Ep. 14: Be the solution with 6'4" Tall Women Advocate, Diversity Activist and Founder of the @TheTallSociety Bree Wijnaar
Meet Bree Wijnaar, a 6’4” career woman with an awesome sidekick project that’s growing and growing. She is the creator of The Tall Society, a world-wide community of tall ladies who connect around her platforms and several meetings a year in major cities.
In the hospitality industry by trade, Bree is a master connector and has created the most robust Tall community with over 33K followers on Instagram and 18K of her Facebook group. As she puts it so simply, “the Tall Society is a place where we can feel safe and comfortable, where we can connect and empower each other as tall women.” Music to my ears.
What an absolute joy to have met with her in person in NYC while I was visiting last Fall. It is always an added bonus for me personally to sit down for the podcast chats and stand tall for our post podcast pictures.
6’2” ML and 6’4” Bree post interview at the Wing Dumbo
Our post episode chat was just as interesting. I wish I had included some of her anecdotes in the audio.
Bree turned down the opportunity to be on TLC’s My Giant Life (they wanted her to exaggerate her height among other things!) and how she fell in love with a man who never mentioned her height until she felt compelled to.
The Tall Society is your go-to place if you want to feel connected to other tall women and tap into the amazing resources they provide for Tall living.
Her second side hustle The Tall Exchange is the only market place to buy and sell gently used Tall clothing. I’m thinking of selling these Frame Jeans I’m wearing there by the way, I just can’t be bothered to fit in them anymore :-)
In this Episode, here's what you'll learn:
How to create and grow a niched community organically.
How to become the change that you want to see in the world.
Bree’s tools to use her height as an asset in business.
How inclusive sizing in Fashion is still behind for the tall community.
Show Notes:
Bree’s go-to brands:
Denim: Long Tall Sally, Alloy Apparel, Lane Bryant
Bathing Suits: Swimsuits for All
Workout Gear: Old Navy Tall
Do yourself a favor and listen to this episode for many aha moments.
Instagram:
We learn from the best, and Aussie Entrepreneur and 6’3” Mom Alexis Fenton surely has a lot to teach us. Learn from her experience as a marketing maverick how to put your attributes forward in all situations. First, you need to own yourself, your body and be authentic. Her confidence is unforgettable and it is insightful to know where she all got it from. If you’re looking at bringing your life and/or your business to the next level, this episode is for you.
Walking into the Intensati class of Patricia Moreno 6 years ago was the Universe telling me “take a look at this”.
I had brought my life to a breaking point with fear and shame being the driving forces. Feeling victimized, enraged, feeling at a loss ready to throw everything away, my marriage, my family life, my life in New York.
Experiencing the overflow of positivity yet empathy in Patricia’s class was opening a crack the door to spirituality in my life. I knew nothing about yoga, about affirmations, about visualizations, about talking to and seeing myself.
There is beauty in differences. Height, color of skin, being out of the norm are more often than not a gift from nature. On this week’s episode, we talk about a difference that is truly remarkable, Albinism.
The ratio of people with albinism (both sexes) in the US is 1 in 17-20,000. It appears that the percentage of people in the US taller than 6ft is 15.5%, with 1% of that being women. Meaning, we know we stand out.
This week’s guest on the podcast has a strong connection to Albinism. In this episode, Award winner Photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair describes how she and her husband got to adopt two children (all at once!) with Albinism after she had done a compelling project in Tanzania for the National Geographic. This episode teaches us how choosing a life of purpose can truly change the world. Her work in the New York Times Magazine, Natural Geographic, The Time, NPR and more has changed cultures and the lives of so many, especially young girls through her non-profit Too Young To Wed.
Alicia is an open-book of authenticity and care. Her story will inspire you and encourage you to love yourself even more, with your shortcomings and all. What a treat to have her on the T-Factor Podcast. This unapologetic beauty shares how she’s come to terms with her body, and then some. She’s been on loud-speaker ever since she’s found her voice and started sharing her journey of self-love.
As Tall ladies, we know the feeling when something fits for the first time or the disappointment when we can't find anything at all. The inspirational Market Space Collagerie is talking straight to the emotions of shopping where you feel right at home and want to hang. The curation is new and right on the money, filling a gap in the industry where you can shop from High street to High End. This episode is for the entrepreneur in you.
Meet the person I want to be when I grow up, Zanna Van Dijk:-)
This is a 6’2” goddess with a deep understanding of who she is and a laser sharp focus on what she has to bring to this world. At 27 years old, this Blogger extraordinaire has Tons to offer us all. Zanna’s Ethos is clear and fought for. She walks the walk in everything that she does, bringing meaning to her life like no other.
This is an emotional episode for ML. Hearing Amy Rosenthal from Amalli Talli talk about the debilitating effect her own perception of her difference had on her, it felt like Amy was telling ML's story.
Meet ex-volleyball players, 6'4" Amy Rosenthal and 5'10" Amy Black, Founders of Amalli Talli, a Tall Fashion brand dedicated to women with shopping difficulties. Tired of living in a world that didn't take their height into serious and kind consideration, the sisters show vulnerability and power to help themselves and their community change their narrative. As they put it "when style + fit come together, it is truly life changing." Their willingness to share their experience is what attracts so many tall gals, and ML!, into their world.
As the T-Factor is gearing up to create the first online Tall Fashion blog featuring High and Low fashion, it is quite fitting to have fashion designer Natalie Matthews, Founder of Melbourne based Height of Fashion, talk to us about clothes, advocacy and pride. Find out how necessity is the mother of all inventions in this Tall Tale of solving a big problem: empower tall women with comfortable, feminine and fitting clothes to be the best versions of themselves. Sounds familiar? That's ALL we talk about here at the T-Factor and Natalie has the perfect words to make us all feel beautiful, strong and love the body we're in.
Co-Founder of the Handel Group, Life Coach, Author with a knack for unforgiving Truths, Lauren Zander will pull the carpet right from underneath your feet. The result?
I can safely say there is a before and after meeting Daniel "Jomama" Jones.
To start, how can you fall for both a man and a woman who are the same person? Because that's what happened watching her show and meeting him for our interview. It cannot have been easy for a queer, mixed race boy to grow up in a small town in Massachusetts. Is that why he created his alter-ego Jomama to feel stronger and express his feminine side safely?
Short and sweet. This episode is a reflection on what's been on the podcast and what's to come. ML shares her joy of becoming the communicator and the connector she's always wanted to be.
This episode is filled with bullet punches, not points!, on living your life authentically and showing up fearless. Lauren is an entrepreneur, angel investor, author, TV host, ex-model, you-name-it-she's-done-it, single mother of two, voice of reason who knows what she's talking about. She Talks the Talk because she definitely walks the walk. I've known Lauren for many years and have always been in awe of her presence. You'll feel inspired and ready to take much more on your plate after listening to her life journey.
This episode is very special as we tackle a 'new' difference here on the T-Factor, and it is Albinism. Diandra is the biggest female model today who has this condition and she was gracious enough to go deep in teaching us all about Albinism and how she pulled through her years of bullying and rejection.
At the T-Factor, we’re all about sharing tools to love our bodies. Find out how the co-founder of Bwom, a membership app serving as a digital coach for women’s health, is changing self-care for women. This 6ft Spanish powerhouse talks about understanding our feminine bodies not only for our health but our confidence.
