Today we’d like to introduce you to Joy Tribble.
Joy, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
It was all a dream… I’m kidding, but not really. If I can be very honest, I was fired from a job, about 6 – 8 months prior to coming up with the idea of doing a 5K run/walk, for plus size women. For the past 15+ years, I’d been involved in the plus community, in some capacity as an advocate, model, and a brand ambassador.
While there was lots of progress and activity happening in the body positive movement, I felt like a lot of it was a play or derived from the same basic concept — beauty, fashion, and blogging. It was taking over, and it was amazing, and while I knew the direction the community was headed into was a positive one, I equally felt like there was more… What if you weren’t someone who aspired to be a model, a blogger, or was into fashion — what then?!
While lying in my bed, trying to figure out, “what’s next”, for my life, I started thinking about how else I could use my almost 20 years of event management and broadcasting skills, and put those to work. With that, and my desire to connect with plus size women on a greater level, beyond the world of beauty, it generated the thought,” … everybody can walk.” (if not affected with a debilitating aliment), hence a 5K for plus size women. The Plus Strut™ was birthed, and is the 1st 5K for plus size women, in North America…
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Nothing worth doing comes easy. Currently, as a traffic anchor and contribution at a local radio station, in Atlanta, my day begins at 3: 30 am… Yawn! One of the biggest hurdles for me is time management and how to get it all done, seamlessly. Beginning this journey, myself and only one other person managed every aspect of bringing it to life.
So not only do I have to manage to work a full-time job with crazy hours, I’m working on a full-time entrepreneurial endeavor, that equally requires the same, if not more time, energy and sacrifice, to execute it successfully. Talk about late nights and early morning… I’m still sleepy! *laughing*
Please tell us about The Plus Strut 5K.
The Plus Strut™ is the 1st 5K for plus size women, in North America. This is something that’s never been done before, so right now, we’re specializing in the overall experience. How we make people feel is important to us. When women come to the event and enter the space, a surge of positive energy consumes them. They are the real VIP’s!
As a company, we’re proud to curate a safe place where plus size women can come and just be, not feel judged and are celebrated, in their bodies. Typically, running/walking events don’t see a plethora of larger bodies converging and excited about this kind of activity, so we want to tell the story of empowerment, and any misnomers about plus size bodies being active, we’re dispelling those. This event is celebrating ‘who you are’, ‘where you are’, ‘as you are’.
The Plus Strut™ is proud that we’ve made history, and we plan to take this one of a kind platform, all over the country.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Summer vacations with my family, and holidays. We would take road trips to different cities for family reunions. My mother and aunts would make amazing sandwiches, fried chicken, snacks, and tell the best stories. On our way back home, the state fair was the peak of our vacation. I LOVE A GOOD FAIR, with the ring toss, the Ferris wheel, and a good funnel cake… oh boy!!!
Holidays were also a treat, too. I have a large family of singers, and every Christmas all of my uncles and aunts would sing classic Christmas songs, sometimes with the accompaniment of my grandmother, when she was living, on the piano, or acapella. I’m nostalgic right now, just thinking about it. Christmas is STILL my FAVORITE holiday!
Contact Info:
- Website: WWW.THEPLUSSTRUT.COM
- Phone: 678-753–4589
- Email: theplusstrut@gmail.com
- Instagram: @theplusstrut
- Facebook: /theplusstrut
- Twitter: @theplusstrut
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
