Today we’d like to introduce you to Kayla Erdmann.
Hi Kayla, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Outside of work I like to spend time with my family at the theater watching our kiddo perform, at the cabin watching our dog “fish”, traveling preferably via epic road trip, playing games and singing.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
When I first was asked to speak on this topic a couple years ago, I needed encouragement to tell my story. Not because I’m embarrassed or because it hurt but because I never want my story to invalidate someone else’s.
When I was 17 I gained 40 pounds in one month, then 100 pounds by the end of that year. I’ll skip the long story chronicling the 5 years of the medical trauma of being a fat person trying to get answers from an industry that is trained to suggest weight loss as the cure-all for all that ails you. After 5 years of what I like to call “pass the patient,” I finally received a diagnosis.
I don’t identify my diagnosis often – I don’t like when people use my reason for fatness to be used against others who maybe don’t have a medical diagnosis that “forgives” or “explains away” their fat body.
Countless people have commented on my body over the years, but one memory sticks out. This time the comment really hurt, so I told them WHY I’m fat. They were mortified and said, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.” I was feeling particularly sassy and replied, “you don’t know until you know. But it was never any of your business.” Because whether a person is fat due to a medical condition, by choice or by any reason whatsoever – they deserve respect.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
emFATic plus is a plus size secondhand boutique and event space in Superior WI. emFATic+ strives to be a safe space for emFATic femme folks to be unapologetically themselves, to take up space, & express themselves through affordable, accessible, inclusive clothing.
emFATic+ is more than just a thrift store. It’s a space for building community. There are so many places, particularly in retail, where plus-size customers are left out, or even worse, shamed for simply entering. emFATic+ is designed to provide a space where femme identifying fat folks finally have a place that caters to them and their bodies, because all bodies are good bodies.
At emFATic+ we host events to build community. We have an 8-week Body Image & Yoga Series that has proven to be incredibly healing for fat femme folks like me. We have a monthly book club where we read nonfiction books about Fat Liberation and fiction books with fat protagonists. In addition, we’ve hosted events for Fat Liberation Month, PCOS awareness month, Pride Month and more.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I always say “I live here on purpose.” I love the cold weather, I love the snow. The natural beauty of the Twin Ports takes my breathe away on the daily. I love having all of the seasons, the elevation changes, the beautiful views, but more than anything, it’s The Lake. Lake Superior is one of a kind and I’m so grateful to have her in my life every day.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://emfaticplus.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emfaticplus/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61552206770649
