September 5, 2023 • 44 mins
Meet Christina Perry, the heart and soul behind Body Love. Faced with her asthma challenges, she transformed adversity into a passionate journey toward health and wellness. Even amid a global pandemic, Christina chose to step away from a steady job to embrace her dream fully. She candidly shares her personal experiences, from harnessing the power of affirmations to finding balance in emotional turbulence. With a switch to a vegetarian lifestyle, she's not only bettered her health but also found a way to manage her endometriosis. Christina's story isn't just about her transformation; it's packed with practical tips and heartfelt advice for anyone looking to lead a healthier life. Dive into a conversation filled with genuine motivation and learn from Christina's inspiring journey.
Episode Notes:
- Guest: Christina Perry, Founder of Body Love.
- Topics Covered: Personal health journeys, the impact of affirmations, emotional management, benefits of vegetarianism, dealing with endometriosis, and the power of self-belief.
- Recommended Reads: Titles by Rick Ross and Tabitha Brown.
- Connect with Christina: Body Love Website, Instagram, Facebook
- Feedback & Questions: We value your insights! Share your thoughts, and send in your questions to our email.
Stay Connected: For the latest updates, follow us on our podcast Instagram
Thank you for tuning in, and see you in the next episode!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
In a world where success often steals the
limelight, the stories thattruly inspire, that truly matter
, are left behind in the shadows.
I'm your host, Wesley Hamilton.
Welcome to the Out of theShadows podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Keep going, because what is for you is for you.
It's going to be thereregardless.
You just got to make sure youhave a position to get in.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
What's up everybody.
This is Wesley Hamilton.
This is my show Out of theShadows Really just want to
highlight real stories ofindividuals that I believe are
inspiring me in really doingthings that are shifting the
world, rather than within theircommunity or social media Any
way that you're making an impact.
I just want to be able tohighlight that.
(01:00):
So today I'm bringing to you agood friend of mine, christina
Perry.
She is definitely the founderof Body Love, which we'll get
really in depth to that.
Christina is from Kansas City,missouri, so of course, I'm
definitely highlighting a lot ofhometown people.
You know the diamonds in arough.
(01:23):
Christina has an amazing storyand has shaped her story in a
way that it is now impacting alot of women's lives, you know,
and even though it's impactingwomen on all different platforms
, like I think her really beinginvested into the communities
that she come from has reallyjust been a reason why the story
(01:46):
has to come out.
So thank you, Christina, forbeing here and joining me.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I love it no, so I'm just going to dive right in like
Body Love, right?
What's the story behind it?
What's the inspiration for BodyLove?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
The inspiration for Body Love.
So I did not come from like ahealthy environment in any means
as far as like physical health,fitness safety whatsoever, so I
didn't really have a goodunderstanding of what health
meant.
I kind of went on the journeyof myself trying to figure out
(02:25):
what self love is, and it led meto fitness, and so that's where
Body Love kind of came from isjust truly showing love,
learning how to show love to mybody.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Oh, oh, oh.
Man, that's good Learning howto show love to my body.
You know what ways do you dothat.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, it started out with just trying to exercise,
trying to do a little bit betterevery single day.
Honestly, I didn't know what Iwas doing.
So I just started out tofriends that I knew one of my
best friends.
She was in the gym and justlike, hey, can I come work out
with you?
You know what the hell I wasdoing.
But I was like we're going totry something because so just to
(03:14):
give you a little background Ihad asthma.
I've had asthma my entire lifeand it just really took a toll
on my health like all my life.
Like just trying to ignore itusing inhalers or prednisone,
whatever the doctors gave me totry to strengthen my lungs.
Exercise was never even givenas an option.
Like it was never presented tome like hey, maybe you should
(03:36):
actually exercise your lungs sothat you can use them better.
Like you have to work.
It's not a muscle, but you dohave to work out your muscles so
they can be worked fully.
I wasn't using my lungs properlyso anytime I tried to, it was a
struggle.
So once I started working out,started trying to eat a little
bit better, I started seeinglittle changes.
(03:57):
But on top of that I startedactually stopping.
I didn't have to use an inhaleranymore, I didn't have to carry
around a breathing machine.
I went like a whole yearwithout pneumonia or bronchitis,
like just noticing little stufflike that.
And it's like that's crazy thatthe doctor never said, hey, why
don't you just start workingout or just walk or just run or
just try this?
(04:17):
So that's what it looked likeinitially was just a little bit
each day, to where it's nowevolved into other people seeing
what I'm doing and they'reseeking me out for help.
So it just kind of bloomed intothis community.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
I'm only laughing because, if anyone don't know,
christina is definitely a dogmom.
So Miss Bella in the back ismaking her appearance, just so
everybody know.
So we are definitely dogfriendly.
So if you hear a little barkhere and there, that's just
definitely Bella making astatement.
(04:54):
So the inspiration behind itsounds like it's just driving
force and, of course, like forme, having something similar of
not having the resources orbeing really told that exercise
and things can actually help,and then finding out that once I
(05:14):
started doing it, it actuallychanged things for me and made
me better.
Life just started to seemdifferent.
So, like now, I see, like, ofcourse, like for you, I remember
the year that you decided toactually get into making body
love a thing and just shiftingyour whole everything.
(05:37):
You left your job.
I like that.
So it's just kind of liketalking about that.
You know, if I'm not mistaken,I was around the pandemic, you
know.
So, yeah, like, what made youlike really say, ok, I want to
love my body more, but now Ireally want to help other people
and I can't do it actually workin this nine to five.
(06:00):
I have to applaud myself andreally invest in this.
Like, well, what definitely waslike that shift and what's
driving you to do it now.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
The initial shift was like this job that, honestly,
was it, but I think it was.
The pandemic is really whatlike kickstarted everything,
which is crazy because that isprobably the worst time to ever
started.
And I, just for the record, Idid it without a PPP, for the
(06:33):
record, self-funded.
But I think that time off fromwork, because everything shut
down, you know, everything shutdown.
So there was nothing to do butwhat I love doing, which was
working out, eating healthy, andI mean we did that every single
day during the pandemic.
Like we was literally workingout probably four hours every
(06:53):
day because there was nothingelse to do so, with finding that
love for it and seeing how freeand how good I felt there was,
like it was no option but to dothat, like it was like I cannot
go back to doing what I wasdoing before.
You know it's almost like youdon't miss a good thing until
it's gone.
In this case, it was like Ididn't know that I was missing
(07:15):
this good thing until it waspresented to me and it was like,
okay, now that I've gotten thattaste of it, I'm never going
back, like it was a no-brainer.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
That's the thing you get a taste of, something that
is freeing.
You know, yeah, there's a lotof work behind it, but it tastes
good to go after something andlike really make that initial
investment into it.
Why not serve everybody whileI'm with them?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Well, there's many, many reasons why the reason why
I service women particularlywell.
First and foremost, I'm a womanand I'm a black woman.
I feel like the knowledge, orthe lack of knowledge, around
health and fitness in the blackfemale community, particularly
in Kansas City I can't speak forother cities it's non-existent.
(08:01):
Like there are personaltrainers out here, there's gyms,
there's all this, but there'snever any emphasis or importance
on why we need to do this.
There's never any emphasis onthe community of actually having
a community of people thatsupport you in doing it, or even
the health reasons behind it.
It's always been just kind oflooking me and so I was looking
(08:23):
at other people, but I didn'tsee anybody that I could relate
to.
And then I know that within thefitness and health community
they started out that way.
They played sports, they rantrack, they did basketball.
They've always been into thatcommunity and it kind of is
discouraging and veryintimidating for someone that
does not come from thatbackground, because it's almost
(08:44):
like you feel like it'simpossible, especially starting
at a later point in life.
So I didn't start it until Iwas in my 30s is when I started.
I went 30 years without reallydoing shit.
So once you get there, it'slike I feel like I'm too old or
the damage is already done, andso I'm trying to show people
like no, it's never too late.
Like you may not be able toachieve your dream body if
(09:07):
you're not disciplined enough,but you can be healthier, you
can look a little bit better,you can feel better.
That's really the point of whatI do.
It's not for you to be abodybuilder, it's for you to be
able to sustain and live a goodlife.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
You know, a lot of people might not understand the
difference in that of like.
You know, the fast fitnesslifestyle compared to the long
term, the longevity like.
Love your body for what it isbut be consistent with making
you have a better quality oflife.
I mean, in a lot of ways, Ithink that's why we connect, is
(09:42):
because you know there was lackof representation and fitness
for people with disabilities,and I think that was like my
driving force of being that andgetting into that and finding
how good it was.
