Welcome And Why Accessibility Matters

Kelvin Crosby 0:06

Welcome to Investing in Accessibility, A Samaritan Partners podcast. We're not waiting for change. We're investing in it. Join us as we speak with entrpreneurs and thought leaders that are focused on creating more accessible world.

A Sighted Guide Mistake

Kelvin Crosby 0:27

So good to see you even though I can't see you. It's another beautiful day in the neighborhood, and I'm so excited that you're here at Investing in Accessibility. I'm Kelvin Crosby and I got my co-host Chris Maher. How you doing, man?

Chris Maher 0:40

I'm good, Calvin. It's uh it's good to actually be with you.

Kelvin Crosby 0:44

I know.

Chris Maher 0:45

In the same room, brother.

Kelvin Crosby 0:47

Yeah. I mean, you do smell okay, but we need to talk about something. See, yesterday, when you picked me up from the airport, you ran me right into this. I knocked this whole like alarm system off the wall.

Chris Maher 1:02

You did knock the cover off of it.

Kelvin Crosby 1:03

I mean, it was it was a scary situation. I thought I were gonna be we were gonna get arrested because uh I knocked the fire alarm off.

Chris Maher 1:11

It was I had a little flashback to CES when I walked you into something there. I'm not I'm not a I I'm an average sighted guide. At times I'm I'm pretty good, but I I I sometimes just walk away and forget you're not holding on to my backpack or my shoulder. Uh and then I hear uh hey buddy, hey buddy, um and I'm half a block down.

Kelvin Crosby 1:34

Yeah, yeah. Well, see that one man, that I caught that thing so hard. I mean, I knocked that thing in, went flying.

Chris Maher 1:43

It did. It did. We were able to snap it back on and scurry out of there pretty quickly.

Kelvin Crosby 1:47

Yeah, but nobody nobody saw that. Nobody saw that. I mean, I didn't see it, so okay.

Chris Maher 1:51

I apologize. I haven't been with you for a while, so I got I gotta get back in you know it's like a muscle. I got um I'm I'm getting my my my my guide muscle back. Yeah, I did a I did a poor job yesterday. I apologize.

Kelvin Crosby 2:04

So you know it's all good. We we laughed about it, right?

Chris Maher 2:07

Exactly.

Kelvin Crosby 2:07

That's the important part. We laughed.

Personal Health Journey And Guest Intro

Kelvin Crosby 2:09

So all right, so we got a cool guest, and I'm excited to learn more about this guest because I've been working on my health journey myself, you know. As of course, I'm 96 days of not overeating and addressing my addiction. So I'm like, ooh, all right, I'm excited about it.

Chris Maher 2:26

You are looking fabulous, my friend.

Kelvin Crosby 2:28

And thank you. I appreciate it. I haven't seen myself in years, but hey, I'm glad somebody's seeing me. But I am excited about this guest. So why don't you introduce us to this guest?

Chris Maher 2:39

You got it.

Kelvin Crosby 2:40

Let's dive into it.

From Disability Support To Yoga Founder

Chris Maher 2:41

You got it. So um, it's a great pleasure to introduce our next guest because I've known her for a couple of years now. Um, but our guest today is Lee-Anne Reuber, who is the founder and CEO of Sekond Skin Society. Lee-Anne, welcome.

Lee-Anne Reuber 2:55

Thank you so much for having me.

Chris Maher 2:56

Well, it's great to have you here. And you and I are actually meeting this week for the first time in person. Like we've I feel like it's kind of crazy to think that it's the first time we met in person because we talk pretty regularly.

Kelvin Crosby 3:07

She smells so much better than you, though.

Chris Maher 3:09

She does. She does.

Kelvin Crosby 3:10

So much better.

Chris Maher 3:11

You you noticed that, I think, before she even said hello.

Kelvin Crosby 3:14

She's Bubbly.

Chris Maher 3:15

Yeah.

Kelvin Crosby 3:16

I like that.

Chris Maher 3:16

Yes.

Kelvin Crosby 3:17

You you're just lemony. You know,

Chris Maher 3:20

I'm just lemony.

Kelvin Crosby 3:20

Y eah, it's kind of sour.

Chris Maher 3:23

I do not have a comeback. Lee-Anne smells very sweet, and she's a sweet person too. So, Lee-Anne, thank you for joining us today. It's it is wonderful to see you in person and to be spending a few days with you. And we'll get into kind of why we're doing that a little bit later. Um, but before we talk about SeKond Skin Society and how you are transforming physical fitness and wellness, um not just for the disability community, but for people in general, right? Um let's talk about the journey that you took to get there, right? So kind of the that that lived experience and that journey that brought you to founding the business.

