Creating a truly liberatory space for fat/plus-size bodies is revolutionary. Creating that for hiking trails? That’s next level! Avery Swartz (she/her) is here to share how the Greater Toronto Area chapter of the Body Liberation Hiking Club launched on April 2023 and is a space free of diet culture talk, open and accepting of all bodies, and provides community and connection to nature (i.e. no jerks allowed!). See you on the trail.

Avery Swartz is the founder and CEO of Camp Tech, the tech workshop company for non-technical people. She is the author of the best-selling book See You on the Internet: Building Your Small Business with Digital Marketing. Avery is the resident tech contributor on CTV Your Morning and has contributed to The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, and Today's Parent. She was ranked number 5 on Search Engine Journal's Top 50 Women in Marketing list and has been a Professor at both Toronto Metropolitan University and Humber College. She lives in Toronto.

Please check out Greater Toronto Area Hiking Club on IG and the original Body Liberation Hiking Club.

Also, Avery mentioned the Art of Gathering by Priya Parker.

There’s more bonus content with Avery through Apple Subscriptions and on Patreon.

This episode’s poem is called “Just Beyond Yourself” by David Whyte.

Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!).

Want to share the love? Please rate this podcast and give it a review.

Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

Dra. Monica Peralta (she/her) is a fierce advocate for weight-inclusive care. In this fiery conversation, she takes us through the myths and misunderstandings of diabetes (spoiler: pre-diabetes is fake!) and how anti-fat bias colours patient care practices. Monica believes in reconnecting patients to their bodies, helping them learn about their disease, and empowering them towards greater health from a weight-inclusive perspective. She is a controversial figure in her home country of Nicaragua but chooses to continue her work in the hopes of shifting weight stigma for future generations.

Monica is a physician, intuitive eating pro counselor and certified mindful eating and body liberation provider. She holds postgraduate degrees in nutrition and diabetes. During direct patient care, she is determined to provide a safe space for her patients using a weight inclusive approach. Her advocacy work involves raising awareness with scientific evidence on how weight stigma and the pathologization of bodies causes systemic discrimination and oppression. While living in a fat body, she promotes body diversity and fights fatphobia one social standard at a time.

Please connect with Monica on Instagram and by email.

This episode’s poem is by Kate Marshall Flaherty and is called “Sojourn, Camino.”

Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!). And please also give us a rating & subscribe.

Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

Martinus Evans (he/him) spent his life being too big and then not being big enough when he started playing football. After a car accident changed his life, he realized that he wanted to move his body just for the joy of it and let go of obsessing about his weight. As he started running, slowly, his message resonated with others, and the Slow AF Run Club was born. He shares his ups and downs and the biggest surprise he’s had while creating the club.

Martinus Evans has run over eight marathons since his doctor told him to “lose weight or die” in July 2012. Since then, he’s also coached hundreds of runners and founded the Slow AF Run Club, a community of over 10,000 members worldwide. He is also the author of the book, “Slow AF Run Club: The ultimate guide for anybody who wants to run.” When he’s not running races around the world, he enjoys speaking passionately about issues related to size-inclusivity, mindset, DEI and mental health.

Please read the first chapter of the book here, connect with Martinus on Instagram, and the Slow AF Store.

This episode’s poem is by Ros Barber and is called, “How to Leave the World that Worships Should.”

Hello lovely, Sophia here! Centering Black, Brown, and Indigenous voices on this podcast has been a goal from the start. And one of the ways to support marginalized voices in this space is by offering an honorarium to our guests. With your help, I can do that. If it’s within your means, please consider becoming a Patron or subscribing to the bonus episodes through Apple’s podcast player right on your device. As a thank you, you’ll get a bonus episode from each guest where they answer questions they often haven’t thought about before. It’s hilarious and so much comes out that didn’t make it to the main podcast episode.

Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!). And please also give us a rating & subscribe.

Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

Content Warning: There are mentions of violent sexual assault, but no details are shared. There is mention of sexual assault of a child, again, no details.

Author and photographer Eden Boudreau (she/her) experienced a violent sexual assault that deeply impacted her relationship with her body. In this episode, she shares her hard-won journey to regaining her body autonomy, how her PTSD symptoms were ignored and she was told to ‘just lose weight,’ and how writing this book helped her recovery.

Using her own life experiences as a bisexual, polyamorous woman who has survived her fair share of adversity as inspiration, Eden’s essays have been published in major publications such as Flare, Today’s Parent and Runner’s World Magazine. Eden also hosts the podcast, Dear Lonely Writer, and her debut memoir, CRYING WOLF from Book*Hug Press arrives on shelves March 22, 2023, which follows her difficult road to recovery after a violent sexual assault, with disbelievers at every turn due in part to her non-traditional lifestyle. In her (minimal) free time, Eden spends it with her three sons, menageries of pets – including a duck named Dave – at their home in Georgina, ON.

Please connect with Eden on her website, Instagram, Facebook, and twitter.

This episode’s poem is by Danusha Lameris and is called “The Heart is Not.”

