We recently connected with ERIN WASHINGTON and have shared our conversation below.
ERIN, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I struggled with anorexia, bulimia and having no self worth for over a decade. I decided to create a safe space for teen girls who are struggling with body image and self worth. Blue Butterfly Foundation provides mentorship and advocacy from women who have battled body image, self worth and disordered eating and come out on the other side. My hope is that the girls who utilize BBF during their teen years will come back to become mentors, as adults. This way, there will always be blue butterflies in the world.
I named my foundation after a blue butterfly that would land on my doorstep for weeks. When I named my foundation, it left!
ERIN, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I host a popular wellness podcast called, thERINpy with Erin Washington, where I share vulnerable conversations so that other women feel seen and less alone. My new book, From Pain to Purpose: Finding Meaning in The Mess, is a second edition of my previously released book, Squats & Margaritas: A Journey to Finding Balance.
In this new edition, I detail my journey through twenty years of eating disorders, and having no self worth, finally achieving my ideal body at the age of 40 (by taking care of myself!), and finding my life’s purpose during the global pandemic.
Squats & Margaritas, was written when I felt compelled to share a new method of working out that produced proper results. For years, I exercised rigorously and deprived myself of many foods and activities. It wasn’t until I found balance that I achieved my ideal body. At the time of releasing the first edition, I believed I was
writing as my highest form of self. And then the global pandemic hit and my purpose shifted immensely.
I was called to start weekly Instagram live conversations early on in the pandemic, and was having real conversations with other moms about our daily struggles, including being in lock down with young children and how hard it was to maintain a workout schedule. These conversations led me to my weekly podcast, conversations to help women feel seen and inspired to find their own purpose. Previous guests include; Journalist, Katie Couric, Plus-size Supermodel, Emme, Real Housewives of Atlanta’s Kenya Moore, actress Melissa Joan Hart, and many more.
Today, I’m focused on my foundation for teen girls and continuing to grow my podcast.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
For so long, I couldn’t grow on social media. I was posting exactly like the other inspiring mom accounts who had 1 million followers -and that was the problem! It wasn’t authentic. I was posting what I thought was working for other mom accounts, but that’s what worked for THEM! You have to be YOU. Don’t copy the way other people’s pages look, regardless of how successful their pages may be. I started to grow on social media when I stopped looking at other moms’ pages and trying to do it just like them. You grow when you are uniquely yourself. Your people will find you when you’re just being you!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I launched my brand, I called it Squats and Margaritas- living life with balance. I prided myself on the slogan, “never miss a workout . . .or a cocktail!” While adopting this balanced lifestyle completely changed my life, recently, it started to feel less aligned. During the pandemic, I lost the balance that I used to pride myself on- it was now ALL margaritas! I was drinking too much and decided to cut back. This felt like an abandonment of the brand that I worked so hard to build, but ultimately, Squats and Margaritas no longer resonated with me. I pivoted.
Squats and Margaritas podcast became thERINpy with Erin Washington. I share vulnerable conversations about relationships, body image and parenting and this feels so much more aligned. Regardless of how hard you worked to build a brand, if it no longer feels authentic, you won’t be as passionate about it.
Sometimes you have to pivot.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/squatsandmargaritas
- Instagram: @iamerinwashington
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erin.leigh.washington/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-washington-627a608/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIkJQPLykEzYrz-aRsmjGYA
- Other: thERINpy with Erin Washington is available where ever you get your podcasts. thebluebutterflies.org From Pain to Purpose: Finding Meaning in the Mess is available on Amazon!