Lee-Anne Reuber 4:05

Yes. Oh goodness. It's a long story, one that I am still kind of connecting all the dots on, because it's really a culmination of my whole life. Um, so I've shared uh at 13 years old, I was either going to start babysitting like all of my friends were, or I was gonna look to get a job. And for whatever reason, I thought I would have something to put on a piece of paper to go and apply for a job at 13. I have no idea what would be written on there other than hobbies. But it just happened, um, I think it's divine intervention. I was given an opportunity to work with one individual with a developmental disability and her family. It turned into six years of working with them and then into a 22-year career where I was working with people with physical disabilities and developmental disabilities and mental health challenges and all of the intersectionalities of those. Um, and and kind of in the managerial aspects, I was building and managing employment support programs and also building and managing Recon therapeutic programs. Um, from there, life took a left turn and a lot of things in my life were changing. And I kind of was again gifted this opportunity to open a yoga studio. I won't go into all the details of it, but it was really, again, just kind of this thing that landed in my lap, and I decided to go for it. And I opened a yoga studio. I ran it for a year, and then the pandemic came and shifted me immediately into virtual. I just didn't wait. I just was like, here's what I can do. And so I went into the virtual world and I was starting to grow a community outside of fit of yoga and and getting more into fitness and bringing people into what I was doing. And then just kept hearing from our community members that people loved. We had both standing and seated class options, and I was like, that's accessibility, and I can do a lot better. And so there it just led into lots of research, lots of hundreds of conversations, getting to understand where fitness and yoga and movement was failing people and how we could create an experience that was going to meet people where they are. And along with that, I just knew what I was seeing in the market was first of all very little. And second, it was so segregated. It was siloing communities. And I thought, what a missed opportunity where we all, many, many, many of us, first of all, all of us need movement. We do. And many of us have such a love and a passion for it, or we're working on having a love and a passion for it because we know that it it impacts us physically, mentally, sometimes emotionally, spiritually. And what a great opportunity to connect people together through that. Uh, and that's where I wanted to lean in. And so it took, you know, a year of market research, two years to figure out how to build it because I had no money and no team, and I'm not a technical founder. Um, but here we are now. We launched last year uh a really cool concept, and we're building on it with tons of feedback and now launching the certifications this year so that more people with disabilities can lead in this space and continue to create better access.

Building Second Skin Society

Chris Maher 7:22

Amazing. I love it. Thank you for sharing that first of all. Um that arc is just incredible and how your lived experience was driving, you know, the work kind of at each milestone. But it's what's also amazing is and I think this is the case with innovation. Um you know, the pandemic hits, it shuts down your in-person yoga studio, and now we can't do anything in real life together. But that drove the innovation for you that now is gonna end up becoming a global platform,

Lee-Anne Reuber 7:57

yeah,

Chris Maher 7:58

right, and serve and serve, you know, millions of people over over time.

Lee-Anne Reuber 8:02

Yeah.

Chris Maher 8:03

And so where a lot of people would have just been like, okay, well, I'm done. Yeah, right. But but you didn't stop. And I think the lived experience that you had, um, one thing that I've come to appreciate and actually love about the entrepreneurs in this space um is that either many many of the entrepreneurs either have a disability themselves or they have lived experience with family members, friends, or as a caregiver of a person with a disability. And people with disabilities and caregivers and family members of people with disabilities are usually very good at several things. They're usually great problem solvers, right? Out of necessity, they are resilient, they are adaptable and innovative, and and you exhibited all those things, right, when when the pandemic came. And so let's dig in. So congratulations. Well done, my friend. Um, so let's get into what is Sekond Skin Society.

Lee-Anne Reuber 8:59

It's an ecosystem, is really what it is now. And it's so fun to be able to say that because a year ago I wouldn't have been able to say, hey, this is this is what we're doing. It's it's multi-sided. So there is uh the app that we've built, built on the foundation of accessibility. So everything that we do is we're we're it's baked into our systems, our workflows, our processes. Um we created the app so that anyone who's using assistive technology can be able to navigate. We create multiple class versions, including full-body versions, seated options that do include lower body movement, seated options that don't, classes that are taught by instructors who are deaf and are leading in American Sign Language, a detailed description from all of our instructions, instructors, so people who are blind and not following the video file can still participate and feel you know they don't need the support, they can do it independently. Um, and bringing it all together with a multi-video streaming player that allows you to actually view multiple versions at the same time. So the example would be if I was gonna take a class with a friend who's a wheelchair user, they would take a seated option, but I would take a full body standing option if that's what I chose, and you can we can participate in the same class together. Um that for us is that's that's community.

