If you’d like to learn more about mental health care by and for fat folks, please check out Tend and Cultivate Counseling.

(Content Note: mention of sexual violence.)

Plus-size pageant Queens Choniece Stevenson (she/her), Ellen Miller (she/her), and Rebecca Breedlove-Berry (she/her) share what got them into pageant world, how being part of this experience changed how they feel about their bodies, and how they use their platforms to create positive change and social justice. Plus, their biggest moments of awe and oh-no! during the competition.

Choniece Stevenson is a mental health and confidence coach. Her goal is to be a listening ear for those that feel unheard and educate on the importance of mental health. She is the first African American title holder for Ms. Voluptuous International. Connect with Choniece on Instagram.

Ellen Miller is an emergency nurse practitioner hailing from Northern Ireland but currently living in London, UK. She’s the previous Miss Voluptuous Ireland and an Ambassador for an incredible organization called Say It Loud that supports survivors of sexual violence. Connect with Ellen on Instagram.

Rebecca Breedlove-Berry is the current Ms. Supreme International and former Ms. Voluptuous Virginia 22/23. She is the mother of two and works as a volunteer coordinator. Connect with Rebecca on Instagram.

This episode’s poem is called “Revery” by Fenton Johnson.

Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube.

Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review.

Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.

If you’d like to learn more about mental health care by and for fat folks, please check out Tend and Cultivate Counselling.

(Content Note: this episode mentions childhood assault, sexual assault, and incest.)

Mary Lambert (she/her) shares how she uses music and poetry to “make art for the wound” of being made to feel wrong. As someone who is fat, queer, and bipolar, her journey towards joy has been worth all the challenges as she’s now in her “body euphoria” era.

Mary Lambert is a multi-platinum artist, author of the poetry collection Shame is an Ocean I Swim Across, and has performed on the Colbert Show, Ellen, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show, and the American Music Awards. Lambert also received the Human Rights Campaign’s Visibility Award, The SAMHSA Special Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for her work on destigmatizing mental illness, and was invited to speak at the UN.

Lambert is currently working on a new book and album about body image; co-starring in the Netflix animated musical and series, I ♥️ Arlo and Arlo the Alligator Boy; co-hosting The Manic Episodes, a queer and mental health podcast; and facilitates a virtual workshop on body image called Everybody is a Babe.

Please connect with Mary on Instagram and her website.

Mary reads her own poem to us. It’s called “Jesus Loves My Crop Top” from her book Shame is an Ocean I Swim Across.

Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube.

Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review.

Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.

If you’d like to learn more about mental health care by and for fat folks, please check out Tend and Cultivate Counselling.

Michelle Osbourne (she/her) reinvented her life after divorce. She wanted to normalize being a fat, Black, queer woman and built her social media platform by sharing authentically and vulnerably about her life. Michelle also shares her beautiful engagement story!

Michelle Osbourne is a body image activist and socialpreneur who specializes in helping marginalized communities build socially conscious brands. She works from an anti-racist, anti-oppression, intersectional feminist framework and can often be heard speaking on topics such as body image activism, self-confidence, marginalized woman issues and LGBTQ2+ rights.

She was named one of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Black Changemakers in 2021 and has worked with organizations such as Dove, SiriusXM and Bell just to name a few. She’s also been frequently interviewed on radio, podcasts, T.V., magazines and owns her own communications studio Michelle Osbourne & Co. Michelle is the self-proclaimed SheEO of Giving Zero Fux body liberation content creator helping women gain the confidence to unapologetically live their best lives.

Please connect with Michelle on her website, TikTok, and Instagram.

This episode’s poem is “Lover”by Ada Limon.

Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube.

Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review.

Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.

If you’d like to learn more about mental health care by and for fat folks, please check out Tend and Cultivate Counselling.

Heather Mader (she/her) and Ali Kight (she/her) teamed up to improve how people who menstruate insert tampons. Designed in 1931 and having gone through almost no improvements since, traditional tampons weren’t designed to accommodate different body types, disabilities, injuries. Ali founded TINA Healthcare to change this, and when Heather tried the first prototype, she knew she wanted to get involved in the design of the product. This partnership is a great example of how companies can co-design with fat folks who have lived experience and wisdom to share- and build a better product for all.

Heather Mader is a personal chef of 20+ years and a working professional artist and teacher of abstract art. She lives in Portland Oregon and when not cooking or painting, enjoys meditating and cultivating her spiritual practice. Please connect with Heather here.

Ali Kight is a Ph.D. candidate from Stanford University in smart materials and biomimetic design for medical devices. She founded TINA Healthcare to translate cutting-edge scientific innovations to solve real problems in womxn’s health. Please connect with Ali on the TINA Healthcare website and on Instagram.

This episode’s poem is called “Never Alone” by Kaveri Patel.

Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube.

Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review.

Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.

Andrea Kelly (she/her) collaborates with outdoor apparel brands to extend their plus-sizing, because no one should be excluded from outdoor activities for a lack of clothing options. With 20 years of experience in the apparel industry, Andrea shares why it’s so hard for brands to warm up to the idea of more diverse sizing, why they’re leaving money on the table by not making plus-size clothing (hint: plus-size is the majority of our population), and the two key moments that sparked her desire to make change from the inside out.

Featured as one of Outside Business Journal's Top 20 Most Influential People in the Outdoor Industry (2022), Andrea Kelly is a Size Inclusion advocate with over 20 years’ experience in the Apparel business. She believes strongly that the Outdoors are for every body and strives to make changes in the industry.

She is the Founder, CEO & Advisor of the newly founded Make Plus Equal, an advisory firm that guides outdoor apparel brands who are interested in, yet Intimidated to serve diverse bodies outside their comfort zone and the outdated sizing norm. By sharing her experiences, case studies, consumer insights, customer relations, and market knowledge, Andrea helps brands feel confident in driving their businesses forward, building more inclusive collections and media representation, growing their market-share, and earning the trust of loyal customers who have long-been marginalized by the fashion industry.

Mentioned in this episode are Chub Hub PDX, Fat Joy’s Martinus Evans episode, and Fat Joy’s Pam Luk episode.

Please connect with Andrea through her website and Instagram.

This episode’s poem is called “Jump” by Alison Luterman.

Connect with Fat Joy on the website, Instagram, subscribe to the Fat Joy newsletter, and watch full video episodes on YouTube.

Want to share some fattie love? Please rate this podcast and give it a joyful review.

Our thanks to Chris Jones and AR Media for keeping this podcast looking and sounding joyful.

A bonus minisode where each guest answers 10 surprising questions with unexpected results. Hilarity ensues.