We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Demetria Gartrell . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Demetria below.

Demetria , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Over the years, I’ve navigated extreme turbulence, from overcoming failed IVF to adjusting to my husband’s vitiligo diagnosis, all while restoring my relationship with myself. While in flight, I realized my flying desire was embedded in my life experiences. My highs and lows. My pain and pride points. All of these moments made space for collective and self-healing. Through life turbulence, I began to deepen my understanding of what it meant to extend love and courage to someone else.

In 2018, I watched my husband’s vitiligo become progressively worse. As his skin color changed, we experienced isolation, loss of self-esteem, and stigmatization. Our flight journey has been complex. Yet we’ve found love and encouragement through the launch of our lifestyle brand Find Your Fly®. Vitiligo stretched us, pushing us to open our minds and hearts to a bold idea. Despite the despair, we embraced our journey and turned the stares and judgment into something positive.

I highlight our personal experience with vitiligo to remind others that vulnerability breeds connection. We leaned into our fears and insecurities and found grace on the other side. Find Your Fly® champions self-actualization, inclusivity, and empowerment. Inspired by individual and collective greatness. Our mantra- every person can fly-is at the core of our brand. As the founder, I aim to empower others to discover and amplify their truth. My vision for this brand is to usher people to a more profound sense of self so they can fulfill their hearts’ desires.

Demetria , 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?

My flight journey, both the brand and collective healing, has been liberating. I found my fly when I released my narrow perception of beauty. My husband’s vitiligo exposed my deepest insecurities and forced me to redefine how I viewed him and myself. Finding my fly has taken years of unpacking beliefs and surrendering to my vulnerabilities. Through the turbulence, I learned to embrace differences and challenge false notions of perfection. The concept of Find Your Fly® evolved from love, love of self and others.

Find Your Fly® is a lifestyle brand that champions self-actualization, inclusivity, and empowerment. We exist to end the fear and shame of flying in your truth. At Find Your Fly®, we fully accept ourselves and embrace others as they are; we see the power in group connections.

More than apparel, Find Your Fly® offers a frame through which to explore a more round sense of self. The brand, created by Dr. Demetria Gartrell, empowers others to discover and amplify their truth.

How’d you meet your business partner?

Home for the holidays took on a different meaning as we stood in the middle of the nightclub in November 1998. I was home from college on Thanksgiving break, and my best friend convinced me to join her at this new club in the area, Dinosaur’s night club in Laurel, MD. The atmosphere was laid back, and the prospects were limited, so we spent the night barely dancing and catching up. We were surrounded by men who seemed to have graduated high school with my dad. As time passed, my best friend and I decided never to go out on Thanksgiving again.

Forty-five minutes in, we thought the night was lost; until she grabbed my hand and said, “girl, I see your future baby daddy and husband,” walking toward us. I stopped dancing to look at her selection and uttered, “yes, hey, husband.”

We watched him walk across the room and make jokes about us hooking up. As he got closer, my best friend strategized. She was committed to getting us together. Before reaching us, he stopped to play pool, and she decided to push me into him. I laughed and said excuse me. She made me into him two more times. He never said much but smiled as I continued to interrupt his game of pool. After the game ended, he walked off with his friend, and we laughed as my future husband walked away.

The DJ called the last song, and I noticed him walking toward me before I could ask my best friend if she was ready to go. We exchanged numbers, and he asked me if I wanted to go to breakfast. I declined because it was two o’clock in the morning. We spoke on the phone until I went back to college. Fast forward – a few dates, long phone conversations, and batteries, and I found out he had a girlfriend. I was devastated but shifted my focus to finishing the semester strong. We reconnected after he ended things with his girlfriend, who he doesn’t claim today. I graduated from Delaware State University in May, and our relationship began to shape. We dated for two years, and he proposed on our dating anniversary on Thanksgiving; surrounded by my parents and siblings, he asked me to marry him at the dinner table.

After twenty-two years of marriage, he became my co-pilot and inspiration for Find Your Fly®.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

“Talk about your failures without apologizing” by Breana Brown. Lifting this quote allows us to seek greater clarity in our purpose by embracing our challenges. I’ve been reflecting on my journey as a leader, wife, and mother-the takeoff, acceleration, turbulence, and connecting flights. A lot of my practices have been grounded in self-development work. I’ve been dedicated to helping others break through past experiences and emotions to find their fly. It’s been challenging and impactful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.findyourfly.org
• Instagram: @findyourfly @_flyleader
• Facebook: Find Your Fly

Image Credits
All About it Studio