Fitness in Color

Is Health & Wellness accessible for communities of color in Boston?

We tackle this question and many more with Boston-based fitness instructors Liz Rock, Dre Neita, and Ashley Mitchell.

Liz, Dre, and Ashley live in 3 different worlds when it comes to fitness in Boston and we dive in on what these experiences look like.

This episode was originally recorded as a live panel discussion for the Fierce Urgency of Now Festival, a five-day series of events hosted by local businesses and organizations geared at highlighting the experiences, challenges, and opportunities for young professionals of color in our city with the ultimate goal of creating community.

You can expect to hear the panel discuss:

- The challenge of finding diverse fitness experiences

- Thoughts on if Boston fitness is inclusive

- How can we serve communities of color while trying to make a decent salary

- Racism was declared a public health crisis in Boston, but what is Boston doing to get well?

Connect with us:

Liz Rock

Dre Neita

Ashley Mitchell

@SidBap

@Fitnessincolor_

@PYNRS_

Running is a lifestyle, and Olympian Ruben Sança LIVES to run!

Moving to the US from the Cape Verde Islands at the age of 13, Ruben loved to play soccer. He suffered from asthma as a kid but soon found himself running track for his middle school team.

It wasn't until a friend convinced him to join his high school track team that he started to see a promising running career in his future.

In this episode, Ruben recounts how a series of small decisions fueled by his internal motivation led him to represent his home country in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

You can expect to hear:

- The difficulty in navigating a new country and a new language

- What fuels Ruben's internal motivation

- Why it's important to have mentorship and coaches that believe in you

- How through consistency and determination Ruben finally achieved the success that he always saw in himself

Connect with us:

@RubenSanca

@SidBap

@Fitnessincolor_

@PYNRS_

D1 College Football. 2x New England Golden Gloves Champion. Top 10 in USA. Undefeated Professional Career.

On this episode, we follow the journey of undefeated professional boxer Julian Pollard who competed from 2009 to 2015.

Julian began boxing after a successful college football career at Syracuse University, where he served as team captain. What started as a fitness hobby, quickly morphed into something more.

Julian picked up the sport at an alarming rate. Within months, he was sparring and competing in local boxing tournaments, including the New England Golden Gloves.

He represented Massachusetts and competed in the National Golden Gloves tournament in 2008 and 2012. He fought at the Super Heavyweight (250+) weight class and took home the bronze medal both times.

We dive into his childhood as Julian opens up about how the death of his father affected him and pushed him to abandon the football plan for the dad plan.

Today, Julian leads Team Pollard, an Adult and Youth BoxFit training and conditioning program, teaching boxing fundamentals, discipline, work ethic, and a "never quit mentality"

Connect with us:

@teampollard

@fitnessincolor_

@sidbap

@PYNRS_

It's been a very interesting year, to say the least.

I want to take this time to say THANK YOU for supporting the show and for supporting all of the work we have been doing.

Please take this time to either catch up on previous episodes that you may have missed or write us a review!

Happy Holidays and Merry Everything. See you in 2021

@sidbap

@fitnessincolor_

Achieving and maintaining weight loss can be a stress-inducing and mentally exhausting activity, especially during a pandemic.

This week we are talking to my friend Liz Rock, a fitness instructor and run coach who embarks on this journey daily. We talk about her active battle with maintaining weight loss during quarantine and the effects that it has on her mental health.

Liz also opens up about the constant external pressure she feels from society to maintain her weight loss although many think it is "harmless encouragement".

What you can expect to hear:

- How Liz dealt with catching COVID-19 & pneumonia

- How finding a running group changed and potentially even saved her life.

- Finding a sibling via Facebook

- Becoming a marathon runner with no experience

- How to run 4 marathons in two years

- How to understand and acknowledge the signs your body gives you to slow down or take a break

- How changing your lifestyle can save your life

This is a platform where we encourage and normalize fitness in POC communities. Please share this with a friend, it might LITERALLY save their life.

Connect with us:

@Lizzy_rockz

@SidBap

@Fitnessincolor_

@PYNRS_

COVID changed the way many of us workout. For our guest this week, it led her to doing pull ups at a light pole with a bike in between her legs.

Yeah, New York City Blue bicycle in-between her legs!

In this week's episode, we are joined by Shannon Spaulding AKA The Fit Therapist. We chat about her journey to becoming an occupational therapist and how her love for fitness and health guides everything she does. We also chat about her experience as a cross-country runner and the lack of diversity within that space.

Connect with us:

@Sha_BangBang

@sidbap

@fitnessincolor_

"Teach the youth to play Chess not Checkers, and coach them to be better than you!" - Gavin

Welcome back family! This week I am joined by Jamaican born and Uniondale, NY raised Gavin Smith. Educator • Agitator • Activist • Runner. He's an ambassador for Lululemon, Vice Principal at Fenway High School, and always championing life.

Join us as we discuss how he left what no longer served him and actively steps into his greatness every day through fitness. You won't want to miss how he is navigating predominately White spaces to reallocate resources and give back to the community!

In this episode you can expect to hear:

• The mental health effects of a kid from a lower-middle-class family in an EXTREMELY wealthy school system.

• How ONE decision changed Gavin's life trajectory • How parting from your past can be the most fruitful decision

• What it looks like when people highlight talents within YOU that you don' see in yourself

• Gavin's role in restructuring a traditional school system Connect with us:

@fitnessincolor_

@sidbap

@gav0h

——————————————————

Every day you have a choice. Choose wisely. "Roxbury is the Black Mecca of Boston and it is an honor to get to run past such rich Blackness everyday" - Gavin

Check out the Runners World feature:

Sidney Baptista Is Working to Normalize Running in the Black Community

Share/Post/Tweet and tag:

@sidbap

@fitnessincolor_

On today's episode we are using a different format. I originally planned to host Claudia Thompson to talk about her experiences as a Black woman running in and around Boston.

As we did a pre-interview for an episode, I realized that I wanted to listen and learn without interjecting myself into the conversation. And so I felt that this episode should about Black women having this discussion while the rest of us listen.

I invited my friends and Co-founders of TrailblazeHers Run Co, Lizzy Rock, Frances Ramirez, and Abeo Christa to join Claudia on this episode to talk about their experiences.

TrailblazHers Run Co. is an organization that is committed to building and nurturing the diversity in sisterhood. They host monthly meet-ups called Self Care Sunday's and an annual Bra Run used to empower women of all shapes and sizes to feel comfortable in their bodies while running in a sports bra.

Claudia is the president of Claudia Connects, a personal and professional training, development, and networking events company. She is a dancer, runner, and all-around fitness enthusiast.

I hope you enjoy the episode

On this episode, I had the pleasure of hosting Ngozi Musa, a Speaker, Writer, Women's Empowerment Advocate, and Athlete. From a young age, Women in sport had been a large focus and source of enjoyment and empowerment for Ngozi. After being an athlete for 13 years and attending two all-girls high schools, Ngozi's mission is to inspire and empower women of all ages to recognize the power of their voice, their mind, and their story.

Ngozi is an Ivy League Champion, 3X Academic All-American, and former Harvard University Track and Field Captain. She is also the founder and CEO of Aesthetics and Athletics, LLC a podcast and platform to inspire and empower the athlete in every woman.