Chris Maher 10:19

Right.

Lee-Anne Reuber 10:19

And this is of course just the starting point. There's so many other things, other features that we're excited to build in based on the feedback that we've received so far from people who have said, hey, and also this would be cool, this would be helpful, this would make the experience really truly meet me where I am right now.

Chris Maher 10:36

Yeah. I love I love it that um the ability for people of different abilities to take the same class at the same time together. And that whole what's the the old phrase is like separate but equal, but this is like inclusive and equal.

Lee-Anne Reuber 10:52

Yeah.

Chris Maher 10:52

Um does that make sense? Yeah, and and and that's what you're all about. It's all it's all about allowing people of of all abilities to either by themselves have the option to do the wellness or fitness the way that is best suited to them, or to have multiple options where they can do it with the with the community, right? Because community I know is such a big part of this. So um and in in the early days, it was very much about hey, we're gonna and I hope I don't uh offend you on this, but it's we're gonna create fitness and wellness content for people of all abilities. But something happened probably in the last six to nine months that I think has been pretty transformational for the business. And you alluded to it earlier where you said, and our instructors may be um someone who's blind or someone who is a wheelchair user. Um and I I I think that's incredibly important that we have representation like that, um, not only in the types of content, but it's also in the instructors. And so

Representation And Instructor Barriers

Chris Maher 11:56

how did that come about? Because it's it from our previous conversations, that's a part of your business that's actually starting to kind of take off.

Lee-Anne Reuber 12:04

Definitely. Um, so we always knew that we wanted to have that representation. It it's it's when you think about fitness and you think about hundreds of thousands of apps out there and millions of instructors who train and actually develop their own careers in this space, the reason that they're able to do that and have so many different people doing it is because people connect to people. We connect to people that we relate to. So, you know, I might be a mom and connect to an instructor who's a mom who's speaking about it as they're teaching classes. And so we knew the representation piece was so important. And as we really wanted to expand the content and expand the different options that we that we were offering, we knew we needed more instructors. So we were searching for more instructors specifically that had lived experience with disabilities and came to understand that the process in becoming an instructor is extremely unaccessible, inaccessible. And so um, not just, you know, from the perspective of someone with a disability going through that process and actually having, I've been told many, many times, people have been halfway through a certification, they've paid to complete it, only to be told halfway through we can't pass you because you can't do all of the movements to demonstrate your knowledge of it.

Chris Maher 13:24

Oh my gosh.

Lee-Anne Reuber 13:24

Terrible, first of all. But then also when I think about my own experience in going through half a dozen yoga certifications that I've done over the course of the last 15 years, not one has ever had any sort of aspect around accessibility or thinking about any other bodies than a non-disabled body. The the closest you get to is how do you instruct someone who's pregnant? How do you instruct someone who's injured? And so it's it's both of those things that are needed. Non-disabled teachers understanding that you have a lot of clients that you can support here and removing the barriers for that disabled leadership. And so the certification piece that is the other side of the ecosystem is is now what we're working on. And it's it's incredible.

Chris Maher 14:08

And and like the reception from the instructors themselves has been phenomenal.

Lee-Anne Reuber 14:14

Absolutely. Right.

Chris Maher 14:15

Like off the charts. They're like, we want this, we want this. And and my guess is I'm making an assumption here, but part of it is about um it's a little bit of uh, oh, that's the right thing to do. And I I want to be a better instructor, but it's also like this is gonna be good for my business. At the end of the day, this is opening them up to more customers,

Lee-Anne Reuber 14:32

100%

Chris Maher 14:33

more clients, right?

Lee-Anne Reuber 14:34

Yeah, yeah. And giving them the confidence because a lot of people have good intentions and they they don't want to exclude anyone. It's not, it's not that they're actively thinking about not having these people in classes, it's just that they've never ever had the opportunity to understand that these people could be in their classes and they don't know how to teach them.