It's like man, I'm not evenreally too much worried about
walking and that's my flaw,right, at least it's a flaw for
people that don't understand thethings that I can do.
(10:03):
And so it's kind of like, yeah,like being able to embrace
everything, everything withinyou, looking in the mirror and
being proud that you're workingon yourself.
You know, don't have thisvision of this.
Like you can, you can work to agoal, but it's like that fast.
(10:24):
Let me get this in like thesummertime.
You know, I think that's thebiggest thing, like the
summertime body.
I think that's the wrong way toreally speak about things.
You know when it comes tofitness, because now and
everybody's rushing, but youknow when you think about that
and you're you know you'retalking about loving your body
(10:46):
and you know you have this forceto impact women and the reason
why.
But you're also a mother right.
What has this journey in thelast few years have actually
helped you?
Even when it comes to parentsand like, what are your goals to
like be able to show your childyou know what you're doing,
like what's the impact you'retrying to create, just as a
(11:08):
parent and doing what you want.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Well, that's funny that you say that, because my
daughter is anti-health.
I think kids just don't want todo what they see their parents
doing.
They want to be different andlive their own life, which I
respect it, but I do encourageher to do better.
So, like we don't eat out allthe time, we try to make
(11:30):
healthier choices at home.
I mean, I still let her indulgehere in the area of McDonald's
stuff that she wants to have.
She's a kid, I'm not going todeprive her of that, but I do
try to teach her everything isokay in moderation.
Like you still have to eat yourveggies, you still need to be
somewhat active, you still needto do stuff, and I try to do it
(11:51):
from the standpoint of health,because my daughter is very
skinny, or I won't say skinny,but she's in shape, she's not
overweight or anything like that.
So she also looks at whatsociety sees as healthy and
she's like I'm fine, I don'tneed to do that, I'm not fat and
I'm just like okay.
Well, it's not about that.
Do you know the rate of?
You know childhood diabetes?
(12:12):
Like there's so many differentelements that you can cause to
have that you could prevent fromjust to make better choices.
And I was like, yeah, it maynot be a factor right now, but a
lot of us didn't think it wasgoing to be a factor when we
were kids.
And then, once you hit 30 andyou are on all these medications
, it's a buildup over time ofthe bad habits that you've had
(12:32):
that you didn't know any better.
I'm like so I'm trying to showyou different.
So I do encourage kids.
Like, when I hold my classes, Ialways have kids free.
Anybody 18 and under can comefor free and they love it.
My daughter's probably the onlyone that does it.
I do try to incorporate thatinto my parenting skills, to
(12:54):
give like flashback.
So what was the final straw forme to get into shape?
Well, besides, the last time Igot in the manga is.
I remember specifically mydaughter was probably like five
or six and we went to worlds offun, slash oceans of fun.
I'm telling you I was fightingfor my life the next day after
(13:15):
being at worlds fun, oceans offun, whole day.
Like I feel like somebody beatmy ass from just swimming, from
walking, like my feet hurt sobad.
I was so out of breath, sowinded, and at this time I was
like 27.
There is no reason why I shouldbe feeling like that at 27.
And I was like okay, you haveto make a change, because how
are you going to keep up withyour child?
(13:36):
And you can't, because you arejust literally out of shape,
like you're unhealthy For sure.
You can see that.
So that was like the realitycheck for me was like I
shouldn't be feeling like thisfrom walking.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Well, we're going to take that house off real quick.
You know, like, all the goodbusiness and all of that, like
the show is caught out of theshadows for a reason.
Right like before, before theselast few years of you like
really embracing your new rightlike and being more visual in
(14:15):
the world and I saying that youhaven't right like, you've
always been engaged in socialmedia but you're making this
impact.
People see you now and what Ifound, at least from my platform
.
It always makes me feeluncomfortable when my whole
truth doesn't come out rightlike the things that I will want
people to know so much about methat my story is relatable to
(14:39):
them because impact comes fromthat relation.
Right like I, you said likethere was no representation, so
I had to create it.
What is something that you willalways want people to know about
you?
Like this is going to be mytruth that I hold because I own
that, but you can't take thataway from me.
(15:01):
So a good example, like for me,is the story before I got shot
in paralyzed.
It's like who I was before myinjury.
Like my life became good aftermy injury, but for 24 years I
was this different person butthat made me into who I am now,
because I look back and say Ican be better than him.
I don't regret him becausethat's all I knew, but I can be
(15:24):
better than him and so nobodycan ever take that away, because
I was never perfect and I'mstill not right.
So, like that's the, that's theout of the shadows, like what
was the imperfections that youstill want people to understand?
That?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
that's what you grew from.
So many I say what I wantpeople to understand about me
and I preach it all the time isthat I'm regular, like people
for some reason think that whenyou make it to a certain level
or you're seen as more of avaluable person, that you're
special or that you didsomething different.
(15:59):
And I can assure you I did shitdifferent.
I went to the cell.
I'm from Kansas City, I'm fromthe like the inner city, not the
suburbs.
People knew, like when peoplesee me, they knew me, they know,
they know like who my child'sfather is.
I was single mother, young, Idid graduate, never finished
college, Like I probably didevery single thing wrong and I
(16:26):
really do feel like that made mewho I am and it also it allows
me to get people more grace andthey get frustrated when they
get upset.
It's like okay, well, there'snothing you can tell me that I
haven't already done orexperienced or been through and
still kept going.
So it's just like come on, likego ahead and cry it out and
(16:48):
we'd have to get back to it.
And I will say that that'ssomething that I definitely want
people to understand about meis that I don't have been
through it all, like deaths,drug life, street life, gang
life, poverty, who live in theroaches.
Like I don't have been throughit all and when you can go
(17:08):
through, everything is stillcome out on top.
Like I really do feel like well, I'm not even gonna say on top
because I don't feel like I'm ontop, but I do feel like I'm
above water.
So if you can stay above water,regardless of the situation,
you're going to be okay.
I feel like a lot of people sawthat.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
You're a regular person, right, like I always
tell people like what is normalwhen everybody's trying to reach
something that's not, and thatpart of your story becomes more
relatable.
There's people that's caught upin a lifestyle because that's
all they know and the good thingis is that when they see your
life and what you're doing, themto know that you came from the
(17:48):
background, you know, walk thesame communities, you did the
same things and made the samechoices.
Like life is about choices andgrowing up.
I think we're learning, right,like I always tell people now
and I'm like I'm 35.
And when I think about it youknow, you see all these
different older people.
Some people aren't making movesuntil they're 60, 70.
(18:11):
But when you come from a blackcommunity, you think everything
has to come quick.
Right, because death comes soquick in our community so we got
to do everything fast.
There's no longevity or nosteps to things.
So, like, when you see peoplelive in these certain lifestyles
, they're living these fastlifestyles To be able to see 35
and to know that I can haveanother 35 years.
(18:34):
I can't sit there and focus somuch on the mistakes that I've
made.
I just have to grow from them.
But I have to share that storybecause if not, then I'm sitting
in a room surrounded by peoplethat look at these age groups
and see them differently,because they basically hid their
own story of that used to bethem right.
(18:56):
And so it's like owning yourstory, owning your truth, is
being able to not judge peopleanymore.
You know, like when you stopjudging people, it's because,
like you just said, it's like Iget it.
Like I want you to be better, Iwant you to do better, but
today ain't the right day, right, like I get it, I get it.
(19:16):
But the fact that I've overcameit, I know that you can
overcome it.
So we're going to understandthis process.
It's one of those things that Ialways tell people now is, like
experience base when you canlead things through experience,
people embrace it more.
Right Like, can people feel itmore Because you're like man.
It's like somebody telling agroup of students to read a book
(19:40):
but never pick up a book a dayin their life or never, like
have a routine where they'rereading on a continuous basis.
So saying, hey, you need toread, but you can't tell me
anything about the any you knowbooks that are out there isn't
really bringing me value.
But if you're a everyday readerand you speak with knowledge,
where I'm like well, where youget that information from, right
(20:03):
Like, that's a different typeof experience.
That's a different type of waythat you can lead, because now
people know that you're doing it.
So, no, like, that's the story.
Right Like, you rose abovetriumph.
You went through thesedifferent things.
You're still a single mother.
You're a business owner.
Now You're someone that servesfreely and empowers women
(20:28):
through purpose.
Right Like, and I think thatstory of what you went through
is the reason why you empowermore people because, yeah, you
understand struggle and so ifyou can overcome that, then yeah
, you're a powerful individualyourself, which I already know
that, but at least everybodyelse get to know that now.
