“Finding the freedom to be me is a joy I cannot explain, after years of hiding in the dark I am now out and PROUD to step into my light”

This one is from me folks, Lyndsey, founder of Strong Like a Mutha, mum to 1, and fierce, fearless advocate of making the fitness industry a better place for all humans. I spent my life hiding who I was and 3 years ago I made the decision that it was time to show up as my truly authentic self, I have never looked back and I hope that sharing my pride and joy brings you some too <3

What would you love people to know about your experience as an LGBTQ+ person? 

I want people to know that you cannot assume someone’s sexuality just by looking at them. As a bisexual woman who is married to a man, I spent so much of my life feeling erased from the LGBTQ+ community. My young life had been filled with a lot of biphobia and so I pretended to be someone I wasn’t for so long. I felt so much shame about my queerness and when I fell in love with a human who happened to be a man I believed I was no longer allowed to be part of our community, that compounded with the fact that almost everyone I meet assumes I am straight was having such a profoundly negative effect on me and my mental wellbeing. I felt I couldn’t show up as a queer person, forever hiding behind a hetero-normative mask, feeling like a fraud and even being told that any expression of my queerness was just “for attention” when I was finally able to stand up and say that I am a proud Bisexual woman it was like suddenly I could breathe again. So much of the shame and self-loathing I had developed toward myself disappeared and I felt like myself for the first time in my life. These days people may think that I am overtly open about my sexuality, I have had people ask me “why it matters” and my answer is always that I don’t ever want anyone else to feel as erased as I did. Being bisexual is a valid part of the LGBTQ+ community and just because your partner has a different gender identity from you doesn’t make you any less queer.

We'd love to hear about your LGBTQ+ joy, what does that mean to you?

My LGBTQ+ joy is being recognized as who I really am. It’s being able to stand up and be proudly, authentically me with no shame. It’s being safe to express myself with my partner and not feel jealousy and resentment and it’s being able to share with my son that we live in such a diverse world and that is what makes it beautiful.

If you could see one thing change in our world, what would it be? 

The dismantling of the hetero-normative standard! I want us to continue to challenge these stereotypes, I want kids’ TV shows to include more diversity in relationship representation, and I want more LGBTQ+ education in schools. I want us to let go of the fear that makes this world an unsafe place for my LGBTQ+ siblings and I’d really love one day for all humans to recognize that love is love and we all deserve it.

When are you at your happiest? 

When I can be my full and authentic self.

When do you feel most alive? 

I feel alive when I am moving my body! Nothing brings me more joy than to dance, for SO long I hid myself, afraid I’d make others uncomfortable and dance was a channel I could use to show myself. I love seeing the impact music has on people and the freedom they find when they feel safe to let go and get lost in it.

Any final thoughts?

If you ever doubt yourself remember this - there is something that you have that no one else has and that is the power to be YOU - someone could copy everything about you and yet they would still be different because there is only one version of you and the world deserves to see it - so live your full and beautiful life henny <3

Thank you for sharing my pride and joy.