Chris Maher 14:52

Yeah. And like when you think about a gap in the market,

Lee-Anne Reuber 14:56

yeah,

Chris Maher 14:56

like there's there's so many flavors of so many things around wellness and fitness. And no one's doing this. Like this is a mat, like, talk about a uh a gap in the market and filling a need. And it feels like on the instructor side in particular, like that product market fit is showing itself very quickly.

Lee-Anne Reuber 15:15

Very quick, very quickly. It's very

Membership Versus Certification Revenue

Lee-Anne Reuber 15:17

exciting.

Chris Maher 15:17

So, with your go to market, are is this uh direct-to-consumer model? Is it more of a B2B to C model? Like and

Lee-Anne Reuber 15:28

I'm I'm laughing.

Chris Maher 15:29

You're laughing because you and I have talked about this a lot.

Lee-Anne Reuber 15:31

But I'm also laughing because it's so many things. I mean, one of the things that we've spoken about is how many different avenues, how many different channels that there are that we could take this that we haven't even started to explore, but just understand that they're there and they exist.

Chris Maher 15:44

Right. But where where where are you seeing it? Sounds like the instructor certification, like you're already starting to like go down the path of generating revenue there.

Lee-Anne Reuber 15:55

Oh yeah, yeah,

Chris Maher 15:56

and that's starting to accelerate.

Lee-Anne Reuber 15:57

Yeah.

Chris Maher 15:58

But in terms of um selling the content platform, is it direct to consumer? Is it B2B? Like, where where where are you seeing the most traction right now? And where are and and I guess where are you focusing as a business in the short term?

Lee-Anne Reuber 16:14

So on the membership side of things, it the biggest traction right now is direct to consumer because that's where we've you know really leaned into. Um, but I would say on the certification, it's both. We have individuals who are incredibly emotionally impacted by the fact that this is now available for them. In our cohorts already, we have people who are blind, who are deaf, who are wheelchair users, who have invisible disabilities, who have cerebral palsy going through these certifications with non-disabled people at the same time, learning to lead together. And also on the certification side, we're very excited about the traction we're getting from corporations. They have corporate gyms, they have employees with disabilities. They need to know that the wellness benefits that they have for their employees work for all of their employees. Um so it's that, it's it's you know, gym chain partnerships and again opening up their awareness to the fact that this is a great business opportunity for them. Um, so certification is certainly both. And as we dig in deeper into the corporate side of things, then the membership side is also coming into that conversation. We train trainers, we have internal champions in these organizations who are super excited about what they are doing. And of course, we can help scale that with the app on the membership side.

Chris Maher 17:33

Um, you know, like I would think if you know, here in the this I say here in the States, because if you if you if you haven't noticed, Leanne says a says a few words that with a very Canadian accent, like a bout, a boat, a boat.

Kelvin Crosby 17:45

I got one. Mom, mom. I'm trying to do it. Mom. Um with a you, not I don't know.

Speaker 17:54

I don't know. Say that word.

Lee-Anne Reuber 17:56

Mum.

Chris Maher 17:57

Mum.

Kelvin Crosby 17:57

Yeah, she does it with a U. Not not an O.

Chris Maher 18:00

Yeah. And a boat, a boat.

Lee-Anne Reuber 18:03

I don't hear myself say it.

Chris Maher 18:04

No, that's that's when your Canadian accent comes out is when you say the word about when you say the word about it.

Lee-Anne Reuber 18:08

I am going to avoid saying that.

Chris Maher 18:09

No, don't.

Kelvin Crosby 18:11

No, you gotta keep your heritage. You gotta keep your heritage.

Chris Maher 18:14

I would think that like someone like an Equinox Gym or a Crunch Gym would want all of their in instructors, trainers to have this sort of certification. Um, not only to for people with disabilities, but aging, right? The aging population, more and more older people are or aging people are getting into physical fitness, right? And they want to live longer. And as we know, there's a massive overlap between disability and aging. And as we get older, um, you know, our mobility starts to get a little compromised, et cetera. And you got to make some pains and some chronic illness. Um, but yeah, I'm not surprised that on the certification side that that that is starting to get a lot of traction really quickly.

Lee-Anne Reuber 18:59

Neither am I. Now that, you know, when you this is often the way that I think it goes in business. You start in a direction and then you start to recognize feedback that you're getting or data that you're getting. And the more that you lean into that, the more that you open up more opportunities. And for us, it's very much the certification is the catalyst to everything else that we're doing in the business as a whole.

Chris Maher 19:19

Yeah.

