Dear Health & Fitness Industry...
The recent unjustified killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd has certainly rocked us, our family and friends to the core. We’ve had plenty of conversations over the past few weeks where we talked about our outrage, allyship and moments of needing a break from everything. Every day, more voices are speaking up. More people are using their platforms to share their experiences, point out injustice and demand action. The fitness industry is definitely not exempt from this conversation.
Earlier this week, Olympic athlete and entrepreneur Louise Hazel penned an open letter to the fitness industry calling out the inequality and lack of representation across the industry. Hazel asked for signatures from black women across the industry in hopes of presenting the letter to fitness executives and brands, opening the door for more honest conversation. Her goal is to build a database of black women in the industry to connect, to be seen, to be hired. Our names are now added to this list.
Fit with Finesse was started to be a community for women of color. We were tired of walking into fitness studios and not feeling like we belonged. We were tired of attending fitness events and not seeing ourselves represented on stage. We were tired of opening fitness magazines and noticing only one aesthetic in their fitness models. As we studied for and obtained our personal and group training certifications, we wanted to make sure we were able to not only train our community, but also advocate for them.
In a world where Black women over the age of 20 are more at risk for obesity than any other female demographic, where our community largely suffers from conditions like high blood pressure, where we have immense buying power, how does inequality still exist in the industry. This is the question we’ve asked each other repeatedly, “Why aren’t we seen in the fitness industry?” That’s the question Hazel posed so eloquently and attached demands to.
We added our signature for a few key reasons. Hazel’s message called on the industry to:
Show real change and commitment to representation and inclusion, not just pander to Bllack women.
Make strides to hire Black women the that represent the full range of our beauty. Spotlight Black women across the full spectrum of our skin tones and body types. Not just fitness models that fit the “ambiguous” mold.
Pay us. Pay us equal to what you would pay our white counterparts. Pay us to tell our own stories and not water them down. Pay us to showcase our own styles.
Acknowledge the full range of passions across our people. We know black people are not a monolith. It’s time to showcase that broadly. Black women hike. Black women ski. Black women surf. Black women rock climb.
Each of the points in Hazel’s open letter resonated with us. Finally, we feel seen and we are excited to get behind whatever steps are coming next. In the meantime, check out a personal story from each of us that speaks to the importance of this open letter and our commitment to continue creating great content for all our readers that showcases our passion and love for the industry, advocating for ourselves and using our platform to amplify the voices of Black women across the fitness industry.
CaCera
Exploring is just at the core of who I am. It’s why I love reading and traveling so much. I’m happiest when there is a little adventure ahead of me. Any time I travel, I make a point to visit various fitness studios in each city I visit. This makes me a better trainer. I’m able to get new ideas and moves that I can bring back to my clients or incorporate in my classes. It exposes me to different teaching styles, some that make me stronger and others that give me an example of what not to do.
The first thing I do when booking classes is to see if there is a Black trainer on staff that I can support. Sounds simple enough, right? Too often, I’ve had to make the choice to support a different studio or not attend a workout I was looking forward to because there was no one on staff that looked like me.
The fact is, stepping into a studio that clearly does not cater to a diverse clientele can be polarizing. There have been plenty of times I stepped into a studio and the front desk staff was surprised, almost stumbling over themselves, to see me there. Fitness studios thrive on Black culture. The hip hop-themed classes, the rap music blaring over the speaker, the fit girls they’ve chosen to rep their studio brand rocking boxer braids (cornrows), the culture is all ours. But, the ability to hire us, welcome us and train us is lacking and we are speaking out.
Shawnie
I am a woman, like many, who struggled with self-love and positive perception of my body. Today when I look in the mirror, I see a beautiful, brown-skinned woman who has a curvy, athletic body and a love and passion for helping others progress through their own health journeys. However, there have been many moments when I walk into a new fitness studio or a branded fitness event and felt invisible. Not seeing yourself in the room is a silent frustration felt by many black fitness enthusiasts and trainers.
The last few weeks have been interesting. My email was flooded with “We care about black lives” emails from fitness and health brands I have followed for years. This sudden support for my life felt forced. I had silently accepted that I would never see a face like mine in their clothes, promoting their energy drinks or being featured on their business podcasts. While I appreciated the “rose-colored glasses” being removed from the masses, I still craved a genuine change in our fitness community.
Which is why I was so moved by this open letter.
I can recall a time when CaCera had some friends in town, and we decided to take them to a rooftop silent- yoga event in Downtown LA. I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity in the crowd. I was particularly excited by another group of black women, getting their zen on. As the universe would have, after the event and selfies, we all headed into the elevator at the same time. After a few seconds of silence, someone finally said, “it was good to see another Black girl out there,” and just like that, a burst of riotous laughter and loud-talking commenced.
We saw each other, and it felt good. This is a feeling I strive for with every class I teach, every blog post I write, and with every social media post. We are deserving of equal treatment in this industry that we all love. I hope we can move the needle, one burpee at a time.