(20:48):
So this is a part where I feellike, at least if you're coming
from, I know a lot of peopleexperience certain things in
life, but I definitelyunderstand that the black
community experiences more, andit's death amongst grief, right
Like, and so really just kind ofnot really going in depth to
(21:12):
like your experience with death,but because I think that we
don't talk about grief enoughand I've learned that, at least
in my last year and a half, thatthe things that I was grieving
over it was hard because there'snot enough transparency in our
community for people to even askyou, are you okay?
It's kind of like somebody dieda day and we grieve for a week
(21:36):
to the funeral and then afterthat it's gone.
But you're having those daysand those moments and so kind of
just want to ask you like howdo you?
Because I know you'veexperienced things that has been
very tragic.
So how would you share, like,how do you handle it?
And then how do you continuehandling it?
(21:57):
And what would be your adviceto women, right Like, to women
on how to be able to handle itwithout bottling it in where it
takes over you, because griefcan take over you, right.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, for sure Me handling it.
I have some really good friends.
They help a lot.
What I will say is just let itout.
I know it's not all my friendscall me the cry baby, which I
was not always like this, justso you know, wesley but I found
(22:33):
like holding an N hurts evenmore than just letting it out.
Some days you may just need tojust let it out and that's okay.
And I think that a lot of timespeople look at that as a
weakness and they're like, oh, Ineed to be tougher than that,
like it'll be okay.
They want me to be strong andyeah, that person would want you
to be strong.
But at the same time you have toacknowledge your feelings,
(22:54):
whatever they are at the moment.
Don't sit in them.
So don't just sit there andliterally spend a whole week
crying.
But if you need to take an hour, or even if you need to even
take a whole day, okay, butstill have a strategy or a
support group or some type ofsystem that can help you get
back on track.
So even though you may be sadtoday or right now, like you
(23:18):
have to have something to makeyou smile every day.
So, whatever that is you got tohold on to that and make sure
it's a party of daily life.
So for me music helps, whichthat can be a double edged sword
, because sometimes music bringsback memories and sometimes it
brings back good or bad memories, you never know.
But music helps.
Cooking helps because of thedistraction, cleaning helps me.
(23:42):
My seven grace, I'm alwaysgonna say, is working out.
I know that's different foreverybody, but that's what has
always helped me get throughstuff, and sometimes I get too
sad to where I can't even workout.
So if I can't do it, then Ijust feel like, okay, well, I
might have to sit in the gymparking lot and cry, and then
(24:02):
I'll be like, okay, let me goget something to eat and just
gonna cry again.
You really, just, like I said,keeping your head above water,
you have to just keep swimming,like Nemo.
I mean it sounds crazy, but youhave to swim, fight through the
waves, fight through thecurrent, just keep going.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
I like that Swim like Nemo.
It's really good.
Keep on swimming, just keepswimming.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
And I'm not gonna say it's easy.
It's definitely not easy.
And don't let anybody belittleyour experience, whatever it was
, even if it doesn't seem likethat was a big deal to them.
Your experience, your emotions,they are valid.
You gotta acknowledge them andget people who respect them in
your life.
If they don't respect them,then you probably might wanna
(24:50):
avoid those people or kinda cutthem out, because you do need
support around you during thosetimes, Even if it's just
somebody that's just gonna sitthere in silence with you.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
I like that.
I like that.
Sit there in silence, oh my God.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
People always wanna say something to try to make it
better and it's like sometimesyou don't need that.
Sometimes you just needsomebody to literally just be
there.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
So, speaking of that, right, like I like that.
You said that and what I'mlearning I'm learning is
creating space and being moreverbal about that too.
You know, like I was telling,I've been doing like some yoga
on Wednesdays and doing somebreathing stuff and some, so I
(25:39):
got a little instructor andstuff and we've been working on
some things.
And I was talking about peoplelike, at least for me, because
of my line of work, people willthrow their grief and trauma on
me at times and sometimes it's alot for me when I'm going
(25:59):
through something already andthey asked me, have I ever just
told the individual or whoeverthat at this current moment, I
don't have space for it?
Or, at this current moment,like I am willing to create
space.
However, you need me, right,and I never thought about it
(26:20):
from that way, but it's likesetting that, it being more
intentional about your time,about your space, about your
current healing Cause, like youcould wake up and be dealing
with some grief and somebodyelse like man, listen, da, da,
da, da.
Like this is what I'm goingthrough and yes, it's a tragic
story, but Did you ask me, am Iokay today or I like, and I
(26:41):
think we all have it badsometimes because we want to
call somebody and let them justpour on us, like you know.
But just wanted to share that,not saying that you haven't done
that, but just wanted to sharethat as something that I'll just
learn, being able to be morevocal and tell people like, okay
, I need you to create, I needto create space for what you're
(27:05):
about to share with me.
This isn't the moment for it,you know, and so then it allows
one.
Could we talk about it on someof our calls outside?
Of this is like boundaries, andit's like how are we setting
better boundaries for ourselvesthat actually make those around
us not feel like they'reexcluded, but we are also
(27:27):
allowing them to know that we,like I own this space right now,
but it can't.
Nothing else can come in it,right?
Like so just wanted to sharethat and you know, going off of
that right, Like creating thoseboundaries and space, and just
being intentional affirmations,Like do you have like any
(27:52):
affirmations or quotes that youlive by, that you go by, that
you would want to share.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, I have a daily affirmation.
I say it three times in a row,every day, to 20 pm, and it's I
am rich, I am loved, I amfinancially abundant.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
I'm rich, I am loved, I am financially abundant.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
And my tip for that, because I know a lot of people
say that they have issues withdoing daily affirmations.
I set an alarm on my phone, soit's literally a reminder every
day to 20 that tells me that,and then I have to say it.
So it's just easier for me todo it that way, because you
never know how your day is gonnago.
So, to have that reminder andit's like, okay, that brings me
(28:36):
back to life every day.
Having it in the afternoondefinitely helps.
First thing in the morning isgood, but when you halfway
through your day, typicallythat's when the bullshit starts.
So it's like, okay, that's myreminder.
You all?
Right, come on, let's get backfocused.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
All right, noted.
Noted.
Noted Cause I don't think I doa midday reminder.
I think I set the tone so muchin the mornings that I don't do
a midday affirmation to maybereset and renew.
I like that though.
So hit a reminder.
There's no reason for us tomake excuses.
(29:15):
Right, we got timers andreminders on the phones.
We can literally allowourselves to create the routine
and schedule that we won't, evenif it's speaking affirmations
to yourself every day and beingconsistent with it.
I like that.
I like that.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Thank you, I know that was fun.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
You know, I know I referenced reading earlier.
Do you do any reading?
Is there any books that youlike, anything shaped around
material that you would wannashare, and it could be something
for women, it could besomething for everybody.
Just, I'm big on reading and Iwanna create like a book list
(29:59):
through the individuals that Italk to, so that people can know
that these are, you know it'sreferenced and, again, like
that's that experience.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yes, right now I'm not currently reading anything.
I would say that I do most ofmy reading through audio and,
like most of my song and like myself-development phase in my
life, I feel like still justtrying to get better at
everything.
So I listened to a lot ofself-help, a lot of
(30:31):
entrepreneurship, a lot ofmental health Anything as far as
the wellness spectrum is whathelps me get through.
I do have to be in the rightmind frame to even accept the
information though.
So, like typically, it seemslike Tuesday is the best day for
me, for whatever reason, but Ithink that's important to know
(30:54):
and acknowledge.
You know what days you know youreceived information the best,
and for some reason it isTuesday.
I don't know.
Thursday seems to be my go toshit day, but Tuesday I'll be on
my game, which it may be,because that's kind of like my
Monday, because I take Sundaysand Mondays off.
So that may be the reason whythe most recent book that I read
(31:16):
I had not read a book since,like January, the most recent
book I read was it was RickRoss's book.
I can't think of the name of it.
I think he only has one bookwhich I loved it.
It was not, it was an audiobook.
I did do the audio.
It wasn't in his voice, which Iwould have loved, but it was
still very insightful because itwas his point of view through
(31:39):
the pandemic and how he kind ofstructured his business and his
like the state throughout thebusiness and throughout the
pandemic and the lessons that helearned, the losses that he
took, how he came back from itand how he learned to pivot and
make things better.
And I guess it was relatablefor me because during the
pandemic I kind of was goingthrough the same thing.
(32:01):
Well, I mean on a much smallerscale, I don't have any state,
but just kind of finding purposeof how I can make money at home
, like a lot of people don'tknow.
But I started turning at myhouse, like I turned my upstairs
room into a fitness studiostill have it and it's like he
turned his what was it?