Lee-Anne Reuber 19:20

It's very exciting.

Hospitality And Hotel Wellness Use Case

Chris Maher 19:21

And so um the reason we're together is we're at an event this week at the Accessibility Lab at the Schoolhouse Hotel in West Virginia. And we're doing a little innovation showcase. Um and this is geared towards uh really innovations for accessibility innovations for hospitality travel. Um but you and I talked about this of the application for this in hospitality, specifically like hotels. Yeah. Um, and so you're presenting at at this event. And so talk a little bit specifically to that use case.

Lee-Anne Reuber 19:57

Yeah.

Chris Maher 19:57

And the portability, I guess, as well of your platform.

Lee-Anne Reuber 20:01

Yeah. Um, well, one of the things I'm gonna speak about is just that wellness in hospitality is not a nice to have anymore. It's a must-have. When I am booking a hotel, especially if I'm gonna be there for multiple days in a row, I want to know that there's a gym or there's a pool or there's something that I can do to be able to be keep my routine because routine is such a big part of it. Um, and so one of the things that I'm talking about is the fact that if a gym has a hotel, I've never yet seen a hotel gym that's accessible or has accessible equipment or has support for people with disabilities going in. I've also never seen um someone offer in-room service that can support that need. And that is such an incredible missed opportunity. So, for our app to be integrated as part of in-room service so people can take classes from the comfort of their room away from other people, that's my preference. I have my own home gym and I have my own equipment because I don't prefer to go to a space where there are other people watching me exercise.

Kelvin Crosby 21:11

I'm I'm I'm completely with that. Like I got too much flubber. It just goes up and down, up and down, up and down. I don't want nobody seeing that. I'm running I'm blind. I don't want to make other people blind.

Chris Maher 21:21

Yeah, it can be a very self-conscious experience being in the hotel fitness room. Yeah, and I agree with you. I've never and I'm I'm older than both of you, as Kelvin likes to remind me.

Kelvin Crosby 21:34

Drastically older.

Chris Maher 21:37

Drastically older, thank you.

Kelvin Crosby 21:38

you can be my daddy.

Chris Maher 21:39

No, stop it. Um I I'm I'm your I'm I'm your uh

Lee-Anne Reuber 21:44

Your cool uncle.

Chris Maher 21:44

thank you, Leanne. Exactly.

Kelvin Crosby 21:47

Don't support him on that. Don't give him that.

Chris Maher 21:48

So by the way, um a cousin of mine, his kids refer to me as Funcle, which is fun uncle.

Lee-Anne Reuber 21:57

Yeah, love it.

Chris Maher 21:58

So you can call me Funkel. Okay. Is that okay?

Kelvin Crosby 22:01

Let let's do Faddy. Faddy. Faddy.

Chris Maher 22:04

Oh, for Fun Dad?

Kelvin Crosby 22:07

Yeah.

Chris Maher 22:10

So I agree with you. I I've never experienced an accessible fitness room. It's it's the couple of treadmills, the couple of bikes, the universal machine, maybe a handful of free weights and like a yoga, a yoga mat,

Lee-Anne Reuber 22:22

right.

Chris Maher 22:22

Um and um so I love the optionality that you provide. Is I'm sorry, I I um I love the optionality that you provide that someone can access your platform through their handheld device, their phone, through an iPad, through the TV feed, right? In a in a hotel situation, and do that in the comfort of their room based on whatever their abilities are and whatever accommodations they need. Um I love that.

Lee-Anne Reuber 22:51

Same.

Chris Maher 22:51

I love that.

Lee-Anne Reuber 22:52

Yeah, and I think it's it's you know, when you think about hospitality, this is the thing that I'm really focused on touching on tomorrow. It's about making every guest feel thought of and valued. So you want every piece of the experience, every part of the experience that they're having in your facility or as part of your programming, depending on you know what we're speaking to, that it meets every guest. And right now, wellness in hospitality does not do that.

Chris Maher 23:19

100%. And that's like people who are in the business of hospitality, your focus is creating the best possible experience for the most customers as possible. And you're allowing them to do that.

Lee-Anne Reuber 23:32

Yeah, yeah. And in a quite a very easy, seamless way.

Chris Maher 23:36

Super simple.

Lee-Anne Reuber 23:37

Yeah, yeah. You know, that's I said this in our conversation earlier today. It's it's so simple, this whole concept, and it's it's really, I mean, it is complex in the way.