Hello Fat Joy fan, Sophia here. This episode with Eden is so powerful. I’m in awe that I get to share Eden’s courage and vulnerability with you. In order to continue hosting guests and producing the podcast, I’d like to ask for your support by subscribing through Patreon or Apple Subscriptions directly from the Apple Podcasts player. As a thank you, you’ll get bonus content with each guest as they get taken through a series of unexpected questions in a segment called Some Extra Fat Joy: 10 Qs.

Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!). And please also give us a rating & subscribe.

Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

Both Sophia and her guest, Vinny Welsby (they/them) have experienced feeling like their romantic partner wasn’t attracted to them because of their fat bodies. In this episode, they’re exploring what’s beneath the surface of these feelings and what to do when faced with this type of anti-fatness from our partners…and from ourselves.

Vinny is a fat activist and senior diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant. They are a world-leading expert on dismantling weight bias and diet culture, a TEDx speaker, podcast host and best-selling author. Vinny is trans-non-binary and is dedicated to shifting how society views fat and queer bodies through education and compassion. When Vinny isn’t talking about DEI stuff, they love snuggling with their dog, rollerskating, cross-stitching swear words, and singing in a rock choir.

Go to the Dominican Republic with Vinny!

As mentioned in this episode, check out Make Love Not Porn, Vivianne McMaster’s Be Your Own Beloved, and listen to Vivianne’s episode on the Fat Joy podcast here.

Please connect with Vinny on their website, Instagram, Facebook, and email.

This episode’s poem is called “Pinot Grigio is Not a Concept” by Melissa Studdard.

Hello lovely, Sophia here! If you’ve listened to Fat Joy before and enjoyed it, can you please give us a rating and leave a comment too? I’m working hard behind-the-scenes to raise the profile of Fat Joy, and you rating, reviewing, and subscribing to the podcast all help with that. Thank you so much!

Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!)

Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

Andy Neal’s (he/him) grumpy hiker video went viral in January 2022, and he abruptly found himself representing fat & plus-size bodies in the outdoor space. Andy shares his journey from never being an outdoorsy kid to his binge eating diagnosis to going on his first hike at the request of his therapist. And how one person from a plus-size hiking group changed how he felt about his body and kick-started his own body liberation journey.

Andy is a plus-size men’s outdoor and fashion model, actor, and social media influencer. Andy has worked for national brands CNOC Outdoors, Eddie Bauer, Every Man Jack, US Foods, Bear Vault, Sawyer Products, Gregory Packs, Columbia Sportswear and many more. Andy has a strong social media following with over 170K on Instagram and 25k TikTok with millions of views on TikTok and Instagram Reels having “gone viral” numerous times. As well as modeling, Andy is also the host of The Hiker Podcast, a top 100 Wilderness/Outdoor Podcast on Apple Podcasts.

Organizations we mentioned in the episode: Unlikely Hikers and Gregory Packs.

Connect with Andy on his website, Instagram, and TikTok.

This episode’s poem is called “Lost in the Woods III” by Dagne Forrest.

Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!). And please also give us a rating & subscribe.

Hello sweet listener, Sophia here! You’re going to love this episode with Andy, and there’s bonus content for you through Apple Subscriptions or Patreon with every episode. Producing a weekly podcast takes time and resources from several wonderful people, and paid subscriptions will make continuing our work possible. So, as you’re able, please consider subscribing to “Some Extra Fat Joy: 10 Qs” where each guest answers 10 unexpected questions. Want to know what Andy’s big dream is?

Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

Rev. Dr. E-K Daufin (she/her) is here to share aspects of her new book, “On Fat and Faith: Ending Weight Stigma in Yourself, Your Sanctuary and Society.” Like the book, this conversation spans generations and explores intersectionality through her lived experience. She also shares a tapping technique and accompanying affirmations.

Rev. Dr. E-K Daufin is the Visionary Social Change Artist 2023 Award Winning Author. She earned Doctorate and Master’s degrees at The Ohio State University in multimedia, cinema and visual sociology. Her undergraduate degrees are in communication, theatre, and French from the historically Black Morgan State University. Dr. Daufin has decades of experience as an award-winning scholar, university tenured full professor; ordained, multireligious minister; artist; “edutainer”; and community activist.

She has melted in sweat lodges and bayous, caroused with 5-foot Sandhill Cranes in Colorado, been wedged in Anasazi ruins and ancient Mayan caves. She has served in leadership roles with the National Association for Fat Acceptance; Association for Size Diversity And Health; Popular Culture Association Fat Studies, Black Studies, and Poetry areas; feminist, People of Color, health, ecology and journalism education organizations. Her work has been in ESSENCE magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Montgomery Advertiser, the Associated Press, as well as on CNN, New York, Los Angeles, and Alabama Public Radio/TV and other media.

Please check out the book website, head to Amazon to purchase the book, facebook, and subscribe to her edutainment and poetry YouTube channels.

This episode’s poem is from Cole Arthur Riley’s @BlackLiturgies Instagram page.