(32:21):
His swimming pool, like the newcoming to America too, that was
shot at his estate.
So like he did that and now hehas movie contracts for people
that want to use his estate andit's like everybody he said bash
him like why would you buy thisbig old thing?
We're about to go through apandemic you might want to sell,
but now he has a garden on theland, now he has a big garage
where he's able to store hiscars for the car shows that he
(32:44):
does and it's just like tryingto find, I guess, the silver
lining in the space that youhave, like you may think it's
wasted space or you wasted money, but you got to find a purpose
in everything.
So I think that's what reallyrelated me to the book.
And also he caught COVID too,so he talked about the
(33:05):
experience too of being down forsome time and just feeling like
you know, is this it?
And that kind of sparked hishealth journey, from him
starting to get into the weightloss and stuff like that.
So this is really good for me.
Those are my favorite type ofbooks or something that is
relatable.
And also maybe it was betterreceived because he is from, you
(33:26):
know, the inner city and hiscity, so maybe it was easier for
me to relate to from thatperspective because he kind of
talked about that as well.
So I would recommend that bookand then Tabitha Brown.
I think it's called Be the Soul.
That's one of the best books Iread last year.
(33:46):
I read a lot of books last yearbut hers.
You would think that it's goingto be just about a vegan life,
but it is so, so much more andit's hard to talk about it
without giving it away becauseit really is that good.
So I recommend anybody man,woman, anybody to read that book
.
Her basically is keep swimmingis the best thing that will get
(34:09):
you through, and that book isbasically her message.
It's like what it looked like,how long it takes.
Keep going, because what is foryou is for you.
It's going to be thereregardless.
You just got to make sure youin position to get it.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
I like that.
Okay, what is for you is foryou.
Rick Ross book is somethingthat I definitely feel like I
relate to.
I love that book, you know, aswe kind of stare closer to the
end, all right, and this iscompletely just off, you know
everything.
Just because I'm just curious,like I'm a person that believes
in like manifestation and reallyspeaking things into existence,
(34:47):
and so just wondering, you know, is that, is that something
that you practice in a sense,and do you have, like, have you
seen success in being able tospeak things and see that
appearing to your life?
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Absolutely.
I like to self proclaim myselfa master manifest With
manifestation.
Like it took me a long time tofigure out, I guess, necessarily
, how to unlock it, but it trulyis like believing without a
(35:27):
doubt that this is facts.
Like when you write somethingdown, you have to just leave it
alone, Like okay, like almost.
Like when you put a cake in theoven, you know for a fact it's
going to bake as long as theoven is working.
So that's the way that I lookat manifestation I just put it
in the oven, wait till the timergo off, and we're there every
single time.
Now what I will say is that Ineed to work on doing that on a
(35:51):
bigger scale.
Sometimes I mean it's naturalwe have self doubt and think
like no, that'll never happenfor me.
But then I start to see ithappen for other people, and
then that's when I have to kindof check myself and look at my
environment and make sure thatit's a healthy one, because once
those self doubts come in, it'stypically because I'm in the
wrong environment.
(36:11):
So, yeah, I definitely believein manifestation and I've seen
it happen for me.
I wrote down the whole bodylove business plan in 2019 when
I was still working my job,before I even knew what body
love was, didn't even have aname for it I mean down to the T
and it completely manifested inless than a year.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
I mean, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to say
that.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
I'm a body love.
I will say I believe in it.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
That's what's up.
So, um, I know we touch basison like the inspiration and
things behind your business andyou know I kind of got a
backstory of you.
But you know what, whatservices and things do you
actually provide, just so peoplecan know what services do you
(37:01):
provide?
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Well, I have a website.
The services I provide rightnow I'm completely virtual,
which I absolutely love, soplease don't ask for in person,
but I offer virtual trainingsessions Monday through well,
tuesday through Friday, forSaturday, tuesday through
Saturday and then Monday.
We also have a virtual mentalhealth mindset session every
(37:31):
Monday with my ladies is justkind of an overall women's
wellness coaching program atthis point.
So we touch physical, mental,emotional health, nutrition.
We pretty much touch everythingwhich I do have a challenge
starting tomorrow.
If anybody wants to learn up,it is the better challenge.
I'm feeling better, becomingthe best version of yourself,
(37:54):
and I do challenges just aboutevery month.
You want to sign up?
You can either go through mylink, which is on IG, body love,
underscore KC, or you can godirectly to my site,
bodylovekccom.
All right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
I heard it Bodylovekccom.
Bodylove underscore KC, sodon't ask me where it is.
We're going to make sure thatwe put it in, like all the nuts
and stuff, and of course, youknow Bella right, like I always
got to make sure that Bella isexisting in the conversation.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
So let it go.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Let's just speak on feeding yourself, because you
spoke about tap at the brown,like and we talked about like
the books and things.
But like, how do you you you'dnourish your body with like
foods and like, why do youchoose that Particularly, you
choose that particular direction.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Well, since you say that, vegetarian five years, in
July I chose that particularpath, which let's be clear I
grew up a meat eater, eatingpork.
I didn't do chili, but porkchops, ribs, anything you could
think of churches.
Chicken was my fave, sodefinitely was a meat eater.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
I'm just gonna put that there.
Churches is a hood favorite.
We all love churches.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
And I used to tear the dirty very damn.
So the reason why I startedthat particularly never, ever
thought I would, but the waythat I felt once I gave up meat
well, what inspired me to try tocut back on me is it's crazy
just random little posts onInstagram one day Meatless
(39:40):
Mondays I was like, oh, I can dothat, let me try that.
And it was basically to try toincorporate more vegetables in
my diet, so I started with meless Mondays, and I started
noticing more and more how I waskind of like stop eating meat.
Like it came down to where itwas only like two times a week,
(40:01):
maybe one time a week, maybe Imight go two weeks without
eating it, and I started to alsonotice how much better I felt,
like I felt lighter, I have moreenergy.
And what took the cake for me,though, to commit to this
lifestyle is my menstrual cycle,like I have always had, which
you probably don't want to hearabout this, but I always had the
(40:24):
worst periods of my life.
From the very first one I meanthe very first one I thought I
was dying, which turns out isendometriosis, is what it is,
which is a pretty commoncondition.
Again, I hear that it'sstronger and black women.
I don't know, I haven't donethe research, but it's basically
where you have like heavy flow,unbearable cramps, extreme
(40:47):
fatigue, like literally peopleshould be able to get off work
for it, because it truly doesfeel like you're dying.
It really does.
I noticed that when I stoppedconsuming so much meat, the
intensity of that like dropprobably by no lie 85%.
Wow, and that was enough for meright there to be like yep, I'm
(41:08):
never doing that again becauseif you know something is in this
case it does not kill you.
It's not a disease that's goingto kill you, it's nothing like
that, it's just a condition.
But if you know something feelslike death and you go, you know
, without feeling that, why inthe hell would you ever go back
to like that's just would becrazy.
So, yeah, that was the finaltouch for me.
(41:32):
I've just recently startedincorporating like meat
substitutes here and there atyour, for which that can be hit
or miss.
But I don't know, I just feelso much better being a
vegetarian.
It is really like I have to goout of my way to eat bad and
unhealthy and I do have to goout of my way to find better
(41:54):
options when I'm out, so itmotivates me to cook at home
more.
It motivates me to make betterchoices and, just overall, eat
healthier and cleaner.
So I love it.
My daughter is not a vegetarian, just in case I was wondering.
She's not, but since I'm avegetarian, she does eat
vegetarian meals a lot more.
(42:14):
She eats a lot more vegetablesthan she ever did before and
she's actually starting to likemy food now.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Okay, see, that's you got to be the example you know
be the change we wish to see inthe world, right?
Thank you for really takingyour time and chatting with me.
I love, I love that you have,you know, a place that you could
be able to be transparent andshare your story and just let
people know not only what you'redoing, but the the patch and
(42:42):
behind it and the reason whyyou're doing it, and I hope
people really listen andgravitate to it and, you know,
be able to reach out and knowthat they have a brand that
really speaks to them and wantsto see them have a better
quality of life overall.
So, like, yeah, final words,final thoughts.
You know, what would you wantto leave to the people?
Speaker 2 (43:04):
I want to leave to the people is don't ever think
that you can do anything likeliterally anything in this world
.
You want to do, you can do it.
You just have to believe thatyou can do it.
Even something as simple astying your shoes, like you can
do it.
I never thought I'd be avegetarian.
I never thought I would eathealthy.
I never thought I would likefitness or exercise, and that's
(43:27):
literally my life.
Anything that you think you cando, I promise you you can do it
.
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Yeah, well, you know what that's.
