We were lucky to catch up with Mama G & Rusty Blades recently and have shared our conversation below.
Mama G , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Going back to the beginning – how did you come up with the idea in the first place?
Mama G asked me, Rusty Blades (her adult offspring), to make a YouTube channel with her (she was retired and bored) I remember telling her with the thought that no one would ever follow us “Sure, I’ll make a channel with you”. Now let’s cut to our current situation, we have an AMAZING community of likeminded humans and for that I am forever grateful! I never would have dreamed that almost 4 years later we would still be at it.
Our YouTube community is such a safe place. We have only had one potential “negative comment”, they left a pride flag and the symbol for the term no… we eradicated that quickly to maintain the safe space we’ve created!
While our channel was created with crochet and fiber arts in mind, we are currently expanding into new ventures and areas to grow both our channel and us, personally.
For years, we have been making and selling crafts to raise money to help rescue shelter and stray animals. We call it, Mama G”s Mental Health and Meows. We are still in the beginning phases of making this an official organization. We help connect people who may not have the ability to obtain and/or sustain a relationship with a shelter animal.
We want to shed light on the wonderful benefits that owning a pet (from fur to scales) can have on a person’s mental health and how the responsibility of care for those pets can truly change the course of their lives.
We use the funds we raise on paying for vet bills, food, adoption fees, etc… Our Moto is, ” We do what we can, for who we can, with what we have, whenever We can”
An animal pal can improve your mental health and enrich your quality of life. And our YouTube community has embraced that concept and assists where they can.
They have also accepted us and each other for who we are, without prejudice or judgement. And that has become an even bigger part of the channel.
I never expected this venture to come into fruition, but Mama G and I have created a safe place for all to be free to be themselves and be loved and supported by one another.
I am elated for what we created!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
While I may have already responded to this question in my last answer, I will add this, we fiercely support equality, we love all types of creatures, and we will always be there for our community! Community is extremely important, especially now! This world can be a dark, lonely and scary place. We are here to bring light and jubilation to those around us.
Years ago, Rusty once wrote, in a poem, “I am not here for many reasons, I am only here for one. I am here to bring lost souls into the Sun!” That basically sums up the purpose of the Mama G Gear YouTube channnel. We are here to help others, both human and animal. And we will continue to do so as long as possible!
During our live broadcast, we often keep the vibe positive and lighthearted but we also recognize the dark sides of being alive. So many suffer from mental health issues and feel very lost. We try to provide a space where we not only craft, but we also allow humans to express themselves in ways they may have not been previously inspired to embrace! All we want to accomplish is to offer a space where everyone can feel safe to be themselves!
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
To all beautiful humans reading this, new lessons and life leadings are always around, you just have to see them when they are presented within your world!
What lesson have I had to unlearn…. well, everything when it came to how communication works. Trying to create with another human means learning how to compromise, learn new ways to work together, and recognize the strengths and weaknesses within eacg human.
You would think after years, my whole life, of my mother and I knowing each other would be enough. That being said, our channel has been a challenging and immensely awarding time in my life!
As people who deal with ADHD and panic disorder, we have worked together to find the communication tools to best help this community thrive. I know if Mama G is talking and I have an idea, I put my hand up and make a note of what I want to bring up (related to her story) after I make the note I can then FULLY listen because I no longer have to keep a thought in the forefront of my brain. This is just one example of the communication tools we have created to better serve ourselves and the fabulous community around us and we do love sharing tools!
The main goal of our channel will always be, having a safe place to be truly yourself. While the Mama G Mental Health and Meows is how it started, being a safe community is how it is going, and I could not be filled with more gratitude!
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
How did we build our audience? In the best way one can build it, organically. We started a channel in the fiber arts, but it seemed the more we filmed the more our audience was into us and not so much what we were actually doing. This opened up a new chapter in our social media output. We can just be our true selves and that is what lended itself to others who follow us feeling the same! It seemed the more genuine we were, the more our community felt safe to be their own genuine self!
Be true, be you, you are wonderful!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://youtube.com/@mamaggear?si=GDZIlVKXfhuWAs9K
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mama_g_gear?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/154qdfjGXU/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@mamaggear?si=Qsc0PizSmfDKb5Rw
Image Credits
Image credits are Mama G and Rusty Blades taking “selfies”