“At the end of our 1:1 training session today Roz and I realized we’d been working together via zoom for over a year and a half. It struck me how significant this was because she understands my body better 3000 miles away than any trainer that’s actually stood right in front of me. A year and a half is exponentially longer than I’ve ever consistently worked out with a trainer before. Having a trainer with the lived experience of being in a fat body has truly made showing up to our sessions a joy and something to look forward to instead of something to dread. Somehow virtually, Roz has been able to truly build me into an athlete from scratch. I didn’t know squats and lunges weren’t supposed to hurt my knees. I didn’t know that core work would actually help alleviate my back pain instead of contributing to it. I didn’t know until Roz came into my life that the size of my body was an asset to my movements instead of a hindrance. I didn’t know movement could be fun and challenging instead of a punishment for my BMI. She asks how my body is feeling instead of how much of my body I’ve lost. She sees me as a whole human, not a before picture. A real athlete just as I am. No one has ever seen me that way before. I’m so grateful for her, and so are my knees, my back, and my soul.”

— Jourdan W.

“When we first met, you treated me with such respect, both as a human in a body and in relation to my boundaries and physical limitations, you asked nothing that I was not able to give and let me dictate the pace when I was unwilling. as we've worked together over the years (years!) I noticed a real difference in how I was relating to myself. You're the first health professional of any sort I've worked with who at no point has tried to diminish me. You've always been a champion for me to be more than I was when I met you. You bring such a profound empathy and, despite the big personality, a quiet mastery to your work. You are goddamn good at this, and in my experience always have been.  I know the work you do probably doesn't feel like a straight line all the time but as long as I've known you you have been honing your inherent talent in the most extraordinary way, deliberately, tenaciously, and every time I've seen you, you've been a little further along, a bit more Roz, another stone in the path built not just for you but for others who will come after. I was reminded on Monday how sometimes just being present and different can be a radical act. I know you do this every time you've thrown elbows and made yourself space, and I can't imagine the energy it takes to keep it up and make it look so effortless. On Monday, standing in unicorn underwear fat as hell as a group of mostly white able bodied cis folks learn the Roz Mays patented system of how to work with weirdos like me, just underscored the power you carry to attract and lead people, enable them to turn what feel like hostile spaces into centers of power. That's new, revolutionary, and will change the world.

All this to say, I see you, you're incredible, and you've got me ride or die. The work you do is not just good, it's important, and anything I can do to help things along, especially with these trainings, I am overwhelmingly happy to do. I wish you all the love and light you can handle in the year to come and so far beyond.  Big guys, thick thighs, and leg presses.”

— Kennon