Society Nine: The Fight Within Podcast

Ivy Richardson (she/her) is Nuxalk and Gusgimukw on her mom's side and Irish, Scottish and English on her dad's side. She is the founder of Red Girl Rising, a wellness-through-movement initiative and head coach of Team 700, Vancouver BC's first competitive Indigenous youth boxing team. She also is the co-founder of Matriarch Resistance which is a new initiative created in a direct response to the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2 spirit (MMIWG2S) crisis, the program is rooted in sisterhood and empowering Indigenous women and femmes. Ivy's experience as a competitive boxer, student and her working and lived experiences have guided her to become a community builder. She seeks to create a community that centres itself around accessible, safe and empowering movement programs.

Follow her on Instagram:

@ivyrichardson

@team700bc

@matriarchresistance

Learn more about Red Girl Rising:

https://www.redgirlrising.com/

**Disclaimer: mentions of disordered eating. Please listen at your own discretion.

Today's episode features the founders of A La Ligne Method, Katie McKenzie and Taren Grewall, and newly joined boxing coach Anna Farrant! We chat at length with the team at House of A La Ligne about nervous system regulation when it comes to body movement choices, and we discuss complex but necessary topics like body, gender and racial privilege within the fitness industry, as well as the need to self define what empowered movement means for every individual.

The House of A La Ligne is collective of practitioners dedicated to transforming the way you connect to your body and self through Pilates, Strength, Boxing and Pre and Post-Natal training. The House is a place for all Humans to experience movement in a way that honours and celebrates their unique and individual body’s journey.

Follow the crew on Instagram!

A La Ligne: @alalignemethod

Katie: @katiemckenziemvmt

Taren: @tarengrewall

Anna: @vancitybanana

Website: https://alalignemethod.com/

**Get a FREE MONTH with the House of A La Ligne with unlimited access to all full length classes and live classes, ranging from Mat and Reformer, Strength Training and Boxing. Head to https://alalignemethod.com/ and use code SOCIETYNINE after clicking "START YOUR FREE TRIAL"

**Disclaimer: we discuss topics of disordered eating. Please listen at your own discretion.

Today we're talking with Gabby Villasenor, and her pronouns are she/her. She moves, works and lives on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples — including the: Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam nations. She's the founder of a Mindful Movement company called Fuelled by Feeling, and an OG Society Nine brand ambassador! From competitive soccer, to boxing, to strength training, to mobility - Gabby believes in using one's inner intuition and mindfulness to drive decisions around movement, so long as it brings JOY and empowerment to you.

Through her work, she supports people by transforming their relationship with the way they move their bodies. Fuelled by Feeling is all about creating a sustainable movement practice, keeping it simple, and TRULY allowing yourself to celebrate your body for EVERYTHING it can do.

Follow her on Instagram: @fuelledbyfeeling

On TikTok: @fuelledbyfeeling

Her website: https://www.fuelledbyfeeling.com/

**Get 50% off your first month of mindful movement with Gabby and Fuelled by Feeling - sign up at her website, and use code: SOCIETYNINE

Box United is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that uses the sport of boxing to connect communities of young women across the world. Fight Like a Girl (FLAG) is their signature boxing and leadership development program for high school girls run in partnership with the U.S. Consulate in Cape Town, South Africa. FLAG is fiercely committed to developing young female leaders who are proficient not only in jabs and hooks, but in social impact and cross-cultural collaboration. FLAG runs at the same time in Chicago, IL and Somerset East, South Africa, and includes several opportunities for students to collaborate with peers from across the city and world.

Follow them on Instagram @box_united, and learn more about their program at boxunited.com!

Core to Coeur offers exceptional guided Pilates, Yoga, and Functional Movement Instruction for all bodies. Core to Coeur clients workout in the privacy of their own homes, on their own time, in a community-minded setting with movement practitioners that care. And on this episode, Society Nine founder Lynn Le and Core to Coeur founder Madison Page talk about their motivations for creating communities that encourage movement regardless of body size, age, skill set and athletic background.

