We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stxph Viana a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Stxph , so happy you were able to devote some time to sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our community. So, we’ve always admired how you have seemingly never let nay-sayers or haters keep you down. Can you talk to us about how to persist despite the negative energy that so often is thrown at folks trying to do something special with their lives?
I build louder. I dream wilder. I move anyway.
Ripple Hauxs was born out of refusal—a refusal to disappear, to shrink, or to let Florida’s anti-trans policies silence the heartbeat of our community. When I left Boston, I wasn’t just relocating. I was rebirthing. I was called to take root in one of the most hostile climates for Black, trans, immigrant lives—not out of ease, but because revolution doesn’t wait for comfort.
The haters said: “That type of program doesn’t exist in Florida for a reason.” Others even said “you’ll need years of planning until you can secure your own space.” Or “you’re too new to this non profit ecosystem and have to prove yourself in order to be trusted by funders, because why would someone move from progressive Boston to do this?”
We made space anyway. We dreamed anyway. We deserve a space that prioritizes our physical and creative wellness.
They even said: “You don’t have funding in this ecosystem, a board, or a building.”
We had vision, volunteers, and an unstoppable TRANS will. And now, thanks to Borealis Philanthropy, and other rapid response grants we have just secured our sanctuary. A home soon to be pulsing with art, with healing, with the sweat of trans bodies getting stronger, freer, more whole. We host Ripple Saturdays at the stafford house thanks to the Divas in Dialogue, emergency response tactical defense workshops, gender-affirming ride shares, artist residencies, and an annual TDOV field day that we partner with the Consulate of Mexico for trans folx who have never been in a space where their joy is prioritized.
Persistence isn’t some polished skill I picked up—it’s a survival trait. It’s stitched into every step I take with my trancestors with me at every step. I come from a lineage of Afro-Brazilian, Two-Spirit magic that refuses to be erased and will be remembered.
Every time someone tells me Ripple Hauxs is “too ambitious,” “too loud,” or “too new”—I remember: They said the same thing about many before me. And yet they still managed to leave a lasting mark. Anyone who ever dared to center trans or black, brown indigenous freedom and joy has been denied and made to feel like we are asking for too much.
So how do I persist?
I alchemize rejection into power. I make waves. I stand up for what is right. I find the humanity in everyone’s journeys & we protect our people. And we remind the world that trans joy is not optional—it’s revolutionary.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m building a sanctuary. But not the kind you run to when the world gets too loud— I’m building the kind that teaches you how to roar back in your power.
My name is Stxph. I’m a Two-Spirit, transmasculine, Afro-Brazilian organizer, artist, and founder of Ripple Hauxs, a radical nonprofit rooted in Central Florida that exists to protect, uplift, and celebrate trans, immigrant and BIPOC lives through creative resistance, physical wellness, and community sanctuary.
What I do isn’t a “labor”—it’s a devotion, it’s love in action. Ripple Hauxs isn’t just a name. It’s a vibration, a movement, and a challenge to the systems that want us gone and try to take away our humanity. We’re a grassroots force of trans joy, built by and for us. From housing support to tactical defense training, from trauma-informed art spaces to gender-affirming transportation—we’re shifting survival into power.
What makes this work exciting?
We’re not waiting for the world to change—we are the change. Every connection, every workout, every community resource and shared moment of joy, every scream of laughter in a space we carved out for ourselves is an act of defiance and design.
We just secured space that functions as a clubhouse – fitness hub, studio, and home base for our trans-led programming. It’s where we will host Ripple programming, gatherings, where we collaborate with and uplift local BIPOC trans artists like Tommy Kuir and Charlie Adonis, Zoa Glows and where our walls will soon be covered in murals by trans creatives whose art inspires us to reach for greater.
What’s next?
We’re launching our first Trans Podcast, diving deep into raw conversations often left out of the mainstream. We’re developing a list of resources for GAHT (gender-affirming hormone therapy) to reach trans folks who fear or can’t access clinics. We’re building our own Ripple Hauxs Gym with in-kind support and sweat equity, and working on a “Bxnned in Florida” event series to reclaim joy and fight voter suppression with art, action, and resistance.
