive interviews, and some fun bonus content, and I'll be 0:21:50.600 --> 0:21:53.320 back here next week with some exciting news on what's 0:21:53.359 --> 0:21:56.760 next for the podcast, So stay tuned. Power to the 0:21:56.800 --> 0:21:59.600 people and to all the people. Power, get woke, and 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:01.040 stay woke as fuck.