In June, Nutrabolt celebrated Pride Month, and all the strong, vibrant, wonderful identities of the LGBTQ+ community!
We’re grateful to have passionate, authentic people on our teams who are willing to share their personal experiences. To further our Pride Month celebration, we’d like you to meet three of our amazing teammates — Julio, Tai, and CJ!
Tai and Julio work on our results-driven Customer Operations team, and CJ is a high-performing Sr. Project Manager on our Brand and Marketing team.
Outside of work, CJ is a competitive fitness athlete. To share his passion with others, he hosted a Pride community workout in Austin, Texas at FOGO CrossFit this month. The workout was open to all fitness levels, and aimed to achieve inclusivity through fitness.
“As someone in the LGBT community who may have not always felt welcomed – especially in the fitness spaces – it was important for me to open the doors to the community and its allies by promoting a safe space therein at FOGO CrossFit,” CJ said. “Fitness is an incredibly important passion of mine, and it has grown by being an out athlete who competes in a national capacity. I want to always provide and promote a safe space for LGBT persons and their allies to find fitness and wellness in their lives.”
On June 8, Nutrabolt’s DEI Pride Committee invited teammates to attend an energetic hour of Drag Bingo. The event was led by the hilarious singing comedy queen Candi Shell, who kept the group laughing and entertained with her wit!
Attending local events and parades each year is how our teammate Tai chooses to celebrate Pride. This year, he attended the DC Pride Festival, an event he called a very memorable experience.
“Getting to walk in DC Pride this year was a very memorable experience – I felt like a star!,” he said. “To me, pride means equality, self-acceptance, and solidarity.”
Julio recalls the first year he attended a Pride event as one of his favorite Pride Month memories.
“It was almost therapeutic seeing people be open with others and themselves. I remember leaving the event thinking about how I wished I had seen that growing up,” he said.
Our Nutrabolt teammates believe in the power of inclusivity, and creating spaces where individuals from all backgrounds and identities can reach their full potential. We make certain that all teammates feel heard, celebrated, and accepted every day. And we’re extremely proud that in 2022, 98% of teammates responded in a survey that when they join our team, they’re made to feel welcome.
“I feel like Nutrabolt heavily emphasizes our ‘for all’ core value, and provides many opportunities to learn about our teammates and their backgrounds, which makes me feel encouraged to be my authentic self,” Tai said. “Especially within my team, I feel like we can share whatever is on our minds, and let our personalities show.”
Through intentional, thoughtful action, we work every day to make certain that each one of our teammates feels empowered to be their authentic selves, to foster a high-performance culture. We aim to provide our teammates with year-round educational opportunities, such as company-sponsored workshops that cover mental wellness, gender identity and orientation, and other social topics.
“We would all benefit from open-mindedness from those outside of the community. We all hear or see things that happen when it comes to things we don’t know and fear, and someone taking the time to learn more about the community and being intentional about understanding and accepting someone who is different from them is necessary,” Julio said. “Additionally, as Tai mentioned, voting is essential.”
Mathematician Alan Turing, writer James Baldwin, activist Stormé DeLarverie, and former professional athletes David Kopay and Billie Jean King are just a few inspirational LGBTQ+ trailblazers. For Tai, he most admires Filipino influencer Bretman Rock, for always displaying his authentic self.
Julio finds inspiration in musical artists David Archuletta and Kim Petras, and their openness about the struggles they’ve faced, paired with their unwavering drive to be successful.
For those who may be struggling with their identity, or feel like they can’t be the true version of themselves, Tai offers this piece of uplifting advice: “I always go by ‘there is no growth in your comfort zone.’ Take baby steps on the journey of being you, embrace the ride, be easy on yourself, breathe,” he said. “The right people and environments WILL come to you. You got this.”
Today, Pride is a commemoration of the brave 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. While the celebration of Pride originally began as a one-day event, it is now recognized each year in June. It’s important to remember, however, the meaning behind this important movement, and act for all every day.
“PRIDE is not just a weekend to party, or a month to celebrate and embrace. Rather, it’s a 365 opportunity to love yourself and those around us, regardless of purpose,” CJ said. “PRIDE is something each and all of us can embrace in our day-to-day lives. Love one another, and make each day better than the last.”
To learn more about Nutrabolt’s commitment to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace, read our 2022 ESG Report here.