We also host a monthly gathering for transmasculine folx and their allies at the Stafford House with the Divas in Dialogue, and recently:
WE teemed up with COMMUNIY FIRST RESPONSE & THE COMMITTEE OF TACTICAL
EMERGENCY CASUALTY CARE TO BRING L1F3-SAVING TRUMA SKILLS TO TRANS. QUEER. IMMIGRANT. AND UNDOCUMENTED COMMUNTIES ACROSS CENTRAL FLORIDA.
Ripple Hauxs is about embodiment. About holding space in a state that wants us invisible. And about reminding every trans person—especially those Black, brown, immigrant, and poor—that you deserve a space to thrive, not just survive.
We’re here. We’re loud. And we’re just getting started.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Ooof Looking back, the three most impactful tools I carried—albeit sometimes unknowingly—were:
1. Audacity.
Not confidence—audacity. The kind that whispers, “Do it anyway,” even when the money isn’t there, the blueprint doesn’t exist, or the world tells you to tone it down. Ripple Hauxs was born from audacity. Don’t wait to be ready. Just move with purpose.
Some Advice? Don’t wait for permission. Don’t ask for seats at tables that were never built for you. Flip the damn table— then build a new one and make it a potluck.
2. Relational Intelligence.
This work is not about clout. It’s not about celebrity activism that turns off the second the record button isn’t pressed. It’s about community. The reason Ripple Hauxs is growing is because we listen first. We treat every artist, youth, elder, and volunteer like a co-creator in this movement.
Advice? Learn how to build with people, not just for them. Practice accountability, honor boundaries, and pour into your folks the way you’d want them to pour into you.
3. Strategic Visioning.
I’ve had to learn how to zoom out—how to dream in 3D while still surviving the day-to-day. Strategy is how you turn passion into power. It’s how you move from idea to infrastructure.
Advice? Get clear on your “why.” Then let that “why” shape your “how.” For me it was Learning to grant-write, Mapped my goals. Built partnerships. Vision without structure can burn you out. Structure without vision can bore you.
To anyone early in their journey: Trust in your passion and your vision beyond your own understandings seek your excitement in everything you do.
Be brave enough to start messy. Be humble enough to learn out loud. Be bold enough to know that trans and immigrant survival is not small—it’s sacred. Keep creating, keep questioning, and most of all—keep showing up. That’s how the ripple becomes a wave.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
Yes—we’re open to collaboration. But not with just anyone. We’re not building another nonprofit. We’re building a legacy. A living, breathing sanctuary where Black, Brown, trans and immigrant joy isn’t just protected—it’s prioritized. Where our bodies are celebrated. Where our art is weaponized. Where our survival is not up for debate.
Ripple Hauxs is not a trend. It’s a movement with muscle.
We are calling in:
BIPOC trans & nonbinary leaders ready to take a seat at the table and help shape our next chapter as board members. Your voice isn’t a checkbox—it’s a compass.
Artists, creatives, and cultural workers who know beauty can be a tool of rebellion and that black trans creativity can speak louder than laws.
Healers and fitness leaders who understand that trans physical wellness is resistance—and that our bodies deserve sacred, sweat-filled care.
Radical funders and aligned sponsors who get that giving isn’t charity or a bandaid for their wrongdoings in the community—it’s solidarity. We’re not interested in corporate rainbow crumbs. And we have a no clinic or HIV fund or sponsorship policy. We want mission-driven partnerships that match our vision.
Why Ripple Hauxs? Why now?
Because we’re not begging for visibility—we’re building infrastructure.
Because we’ve already secured a physical space—without major corporate backing.
Because we’re launching our own trans-led clubhouse gym, a liberation podcast, and art residencies powered by and for the most targeted people in this very region.
Because in a state that’s actively trying to erase us, we chose to plant ourselves deeper—and thrive louder.
We fund our work through grassroots donations, non-corporate grants, and pure community grit. Every dollar goes back into trans joy, access, housing, movement, and creative freedom.
So, if you’re a funder, collaborator, artist, or dreamer looking to back a Black and Brown trans-led vision that’s actually doing the work—let’s talk. Let’s build.
📧 [email protected]
📱 @ripplehauxs on Instagram
🪩 Or pull up. We’re not hard to find—we’re the ones making waves while the rest are still waiting for the tide to turn.
This is your invitation.
Not to save us. To join us.
Contact Info:
- Website: Www.ripplehauxs.com
- Instagram: Www.instagram.com/ripplehauxs