Chris Maher 23:48

Well the delivery of it is simple. It's simple, right? A ton of complicated work has gotten into the back end of it.

Lee-Anne Reuber 23:54

Yeah. But uh, you know, it it's it's wild that it hasn't been thought of or existed in this way before, and I'm just very proud and excited that it's me that is and and a lot of people supporting me to bring it to life.

Chris Maher 24:08

That's awesome. Well, congratulations, my friend. Um so for our listeners, if they want to learn more about Lee-Anne and Sekond Skin, where do they go?

Lee-Anne Reuber 24:19

Yeah, go to our website. It's www.sekondskinsociety.com, and second is spelled S-E-K-O-N-D.

Chris Maher 24:27

Awesome. Thank you, my friend. Great to see you.

Lee-Anne Reuber 24:29

Thank you.

Kelvin Crosby 24:29

Well, let's go ahead and check out her presentation.

Fitness That Travels With You

Lee-Anne Reuber 24:33

Well, hello everybody. My name is Lee-Anne. I am the founder and CEO of Sekond Skin Society. For anyone in the room that does value a visual description, I am an early middle-aged white woman. I have dark brown hair worn just straight past my shoulders. I'm wearing navy pants, a cream top, and black framed glasses. And I am going to be giving a visual description of all of my slides and my demo video as well. I want to make sure every single person in this room gets to experience the presentation. That's what great hospitality does, right? It makes sure that every traveler, every guest, regardless of who they are, regardless of where they've come from, and regardless of what their needs are, they get to feel thought of and valued. So on the screen is a dark navy slide with our logo in the corner and an image of a young man holding a plank position in a living area. He has a below-the-elbow amputation. And the title reads, Fitness That Travels With You. And that is what I'm excited to share with you today. So the thing is, wellness has left a lot of people behind, a lot of travelers behind. Most accessible fitness options actually segregate people instead of including. People with disabilities and older adults are often separated from everyone else in fitness solutions. Home gyms, apps, and workout videos are built for one type of body. And so the result is millions of travelers just simply opt out. So on the screen is a text-only slide on Navy, and it's just highlighting this gap. Adaptive options that exclude standard options built for one body, and the result that millions of people just opt out. At Sekond Skin, we're building something completely different. So on the screen, there's an image of two women practicing a bird dog exercise in a studio space. And the title reads Where Fitness Fits You. That's what Sekond Skin is all about. Building a fitness community that meets you where you are. Sekond Skin is creating a community where people with and without disabilities move together, they train together, and they lead together. On the screen, the text reads: Sekond Skin Society is a fitness platform for everybody, yoga, cardio, strength, and meditation on demand in multiple formats. Our philosophy is shared on the screen in text over top of an image of someone lifting weights. And it reads, When you design fitness for every body, everyone gets better fitness. Many of us in this room know that this is called the curb cut effect. If you aren't sure of what that means, the curb cuts were built for wheelchair users and ended up benefiting so many of us, parents with strollers, delivery workers, cyclists, and many, many more. And that is what we are doing in the fitness industry. At Sekond Skin, we believe the best design product and the most accessible one are the exact same thing. And we are proving this in wellness. On the screen is a text-only slide with the title that says Built Different, Built for Everyone, and it highlights the four main features of our app. So we offer multiple class options: standing or full-body options, seated classes that do include lower body movement, seated classes that don't include lower body movement. Our video player allows you to stream multiple versions simultaneously, so people with different needs can take the same classes together. We have classes taught with American Sign Language in addition to captions. And we also include a level of detail in our instruction so that anyone who's not able to follow the video file or simply chooses not to can still participate. We also have customizable audio settings, customizable captions and text size, color contrast, and dark and light mode.

App Demo Multi Stream Accessibility

Lee-Anne Reuber 28:39

On the screen is showing a 90-second demo video. So here you can see a dark and light mode of the app and the ability to adjust caption text size and color contrast. And then it moves into the audio settings. So you can actually turn the instructor volume up and turn the background music down, giving people who are hard of hearing the best user experience. We move on to turn on a second screen. So this is how you can stream multiple class versions simultaneously. And here we're going to see a standing version and a seated version run side by side. In our community, people with and without disabilities co-create these multiple class options. Then we move into standing and seated classes. Classes taught with American Sign Language. This top video is showing a standing or full body class version. The middle video is showing the exact same class in a version that is seated that does not include lower body movement. And in the lower video, we're seeing again the exact same class, but taught with American Sign Language. I also want to note that we have created a certification process to empower more people with disabilities to become fitness instructors and yoga teachers to lead in this space. And of course, the video is sped up, but we show all three stacked here so you can understand what the experience is like when you have multiple people with different needs exercising in the same classes. So

