We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jen Wireman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jen below.
Alright, Jen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My mom has always been my biggest fan.
Her family came here from Vietnam when she was only 2 years old in the 1960s. They struggled against racist hate and the difficulty of being a military family moving across the country multiple times. My mom was very close with her parents, but often struggled with feeling like she was good enough or living up to their expectations.
When I was born, my mom made a point to encourage me in ways that boosted my self esteem. The reason I ooze confidence and know my worth is because of my mother. She made sure that I worked hard and was held to a high standard, not because she wanted me to, but because I knew I could do it.
Now, as an adult, I am often asked to take the lead, chair a group, captain a team, or speak at an event. My mom taught me to speak up for others and stand up for myself. She encouraged me to practice public speaking and not be scared to share my opinion.
I am a loud, bold, educated, opinionated woman, all thanks to my mother.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Often I feel like I don’t do enough. I wish I could do more for my community. Take on more clients. Read more. Spend more time with my partner. Play another sport. But when I sit down to write it all out, I do a lot! And I should probably sleep more.
I have to work for a living, and I am very lucky to be able to work for myself, well directly for my clients. As an ACSM certified trainer, I train my clients in a small, private studio. I have been in the industry since 2014, but made the move to a private space in 2020 so that I could keep my clients and myself as covid safe as possible. Here, I am able to help people move better and grow stronger in a healthy, safe environment.
I’ve been on the outskirts of political work for decades, but since 2021, have taken a lead role in a mutual aid, theory study, and organizing org. I chair a socialist mutual aid group called Red Help ATX. The bulk of our work is with the local Austin homeless community, but we also hold liberation theory study groups, and participate in labor organizing and direct action.
Then, of course, I started a podcast! How the Red was Won is a podcast about organizing in the south, Texas fascism, and how to fight back. I felt like the “leftist” podcast space didn’t have enough female, or southern US voices, so I jumped in. I post weekly free episodes on Tuesdays, and Patreon only episodes every other Friday. I jump between three major podcast themes: community member/activist interviews, analysis of communist theory, and discussion of pop culture through a Marxist lens. Podcasting is so much fun, and I hope you check out my project.
I played roller derby for 12 years, and that’s where my nickname “Big Nasty” came from. I retired from derby in 2020, and began training at a local boxing club in 2021. I recently decided to rejoin my old derby team, and have also been considering trying out taekwondo… I do a lot, but it’s a lot of fun.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Going to public school in Texas, there is a lot I’ve had to unlearn as an adult. Mostly the entire history of this country and everything about bourgeois economic theory. Authors Michael Parenti and Angela Davis are a great start for unlearning American exceptionalism, and getting acquainted with the truth of settler colonialism, white supremacy, and American imperialism.
Whew! Okay that was a heavy answer, but truly, we are bombarded with so much propaganda our entire lives, and it takes work to unlearn that.
Maybe reading is intimidating, how about a podcast?
Of course, I’d love you to listen to my podcast, and read the books I recommend, but the easiest way to unlearn propaganda is to talk to people who live different lives than you. Are you housed? Talk to homeless folks. Were you born in the USA? Talk to an immigrant. Are you cis? Meet a trans person. The sooner we all realize that we are all in this together, and struggle against the same system, the sooner we can liberate ourselves.
How do you keep your team’s morale high?
We are in very dark times, and it can be easy to fall into doomerism. But there are a few things I do to keep revolutionary optimism.
1. Mutual aid. The work I do with Red Help ATX and the local homeless community makes me feel connected to the city and to the people around me. I organize with great comrades that I love and respect. We have been working with the same community for a while now, getting to know people and their struggles, and doing the little bit we can to advocate for them or help them have a better day truly is a bright spot in my week.
2. I’m lucky that I love my job. I have spent over a decade building a client base that trusts me, and that I really care about. Helping them move better and build strength motivates me to work harder on myself as well.
3. Play. Make time every day to have fun. I box. I play roller derby. I watch Star Trek with my partner. We take the dogs to the park. Finding joy in dark times is revolutionary. Being healthy is revolutionary.
Maybe that didn’t answer the question of managing a team. I was a roller derby team captain for several years, which was not all that different than chairing a mutual aid and study group. But I think the three points I made above are relevant in all aspects of life. Listen to the people you work with. Help people to the best of your ability. Have fun. We are all in this together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://getnastyfit.com
- Instagram: @big.nasty.8
- Twitter: @howtheredwaswon
- Other: redhelpatx.org
https://open.spotify.com/show/6YlNKncmYS7V08VOvs4XH4?si=mOBEe5D3S_WlXrYqSiZO-A
Image Credits
KLF_photography
Austin Women’s Boxing Club
Texas Rollergirls