one persistent mutual friend & a few lattes later: The story of GGB
“You really have to meet my trainer, Maysa,” Melissa said to me.
I took it the same way you take most “you should meet my friend” insistences from people: gratefully, but also half-heartedly.
A few months later, though, I would meet Maysa.
After following her on Instagram and forming my own insecurities based on her curated corner of the internet (the very thing I encourage women *not* to do), I would send her a direct message asking her to meet up about a business idea I was working on.
We would have coffee. My insecurities would disappear (Ok whew she really is a lot like me!) and new ones wold form (Damn, she’s so established in her business) but from there, we would exchange numbers and continue working together, commenting on each other’s posts, and keeping in each other’s virtual vision.
We did end up working together on that original project, and thus ended up communicating rather frequently, which allowed me to quickly discover that we had very similar personalities, but different enough work ethics to complement each other. I definitely thought, “Okay Melissa, you were right. I really *should* have met Maysa!” We had a great time in work & as new friends.
A few months later, our same mutual contact, Melissa, off-handedly mentioned the possibility of us creating some sort of health-program for teen girls.
Perfect, I thought, this is right up my elementary-ed ally!
At what would become one of our regular meeting spots, Maysa and I met for coffee to talk about what this program would look like.
Harbinger Cafe | Charleston, SC
Arriving before her, I meandered through the crowded, shotgun-style cafe, to the back patio, grabbed a table, opened my notebook to a fresh page and wrote “Teen Girl Program Brainstorm” along with the date.
We left that meeting with action tasks, a target launch date, contacts to fill spots, pricing, and an outline of the program, because that’s just the kind of girl Maysa is. While I am busy dragging my feet through logistics and trying to get every potential fire smothered before it even ignites, Maysa is combing her lengthy list of local contacts for people to help us get this thing-that’s-not-even-a-thing-yet rolling.
And that’s how it started: a meeting at a coffee shop and lots of phone calls, texts, missed calls & voice memos back and forth; the birthing of a joint-business venture alongside our other individual career and personal evolutions.
Girls Gone Buff launched its first ever session for 6 Saturdays in Charleston with 14 girls participating. We learned how to barbell deadlift, how to read a nutrition label, and what to do when we feel anxious, self-conscious or sad. The girls’ weekly “independent work” between sessions included home workouts and mental health activities like gratitude lists, going for a walk, and practicing checking in with themselves.
On the final Saturday, we invited their friends & family to the gym for a lifting competition where each girl would test her one rep max. Like any teen girl, they were mortified and had to (of course) play it cool and act super un-excited to show off their new skills.
But with all the pride of any woman who has tapped into a newfound pocket of strength, confidence and skill— these girls lifted 95, 115, 125, even 175 pounds. For the first time EVER.
For the first time ever, these girls were encouraged to lift heavy, a practice stereotypically thought of as something for men or “bulky” women.
For the first time ever, these girls owned a weight room. They loaded barbells. They racked weights. They used kettlebells and dumbbells.
For the first time ever, these girls pushed other girls to be stronger, not smaller, and they cheered for other girls to do hard things.
Maysa and I believe in Girls Gone Buff because we know what it’s like to have those “firsts” at age 20, 25, and even well beyond.
We both work with women who have never touched a barbell, who fear “that part” of the gym, and who live in a cycle of body-comparison between other women.
We envision a world of women who grew up understanding that carbs are energy and protein is good for your overall health, not just for big muscles; a world where women feel comfortable in all areas of a gym, and the squat rack becomes a space we are expected to take up rather than a place men are surprised to see us.
We started Girls Gone Buff to introduce girls to lifting, healthy eating, body positivity & self-confidence at young age, because the world we envision is made up of women who have these skills.
And when we envision that world, we get teary eyed and send lots of repetitive emoji-filled texts because that’s the kind of women we are: strong. emotional. and hopeful for the future.
To quote an 11pm text from my newfound business partner and friend, “We are making things happen.”
And to quote my go-to business & marketing guru, Seth Godin, “The best way to be in the room where it happens is to be the person who called the meeting. Things rarely happen on their own. Everyone is waiting for you to organize the next thing.”
We are calling the meeting. We are organizing the thing.