We were lucky to catch up with Latoya Shauntay Snell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Latoya Shauntay, I am so excited to discuss all sorts of important topics with you today. The first one we want to jump into is about being the only one in the room – for some, that’s being the only person of color, the only non-native English speaker, or the only non-MBA, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have managed to be successful even when you were the only one in the room who looked like you?
Often, we’re held back because we’re all waiting for someone to lead first, and sometimes, the leader that you’re looking for is actually you. Truthfully, it may be that you are not the first to do it, but the representation is not shown on a global level.
Regardless, if you feel like your story isn’t being told and the leader you are looking for isn’t being shown, you must lean into becoming the person you desire to see. We are responsible for writing our own stories and the stories we want to see out there. If we really want to build up a conversation, a community, and to see true inclusion and diversity in a particular room, someone has to be daring enough to show up as themselves.
The most challenging thing we can do is show up as ourselves, sound like ourselves, and be ourselves. It takes a lot of courage and bravery to be yourself, but that is a challenge that I’ve embraced, and I’m up for it, even while scared.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, you could tell our readers about yourself.
My name is Latoya Shauntay Snell, and I am the founder of Running Fat Chef ® – a website dedicated to promoting movement without labels and challenging stereotypes of what athlete bodies should look like. I am fortunate to wear several professional hats in the fitness, food, and wellness space as a motivational speaker, writer, sponsored Global Athlete Ambassador with HOKA, and digital creative. My goal in all of these spaces is to foster an inclusive environment where people feel empowered to move and speak bravely in the bodies that they’re in. Over the next few years, I plan on creating a not-for-profit to make fitness and culinary education accessible to the general public. In addition, I will be expanding the Running Fat Chef business by curating in-person and online events for everyday people, creating a clothing line, and exploring ways to expand the culinary side of my business.
Looking back, what were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey regarding how they can best develop or improve on these?
Three skills and qualities that are impactful to my journey are -being open and receptive to new concepts as a creative, sharing my story authentically to the public, and honoring my voice without trying to sound or be anyone else. It is easy to get caught up while looking at what everyone else is doing in any career. There’s always someone out there building faster than us. This can be intimidating to anyone starting out in their respective niche. As cheesy as it may sound, there’s no better person to be than you. My branding is simple: When I show up as myself, I give permission to others to write their most honest stories. Initially, I remember watching trends from fellow fitness writers and creatives that didn’t speak to me. As an entrepreneur, I challenged myself to identify a problem in my industry and to explore ways to create solutions. I use my photography and human services background to tell stories most people were conditioned to remain silent about daily. It requires a blend of vulnerability, self-deprecating humor, leaning into my community when I feel stuck, and betting on myself. Most times, I think people are willing to hoard advice from those who they feel “made it” but will not lean on their own intuition and joy as a creative person. If you find yourself stuck, create things that make you happy and allow that passion to become contagious. When I started telling stories and producing content that made me feel tingly inside, I birthed a community from my own truth. Something about that feels much more rewarding than copying someone else’s formula.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or try to be more well-rounded by investing effort in improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I think there’s harmony in going all in on our strengths while striving to be well-rounded in areas requiring more attention. My life’s motto is that everyone has a strength in some area. When we acknowledge those strengths, we are privileged to be a teacher to someone in our areas of expertise. Despite this ability, don’t forget to be a loyal, lifetime student in another area of our lives. We can all learn a new approach, a more competent and updated version to accomplishing a task, all while being an expert. Often, we feel we have to choose one or the other, but I am a living testament that this is not the case for everyone.
When I started my blog, Running Fat Chef ®, in August 2016, many of my close friends and family told me nobody would read my lengthy perspectives on Instagram. They tried to sell me on the concept that it’s a visual platform and people aren’t going to stick around. I am thankful they talked me into creating this website to speak in great depth about my fitness journey as a non-traditional runner and multisport athlete. Still, my experience as an artist said otherwise.
Before being in the athletic space, I performed open mic poetry and worked as a freelance food photographer and chef; I learned that storytelling is everywhere. When I went to LaGuardia Community College, two of my photography professors taught me a valuable lesson about swaying your audience to see and hear your story with imagery without saying a word. Sometimes, this is done by drawing the focus on one object and making everything else blurred, turning the background into an afterthought. Another way is to create a photo series and allow the viewer to create their own narrative; writing is similar in this way. Our opening lines tell you why you are here, and if done correctly, you can keep your reader entertained; social media platforms extend this same art to me. Thanks to listening to my friends and family’s feedback, I created this blog that once served as an open-ended diary into a loving community, but my signature to my six-figure collective following is storytelling in visual and written forms. By sticking to my heart’s desire, I am fortunate to thrive as a motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and creative on my own terms – that is a freeing thought.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.runningfatchef.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamlshauntay
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lssnell/
- Other: https://www.runningfatchef.com/rfcpodcast.html
Image Credits
W. Eric Snell, Sr. – E. Snell Design www.esnelldesign.com Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Twitter: @esnelldesign
