Love always comes in first

Brooks: How do you move?

Shanée: Movement for me are moments of expressing joy. It’s dancing down the grocery store aisle while listening to my favorite song. It’s taking a calming walk through the park with my dog Chelsea. It’s running as fast as I can through the hills and breathing crisp air when I go on vacation upstate New York. Moments of peace and joy for me are expressed through movement.

Brooks: In what ways do you create and share stories?

Shanée: I’m a digital artist and a painter. I share my story and my love of my community through my art.

Brooks: How can stories connect communities?

Shanée: When we sit down and listen to one another, we realize that we have a lot more in common than we’d assume. Sharing our experiences with each other shows that we’re not alone and that there is community and space for us to connect with others.

Brooks: How does your community move together, or share love?

Shanée: In Brooklyn, we get down! Our community is filled with spaces to dance, sing, perform, share community, and create love.

Representation matters

Steph Grant (she/they), photographer

Location TBD | @imsteph

Brooks: How do you move?

Steph: As a photographer, I am constantly on the move with at least 50 pounds of camera gear in tow. Over the past decade, movement has taken me from sunset hikes in Yosemite and Hawaii to seaplanes in the Philippines or trekking up snowy mountains in Aspen & Jackson Hole. My career and clients keep me moving and I couldn’t be more grateful for that.

Brooks: In what ways do you create and share stories?

Steph: I’d say most people know me for being one of the first LGBTQ+ wedding photographers in the industry. In 2013, I had photographed the first lesbian Indian wedding in the U.S. which quickly became a viral love story.

A year before marriage equality, I started marketing myself as an LGBTQ+ wedding photographer and in 2015, I founded the Promote Love Movement, a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community raised in religious environments to come together and share our stories. In 2018, I launched Steph Grant Studios, an LGBTQ+ owned media agency that focuses on working closely with brands to create and showcase diverse and inclusive stories authentically and intentionally.

Brooks: How can stories connect communities?

Steph: Sharing our stories can change minds and soften hearts. I truly believe that it saves lives. I have experienced this firsthand through my work as a photographer and during my own coming out process.

Having LGBTQ+ representation in the media is life-changing. I plan to continue sharing those stories.

The messages that will always be tucked away in the cockles of my heart are from teens who live in a country where it is illegal saying that seeing images of queer couples gives them hope. Never in a million years would I think my work would travel around the world. I cherish that.

Brooks: How does your community move together, or share love?

Steph: There’s a fierce bond that connects the queer community. Our experiences, although unique to each of us, shape how we connect with others. Oftentimes, that can come with deep layers of trauma. Who we choose to surround ourselves with during that time can either make or break us. We are responsible for making moves to heal ourselves in our own time, protecting our peace along the way, and doing our part to support others in a healthy environment so that we can put more love into the world together.

Unwavering support

Noah Camp (he/him), 3D designer and illustrator

Philadelphia, PA | @noahcampdesign

Brooks: How do you move?

Noah: I walk almost every day and I follow along with silly dance video games.

Brooks: In what ways do you create and share stories?

Noah: I share stories in whatever way I can. Reality is messy and dark, so I like to juxtapose that by creating a playful, fun, and vibrant reality I wish existed. When given the opportunity to share about the dark reality, I take on the challenge.

Brooks: How can stories connect communities?

Noah: We share our stories to connect. The only way to feel less alone is to share our vulnerabilities and experiences. That’s how someone can relate to us to let us know we aren’t alone. To make that connection, someone must initiate sharing their story.

Brooks: How does your community move together, or share love?

Noah: We are always looking to support our queer community. Need help after having gender affirming surgery? We sign right up. Need a contractor? We try to hire a fellow queer person to do the job. Need a hug? We’re there.

The world runs on love

The Love Moves Levitate StealthFit 5 was created in celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. To support the ongoing work for LGBTQ+ equality and inclusion, Brooks has partnered with the Human Rights Campaign. Celebrate all love along every path in the Levitate StealthFit 5, featuring a springy ride and max energy return.