Ambassador Spotlight: Rissa Nicole
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.
Rissa Nicole is a queer disability advocate living near Atlanta, GA. Known as The Fibro Girl on social media, she is passionate about sharing her experiences as a young person growing up and living with multiple chronic illnesses. You may have seen some of her viral videos on Tiktok or Instagram. Her content centers on chronic pain, accessibility, representation, and other shared experiences of the chronically ill and disabled communities.
Briefly introduce yourself in one to two sentences.
Hi, I’m Rissa, aka The Fibro Girl on social media. I’ve been living with chronic pain since I was 14 years old, when I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.
How do you spiritually prepare yourself for each day? Do you have a mantra or meditation you do if things ever become overwhelming?
My morning routine sets the tone for the rest of my day. I start with a strong cup of black coffee, yoga first and then some writing. Sometimes lists, sometimes stream of consciousness. I just try to get it all out, everything running through my head. Unload it onto the paper. I always feel lighter afterwards.
If all else fails, I remind myself I’ve survived 100% of my bad days so far.
How do you empower yourself?
Due to childhood trauma, I’ve been on a self empowerment and self esteem journey for my entire life. I finally feel like I’m in a pretty good place now due to diagnosis, acceptance, and healing through therapy, self reflection in journaling, and affirmations about my relationship with my body.
As with any relationship, we have to actively nurture our relationship with ourselves. With our bodies. I think especially with chronic illness or disability, we tend to distance our “selves” from our bodies more than others. It’s a journey every day in loving all of me.
Where does your overall determination come from?
I’ve always been a very driven and stubborn person. I make a lot of lists and then try to break things into “baby steps” that feel more achievable when I’m overwhelmed.
What is your relationship with social media?
My relationship to social media has evolved a lot over the years. It’s both a blessing and a curse. I think there’s been times in the past where my feed was downright toxic but in the depths of my worst months for my health, social media was my lifeline - my only connection to the outside world. I’ve met some of my best friends through Instagram in the chronic illness community and have helped numerous strangers with questions about mobility aids, doctors, diagnosis, tattoos, and medications.
It’s not easy though. I still struggle with showing my face sometimes, especially if I’m not feeling well (which is almost all the time). Even after building up a kind community of like minded people in this space around me, the larger my platforms get the harder it is to share so much, be so vulnerable. It starts to feel a little different when thousands, even sometimes millions, of people might potentially see anything I create.
How has your experience with fibromyalgia influenced your decision to begin sharing your journey on social media?
I really just didn’t relate to a lot of the blogs or social media accounts I was finding for Fibromyalgia. At first, I felt surrounded by accounts that were just a total pity party and that’s not my thing. Sure I cry about it too but I also laugh and every other spectrum of emotion. There are many facets of illness and we’re human. I wanted to see it all. I decided to try to start a page with a little humor to it and not all complaining.
Why does representation matter for you?
It’s been amazing the last few years seeing some brands, like Slick Chicks, with diverse and inclusive representation. As a queer disabled woman it gives me life!! Life isn’t one size fits all. And it’s definitely not all white, thin and able bodied. It’s misleading and not representative of the population as a whole.
What do you love about Slick Chicks?
In addition to having an amazing pool of diverse models, Slick Chicks is constantly upping their game and coming out with new adaptive clothing, at a price that’s actually attainable. Often adaptive clothing is way expensive and there can be so few choices. They’re really upholding their mission as a company.
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