Coach Cub talks: Why Working With the Queer & Bear Community Matters

Hey friends — I want to talk about something that’s deeply meaningful to me: why I focus my coaching work on queer folks and the bear community.

When I first started coaching, I noticed something that kept coming up again and again. So many people — especially queer people and folks in bigger bodies — didn’t feel fully seen in traditional wellness spaces. The messaging often centered thin ideals, rigid definitions of “health,” and heteronormative assumptions that simply didn’t reflect our lived experiences.

For a lot of us, those spaces didn’t feel supportive — they felt judgmental, exclusionary, or unsafe.

As a gay bear myself, I understand the subtle — and sometimes not-so-subtle — messages we receive about worthiness, desirability, and belonging. Those messages can get internalized over time, shaping how we see ourselves and how comfortable we feel taking up space in the world. That lived experience matters in my work.

When clients don’t have to explain or justify who they are, something powerful happens. They can show up fully. They can relax. They can be honest. And that’s where real growth begins.

My work isn’t about teaching you how to be someone else or chasing an idea of who you “should” be. It’s about helping you feel safe being you. From that place of safety and self-acceptance, change becomes more accessible — not forced, not rushed, and not rooted in shame.

So I’ll leave you with a reflection:

What’s one part of your identity you want to celebrate more — and why?

If you feel open to it, drop your answer in the comments. Let’s start a conversation.