GOOD Spotlight: Katie Horwitch
Katie Horwitch is a writer, speaker, artist, activist, and founder of WANT: Women Against Negative Talk. Katie uses her voice to empower women to be confident, positive, and fearless. In her own words, Katie is a "goddess unchained" and she has no shortage of powerful things to say. We can't wait to have Katie speak at the GOOD Fest - we know you'll all be leaving feeling SERIOUSLY inspired.
"Because when you're a powerful woman, you're a goddess unchained. And everyone will have something to say." -Katie Horwitch
Name: Katie Horwitch
Current City: New York City, NY
Favorite work out: Can I have a three-way tie? Running, indoor cycling (both taking and teaching it!), and yoga. Depends on the day. And the music.
Thing you love most about working in wellness: It's not just meeting new people - what I love most about working in wellness is the willingness people have to "go there." Whether it's in a sweaty workout or a deep conversation over dinner, the people I choose to spend time with (and have been fortunate enough to attract - or maybe they're attracting me? who knows!) are putting in the work every single day to be the person they know they're meant to be. There's a lot of trust and respect in the wellness industry that you just don't see enough of out in everyday life. Of course, sometimes people will use trust and respect to manipulate or for personal gain (it's very important to recognize that there is bs and a "dark side" to the wellness industry as well), but what I LOVE about wellness most is that people interested in wellness are also interested in living into their fullest selves - not hiding from it.
What you ate for breakfast this morning: Green smoothie (I know, so typical) with frozen spinach, frozen cauliflower (don't knock it), frozen peaches, matcha powder, vanilla protein powder, a scoop of collagen powder, stevia, and a sprinkle of pink sea salt. Sometimes I add colostrum powder into my smoothies if I have it on hand - it's AMAZING for the gut and immunity, but not a typical smoothie add-in, ya know? I remember I was asked this question once by a big-wig in the wellness world and she totally shamed me for it! I was like, Dude. If there is ONE place my wellness game is strong, it's my smoothies. Don't shade the colostrum.
Wellness trend you can't stand: Elitism. Health-shaming. Spiritual bypass. I don't know if these things are "trends" per se but they make my skin crawl.
Go-to item in your closet: Currently all my variations of Lou + Grey turtlenecks. I think I OD'd on Lou + Grey turtlenecks this winter. Whoops. I also have a thing for dark distressed denim. No matter the season.
"Cheat" Food you'd never give up: KETTLE CORN is what some would call a cheat food I guess, but I also believe there is no such things as a cheat food. Eat what makes you feel good, and if it doesn't physically make you feel good but emotionally makes you feel good (because let's face it, food is emotional), then just make a conscious choice to not beat yourself up over the physical feeling later. (Oh! I can't stand black-and-white food mentality. Is that a wellness trend? Please let it be. So it can be over.)
What inspired you create WANT: 1) My own personal experience with negative self-talk. I didn't even realize I HAD negative self-talk until my early 20s. It was so engrained in my and so my norm, it wasn't even registering. 2) The women in my life - family and friends - who bonded over negativity therefore reinforcing the loop of self-loathing, and 3) The initial Dove "Real Bodies" campaign in 2007. I remember seeing it, thinking it was revolutionary for an ad to be telling us to "love ourselves," and then thinking: but where are the steps to get me there, and the community/role models to help me do it?
Advice you'd love to give your younger self (or the young girls growing up today): Just keep going. So many parts of who I was growing up, or the dreams I had, or even the goals I had not too long ago...I was always three steps ahead of where everyone else around me was. I remember being in a musical theatre intensive during college where I was typecast as the Ingenue - which is usually the young, pretty, wide-eyed, somewhat naive or idealistic character in the musical. Think Maria in West Side Story, Cinderella, or Sandy in Grease. I looked like an ingenue and was able to sing like an ingenue, so that was where people put me. But in reality, I had this big, bold voice and personality that I felt was the true "me." The disconnect I felt was huge. One of the guest professors caught me as I was walking out of the room one day and told me "You know you're not an ingenue, right?" I was stunned. "You're a Leading Lady. But it's going to be harder for you, because it might take a while for you to grow into your type." I carry his words with me EVERY day. Often times I would feel discouraged because I felt like the world wasn't on board with who I was in my head and heart. I hated that it seemed like my worth was tied to things that didn't resonate with me - and were out of my control. But now I know that I just needed time to learn the lessons I needed to learn, so that those lessons could support me through my journey and add depth to my character. For so long I felt I needed to be complacent being the ingenue onstage and off. But now, I know that I can be the Leading Lady in my own life no matter what the world sees at the moment. The world will catch up. The only person I can control is myself, and the person I know I am in my core. I'm growing into my type, and my journey is better off for it.