Accessible Wellness In Every Hotel Room

Lee-Anne Reuber 30:12

where does hospitality come in? On the screen, there is an image of two people practicing a yoga position in a studio. And the title reads, Wellness has become central to the stay. Travelers are now choosing to stay at places where wellness is present. I don't book a hotel unless there is a gym or something for me to do. Charlie, I saw you at the gym this morning. It is something that, yeah. It is something that has become so important to so many people. And it's it's moved from a differentiator to an expectation. People aren't just asking if there is a gym, they're asking, how does wellness show up through my stay? And in order for wellness to show up for everybody's stay, wellness needs to be accessible in the room and in the gym, and it needs to be built for every single body. Here's how we can do it. We can offer it through native TV integration, just like you see the Netflix app or the Prime app on your TV screen, or something as simple as a QR code that, of course, the schoolhouse has for other options, where you can scan and then cast the app to your TV, which I did yesterday in my room and had a lovely yoga session. Or you can simply have it available for people to use in rooms and at the hotel gym. On the screen is a text-only slide, really just sharing about all of those different options with the title SSS on any screen in the hotel. Now the heart of it. You thought of me. I want to share a brief story about a recent hotel stay that I had that was completely was completely different than anything else I had every experienced. My husband and I were staying at a hotel that we had never been to before. I was arranging all of our travel arrangements with the concierge in advance so we didn't have to do anything when we got there. They asked about a reservation and we booked one at the hotel restaurant and asked about dietary options. And I shared that I have celiac disease. So my meal must be gluten free. I also opt for dairy free as often as I can.

Feeling Seen Through Small Details

Lee-Anne Reuber 32:24

So all good. They noted this for the restaurant reservation. But when we showed up, I see our names on the TV, a lovely welcome message. There is a handwritten note, again with our names, and really just telling us that whatever we needed, we were going to be taken care of. But then the experience that I didn't expect. This hotel makes handmade chocolate on site. Every guest gets a little piece of chocolate as a token of appreciation and a memorable moment. And I have seen this at other hotels where they leave a little treat and have never once been able to have that treat because of my dietary needs. Well, at this stay, they handmade me a dark chocolate fruit and nut bar labeled gluten-free and dairy-free in absolutely beautiful packaging. I was delighted, but also really emotional. I was thought of. I was valued so much as a guest that they made something specifically for me that I could have. They did not want me to miss out on any aspect of the experience of their hotel simply becuase my needs were different. This is what makes people come back, leave glowing reviews, and make recommendations. It is not about beautiful marble floors or chandeliers when you enter a hotel lobby. It is your name on the note, the dietary consideration. It says, We saw you. On the screen is a text-only slide, and it's just sharing these words and sentiments as I've shared. But it goes on to say, these moments say we saw you, and you belong here. And for too many travelers, wellness has never said that. Now it can. On the screen is a text-only slide, and it's just showing four different pieces that guests can experience as a result of having our app as part of their in-room service. So no equipment or gym needed. Every class fits the hotel room floor. A class for every body, seated, standing, taught with American Sign Language, including detailed descriptions. It fits around your travel, a morning sweat session or a nice stretch after a long day. And last and most importantly, for me, togetherness. Two people, one room, multiple options. No one misses out. This is already so real. On the screen, there is an image of a woman in a wheelchair. She's stretching in front of a window. And beside her, there are three different quotes from members who have left us five-star reviews. And one of them says, Sekond Skin Society has given me back choice, independence, and control over when I exercise. This is from one of our blind members. That's what we can hand your guest. And finally, on the last slide is a collage of different people exercising, both people with and without disabilities and smiling and laughing together with big bold words. We thought of you. That is what great hospitality has always said. And that's what Second Skin can say too.

Q And A YMCA And Competition

Kristy Durso 35:52

At this time, we'll open up the floor for questions. Yeah, let's start with that.

Audience Question 1 36:04

Hi, I'm curious if you also have this available for something like a YMCA model. How would that work?

