Ethel's Club's Naj Austin On The Power Of Wellness Spaces Made For People Of Color

The act of bringing your whole self into every space you enter as a person of color is not a simple one. However, it is revolutionary and necessary. The instant success of Ethel's Club shows how much people of color are craving environments centered around their own community, personal growth, and well-being. We got in touch with Austin to talk about the importance of creating places where people of color can confidently take up space.

Ethel's Club needed to become a reality because there's no other place in reality where it exists. We are the first social and wellness club for people of color, and because I had never experienced a space like this, but in so many instances felt that I needed a space like this, I was determined to see it to life. Because myself, my friends, my co-workers, my literal sisters and brothers, have all at some point needed a healing, gathering, social space such as Ethel's Club. Once I realized it needed to happen, I just started to put my idea out there and say yes to working with people who believed in its purpose as much as I did. And from there, it quickly started materializing into a real space.

First and foremost, I believe this level of care begins the cycle of healing. You can't be your best self—your best professional, your best creative, your best friend or best partner or family member or neighbor—until you've healed yourself. Once you fully heal yourself, you can then begin living, working, and creating the way you want to. You can start having the relationships you desire. And you can begin fully celebrating yourself and others. I don't think marginalized communities have ever been given the appropriate and intentional space to fully heal. But I think when you consider a whole person and allow people to see and consider their own full selves, anything and everything becomes possible.

If black women aren't the ones to do it, no one else will. I don't think there's any other group that considers the safety, healing, and celebration of marginalized people. I think that's why we are always at the forefront of creating the most inclusive spaces and movements.

At the end of the day, I think online and digital community should always be a conduit to real-life interaction. I think virtual spaces can be a beautiful thing. I love my communities on Twitter and Instagram and, a lot of times, actually feel like a lot of care goes into those relationships. However, I also believe these platforms are great tools and starting points for in-person relationships and collaborations to be built. I don't think virtual worlds will ever be able to fully replace IRL interactions, communities, or relationships. But I do think, when these platforms are built with humanity and care at the center, they can be incredible in creating even stronger in-person communities.

Almost every person who has come into our clubhouse has told us how healing and welcoming and safe it feels. We often hear, "This feels like my home." I absolutely hope as more people come into the space, those feelings of safety, trust, and joy grow, while any and all fear becomes diminished.

Inclusivity is definitely always at the forefront of every decision we make, which is one of the reasons we launched with a tiered membership—which we're proud to say provides an entry point that is more accessible than any other social club on the market. We are excited to announce that we're launching corporate memberships in early 2020, where we'll be working with startups, agencies, and other companies to provide memberships to their employees of color. While we are a social club, the goal of our private membership-based model is never to perpetuate elitism but to protect the intentionality that goes into creating truly safe spaces that celebrate people of color.

We've intentionally been super transparent about our process from the beginning, and I think that has created a shared, communal investment in seeing our doors successfully open. Before our doors even opened, we were sparking consistent dialogue with our communities on social media, whether it was engaging about relevant cultural moments or sharing one of the POC artisans we were working with or publicly admiring a creative's work. Our brand has always been about genuinely talking to everyone as if we're trying to cultivate a friendship or a real relationship with them. So naturally, we are an honest, playful, genuine brand. I think Ethel's Club feels like a neighborhood friend, even online, and everyone wants to see their friends win. 

Interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.