Ambassador Spotlight: Allison Tennyson

Here at Slick Chicks we believe our ambassadors are the forefront of our success. Our ambassadors are chosen based on their impactful missions to help better society and better themselves in the process. Our ambassadors are dedicated to their communities and for that (and more), we are proud to have them as the main representatives of our brand.  

Allison Tennyson is a brand ambassador and an influential advocate for those with chronic illnesses, mental illnesses, and disabilities. Allison uses her social media platforms to educate, spread awareness, and nurture inclusion for all. Below, Allison gives us a little insight into her mindfulness practices, what she does when she gets overwhelmed, and what drives her advocacy work. 

Hello! My name is Allison, and I am from the US. I am a chronically ill and disabled advocate for people with chronic illnesses, mental illnesses, and disabilities. 

I do my best to be mindful every day- this means not ruminating about the past or obsessing about the future. This is not easy to do, so I am patient with myself. Every time my mind wanders I refocus my mind on the here and now- what do I see, what do I feel, what do I smell, what do I hear, or what do I taste. When things become overwhelming, I like to deep breathe. I breathe in through my nose as deeply as I can, then I blow out an even stream of air through pursed lips. I will mantra to myself that ‘I am worthy’ and practice self love and self care. 

I empower myself by speaking up for myself, honoring the needs of my body, and allowing myself to focus on joy. I allow myself to feel all of my feelings; I always say to let it out, then let it go. I allow myself to utilize social media as an outlet for advocating for the rights and needs of people with chronic illnesses, mental illnesses, and disabilities. By empowering others, I ultimately empower myself. 

The truth is not everyone is going to like me, and that’s ok! I don’t worry about what my critics say, because I know that ‘hurt people hurt people’- that is, my critics are putting me down because they feel inadequate in some way themselves. I feel for my critics, and I hope that they can learn to love themselves and practice healthy boundaries and self care. 

I have overcome adversity in my life, adversity that has driven me to speak up for myself and other’s experiencing the same or similar adversities to me. I am determined to create a more understanding and inclusive community. I don’t want anyone to feel as lost and alone as I felt for the majority of my life. I am determined to make a change. 

My relationship with social media is one with boundaries and understanding. I choose to focus on creating posts that educate, spread awareness, and nurture inclusion. I form genuine relationships with others, I share a mutual love, support, and empathy for everyone in my social media community, my social media family. 

My experience on Tiktok has been a positive one. I am creating a family on my Tiktok that focuses on supporting and loving one another. As a younger person, I was scared to speak up about how I felt physically- the pain and discomfort I was feeling. I allowed my doctors, my family, and my friends to gaslight me. It is so important for me to let others know that what they don’t have to suffer alone in silence. Tiktok is a great platform for me to do this on. 

I got sick in March of 2020 and my physical health went from bad to worse to unlivable. I began sharing my health journey on my Instagram to find answers for myself. In the process I developed many strong friendships and received feedback that I was helping others feel less alone. The inclusion drives me to continue posting about my health journey. 

Representation matters to me because we all have rights, wants, and needs. We are all worthy and deserving of enjoying life, but there are barriers to us doing this. Representation is important because it removes barriers for people to be able to enjoy life more fully. 

I love that Slick Chicks products are good for every body! It’s so hard to feel sexy when you are sick and in pain all the time, so I appreciate that Slick Chicks has created products with every body in mind. Slick Chicks products spread inclusion and body positivity; these values align perfectly with mine, which is incredibly important to me.

You can follow along with Allison and her empowering advocacy work on Instagram and TikTok.