Roz The Diva Mays is renowned the world over for her contributions to the sport of pole dancing and we're proud to feature her as this month's Body Positive Superhero! Each month, we're highlighting the work of one of our heroes of the Body Positive Fitness community. Roz shares her love of movement with her clients as a pole dancing instructor and personal trainer and hosts workshops all over the globe. Her ideal clients are plus size athletes, gym virgins, and other misfits. Read our full interview below.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Location: New York, NY
Instagram: @rozthediva
Roz on the Body Positive Fitness Finder: https://superfithero.com/rozthediva
Who is your superhero?
Beyoncé.
What's your favorite activity?
Napping!
What motivates you on bad days?
Money.
What is your personal fitness routine?
I do best when I workout alongside my clients! I love lifting heavy weights and doing balance exercises. The only cardio I believe in is twerking on the way to $1 pizza and bourbon.
Do you set fitness goals for yourself? Why or why not?
I would love to get to the point where losing weight isn't important to me. I don't want to attach my self-esteem to my weight, blood pressure, A1C, or any other house built on sand. It's a nasty habit that hasn't served me well.
Tell us about your relationship with your body.
I have a very difficult relationship with my weight. I've never been comfortable with my size, but pole dancing & gym shenanigans have helped at least show what I can do despite my size. Feeling strong gives me a great deal of comfort! I'm going to stop pressuring myself to feel comfortable in my own skin. I now want to be strong AF and if the feeling of beautiful happens to come my way, cool.
What did 13-year-old you think about your body?
13-year-old Roz had already prescribed herself to be undesirable because she was an overweight black girl in the slim, rich, white private school. I can't recall if I was even sad about it, because I didn't understand how incredibly damaging these thoughts were; I understood weight and attractiveness to be inversely related, as true as gravity's effect on Earth.
Do you talk to your clients about their bodies? Tell us about that.
I love nerding out with my clients about which muscle groups we're using for a particular exercise! Education about how the body functions gives each athlete more power to move in ways that serve them.
How long have you been a fitness teacher? What made you go into this line of work?
I've been in the fitness industry since February 2011, and it's been my full-time hustle for the last five years.
What’s your super power?
Affording to live in NYC.
Want to train with Roz or attend one of her workshops?
Get in touch with her on the Body Positive Fitness Finder.