Episode recording courtesy of the Stretched Podcast, powered by Core to Coeur, and distributed in collaboration with Core to Coeur.

Check out Core to Coeur at coretocoeur.com and search SOCIETY NINE in the search box for our channel!

Louise Green is the Founder of the fitness brand, Big Fit Girl. She is the author of the book, "Big Fit Girl," founder of the Big Fit Girl Fitness App, Big Fit Girl Uncensored Podcast and a leading Columnist at SELF Magazine. Louise is currently working on her second book with Penguin/Random House USA. For over a decade she has forged a career as a plus-size Personal Trainer, Global Fitness Coach, Fitness Activist and Author changing the narrative and the idealistic standards of our fitness culture. As an influential change-maker, Louise has helped thousands of women find their inner athlete and love their bodies, at every size. Her mandate is a trifecta: to level the playing field by influencing more size-diverse imagery in fitness media and advertising, highlighting the importance of size inclusive education by the fitness industry educators and leading women to stop waiting on the weight and to step off the sidelines, in the body they have right now. She believes that when we combine all three we create a climate of unlimited possibility for every “body.” Follow Louise on Instagram at @louisegreen_bigfitgirl and check out the Big Fit Girl Fitness app at bigfitgirl.com!

Society Nine Brand Ambassador Jennie Bender is a kickboxing and spin instructor, personal trainer and Muay Thai enthusiast. She joins us today to share her passion for turning fitness influencer culture into a culture that leverages social influence for civic activism, with her recently launched initiative Fit2Vote. Fit2Vote is a new campaign that's bringing together the Austin fitness community including instructors and trainers as well as clients and members to amplify the importance of participating and voting in the upcoming election. To learn more, follow Jennie and Fit2Vote on Instagram at @jennmeibender and @fit2vote2020

Our guest is Jessica Ng (pronounced 'Eng'), a first generation Chinese-Hong Kong American from Queens, New York with a Muay Thai fight record of 17-10. Passionate about Muay Thai and training out of Sitan Gym, by day she is a fashion designer and recently launched Southpaw Stitches. Disheartened and frustrated with the lack of support to our NYC communities during the pandemic, she and her co-founder diverted their energy from designing new Muay Thai apparel to building high quality masks. Join us as we talk about how the fighting spirit is so important now more than ever - spiritually and mentally - and what gives us hope.

It's Women's Equality Day! And we have a *long* way to go to making sure this is EVERY day. Society Nine founder Lynn Le and this episode's special guest Taylor Rae Almonte deep dive into where progress has been made, but also where we still have such a long way to go - in fitness, sport, culture and society. Taylor is a Brooklyn based actor, athlete and activist. She is an NYU alumni, having graduated with honors and a double major in Drama and English and American Literature. She utilizes her unique skill set to educate, empower and amplify marginalized voices in all aspects of her life. Her unique brand of Fitness Activism —combining the mental health benefits of movement with the opportunity to educate and raise funds for social justice organizations—has been sponsored by brands such as Women’s Health Magazine, Carbon38, Popsugar and more. She has a weekly newsletter discussing this work along with a new topic every week relevant to fighting systemic oppression. As an actor and model, she's done everything from being on the Broadway National Tour of Motown the Musical, to campaigns for Olay Skincare, Benefit Cosmetics, Cole Haan and more. Follow her on Instagram at @taylorraealmonte and www.taylorraealmonte.com/

Society Nine founder Lynn Le and Boombox Boxing co-founder Angela Jennings have a deep discussion about what it's like to re-open a gym mid-pandemic, and to be a Black leader in the DC small business community as well as the daughter of a police officer. Angela co-founded BOOMBOX based on her love for boxing, music and community. Their goal is simple: to empower and inspire, while making the health benefits of boxing-inspired training accessible to all fitness levels and backgrounds. Check them out at boombox-boxing.com, on IG at @boombox_boxing and @aj_boomin.