Hello wonderful listener, Sophia here! Want to know what Rev. Dr. E-K Daufin would put on a billboard? Be sure to check out the bonus content on Apple Subscriptions or Patreon. My dearest wish is to also offer an honorarium to my guests, centering and supporting marginalized voices in this space. So, as you’re able, please consider subscribing to “Some Extra Fat Joy: 10 Qs” where each guest answers 10 unexpected questions.

Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!). And please also give us a rating & subscribe.

Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

Therapist Kayla Stansberry (she/her) is here sharing how joy and community can be a treatment approach for body trauma. And this isn’t just for fat & plus-size people. Diet culture and capitalism have created body trauma for all of us, no matter what our bodies look like, and Kayla is here to take us through what we can do about that.

Kayla is a Licensed Therapist, mother of 3 fun toddlers, and specializes in Fat Activism & Liberation. She is the founder and owner of Intuitive Growth Counseling and Body Image Counseling. Kayla is passionate about spreading Fat Liberation and helping people on their journey to diet culture freedom. On the side, Kayla has co-founded Therapists in Action which gathers therapists together to work on advocacy projects in the United States.

Please connect with Kayla on her website, IG, and TikTok. If you’d like those resources she mentioned, sign up for her newsletter from her website, and they’ll be sent to you.

This episode’s poem is called Earth’s Eternal Heart and is by Kaveri Patel.

Hello lovely one, Sophia here! Producing a weekly podcast takes time and resources from several wonderful people, and paid subscriptions will make continuing our work possible. So, if you’re a fan of the Fat Joy podcast, please subscribe via Apple Podcast Subscriptions or Patreon. The fun bonus content for every episode is the same on both. Thank you, lovely!

Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!). And please also give us a rating & subscribe.

Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

You may know Jordan Underwood (they/he) through their social media videos where they respond to questions & trolls and also proudly show their body living in the world. These videos are watched by hundreds of thousands, which of course means that Jordan is constantly attacked for being unapologetically fat. In this episode, Jordan shares their body liberation journey and how writing a blog when they were 12 years old began what became a decades-long path of defying what others assumed about their body. Oh, and Jordan talks about what it was like to have a billboard in Times Square. While fat.

Jordan Underwood is a fat, trans non-binary model, multidisciplinary artist, and activist based in Brooklyn. Their focus lies primarily in the politics of representation, the body, and abolition, with an emphasis on how intersections of identity impact mental health and how we can reach collective liberation through solidarity and community care.

Please connect with Jordan on their website, Instagram, and TikTok.

And here's the link to Deepa Iyer’s Social Change Map.

This episode’s poem is by Lucille Clifton and is called “won’t you celebrate with me.”

Sophia here, again! Centering fat and marginalized people is a core value of this podcast, and one of my goals is to offer each guest an honorarium for their time and expertise. Your support can help make that happen by subscribing to the bonus content through Apple Podcasts or Patreon. There are a range of subscription options from $3 (depending on your currency)/month, and you’ll get to hear each guest answer 10 questions they didn’t know I was going to ask. Don’t you want to know what Jordan would put on a billboard?

Please connect with Fat Joy on our website, Instagram, and YouTube (full video episodes here!). And please also give us a rating & subscribe.

Our thanks to AR Media and Emily MacInnis for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently released new guidelines for weight management interventions in children. These recommendations include weight loss medications and bariatric surgeries, both of which are unethical and not evidence-based. Gathering to discuss the implications, their fears, and what we can do to protect the most marginalized children are Kanoelani Patterson, Dr. Asher Larmi, Dr. Rachel Millner, & Ragen Chastain.

Experts on this episode:

Kanoelani Patterson (she/her) is a Black, fat-positive masters social worker who specializes in working with children, adolescents & families. Kanoelani is also a powerlifter and co-author of the anthology called “Deconstructing the Fitness Industrial Complex: How to resist, disrupt and reclaim what it means to be fit in American Culture.”

Dr. Asher Larmie (they/them) is a transgender, non-binary GP/ family Doctor with over 20 years of medical experience. They are a fat activist and host a successful podcast called The Fat Doctor Podcast, and here is part 1 of their series on the AAP Guidelines.

Dr. Rachel Millner (she/her) is a psychologist and activist who supports people with eating disorders, disordered eating, and those wanting to heal their relationship with food and body. Rachel is a fat activist, a fat positive provider, and works from a Heath at Every Size and Body Trust framework. And here’s Rachel’s note to kids about the AAP guidelines.

Ragen Chastain (she/her) who is a speaker, writer, researcher, Board Certified Patient Advocate, multi-certified health and fitness professional, and thought leader in weight science, weight stigma, health, and healthcare. Ragen wrote about the AAP guidelines in her newsletter, and you should also check out the HAES Health Sheets.

Maintenance Phase and Virginia Sole-Smith have also commented on these AAP Guidelines.

This episode’s poem is called “Elegy” and is by Aracelis Girmay.

Hi, Sophia here! If you enjoy this podcast, and this episode, please do consider supporting our efforts by becoming a Patron or subscribing through your Apple Podcasts player.