SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022
SEPTEMBER IS YOGA AWARENESS MONTH: START YOUR PRACTICE TODAY
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Santia Deck BREAKING THE MOLD & STACKING THE DECK
MINDFUL TRAVEL HAPPY 70TH BIRTHDAY MS. ELLEN ECTOR! PITCH BLACK
#SLIMTHICC IN A BLACK WORLD
WHERE LUXURY MEETS PERFORMANCE AT H L E I S U R E . D A R I N G . E L E G A N T. P L U S H . T R A I L B L A Z I N G .
W W W.T R O N U S O F F I C I A L . C O M
SANTIA ON STACKING HER DECK By Kaye-Ann Sadler
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any of you may be wondering, “Who is Santia Deck?” Well, more than 800,000 people tune in to her page regularly on social media and know what all the hype is about. Santia’s love for sports began when she played tennis at four years old. Then, at the age of seven, she began running. She landed a full scholarship at Texas A&M University – Kingsville as a track and field sprinter. Growing up in a house with three brothers—one of which is her twin— she played football with them and was seemingly good at it, but her mom put a stop to it after she took a hit to the chest. However, her natural athletic abilities sparked her interest in sports post-college. I was extremely curious to know: Why football?! After all, football isn’t a sport that is typically promoted for female athletes. Santia went viral playing flag football and began training for the 2020 US Olympic rugby team until she, unfortunately, suffered an injury. Playing rugby helped her pivot to tackle football, which landed her a deal with the Women’s Football League Association, making her the first woman to sign a multimillion-dollar football contract. If this isn’t a testament for embracing the unknown and walking your own path, I don’t know what is!
a i t n a S eck D
With this amazing accomplishment, Santia is even more determined to continue breaking records and smashing through the glass ceiling by decreasing the pay gap for women in sports. Additionally, she wants to show little girls that they can do anything they want to do. Young girls stop playing sports by the age of 14 at a rate 1.5 times higher than boys, according to a report by Gatorade. Santia wants to be the motivation they need to keep going and show them that it will translate to success later down the road. Playing sports is beneficial in many aspects besides winning and the physical aesthetic advantages. It teaches work ethic, team building, and how to overcome obstacles, just to name a few things. Santia has overcome her fair share of obstacles and is still at it. In January 2022, she suffered yet another injury, this time to her ACL. She’s currently going through the healing process, so she tries not to engage in any physical activity, which is extremely difficult for her. This young wom24 | Noire Women’s Wellness
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HEALTH & WELLNESS
AGING BACKWARDS
“I knew it was my calling when I had lost weight and started eating healthy within nine months. I looked in the mirror and I could not believe how great I looked. I knew it kept me looking young.”
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Photography: Robert Ector
By Shanille V
September/October 2022
all sorts of things. It’s very important for Black women to know our numbers, know what your blood pressure is, know what your weight is. I think we can't avoid it if we work more on our health and diet.” As the matriarch of your family, what prompted you to make a change to your health & wellness? Sometimes it takes you to look at yourself in the mirror, a glimpse of your reflection can help you turn your life around. “I had turned 40 and someone had taken a picture of me, all I saw was butt and gut. I also remember reading a report, my mom had died at an early age at 62, her medical report said that she was overweight and obese. I knew that she was overweight, but when they called her obese that just hurt me so bad. So, I decided to be a leader in my family and, you know, show them what's it like to live, to live a healthy lifestyle. I wanted to bring not generational wealth, but generational health to my family.”
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llen Ector is a 69-year-old mom of five and grandmother of four. She is getting ready to embark on her seventh decade of life, the
BIG 70! YES, 70 YEARS YOUNG.