That's how it in this and again.
It's just been amazing to getyour story out there.
I've known it, but more peopleneed to hear it and I'm just
grateful for that.
So do this.
You've been listening to out ofthe shadows, where we
(43:55):
illuminate the often overlooked.
Join me next week for moreuntold stories of triumph and
remember every victory countsuntil the end.
Stay out of the shadows.
In a world where success often steals the
limelight, the stories thattruly inspire, that truly matter
, are left behind in the shadows.
I'm your host, Wesley Hamilton.
Welcome to the Out of theShadows podcast.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Keep going, because what is for you is for you.
It's going to be thereregardless.
You just got to make sure youhave a position to get in.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
What's up everybody.
This is Wesley Hamilton.
This is my show Out of theShadows Really just want to
highlight real stories ofindividuals that I believe are
inspiring me in really doingthings that are shifting the
world, rather than within theircommunity or social media Any
way that you're making an impact.
I just want to be able tohighlight that.
(01:00):
So today I'm bringing to you agood friend of mine, christina
Perry.
She is definitely the founderof Body Love, which we'll get
really in depth to that.
Christina is from Kansas City,missouri, so of course, I'm
definitely highlighting a lot ofhometown people.
You know the diamonds in arough.
(01:23):
Christina has an amazing storyand has shaped her story in a
way that it is now impacting alot of women's lives, you know,
and even though it's impactingwomen on all different platforms
, like I think her really beinginvested into the communities
that she come from has reallyjust been a reason why the story
(01:46):
has to come out.
So thank you, Christina, forbeing here and joining me.
Speaker 2 (01:51):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:53):
I love it no, so I'm just going to dive right in like
Body Love, right?
What's the story behind it?
What's the inspiration for BodyLove?
Speaker 2 (02:03):
The inspiration for Body Love.
So I did not come from like ahealthy environment in any means
as far as like physical health,fitness safety whatsoever, so I
didn't really have a goodunderstanding of what health
meant.
I kind of went on the journeyof myself trying to figure out
(02:25):
what self love is, and it led meto fitness, and so that's where
Body Love kind of came from isjust truly showing love,
learning how to show love to mybody.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
Oh, oh, oh.
Man, that's good Learning howto show love to my body.
You know what ways do you dothat.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Well, it started out with just trying to exercise,
trying to do a little bit betterevery single day.
Honestly, I didn't know what Iwas doing.
So I just started out tofriends that I knew one of my
best friends.
She was in the gym and justlike, hey, can I come work out
with you?
You know what the hell I wasdoing.
But I was like we're going totry something because so just to
(03:14):
give you a little background Ihad asthma.
I've had asthma my entire lifeand it just really took a toll
on my health like all my life.
Like just trying to ignore itusing inhalers or prednisone,
whatever the doctors gave me totry to strengthen my lungs.
Exercise was never even givenas an option.
Like it was never presented tome like hey, maybe you should
(03:36):
actually exercise your lungs sothat you can use them better.
Like you have to work.
It's not a muscle, but you dohave to work out your muscles so
they can be worked fully.
I wasn't using my lungs properlyso anytime I tried to, it was a
struggle.
So once I started working out,started trying to eat a little
bit better, I started seeinglittle changes.
(03:57):
But on top of that I startedactually stopping.
I didn't have to use an inhaleranymore, I didn't have to carry
around a breathing machine.
I went like a whole yearwithout pneumonia or bronchitis,
like just noticing little stufflike that.
And it's like that's crazy thatthe doctor never said, hey, why
don't you just start workingout or just walk or just run or
just try this?
(04:17):
So that's what it looked likeinitially was just a little bit
each day, to where it's nowevolved into other people seeing
what I'm doing and they'reseeking me out for help.
So it just kind of bloomed intothis community.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
I'm only laughing because, if anyone don't know,
christina is definitely a dogmom.
So Miss Bella in the back ismaking her appearance, just so
everybody know.
So we are definitely dogfriendly.
So if you hear a little barkhere and there, that's just
definitely Bella making astatement.
(04:54):
So the inspiration behind itsounds like it's just driving
force and, of course, like forme, having something similar of
not having the resources orbeing really told that exercise
and things can actually help,and then finding out that once I
(05:14):
started doing it, it actuallychanged things for me and made
me better.
Life just started to seemdifferent.
So, like now, I see, like, ofcourse, like for you, I remember
the year that you decided toactually get into making body
love a thing and just shiftingyour whole everything.
(05:37):
You left your job.
I like that.
So it's just kind of liketalking about that.
You know, if I'm not mistaken,I was around the pandemic, you
know.
So, yeah, like, what made youlike really say, ok, I want to
love my body more, but now Ireally want to help other people
and I can't do it actually workin this nine to five.
(06:00):
I have to applaud myself andreally invest in this.
Like, well, what definitely waslike that shift and what's
driving you to do it now.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
The initial shift was like this job that, honestly,
was it, but I think it was.
The pandemic is really whatlike kickstarted everything,
which is crazy because that isprobably the worst time to ever
started.
And I, just for the record, Idid it without a PPP, for the
(06:33):
record, self-funded.
But I think that time off fromwork, because everything shut
down, you know, everything shutdown.
So there was nothing to do butwhat I love doing, which was
working out, eating healthy, andI mean we did that every single
day during the pandemic.
Like we was literally workingout probably four hours every
(06:53):
day because there was nothingelse to do so, with finding that
love for it and seeing how freeand how good I felt there was,
like it was no option but to dothat, like it was like I cannot
go back to doing what I wasdoing before.
You know it's almost like youdon't miss a good thing until
it's gone.
In this case, it was like Ididn't know that I was missing
(07:15):
this good thing until it waspresented to me and it was like,
okay, now that I've gotten thattaste of it, I'm never going
back, like it was a no-brainer.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
That's the thing you get a taste of, something that
is freeing.
You know, yeah, there's a lotof work behind it, but it tastes
good to go after something andlike really make that initial
investment into it.
Why not serve everybody whileI'm with them?
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Well, there's many, many reasons why the reason why
I service women particularlywell.
First and foremost, I'm a womanand I'm a black woman.
I feel like the knowledge, orthe lack of knowledge, around
health and fitness in the blackfemale community, particularly
in Kansas City I can't speak forother cities it's non-existent.
(08:01):
Like there are personaltrainers out here, there's gyms,
there's all this, but there'snever any emphasis or importance
on why we need to do this.
There's never any emphasis onthe community of actually having
a community of people thatsupport you in doing it, or even
the health reasons behind it.
It's always been just kind oflooking me and so I was looking
(08:23):
at other people, but I didn'tsee anybody that I could relate
to.
And then I know that within thefitness and health community
they started out that way.
They played sports, they rantrack, they did basketball.
They've always been into thatcommunity and it kind of is
discouraging and veryintimidating for someone that
does not come from thatbackground, because it's almost
(08:44):
like you feel like it'simpossible, especially starting
at a later point in life.
So I didn't start it until Iwas in my 30s is when I started.
I went 30 years without reallydoing shit.
So once you get there, it'slike I feel like I'm too old or
the damage is already done, andso I'm trying to show people
like no, it's never too late.
Like you may not be able toachieve your dream body if
(09:07):
you're not disciplined enough,but you can be healthier, you
can look a little bit better,you can feel better.
That's really the point of whatI do.
It's not for you to be abodybuilder, it's for you to be
able to sustain and live a goodlife.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
You know, a lot of people might not understand the
difference in that of like.
You know, the fast fitnesslifestyle compared to the long
term, the longevity like.
Love your body for what it isbut be consistent with making
you have a better quality oflife.
I mean, in a lot of ways, Ithink that's why we connect, is
(09:42):
because you know there was lackof representation and fitness
for people with disabilities,and I think that was like my
driving force of being that andgetting into that and finding
how good it was.
It's like man, I'm not evenreally too much worried about
walking and that's my flaw,right, at least it's a flaw for
people that don't understand thethings that I can do.
(10:03):
And so it's kind of like, yeah,like being able to embrace
everything, everything withinyou, looking in the mirror and
being proud that you're workingon yourself.
You know, don't have thisvision of this.
Like you can, you can work to agoal, but it's like that fast.
(10:24):
Let me get this in like thesummertime.
You know, I think that's thebiggest thing, like the
summertime body.
I think that's the wrong way toreally speak about things.
You know when it comes tofitness, because now and
everybody's rushing, but youknow when you think about that
and you're you know you'retalking about loving your body
(10:46):
and you know you have this forceto impact women and the reason
why.
But you're also a mother right.
What has this journey in thelast few years have actually
helped you?
