Queerify | Demystifying Wellness for QTBIPOC

Although the holiday season has arrived, we believe that re-indigenizing your life is a all-year long practice. We wanted to spend this episode shining a light on our indigenous communities fighting every day to regain sovereignty, and take a look at what indigenous joy looks like.

We chat with Two-Spirit community leaders, Victoria/Victor, Batul True Heart, and Kenta while at the Indigenous Red Market in Oakland to find out what wellness means to them and how indigenous and non-indigenous folks can incorporate traditional practices in their own lives.

We hope to honor those that historically have not had a voice, while also bringing you information and tools to both de-colonizing and re-indigenizing your life. Hope you enjoy!

OUR GUESTS:

On the third stop of our QUEST we dive into “Play” and why it should be incorporated into our wellness practices. We explore different methods of play with our guests and co-hosts; from having an adventurous spirit, to incorporating art into your daily life. Our guests discuss some of their play methods; like creating sound healing in and out of the nightclub and even performing comedy. But as our host Allena points out, it can be as simple as playing Mario Kart with your friends!

We chat with the high-spirited comedian and actress Jacq The Stripper at the Sum Of Us Festival and DJ CLA, a badass international DJ and sound healer. Listen in to hear how they’ve both incorporated play into their lives!

OUR GUESTS:

Jacq The Stripper @jacqthestripper is a serious artist. Author of irreverent titles like The Beaver Show, Striptastic and Divorce Illustrated. She is free, expensive and does not currently have a fixed address.

DJ CLA @djcla plays for some of the top-grossing nightclubs on the Las Vegas strip. Her high energy sets energize crowds locally, nationally and internationally, from Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, New York, Boston, New Orleans, Chicago, Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. There’s no place C.L.A. would rather be than behind two turntables and a mixer, she happily calls her “office.”

WELLNESS RESOURCES:

OUR HOSTS:

THE CREW:

CONNECT:

Music produced and composed by our third amigo, BASK.

Podcast is produced in collaboration with Kinoko Chocolates & Puka Puka Creative. Episode transcripts available here.

On the second stop of our QUEST: Part 2 of “Community Is The Cure”, we journey bravely towards the question; how does community mold our sense of self, and what ways can it positively impact our well-being?

Listen in to our intimate firechats at last spring’s Sum Of Us Festival with DJ Olga T (All pronouns accepted); a Bay Area based DJ and Queer event coordinator for over 20 years and Kenj (They/She); a non-binary inclusive strength coach and founder of CAMP (Creating Affirmative Movement Practices). In this episode you’ll hear open and real conversations around our guest’s paths to wellness, how community can transform and save lives, and how transitioning helped them both find their power and sense of peace.

We hope this podcast brings you joy where you’ll learn, laugh, heal + grow.

DJ Olga T (All pronouns accepted) @djolgat

A Puerto Rican lover of all things music, dogs, community and human connection through the language of rhythm and beats, born in NYC and raised in San Francisco, Olga T has an exceptional style of DJing that never fails to grab your attention on the dance floor. Known for masterfully transitioning through nearly every genre of music and often creatively implementing both analog & digital gear when spinning, Olga T consistently delivers a uniquely infectious excitement to the audience. DJing for the past 20 years while producing legendary Bay Area events year-round in addition to teaching DJ classes, creating exclusive remixes, edits and mixtapes is Olga T’s full time passion. Go to www.soundcloud.com/djolgat to explore, take a listen and download a plethora of mixtapes of various music genres created by DJ Olga T.

Kenj (They/she) @thecoachkenj

Kenj is a non-binary inclusive strength coach and founder of CAMP (Creating Affirmative Movement Practices). With meaningful dialogue and good laughs they strive to help people in all bodies improve their relationship with movement. Ultimately she is helping create a world in which we challenge the harmful structures that limit our ability to experience movement as an activity that fulfills our physical, mental, and social health by queering fitness.

OUR HOSTS:

THE CREW:

On the first stop of our QUEST, we dive into what wellness really means to our hosts V and Allena along with our guest Madison Eker (She/Her) the Founder and CEO of Sum Of Us Festival; the first wellness festival for LGBTQ+ women and all trans identities that takes place yearly in California. We break down some common life themes that positively and negatively impact our health and well-being, and discuss how community can be a powerful positive impact for us individually and collectively.

Get cozy as Madison shares candidly what wellness means to her, the practices that have benefited her, and what it took to get the Sum Of Us Festival off the ground.

If you enjoyed Part 1 of  “Community is the Cure”, listen in to Part 2 where we continue the journey with incredible guests: DJ Olga T (All pronouns accepted); a Bay Area based DJ and Queer event coordinator for over 20 years and Kenj (They/She); a non-binary inclusive strength coach and founder of CAMP (Creating Affirmative Movement Practices).

We hope this podcast brings you joy; where you’ll learn, laugh, heal + grow.

Madison Eker (She/her) @madisoneker @sumofusfest

Madison is a trailblazer in the LGBTQ+ wellness industry. She is the visionary and CEO behind Sum of Us Festival and Sum of Us Co; the Leading Producers of Socially Conscious Seminars in North America. Madison was also the writer for the wellness column in Pride Magazine, and in 2021 was named AI's Most Influential Business Woman of the Year. She has spoken at the Consolidated Association of Prides 2020 and 2022, HER Pride Online 2020, and has been featured on several panels and magazines. Madison is revolutionizing how wellness manifests within our community by bringing diversity and inclusivity to the forefront.

OUR HOSTS:

THE CREW:

CONNECT:

Music produced and composed by our third amigo, BASK.

Podcast is produced in collaboration with Kinoko Chocolates and Puka Puka Creative.