Lee-Anne Reuber 36:12

Absolutely. So we actually have built kind of a dual-side ecosystem. So the app that I've been speaking about is on the membership side. We sell that both direct to consumer, and we're also working on different partnerships, specifically in the corporate space. But the other piece that I've mentioned is the certification model. And so right now we're actually in conversations with the YMCA. Actually, I'm from Canada, so we're speaking to some people in Canada at the Y's there to have their trainers take our certification and then to be able to look at expanding with the app that way as well. So it's kind of a dual-sided model and how we've put it together. Different gym chains can certainly, you know, be able to use what we're doing in their facilities so that people with disabilities coming in know what to do when they get there, as well as having their trainers take our certification and just have much more confidence in being able to support people with disabilities.

Audience Question 1 37:08

Great. Thank you so much.

Kristy Durso 37:10

Fantastic question. Charlie.

Audience Question 2 37:15

Unless I missed it, so I apologize. And yes, please tell everyone what time we were in the gym this morning, 5:30. Um what's the origin story? Why? Why did you go into this and do it? And then um from the standpoint of where the future is, same sort of question that I had before for one of the other companies. Like, what's the competitive landscape? Do you feel there is a competitive landscape, or do you have your own niche or what's going on there?

Lee-Anne Reuber 37:45

Great questions. I'll try to keep it short. This the story is long. Actually, um, we did a little podcast recording with uh Kelvin and Chris. So I'll leave all of the details out so that you catch that. But I started working in disability inclusion when I was 13 years old. It was truly a gift that I was given an opportunity, unlike anything else I've ever heard of. And it turned into a 22-year career where I was supporting people with disabilities, physical disabilities, developmental disabilities, mental health challenges, and all of those intersectionalities in both employment and rec and therapeutic capacities. My life went through some transitions. Again, I was kind of gifted with this opportunity to open a yoga studio and I decided to go for it, ran it for a year. The pandemic pushed me into the virtual space. And eventually I just kept hearing from community members that they loved that we had both seated and standing class options. And I knew that was accessibility and I could do so much better. So it just went into, you know, hundreds of conversations, surveys, getting to really understand where this industry is failing people, and then looking at what existed and what didn't. And everything that I have seen where people are looking at creating adaptive options is very segregated. It's very much, okay, here's an option for you, but it's over here. It's not taking into consideration family members. We talk about travel and how people are together. And, you know, that's you're not just talking about the person with a disability, you're talking about their entire community. That's where I felt like it was such a missed opportunity. This is a space where we can connect with each other on movement. And not only that, but it's also creating an opportunity for people to change assumptions that they have of disabilities because of our leadership, our disabled leaders who are teaching and instructing in these classes. Along the way, I also have started to lose my hearing. It's hereditary in my family. So some of the audio adjustment settings are very deeply personal for me. And I've got frequently changing needs in my body. So the ability to take a standing class option one day and seated the next day is again very personal for me. And so that's where it all came. And how I see us in terms of competitors, again, right now, what I see in this space is very siloed and segregated, specifically for communities, nothing that's that I would consider to be truly inclusive. I think what's so unique about what we've created is this dual-sided model that actually creates a flywheel effect. Most of the time, when people want to become a fitness trainer or a yoga teacher, it's because they've had their own personal journey in wellness. And so what we've done with the certification is we've opened it up for people who are excited about teaching and leading in this space. As they become certified, they open up better access, different access from their own lived experience with disability. It creates a bigger community on the membership side, which then of course leads people back into hey, I just had this like four-year wellness journey. Now I want to lead to. And it continues to go on and on and on. So certainly there isn't anything out there like what we are doing. And I've I really believe in all of the ways that multiple bodies can create better access, it will change the industry just like the Curb Cut effect has done.

Kristy Durso 41:09

Thank you so much, Leanne. Just amazing story, amazing advocacy. We appreciate

Where To Learn More And Closing

Kristy Durso 41:15

it.

Kelvin Crosby 41:15

That wraps up Investing in Accessibility, as I always say, go live beyond your challenges and I'll see you next time. Thank you for listening to Investing in Accessibility, a Samaritan Partners podcast, where we invest in change for accessibility, not wait for change. If you want to follow us, you can find us on YouTube or LinkedIn at @Samaritan Partners. If you would like to invest in Samaritan Partners, email Chris at chris@SamaritanPartners.com. If you'd like to learn more about us, go to www.samaritanpartners.com. You can take the first step in investing in change by giving us five stars and sharing this podcast with everybody that you know so we can spread the word so that we can give access to all by Investing in Accessibility.