Even when it comes to parentsand like, what are your goals to
like be able to show your childyou know what you're doing,
like what's the impact you'retrying to create, just as a
(11:08):
parent and doing what you want.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Well, that's funny that you say that, because my
daughter is anti-health.
I think kids just don't want todo what they see their parents
doing.
They want to be different andlive their own life, which I
respect it, but I do encourageher to do better.
So, like we don't eat out allthe time, we try to make
(11:30):
healthier choices at home.
I mean, I still let her indulgehere in the area of McDonald's
stuff that she wants to have.
She's a kid, I'm not going todeprive her of that, but I do
try to teach her everything isokay in moderation.
Like you still have to eat yourveggies, you still need to be
somewhat active, you still needto do stuff, and I try to do it
(11:51):
from the standpoint of health,because my daughter is very
skinny, or I won't say skinny,but she's in shape, she's not
overweight or anything like that.
So she also looks at whatsociety sees as healthy and
she's like I'm fine, I don'tneed to do that, I'm not fat and
I'm just like okay.
Well, it's not about that.
Do you know the rate of?
You know childhood diabetes?
(12:12):
Like there's so many differentelements that you can cause to
have that you could prevent fromjust to make better choices.
And I was like, yeah, it maynot be a factor right now, but a
lot of us didn't think it wasgoing to be a factor when we
were kids.
And then, once you hit 30 andyou are on all these medications
, it's a buildup over time ofthe bad habits that you've had
(12:32):
that you didn't know any better.
I'm like so I'm trying to showyou different.
So I do encourage kids.
Like, when I hold my classes, Ialways have kids free.
Anybody 18 and under can comefor free and they love it.
My daughter's probably the onlyone that does it.
I do try to incorporate thatinto my parenting skills, to
(12:54):
give like flashback.
So what was the final straw forme to get into shape?
Well, besides, the last time Igot in the manga is.
I remember specifically mydaughter was probably like five
or six and we went to worlds offun, slash oceans of fun.
I'm telling you I was fightingfor my life the next day after
(13:15):
being at worlds fun, oceans offun, whole day.
Like I feel like somebody beatmy ass from just swimming, from
walking, like my feet hurt sobad.
I was so out of breath, sowinded, and at this time I was
like 27.
There is no reason why I shouldbe feeling like that at 27.
And I was like okay, you haveto make a change, because how
are you going to keep up withyour child?
(13:36):
And you can't, because you arejust literally out of shape,
like you're unhealthy For sure.
You can see that.
So that was like the realitycheck for me was like I
shouldn't be feeling like thisfrom walking.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
Well, we're going to take that house off real quick.
You know, like, all the goodbusiness and all of that, like
the show is caught out of theshadows for a reason.
Right like before, before theselast few years of you like
really embracing your new rightlike and being more visual in
(14:15):
the world and I saying that youhaven't right like, you've
always been engaged in socialmedia but you're making this
impact.
People see you now and what Ifound, at least from my platform
.
It always makes me feeluncomfortable when my whole
truth doesn't come out rightlike the things that I will want
people to know so much about methat my story is relatable to
(14:39):
them because impact comes fromthat relation.
Right like I, you said likethere was no representation, so
I had to create it.
What is something that you willalways want people to know about
you?
Like this is going to be mytruth that I hold because I own
that, but you can't take thataway from me.
(15:01):
So a good example, like for me,is the story before I got shot
in paralyzed.
It's like who I was before myinjury.
Like my life became good aftermy injury, but for 24 years I
was this different person butthat made me into who I am now,
because I look back and say Ican be better than him.
I don't regret him becausethat's all I knew, but I can be
(15:24):
better than him and so nobodycan ever take that away, because
I was never perfect and I'mstill not right.
So, like that's the, that's theout of the shadows, like what
was the imperfections that youstill want people to understand?
That?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
that's what you grew from.
So many I say what I wantpeople to understand about me
and I preach it all the time isthat I'm regular, like people
for some reason think that whenyou make it to a certain level
or you're seen as more of avaluable person, that you're
special or that you didsomething different.
(15:59):
And I can assure you I did shitdifferent.
I went to the cell.
I'm from Kansas City, I'm fromthe like the inner city, not the
suburbs.
People knew, like when peoplesee me, they knew me, they know,
they know like who my child'sfather is.
I was single mother, young, Idid graduate, never finished
college, Like I probably didevery single thing wrong and I
(16:26):
really do feel like that made mewho I am and it also it allows
me to get people more grace andthey get frustrated when they
get upset.
It's like okay, well, there'snothing you can tell me that I
haven't already done orexperienced or been through and
still kept going.
So it's just like come on, likego ahead and cry it out and
(16:48):
we'd have to get back to it.
And I will say that that'ssomething that I definitely want
people to understand about meis that I don't have been
through it all, like deaths,drug life, street life, gang
life, poverty, who live in theroaches.
Like I don't have been throughit all and when you can go
(17:08):
through, everything is stillcome out on top.
Like I really do feel like well, I'm not even gonna say on top
because I don't feel like I'm ontop, but I do feel like I'm
above water.
So if you can stay above water,regardless of the situation,
you're going to be okay.
I feel like a lot of people sawthat.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
You're a regular person, right, like I always
tell people like what is normalwhen everybody's trying to reach
something that's not, and thatpart of your story becomes more
relatable.
There's people that's caught upin a lifestyle because that's
all they know and the good thingis is that when they see your
life and what you're doing, themto know that you came from the
(17:48):
background, you know, walk thesame communities, you did the
same things and made the samechoices.
Like life is about choices andgrowing up.
I think we're learning, right,like I always tell people now
and I'm like I'm 35.
And when I think about it youknow, you see all these
different older people.
Some people aren't making movesuntil they're 60, 70.
(18:11):
But when you come from a blackcommunity, you think everything
has to come quick.
Right, because death comes soquick in our community so we got
to do everything fast.
There's no longevity or nosteps to things.
So, like, when you see peoplelive in these certain lifestyles
, they're living these fastlifestyles To be able to see 35
and to know that I can haveanother 35 years.
(18:34):
I can't sit there and focus somuch on the mistakes that I've
made.
I just have to grow from them.
But I have to share that storybecause if not, then I'm sitting
in a room surrounded by peoplethat look at these age groups
and see them differently,because they basically hid their
own story of that used to bethem right.
(18:56):
And so it's like owning yourstory, owning your truth, is
being able to not judge peopleanymore.
You know, like when you stopjudging people, it's because,
like you just said, it's like Iget it.
Like I want you to be better, Iwant you to do better, but
today ain't the right day, right, like I get it, I get it.
(19:16):
But the fact that I've overcameit, I know that you can
overcome it.
So we're going to understandthis process.
It's one of those things that Ialways tell people now is, like
experience base when you canlead things through experience,
people embrace it more.
Right Like, can people feel itmore Because you're like man.
It's like somebody telling agroup of students to read a book
(19:40):
but never pick up a book a dayin their life or never, like
have a routine where they'rereading on a continuous basis.
So saying, hey, you need toread, but you can't tell me
anything about the any you knowbooks that are out there isn't
really bringing me value.
But if you're a everyday readerand you speak with knowledge,
where I'm like well, where youget that information from, right
(20:03):
Like, that's a different typeof experience.
That's a different type of waythat you can lead, because now
people know that you're doing it.
So, no, like, that's the story.
Right Like, you rose abovetriumph.
You went through thesedifferent things.
You're still a single mother.
You're a business owner.
Now You're someone that servesfreely and empowers women
(20:28):
through purpose.
Right Like, and I think thatstory of what you went through
is the reason why you empowermore people because, yeah, you
understand struggle and so ifyou can overcome that, then yeah
, you're a powerful individualyourself, which I already know
that, but at least everybodyelse get to know that now.
(20:48):
So this is a part where I feellike, at least if you're coming
from, I know a lot of peopleexperience certain things in
life, but I definitelyunderstand that the black
community experiences more, andit's death amongst grief, right
Like, and so really just kind ofnot really going in depth to
(21:12):
like your experience with death,but because I think that we
don't talk about grief enoughand I've learned that, at least
in my last year and a half, thatthe things that I was grieving
over it was hard because there'snot enough transparency in our
community for people to even askyou, are you okay?
It's kind of like somebody dieda day and we grieve for a week
(21:36):
to the funeral and then afterthat it's gone.
But you're having those daysand those moments and so kind of
just want to ask you like howdo you?
Because I know you'veexperienced things that has been
very tragic.
So how would you share, like,how do you handle it?
And then how do you continuehandling it?
