Learn Their Names: These Leaders Are Creating an Equity Movement Around the Way We Move

Think fast: What does a “fit body” look like? It’s a trick question—there is, of course, no single body type that represents or conveys a level of physicality or an active lifestyle. But for decades, we’ve been fed a limited diet of thin, able-bodied—and, more often than not, white—people in images meant to represent health and wellness.

It’s time we make an update. “Bodies don’t just look one way,” points out 2023 Well+Good Changemaker Tiffany Yu, founder of Diversability, a nonprofit working to elevate disability pride. She is one of several Changemakers on a mission to empower all people to celebrate the body they live in—and to have fun doing it. Even if you don’t look like one of the extras in your mom’s Jane Fonda workout videos, you should feel welcome to take up space in the fitness industry, in the outdoors, and anywhere else in the world. These Changemakers are creating communities for people who have for too long either been passively ignored or actively shut out.

Well+Good Changemaker Martinus Evans, for instance, tells Well+Good that he founded Slow AF Run Club with one vision: “To empower every person on this planet to become a runner in the body they have right now,” he says. “It’s helping people get active without the pressure of weight loss.” As he points out, it’s all too often assumed that when people with larger bodies exercise, they do so in order to get smaller. Why can’t we just enjoy movement the way we are, no matter our size or shape?

“Our society needs to stop thinking that we have to change—our bodies, minds, habits—in order to have a worthy life,” says Well+Good Changemaker Raquel Vélez, founder and CEO of Alpine Parrot, which designs adventure clothing for sizes 14 to 30. “So many people put off trying something new or doing the things they love simply because they feel a need to change themselves to fit someone else’s definition of who is allowed to participate in those activities. Let’s give ourselves permission to step into the world, as we currently are, and go have fun in it!”

With that goal in mind, Vélez adds that while Alpine Parrot might appear to be an outdoor apparel company, she really thinks of it as an “opportunities-for-joy company.” She says: “We want people to be living their most joyful lives outside, and having clothing that fits is a crucial piece of that mission.”

Unfortunately, systemic inequities like discrimination and income gaps have long created barriers that keep many of us from being able to live our most joyful, healthy lives, no matter how badly we might want to. “Wellness has been seen as the responsibility of the individual: You have to take care of yourself, you have to create these routines, your health and wellness is in your hands. And that’s untrue,” says Changemaker Alison Mariella Désir, author and founder of Harlem Run. “Historical trauma, systemic racism have made it difficult for Black people to access [well-being] resources, including outdoor space. It has made it difficult for Black people to feel a sense of psychological safety, physical safety, and belonging.”

That’s why, through a range of projects, like a documentary PBS show (Out & Back) and a nationwide series of community runs, Désir is doing everything she can to build a world “where Black and brown people can freely move through space and enjoy the transformational power of a long run,” she says.

Alison Mariella Désir

Founder of Harlem Run and Author of Running While Black

Alison Mariella Désir identifies herself as a “disrupter, author, community builder, and mother.” As the founder of Harlem Run and Run 4 All Women, and a co-founder of the Running Industry Diversity Coalition, she is dedicated to providing opportunities for Black and brown people to experience the transformative power of a long run. And in the process, she’s rewriting the narrative of who can be a runner.

NPR called Désir’s 2022 book Running While Black a “searing indictment of the ways in which the running industry perpetuates white supremacy and the marginalization of non-white voices.” Today, she is the producer and host of the PBS TV show Out & Back With Alison Mariella Désir—currently in its first season—as well as its companion podcast.

Leaning on her background in counseling psychology, in which she holds a master’s degree from Columbia University, Désir also leads a nationwide series of events called Meaning Thru Movement, which pairs community runs with honest conversations about topics like body image and how running can impact our mental health. Désir ultimately aims to create a world where Black and brown people can safely and freely move through space.

What do you think most needs to change in the wellness industry for people to be well?

“For a long time, wellness has been seen as something that is just the responsibility of the individual, and that’s untrue. Systemic racism and other inequalities do not leave us with a level playing field. If you’re living in poverty, no matter how much you hope to exercise or take care of yourself, there are structures that make it difficult, if not impossible, for you to access wellness. I think it’s important for the wellness industry to recognize those systemic inequalities and start to address them to make access to fitness and movement more available and more realistic for people.” —Alison Mariella Désir

Stephen Liu, MD

Chairman, Co-founder, and CEO of Forme

Stephen Liu, MD, is the chairman, co-founder, and CEO, of Forme, which launched in 2020 and sells patented FDA-registered posture-correcting wearables, such T-shirts, sports bras, shorts, leggings, and socks. He draws from over 25 years of experience as an academic physician and executive leader. He received a bachelor of arts in biology and psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his medical degree from the University of Southern California. In 2000, he was honored as Humanitarian of the Year by Verdugo Hills Hospital for his contributions to orthopedic surgery.

What do you hope to accomplish with Forme?

“I hope to improve human posture and everyday performance naturally without sacrificing productivity and incurring excessive health-care costs. I hope to create an easy and sustainable solution to empower individuals in their everyday lives.” —Dr. Stephen Liu

Martinus Evans

Author and Founder of Slow AF Run Club

Certified running coach, award-winning speaker, author, and proud fat marathon runner Martinus Evans is the founder of the Slow AF Run Club, an online community that launched in 2019 and now connects over 25,000 self-described slow runners and walkers from around the world. His mission is to help people who identify as plus-size get active without the pressure of weight loss being a goal. Slow AF puts the focus on inspiration, motivation, and education, all while celebrating the grit and grind of runners “at the back of the pack,” he says. Evans’s story has since been featured in various publications. He appeared on the cover of Runner’s World magazine in January 2022.