In this very first episode of the Curated Culture Chats podcast, Dr. Laci C. Robbins of Robbins’ Nest Consulting, welcomes Jessica Sunier, the owner and founder of FitPOWER LLC. Jess is a powerlifter. She started her gym nine years ago after realizing that larger-bodied athletes are not represented in the gym culture. In her gym, everybody has a space. Jessica’s guest today is Torrie O’Neil. Similar to Jess, Torrie started to notice that there are no persons around her who looked like her – being someone of her size was a very singular experience. Torrie O’Neil created The Mighty Dames, a group for larger women within the sport of jiu jitsu. 

Both Jessica and Torrie have made the decision to create their paths, their opportunities. They both had to overcome their insecurities and to break some rules, and overcome biases. They share their stories and give some tips that might help you overcome yours. Listen to this episode and find out why representation matters. 

Episode Highlights

07:23 – At the time, I was like, well, what do I do? I’m going to do it myself! And as a woman, as a cis woman, part of the LGBTQ community, it was challenging. But I was never scared. I was insecure. I was insecure in a lot of areas because a lot of the people were telling me what to do.  

11:50 – Some tips to overcome the insecurities 

20:54 – Creating my own path – I recall two moments. Number one was Diet culture. Pandemic is number two. 

33:29 – To me, representation matters because when I think of representation, I see someone doing something, and it's proof that it can be done. 

38:27 – You can’t start the process unless you can say it out loud. 

Contact: 

Robbins Nest Consulting

FitPOWER LLC

The Mighty Dames 

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