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Trans Health and Wellness 2021

Lives at Stake: Imara Jones in Residence

Originally Aired: Thursday, January 28, 2021

Photo courtesy of the host

Overview

Journalist-in-Residence Imara Jones continues her monthly residency in The Greene Space with a discussion on trans physical and mental health in the new year.

The pandemic may have forced us indoors, but a new year brings with it the possibility of renewal and recuperation. This month, Imara highlights businesses and activists devoted to fitness and healing. Trans and gender nonconforming communities face significant barriers to improving their fitness and well-being, whether it be finding an inclusive gym or facing mental health struggles. Whether you’re looking for encouragement to complete your new year’s resolution or just a little peace and quiet, this event offers resources to restore your mind, body and soul.

Imara will be joined by Luca Page, owner and founder of Radically Fit Gym; trailblazing boxer Patricio Manuel; and Kay Nikiforova and Gaurang Choksi, of the queer-centric mental health service Violet. 

ASL interpretation will be available during the show.

The trans community, allies and those who wish to learn more are all welcome to join us to share experiences, insights, questions and celebrations by tweeting @TheGreeneSpace and using the hashtags #translash #livesatstake.

Lives at Stake is a new monthly IRL & livestream/virtual event series at The Greene Space at WNYC/WQXR featuring frank and urgent conversations by and for trans people about issues affecting their communities this Election Season and beyond, produced in partnership with TransLash Media.

Leadership support for The Greene Space’s Artist-in-Residence program is provided by:

 

An Emmy and Peabody Award winner, Imara Jones’ work has appeared in The Guardian, The Nation, BBC News, Mic, The Grio, Salon, and The Root, as well as broadcast on MSNBC, CNBC, PBS, NPR, BBC, and The Takeaway. She is the creator of TransLash, a cross-platform media journalism and personal story project which produces content to end the culture of hostility and save trans lives. Imara previously held economic policy positions in the Clinton White House and was named a 2018 Champion of Pride by The Advocate. She is currently a Soros Equality Fellow.

Lives at Stake is a new monthly IRL & livestream/virtual event series at The Greene Space at WNYC/WQXR featuring frank and urgent conversations by and for trans people about issues affecting their communities this Election Season and beyond, produced in partnership with TransLash Media.

TransLash tells trans stories to save trans lives during this pivotal moment in history.  Beginning in 2018 as a series of video shorts which focus on what it is like to be trans–-especially a trans person of color–-at a time of social backlash, it has evolved into a cross-platform media effort led by founder and creator Imara Jones.

Through the lens of journalism and personal narrative, TransLash creates and curates  content, events, and resources in collaboration with our partners, as well as in community with trans individuals and allies. Through our work we center the humanity of the most marginalized of the marginalized.

Find out more at www.translash.org.

Credit: Photo provided by guest

Gaurang Choksi is the CEO and founder of Violet Health. Prior to building Violet, Gaurang spent over four years building Oscar Health — a health insurance startup— where he spent much of his time advocating for the queer community and learning about their healthcare journey. His identity, as an immigrant and a gay man, have shaped the way he’s built his professional career, and with Violet, he’s aspired to build a company that helps the communities that he cares the most about — immigrants and queer folks.

Credit: Photo provided by guest

Kay Nikiforova is the Head of Mental Health at Violet. They are a mental health and LGBTQ+ advocate  currently pursuing their PhD in Clinical Psychology. Their clinical and research interests focus on LGBTQ+ and TGNC individuals as well as those engaging in alternative sexual practices and relationship structures. Their queer, genderqueer and immigrant identities greatly inform their work, as does their passion for the intersection of mental health and tech.

Credit: Photo provided by guest

Patricio Manuel is a five-time USA national amateur boxing champion and the first transgender boxer in the history of the United States to fight professionally. Growing up in Gardena, just south of Los Angeles, Manuel started boxing at 13 years old and described his relationship with boxing as “love at first sight.” In September 2019, he became the face of Everlast boxing equipment’s Be First campaign.

Credit: Photo provided by guest

Luca Page is the founder and owner of Radically Fit Gym. They have been a personal trainer living and loving in Oakland for over five years. After falling in love with working out, they wanted to share that passion with anyone who wanted to find it. As a queer person of color, they wanted to be able to open and run a gym for the LGTBQ/POC/Body Positive community. With the help and support of their community in Oakland, this dream became a possibility and Radically Fit was born. They are so grateful to be able to serve their community by doing something they truly love to do while reshaping people’s view of what “being fit” looks like.

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