She quit her job and decided to focus on her health journey almost 30 years ago when her mother passed away at an early age from uterine cancer. She said it broke her heart to see what was written on the coroner’s report, and then she knew that she needed to make some life changes. Walking in her life purpose, she is the CEO of Gymnetics Fitness that she operates with her daughter, created “Black Girls Workout Too,” and has a vegan cookbook “Black Girls Gone Vegan.” Her mission is to break generational health curses while aging blackwards. How do you start your morning and how does it help you to keep aging Blackwards? Creating the atmosphere for a radiant morning: meditation, meditation, meditation! “Step 1. Mediate between 20 to 30 minutes a day and do breathing exercises. Step 2. Turn on gospel music and get in the gym.” Why do you feel it’s important for black women to be healthy? Women, specifically black women, should pay more attention to their health. “Black women are leading statistics in cancer, diabetes, strokes, September/October 2022
What mindset did you have to get into to keep going towards your goal? Focusing and tunnel vision always helps to keep you focus on a goal, it helps to allow yourself to continue your life’s work and purpose. “My mindset is, I want to keep on living. I wanted to be able to tie my shoes when I got older, I wanted to not age backwards, but age blackwards.” They always say that black don't crack. “I wanted to have a plan as I grew older, I wanted to grow wiser and being wise, we had to do a lot with health and fitness. Not only mentally, but physically also.” As the amazing Ector duo, how has motherhood been shaped being able to work with your daughter to help end generational health curses? What made your daughter Lana join you on your journey? Working with family members can sometimes be a struggle in itself, but this duo makes it work.” We're a perfect team. We have our ups and downs like any business, but it has been good. It's been rewarding being able to do what we love, working together.” Following your purpose in life gives you a full life. “I had already been in fitness, but Lana had done a couple of fitness shows in college. We just molded together and were able to come up with ‘Black Girls Workout Too.’” Some people start a journey but don’t feel like it’s their calling. When did you realize this was Noire Women’s Wellness | 31
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Noire Women's Wellness Magazine joined the publishing space with a private Summer Issue Release Soiree held at 5Church Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 19. Hosted by radio personality and actress Shay McCray, this event was sponsored by 716CBD.com, Courageous Conversation, cydneycamp.com, Eye Candy Creations, FUBU Frames Collection, John’s Creek Pharmacy, MarketingCamp LLC, Mayweather Boxing + Fitness - Atlantic Station, OliviaHeyward. com, P.U.R.S.E. Foundation, Sisters of Yoga, The Mane Event, and The Random Whine. The night of health and wellness featured cocktails, heavy hors d'oeuvres, gift bags, and a raffle full of swag, and was enjoyed by an astute group of doctors, health professionals, yoga instructors, fitness experts, trendsetters, and tastemakers. The top raffle prize (FUBU sunglasses) was won by Dr. Audra Price Pittman, Vice President, SCAD Atlanta. Proceeds benefited P.U.R.S.E. Foundation.
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As pictured in photos 1. Rashan Ali 2. Rashan Ali 3. Kaye-Ann Sadler, Lillie Young 6. Rashan Ali, Kaye-Ann Sadler, Shay McCray 7. Ron & Dr. Trudy Wright 8. Dr. Audra Price Pittman, Dr. Michelle Mitcham 9. Toni Schenk, Gloria Amu 10. Brian Mitcham, Kaye-Ann Sadler, Dr. Michelle Mitcham, Rachel Olivia Mitcham, Autumn Vassell 11. Erika Lee Augustin, Kaye-Ann Sadler 12. Tie Simpson, Marsha Shackelford, Shannon Amos 13. Kaye-Ann & Errol Sadler 14. Dr. Audra Price Pittman, Shay McCray 15. Rashan Ali Photography By Paul Biagui
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IN THE COMMUNITY
By Shanille V.
PITCH BLACK By Kaye-Ann Sadler
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sat down with world-renowned marketing and communications professional, Tanisha Leonard, who serves as a key member of the executive team for the Detroit-based company Pitch Black, a subsidiary of Real Times Media. A few of Real Times Media’s flagship brands are the Atlanta Tribune: The Magazine, the Atlanta Daily World, Who’s Who in Black, the Chicago Defender, the Michigan Chronicle, the New Pittsburgh Courier, and Studio 1452. Tanisha has a wide array of experience in managing marketing, strategic planning, and creative development processes and teams, as well as extensive experience in event production, corporate communications, and media relations. Pitch Black was initially launched as an organization in 2018, but so much has transpired in our community and there became a need to shift. 50 | Noire Women’s Wellness
Since the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020, organizations have aligned themselves to the social justice movement, issuing statements of support among other things, but a lot of it has been merely transactional with no significant impact. Pitch Black is positioning itself to step in and help craft these communications and endeavors into actional items. Uncomfortable at times, yes, but extremely important and necessary. Pitch Black’s mission pivoted to an approach focused on science, art, and the previously mentioned “crafting” while upholding the notion that they are promoting all things “Black, Black, and Blackity Black.” Essentially, it’s rooted in us telling OUR stories. Pitch Black operates on six guiding principles, which remain foundational to each and everything that they do. One of them is to “Talk to Her.” As simple as it sounds, it’s a concept that goes over far too many people’s heads, overlooking the impact that Black women have in the workplace and the economy as a whole. Fig-
uring out exactly what it is that we want—not by guessing but by conducting actual market research—is a complete game changer. The Pitch Black relaunch is slated for Sept. 13, 2022. The significance of that date is that it is the first documented slave rebellion in this country. Despite the rebranding and relaunch, the corporate mission of parent company Real Times Media has always been Black centric, even before it was the cool thing to do. Pitch Black’s mission to amplify Black voices is consistent to that of NWW, although they are approaching it from two different perspectives. There is no single road to breaking down the barriers of racial inequity. If we continue to find allyship in those with like goals, we can eventually chip away at the mountain built up against us over the course of the past 400+ years. September/October 2022
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September/October 2022
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