Life & Work with Ebony Mitchell of Atlanta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ebony Mitchell.

Hi Ebony, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Beltline Baddies honestly started by accident.

One day, my friend Kenyahna (Co-Founder) and I decided we wanted to join a run meetup on the BeltLine with another group. We got there about 15 minutes early, found the correct meetup spot, and waited. And waited. And waited. The scheduled start time came and went, and no one showed up.

We tried reaching out through email and messages to find out if they were running late, but we never got a response. Eventually, we decided, “Well, we’re already here, so we might as well walk.” So we started walking the BeltLine together.

While we were walking, we started talking about how sometimes, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. That conversation turned into the idea of starting our own walk club.

At the time, we were both on our own fitness journeys, so we knew firsthand how important it is to have something that keeps you motivated and gives you a reason to keep showing up. We wanted to create something that wasn’t just about running or how fast you could go. You could walk, run, or simply move at your own pace. And just as importantly, you could meet people, socialize, grab food or drinks afterward, and build genuine connections.

That’s really how Beltline Baddies was born.

What started with two people walking because another group never showed up has grown into a community that meets every Wednesday. Having that weekly meetup gives us something to look forward to on top of our individual fitness routines, and it’s been amazing watching other people find that same sense of motivation, connection, and community with us.

Looking back, we’re actually grateful that group never showed up. If they had, Beltline Baddies might have never existed.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. One of the biggest challenges has been learning that RSVPs don’t always translate into people actually showing up. There have been days when we’ve had close to 100 people RSVP, and then we arrive and no one is there. And we’re still there.

But honestly, that’s also taught us something about consistency. Whether one person shows up, two people show up, four people show up, or fifty people show up, we’re still going to walk. We made a commitment to ourselves and to the community that we’re going to keep showing up, regardless of the number.

Another challenge has been making sure everyone feels included once they do show up. We’re not just trying to create another group where everyone meets, works out, and immediately goes home. There’s a social aspect to Beltline Baddies that’s just as important to us as the movement.

Sometimes you want to take off, get your workout in, and go about your day, but we really try to create opportunities for people to connect with each other. We want people to leave knowing somebody new, having a conversation, or feeling like they were actually part of something—not just a group of people who walked the same trail together.

For us, building the community means showing up consistently and making sure the people who do show up feel seen, welcomed, and included.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Outside of Beltline Baddies, I’ve spent the last 15 years building a career around working for myself and creating experiences that make people feel good.

I’m a mobile massage therapist, and this year marks 15 years of being an entrepreneur in that space. I’ve also expanded into event curation, where I curate and help bring different events and experiences to life around the city. Both of those businesses have taught me a lot about people—how to connect with them, create comfortable environments, pay attention to the details, and make people feel like they’re part of something.

And honestly, I think that’s a big part of what I bring to Beltline Baddies.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
One of the biggest risks I’ve taken was quitting my nine-to-five. And it wasn’t some perfectly planned, gradual transition—it was pretty abrupt. I reached a point where I knew I didn’t want to spend my life working for someone else, so I decided to take a chance on myself and go out on my own.

I got into massage therapy and knew that being good at the service itself wasn’t going to be enough. I had to figure out how to actually build a business. I studied marketing, branding, demographics, SEO, advertising, and everything I could learn about attracting and retaining clients. I basically taught myself how to turn a skill into a business.

There were definitely moments where I wondered if I had made the right decision. When you work for yourself, there isn’t a guaranteed paycheck waiting for you. You have to create the opportunities yourself, and that can be scary. But I learned that risk doesn’t always mean being reckless. Sometimes it means being willing to bet on yourself, do the research, learn what you don’t know, and then take the leap.

That decision ultimately gave me 15 years of being my own boss and building a career on my own terms. It also taught me something that I’ve carried into everything else I’ve done: if I believe in an idea, I’m willing to figure out how to make it work.

That mindset definitely carried over into Beltline Baddies. Starting a community from scratch was another risk. We didn’t know if people would come. We didn’t know how it would grow. We just knew we wanted to create something that we felt was missing, and we were willing to show up and build it.

I don’t necessarily think of myself as someone who takes risks just for the sake of taking them. I’m more of a calculated risk-taker. I’ll educate myself, look at what I’m getting myself into, and then at some point you have to stop thinking and actually move. Because there’s also a risk in never taking the chance at all.

For me, the biggest risk has always been choosing myself and trusting that if I don’t know how to do something yet, I can learn.

Contact Info:

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