(21:57):
And what would be your adviceto women, right Like, to women
on how to be able to handle itwithout bottling it in where it
takes over you, because griefcan take over you, right.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
Yeah, for sure Me handling it.
I have some really good friends.
They help a lot.
What I will say is just let itout.
I know it's not all my friendscall me the cry baby, which I
was not always like this, justso you know, wesley but I found
(22:33):
like holding an N hurts evenmore than just letting it out.
Some days you may just need tojust let it out and that's okay.
And I think that a lot of timespeople look at that as a
weakness and they're like, oh, Ineed to be tougher than that,
like it'll be okay.
They want me to be strong andyeah, that person would want you
to be strong.
But at the same time you have toacknowledge your feelings,
(22:54):
whatever they are at the moment.
Don't sit in them.
So don't just sit there andliterally spend a whole week
crying.
But if you need to take an hour, or even if you need to even
take a whole day, okay, butstill have a strategy or a
support group or some type ofsystem that can help you get
back on track.
So even though you may be sadtoday or right now, like you
(23:18):
have to have something to makeyou smile every day.
So, whatever that is you got tohold on to that and make sure
it's a party of daily life.
So for me music helps, whichthat can be a double edged sword
, because sometimes music bringsback memories and sometimes it
brings back good or bad memories, you never know.
But music helps.
Cooking helps because of thedistraction, cleaning helps me.
(23:42):
My seven grace, I'm alwaysgonna say, is working out.
I know that's different foreverybody, but that's what has
always helped me get throughstuff, and sometimes I get too
sad to where I can't even workout.
So if I can't do it, then Ijust feel like, okay, well, I
might have to sit in the gymparking lot and cry, and then
(24:02):
I'll be like, okay, let me goget something to eat and just
gonna cry again.
You really, just, like I said,keeping your head above water,
you have to just keep swimming,like Nemo.
I mean it sounds crazy, but youhave to swim, fight through the
waves, fight through thecurrent, just keep going.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
I like that Swim like Nemo.
It's really good.
Keep on swimming, just keepswimming.
Speaker 2 (24:29):
And I'm not gonna say it's easy.
It's definitely not easy.
And don't let anybody belittleyour experience, whatever it was
, even if it doesn't seem likethat was a big deal to them.
Your experience, your emotions,they are valid.
You gotta acknowledge them andget people who respect them in
your life.
If they don't respect them,then you probably might wanna
(24:50):
avoid those people or kinda cutthem out, because you do need
support around you during thosetimes, Even if it's just
somebody that's just gonna sitthere in silence with you.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
I like that.
I like that.
Sit there in silence, oh my God.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
People always wanna say something to try to make it
better and it's like sometimesyou don't need that.
Sometimes you just needsomebody to literally just be
there.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
So, speaking of that, right, like I like that.
You said that and what I'mlearning I'm learning is
creating space and being moreverbal about that too.
You know, like I was telling,I've been doing like some yoga
on Wednesdays and doing somebreathing stuff and some, so I
(25:39):
got a little instructor andstuff and we've been working on
some things.
And I was talking about peoplelike, at least for me, because
of my line of work, people willthrow their grief and trauma on
me at times and sometimes it's alot for me when I'm going
(25:59):
through something already andthey asked me, have I ever just
told the individual or whoeverthat at this current moment, I
don't have space for it?
Or, at this current moment,like I am willing to create
space.
However, you need me, right,and I never thought about it
(26:20):
from that way, but it's likesetting that, it being more
intentional about your time,about your space, about your
current healing Cause, like youcould wake up and be dealing
with some grief and somebodyelse like man, listen, da, da,
da, da.
Like this is what I'm goingthrough and yes, it's a tragic
story, but Did you ask me, am Iokay today or I like, and I
(26:41):
think we all have it badsometimes because we want to
call somebody and let them justpour on us, like you know.
But just wanted to share that,not saying that you haven't done
that, but just wanted to sharethat as something that I'll just
learn, being able to be morevocal and tell people like, okay
, I need you to create, I needto create space for what you're
(27:05):
about to share with me.
This isn't the moment for it,you know, and so then it allows
one.
Could we talk about it on someof our calls outside?
Of this is like boundaries, andit's like how are we setting
better boundaries for ourselvesthat actually make those around
us not feel like they'reexcluded, but we are also
(27:27):
allowing them to know that we,like I own this space right now,
but it can't.
Nothing else can come in it,right?
Like so just wanted to sharethat and you know, going off of
that right, Like creating thoseboundaries and space, and just
being intentional affirmations,Like do you have like any
(27:52):
affirmations or quotes that youlive by, that you go by, that
you would want to share.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Yeah, I have a daily affirmation.
I say it three times in a row,every day, to 20 pm, and it's I
am rich, I am loved, I amfinancially abundant.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
I'm rich, I am loved, I am financially abundant.
Speaker 2 (28:15):
And my tip for that, because I know a lot of people
say that they have issues withdoing daily affirmations.
I set an alarm on my phone, soit's literally a reminder every
day to 20 that tells me that,and then I have to say it.
So it's just easier for me todo it that way, because you
never know how your day is gonnago.
So, to have that reminder andit's like, okay, that brings me
(28:36):
back to life every day.
Having it in the afternoondefinitely helps.
First thing in the morning isgood, but when you halfway
through your day, typicallythat's when the bullshit starts.
So it's like, okay, that's myreminder.
You all?
Right, come on, let's get backfocused.
Speaker 1 (28:54):
All right, noted.
Noted.
Noted Cause I don't think I doa midday reminder.
I think I set the tone so muchin the mornings that I don't do
a midday affirmation to maybereset and renew.
I like that though.
So hit a reminder.
There's no reason for us tomake excuses.
(29:15):
Right, we got timers andreminders on the phones.
We can literally allowourselves to create the routine
and schedule that we won't, evenif it's speaking affirmations
to yourself every day and beingconsistent with it.
I like that.
I like that.
Speaker 2 (29:33):
Thank you, I know that was fun.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
You know, I know I referenced reading earlier.
Do you do any reading?
Is there any books that youlike, anything shaped around
material that you would wannashare, and it could be something
for women, it could besomething for everybody.
Just, I'm big on reading and Iwanna create like a book list
(29:59):
through the individuals that Italk to, so that people can know
that these are, you know it'sreferenced and, again, like
that's that experience.
Speaker 2 (30:10):
Yes, right now I'm not currently reading anything.
I would say that I do most ofmy reading through audio and,
like most of my song and like myself-development phase in my
life, I feel like still justtrying to get better at
everything.
So I listened to a lot ofself-help, a lot of
(30:31):
entrepreneurship, a lot ofmental health Anything as far as
the wellness spectrum is whathelps me get through.
I do have to be in the rightmind frame to even accept the
information though.
So, like typically, it seemslike Tuesday is the best day for
me, for whatever reason, but Ithink that's important to know
(30:54):
and acknowledge.
You know what days you know youreceived information the best,
and for some reason it isTuesday.
I don't know.
Thursday seems to be my go toshit day, but Tuesday I'll be on
my game, which it may be,because that's kind of like my
Monday, because I take Sundaysand Mondays off.
So that may be the reason whythe most recent book that I read
(31:16):
I had not read a book since,like January, the most recent
book I read was it was RickRoss's book.
I can't think of the name of it.
I think he only has one bookwhich I loved it.
It was not, it was an audiobook.
I did do the audio.
It wasn't in his voice, which Iwould have loved, but it was
still very insightful because itwas his point of view through
(31:39):
the pandemic and how he kind ofstructured his business and his
like the state throughout thebusiness and throughout the
pandemic and the lessons that helearned, the losses that he
took, how he came back from itand how he learned to pivot and
make things better.
And I guess it was relatablefor me because during the
pandemic I kind of was goingthrough the same thing.
(32:01):
Well, I mean on a much smallerscale, I don't have any state,
but just kind of finding purposeof how I can make money at home
, like a lot of people don'tknow.
But I started turning at myhouse, like I turned my upstairs
room into a fitness studiostill have it and it's like he
turned his what was it?
(32:21):
His swimming pool, like the newcoming to America too, that was
shot at his estate.
So like he did that and now hehas movie contracts for people
that want to use his estate andit's like everybody he said bash
him like why would you buy thisbig old thing?
We're about to go through apandemic you might want to sell,
but now he has a garden on theland, now he has a big garage
where he's able to store hiscars for the car shows that he
(32:44):
does and it's just like tryingto find, I guess, the silver
lining in the space that youhave, like you may think it's
wasted space or you wasted money, but you got to find a purpose
in everything.
So I think that's what reallyrelated me to the book.
And also he caught COVID too,so he talked about the
(33:05):
experience too of being down forsome time and just feeling like
you know, is this it?
