Who are some of the most influential Canadian influencers? They’re the ones who commit to a certain cause and do so with passion and fervour, creating social content that can actually create social change. Whether it’s being more eco-conscious about food and fashion choices, standing up for gender equality or bringing awareness to Indigenous life, we found five creators who are dedicating their digital and real lives to making big changes.
Jennifer Pistor (@jenpistor) is a full-time stay-at-home mom and part-time slow-fashion writer. “My mission is to introduce people to slow fashion. I want to show that there is another way to have style that doesn’t involve ever-changing trends, over-consumption and harming people and the planet. I participated in over-consumption of fashion for decades. Once I educated myself on the harm the industry has created, I knew this was an important message to share.”
Pistor is inspired by other slow-fashion posters advocating for change and using their voices and influence to encourage people to do more than just “buy this thing”. “Two people who come to mind are Venetia La Manna (@venetialamanna) and Aja Barber (@ajabarber); Aja is a slow-fashion educator, influencer and author, and her book, Consumed, is a must for anyone wanting to learn about what’s really happening in fashion and how it intersects with climate change, consumerism and colonialism. Venetia is a fair-fashion campaigner, podcast host, co-founder of @rememberwhomadethem and a slow-fashion advocate, and she works with organizations … to bring awareness and change to the crimes of fast fashion with a focus on their effect on the Global South.”
With these and other role models in mind, Pistor creates original social content around secondhand shopping, shopping her own closet and styling clothing she’s owned for years in new and different ways. She recommends and champions brands that, too, contribute to the slow-fashion movement, and educates her following around the atrocities of wasteful fast fashion. “Once you learn that our shopping is directly hurting our planet, contributing to climate change and supporting the mistreatment and exploitation of garment workers, who are mostly women of colour, it’s hard to not want to make changes.”
Kelsey Ellis (@healthy_with_kelsey) is a registered holistic nutritionist and certified personal trainer who helps people move with joy, build self-acceptance and take the shame out of their wellness game. Her mission for the past few years has been to “deconstruct conventional wellness practices and teach clients how to heal the body physically, mentally and emotionally through self-nurturing practices like joyful movement and intuitive eating. I believe that as a society we have reached a point where we recognize that the systems of suppression and oppression under the guise of wellness are no longer working for us and we need to relearn our instinctual ability to self-trust and use our own internal guidance as a way to navigate our health. I help people take back their personal autonomy around their body and wellness.”
To that end, Ellis says that diets and rigid exercise programs that were considered the “gold standard” of healthful living up until this point are “now being recognized as one of the leading causes of eating disorders, which have the second-highest mortality among all mental illnesses. My goal is to tackle this issue along with weight stigma and racism, which also are rampant in the health and wellness sector, by advocating for all bodies to be considered valid and receive equal treatment by fitness and health professionals alike. I use my social media platforms to educate, inspire and empower individuals to redefine what being healthy looks like. To educate my audience on the dangers of dieting, inspire them to choose exercise as a form of self-care, not self-punishment and share stories of diverse bodies—including my own—overcoming the challenges of a world that has up until recently, largely centred on white, thin women in fitness. I share vulnerable stories of my own challenges and triumphs to help others who are in similar circumstances feel seen and validated and offer a range of wellness services and resources that are accessible at different price points, including my YouTube channel which provides free body-positive workouts under 30 minutes.”
As for feeling heard, and effecting change, Ellis says, “I think my message is heard loud and clear. My DMs are filled with people saying that they feel seen and resonate with my content.”
Myles Sexton (@mylessexton) is an advocate for HIV and AIDS, as well as for social change around gender constructs. Despite this mission, Sexton says teaching people about the importance of diversity and inclusion has also been a real challenge. “If it wasn’t for the BLM movement that happened, I don’t think we would be having many of the conversations happening today. This movement has helped many marginalized communities find a louder voice.” Sexton, however, has been making huge strides in changing common-yet-incorrect perceptions around everything from folks living with HIV and AIDS to the importance of using people’s preferred pronouns to the simple joy of being free, whoever you are, to wear a fabulous gown and strut down a red carpet.
Erin Ireland (@erinireland, @tolivefor.bakery) started her career as a food and restaurant journalist. When she learned more about where her food came from and the impact her choices were having on the world, animals and her own health, she decided to become part of the solution. “My life’s mission is to spread the word about how amazing, delicious and satisfying plant-based living can be. I never would have imagined that animal-free food could be so easy and filling. Many of today’s plant-based alternatives are cleverly made with beans or soy, which are winners in my books,” she says.
In November 2022, Ireland expanded her 12-year-old wholesale bakery into its own brick-and-mortar bakery and café in East Vancouver, where she and her team are able to create a lot of the foods they hope will convince people that a plant-based diet can be mind-blowing and delicious. Among her role models? Activists who are years her junior, like Genesis Butler—a 16-year-old dedicated to raising awareness about animal rights’ issues and our climate emergency.
Shayla Oulette Stonechild’s (@shayla0h and @matriarch.movement) goal is to help unlock Indigenous youth and women’s full potential through facilitating wellness workshops that combine Indigenous values (respect, reciprocity, relationship based) with yogic philosophy. “A lot of this is done through the non-profit online platform and podcast, Matriarch Movement, which is dedicated to amplifying Indigenous voices and providing wellness workshops to Indigenous youth and BIPOC women across Canada. Our conversations are around sustainability, multi- and inter-generational healing, our communities and the concept of Indigenous futurism, which is radically imagining a new future that encompasses and highlights Indigenous voices and values throughout every industry and beyond.”
One commonality amongst these influentials is that many have endured burnouts at some point in their personal or professional lives. Pistor says social media puts a certain amount on pressure on her: “When I feel like I’m getting anxious and posting just to post and not because I have anything meaningful to say or share, it comes across. More is more with social media, but I don’t think it’s a healthy life balance.” Ireland feels as though time constraints create challenges in her everyday life. “Balancing time has been tough. When content crosses over into real life, it can be hard to ‘turn off’, and this can be really disruptive when trying to be present with my family. But I’m getting better at separating the two.” Ellis says, “Protecting my mental health is most important, and when I give myself permission to step back from posting, it often reignites my creativity and passion.”
Stonechild fell victim to overextending herself and faced a burnout of her own. “Last year I had done over 30 campaigns and there is a lot of prep, shooting and producing of campaigns that go on behind the scenes that you don’t see on social media. Also, if I am working with a teaching from Nehiyaw and/or Mètis culture, I seek out the guidance from an elder and/or knowledge keeper to make sure I’m giving it what it deserves and correctly. So what takes 60 seconds to watch on IG may have taken me a couple weeks of getting it done. Which would be my next challenge: taking on a lot of projects and then having the bandwidth to do them all to my best ability. This year, I am being more decisive with what I say yes to.” —Jennifer Cox & Noa Nichol
share:
Be the first to comment