THE NEW FIT

​THE NEW FIT
Redefining Strength, Inclusion, and the Spaces We Move In
Exclusive Interview with Lee-Anne Reuber
Featured in 'Innerviews'
Hosted by Allié McGuire

Sekond Skin Society wasn’t built as another fitness platform. It was born from Lee-Anne Reuber’s conviction that movement should feel like home for every body… disabled, fully able, or anywhere in between. In this conversation, we talk about the moments that shaped her mission, the courage it took to build something new, and the community she’s creating where belonging comes first.

ALLIÉ: Let’s start out talking about a particular moment. What was the moment that you realized the fitness world was not necessarily built for people with disabilities?

LEE-ANNE: Oh gosh, there have been many moments, but I think the thing that changed the trajectory of the business and really had me lean all the way into that was that we kept getting feedback that people loved that we had both standing and seated class options. That feedback led to a lot of conversations about seated and standing class options, which led to much more heightened awareness around accessibility, or the lack thereof, in the fitness space.

​I myself have had a very large network of people with disabilities throughout the years of my life, and I just started connecting and getting to understand more and more about where all those barriers are, where all of that exclusion exists, where the lack of representation is. And it is kind of one of those things where once you get into it, the deeper you dig, the more there is to find.

I just knew that there was much more that I could do and wanted to do. And here I am doing it.

ALLIÉ: That’s awesome, and I love that this direction started with feedback because you listened to your community, to your audience. When you made the shift from your studios to creating Second Skin Society, did that choice cost you anything personally? Because not everyone would say, “Oh yeah, let’s do this.” And if so, what is it that kept you going?
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​LEE-ANNE: Oh my goodness. I cannot get into the full extent of it in a short period of time like this, but I have put everything I have into this. Literally everything I have. I sold my condo so that I could have more money to pour into it. I sold my car so I could have more money to pour into it.

I made a conscious decision, and one that I know many, if not most, people would never make. But I made the conscious decision to invest in this personally. With people around me, my partner who is supporting our household so that I can do this, he is certainly investing in all of this.

It is the pull of my heart. And the longer that I am working on this, the more I realize how much of all of my life experiences, from when I was a kid to a teenager to all of the toxic relationships I had with movement and with nutrition, the experiences that I had getting to know people with different life experiences, people with disabilities, all kinds of different human experiences, all of those things, the way my body is changing now, the way my hearing has declined, the way that I know things are going to continue to change as I age, all of it has gone into this.

It is just this pull that has said, okay, on paper maybe it does not look logical. Maybe it looks very, very risky. Maybe it is very risky. But the vision that I have had for this has always been so big. Not that it has to be, but just because it always has been.

Every time that I feel like I am not sure where to continue to go or how to continue to build when I have put so much into it, something else comes. Another person enters my life. Another person shares the impact that they are personally experiencing from the work that I and my team have done. And it is just like I can go another year pouring everything into it with just that little bit of added fuel to the fire.

​It is definitely life-purpose work for me. And I have literally sacrificed and put everything I have into seeing it come to fruition.

ALLIÉ: That is beautiful, and I love how you explain why you pour all of this in, because you do feel that pull. I always like to say it is like when you hear a call and you cannot unhear it, right?

To that point, you have created a space where people with disabilities feel seen, welcomed, and accepted. Can you share one story that still hits you right here when you think about why you do this work? Is there some feedback or story that comes to mind?

LEE-ANNE: There are hundreds of those moments that make me very emotional, but one that I will share landed with me because it is really just a small portion of the bigger vision.

We had one meeting in particular with our entire instructor community. We have instructors who are deaf, blind, have low vision, are autistic, use wheelchairs, all kinds of different people. Non-disabled instructors, instructors with visible and invisible disabilities.

When we get together, when I envisioned us being able to talk openly about the industry and our experiences, and then collectively add all of our perspectives and ask, how do we want it to be different? How do we want to create it? If we were throwing out the box of the fitness industry or the yoga industry as it currently exists and creating it for ourselves, how would we do it?

That entire meeting was powerful, but it was especially powerful because at the end, so many people said, “I have never been in a place like this.” And this was just a virtual meeting on Zoom. But so many people shared that they had never been in a space like this, with so many people not like them and like them, where they were invited, where the space was created so they could belong, share their gifts, their voices, and their perspectives.

People were in tears. I cried for a long time after that call because it was so emotionally impactful. It made me realize that if we could create it here, we could create it everywhere. Everybody deserves to feel that sense of belonging. Everybody wants to feel fully accepted without having to change any part of who they are.
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​ALLIÉ: I can feel that just hearing you describe it. And it really speaks to the name Second Skin. You cannot get more comfortable than that.

You mentioned instructors of all abilities, disabled and fully able. Why was it important for you to build a community where disabled and fully able bodies share the same space, rather than creating separate worlds?

LEE-ANNE: I feel like that is how we change the world, by creating those spaces. We are so separated in many ways, and I think a lot of the world is hurting because of that separation.

There is a need for communities that are specific, but there is also a need for spaces where we come together, because we have so much in common. We often focus on differences instead of what connects us.

When it comes to disability, there are so many assumptions about what it means to have a disability, and most of those assumptions are wrong. That is due to a lack of authentic representation and accessibility.

When we create shared spaces, assumptions start to change organically. Curiosity opens up. We begin to recognize that we ourselves are often the barriers. Our assumptions are the barriers.

ALLIÉ: So true. Let’s get personal. If it were just you and me, two women talking about our bodies, the ones we have loved and struggled with, what is one truth about your body that you want people to finally hear?

LEE-ANNE: My body is valuable exactly as it is right now, without needing to change anything about it. Without needing to be stronger or more flexible, or shaped differently.

I move my body because it is valuable, not because it will only be valuable if I do. That has taken me many years to learn, after eating disorders, obsessive exercise, and burnout. All of our bodies are already valuable.

ALLIÉ: Thank you for sharing that word, value. One last question. When you imagine the world that Second Skin Society could help create, what is the hope that keeps pulling you forward, no matter how hard the work gets?

LEE-ANNE: It is about changing society’s view of our bodies and changing society’s view of disability. I do not want future generations growing up with shame or hatred toward their bodies.

Disabled people are the most capable of changing this industry, and when we create inclusive spaces, we shift how society understands disability. None of us are non-disabled forever. We will all experience change.

If we create solutions for all kinds of human experiences, the innovation and creativity that becomes possible is limitless. Everyone deserves to feel seen, heard, and valued. That is the world I believe we can create through this work. ∎
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Learn more about Sekond Skin Society:
www.sekondskinsociety.com
Find & follow on Instagram:
@sekond_skin_society