And that kind of sparked hishealth journey, from him
starting to get into the weightloss and stuff like that.
So this is really good for me.
Those are my favorite type ofbooks or something that is
relatable.
And also maybe it was betterreceived because he is from, you
(33:26):
know, the inner city and hiscity, so maybe it was easier for
me to relate to from thatperspective because he kind of
talked about that as well.
So I would recommend that bookand then Tabitha Brown.
I think it's called Be the Soul.
That's one of the best books Iread last year.
(33:46):
I read a lot of books last yearbut hers.
You would think that it's goingto be just about a vegan life,
but it is so, so much more andit's hard to talk about it
without giving it away becauseit really is that good.
So I recommend anybody man,woman, anybody to read that book
.
Her basically is keep swimmingis the best thing that will get
(34:09):
you through, and that book isbasically her message.
It's like what it looked like,how long it takes.
Keep going, because what is foryou is for you.
It's going to be thereregardless.
You just got to make sure youin position to get it.
Speaker 1 (34:22):
I like that.
Okay, what is for you is foryou.
Rick Ross book is somethingthat I definitely feel like I
relate to.
I love that book, you know, aswe kind of stare closer to the
end, all right, and this iscompletely just off, you know
everything.
Just because I'm just curious,like I'm a person that believes
in like manifestation and reallyspeaking things into existence,
(34:47):
and so just wondering, you know, is that, is that something
that you practice in a sense,and do you have, like, have you
seen success in being able tospeak things and see that
appearing to your life?
Speaker 2 (35:06):
Absolutely.
I like to self proclaim myselfa master manifest With
manifestation.
Like it took me a long time tofigure out, I guess, necessarily
, how to unlock it, but it trulyis like believing without a
(35:27):
doubt that this is facts.
Like when you write somethingdown, you have to just leave it
alone, Like okay, like almost.
Like when you put a cake in theoven, you know for a fact it's
going to bake as long as theoven is working.
So that's the way that I lookat manifestation I just put it
in the oven, wait till the timergo off, and we're there every
single time.
Now what I will say is that Ineed to work on doing that on a
(35:51):
bigger scale.
Sometimes I mean it's naturalwe have self doubt and think
like no, that'll never happenfor me.
But then I start to see ithappen for other people, and
then that's when I have to kindof check myself and look at my
environment and make sure thatit's a healthy one, because once
those self doubts come in, it'stypically because I'm in the
wrong environment.
(36:11):
So, yeah, I definitely believein manifestation and I've seen
it happen for me.
I wrote down the whole bodylove business plan in 2019 when
I was still working my job,before I even knew what body
love was, didn't even have aname for it I mean down to the T
and it completely manifested inless than a year.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
I mean, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to say
that.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
I'm a body love.
I will say I believe in it.
Speaker 1 (36:37):
That's what's up.
So, um, I know we touch basison like the inspiration and
things behind your business andyou know I kind of got a
backstory of you.
But you know what, whatservices and things do you
actually provide, just so peoplecan know what services do you
(37:01):
provide?
Speaker 2 (37:03):
Well, I have a website.
The services I provide rightnow I'm completely virtual,
which I absolutely love, soplease don't ask for in person,
but I offer virtual trainingsessions Monday through well,
tuesday through Friday, forSaturday, tuesday through
Saturday and then Monday.
We also have a virtual mentalhealth mindset session every
(37:31):
Monday with my ladies is justkind of an overall women's
wellness coaching program atthis point.
So we touch physical, mental,emotional health, nutrition.
We pretty much touch everythingwhich I do have a challenge
starting tomorrow.
If anybody wants to learn up,it is the better challenge.
I'm feeling better, becomingthe best version of yourself,
(37:54):
and I do challenges just aboutevery month.
You want to sign up?
You can either go through mylink, which is on IG, body love,
underscore KC, or you can godirectly to my site,
bodylovekccom.
All right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
I heard it Bodylovekccom.
Bodylove underscore KC, sodon't ask me where it is.
We're going to make sure thatwe put it in, like all the nuts
and stuff, and of course, youknow Bella right, like I always
got to make sure that Bella isexisting in the conversation.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
So let it go.
Speaker 1 (38:31):
Let's just speak on feeding yourself, because you
spoke about tap at the brown,like and we talked about like
the books and things.
But like, how do you you you'dnourish your body with like
foods and like, why do youchoose that Particularly, you
choose that particular direction.
Speaker 2 (38:48):
Well, since you say that, vegetarian five years, in
July I chose that particularpath, which let's be clear I
grew up a meat eater, eatingpork.
I didn't do chili, but porkchops, ribs, anything you could
think of churches.
Chicken was my fave, sodefinitely was a meat eater.
Speaker 1 (39:12):
I'm just gonna put that there.
Churches is a hood favorite.
We all love churches.
Speaker 2 (39:17):
And I used to tear the dirty very damn.
So the reason why I startedthat particularly never, ever
thought I would, but the waythat I felt once I gave up meat
well, what inspired me to try tocut back on me is it's crazy
just random little posts onInstagram one day Meatless
(39:40):
Mondays I was like, oh, I can dothat, let me try that.
And it was basically to try toincorporate more vegetables in
my diet, so I started with meless Mondays, and I started
noticing more and more how I waskind of like stop eating meat.
Like it came down to where itwas only like two times a week,
(40:01):
maybe one time a week, maybe Imight go two weeks without
eating it, and I started to alsonotice how much better I felt,
like I felt lighter, I have moreenergy.
And what took the cake for me,though, to commit to this
lifestyle is my menstrual cycle,like I have always had, which
you probably don't want to hearabout this, but I always had the
(40:24):
worst periods of my life.
From the very first one I meanthe very first one I thought I
was dying, which turns out isendometriosis, is what it is,
which is a pretty commoncondition.
Again, I hear that it'sstronger and black women.
I don't know, I haven't donethe research, but it's basically
where you have like heavy flow,unbearable cramps, extreme
(40:47):
fatigue, like literally peopleshould be able to get off work
for it, because it truly doesfeel like you're dying.
It really does.
I noticed that when I stoppedconsuming so much meat, the
intensity of that like dropprobably by no lie 85%.
Wow, and that was enough for meright there to be like yep, I'm
(41:08):
never doing that again becauseif you know something is in this
case it does not kill you.
It's not a disease that's goingto kill you, it's nothing like
that, it's just a condition.
But if you know something feelslike death and you go, you know
, without feeling that, why inthe hell would you ever go back
to like that's just would becrazy.
So, yeah, that was the finaltouch for me.
(41:32):
I've just recently startedincorporating like meat
substitutes here and there atyour, for which that can be hit
or miss.
But I don't know, I just feelso much better being a
vegetarian.
It is really like I have to goout of my way to eat bad and
unhealthy and I do have to goout of my way to find better
(41:54):
options when I'm out, so itmotivates me to cook at home
more.
It motivates me to make betterchoices and, just overall, eat
healthier and cleaner.
So I love it.
My daughter is not a vegetarian, just in case I was wondering.
She's not, but since I'm avegetarian, she does eat
vegetarian meals a lot more.
(42:14):
She eats a lot more vegetablesthan she ever did before and
she's actually starting to likemy food now.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Okay, see, that's you got to be the example you know
be the change we wish to see inthe world, right?
Thank you for really takingyour time and chatting with me.
I love, I love that you have,you know, a place that you could
be able to be transparent andshare your story and just let
people know not only what you'redoing, but the the patch and
(42:42):
behind it and the reason whyyou're doing it, and I hope
people really listen andgravitate to it and, you know,
be able to reach out and knowthat they have a brand that
really speaks to them and wantsto see them have a better
quality of life overall.
So, like, yeah, final words,final thoughts.
You know, what would you wantto leave to the people?
Speaker 2 (43:04):
I want to leave to the people is don't ever think
that you can do anything likeliterally anything in this world
.
You want to do, you can do it.
You just have to believe thatyou can do it.
Even something as simple astying your shoes, like you can
do it.
I never thought I'd be avegetarian.
I never thought I would eathealthy.
I never thought I would likefitness or exercise, and that's
(43:27):
literally my life.
Anything that you think you cando, I promise you you can do it
.
Speaker 1 (43:33):
Yeah, well, you know what that's.
That's how it in this and again.
It's just been amazing to getyour story out there.
I've known it, but more peopleneed to hear it and I'm just
grateful for that.
So do this.
You've been listening to out ofthe shadows, where we
(43:55):
illuminate the often overlooked.
Join me next week for moreuntold stories of triumph and
remember every victory countsuntil the end.
Stay out of the shadows.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.