Whether Jennifer Crawford is doing pullups in their barn or lifting 270 pounds in a barbell squat in their driveway, theyre constantly striving to increase their strength. This hard work enables them to throw down their opponents as a professional wrestler who performs under the moniker Moon Miss.Even though Crawford still doesnt self-describe as a fitness person, strength training and physical activity serve several functions in their life. They have always loved expressing themselves in corporeal and kinetic waysusing movement as a creative outlet. Theyve been an athlete since childhood, starting out as a kid who was into golf, and then playing varsity rugby in university.(Related: This Basketball League Is Breaking the Gender Barrier)Primarily, fitness helps them stay sober and well. For years, I used alcohol as an answer to every feeling, Crawford says, whether those feelings were joy or despair, until it became clear that drinking usually made life worseand that it was time for a big change.2019 proved a pivotal year. They were living in Toronto and working as a senior policy analyst. After years of struggling with alcohol and a CPTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder) diagnosis, Crawford got sober and enrolled in an outpatient trauma treatment program.I spent six weeks learning how to regulate my nervous system and take good care of myselfthat was a piece that was always missing for me, Crawford says. That program changed my life.Fresh out of treatment, Crawfordwho had no culinary trainingstarted filming for MasterChef Canada, a competition show for amateur home cooks. They won the contest and used the cash prize to buy a farmhouse in Nova Scotia, near where they grew up.Once settled in the Hants County region north of Halifax, they joined a local wrestling gym and developed the persona Moon Miss, a drag character they had already created for a different cooking show, a YouTube series called My Queer Kitchen. (In one episode, Crawford teaches viewers how to make only inNova Scotia Moon Mist ice cream, which is a combo of bubble gum, grape and banana flavours.)Crawford now co-produces wrestling events in Nova Scotia through their promotion company, Glory Hold Pro Wrestling, creating space and community for gender-queer youth in what is otherwise a very cis-male-dominated world, they say. Glory Hold aims to make that world just a little bigger.Though theres a lot of theatre and performance in the ring, the wrestlers are serious athletes who train hard and often get hurt. Last year, Crawford had a freak accident during a match and sustained a tibial plateau fracture. They were on crutches for eight weeks.At its weakest, my right leg had atrophied to five inches smaller than my left, says Crawford. They spent most of 2022 slowly rebuilding their leg strength with lots of low-weight, high-rep rehab, and by the end of October, Moon Miss was back.Crawford says that they have faith their body is hard-wired to heal, as long as I dont do anything stupid and stay out of my own way. Heres a breakdown of all that they engage in to feel healthy, both physically and mentally.(Related: The Unique Way This Female Fitness Instructor Uses Movement and Compassion to Support Women)
SETTING THE BAR Crawford revels in the painstaking work it takes to achieve a goallike being strong enough to do a pull-up, after training every day for months and months, until you finally get your chin over that bar. Only you know what youve been up againstits not just gravity. Theres something divine about that.
FREE SOLO After years of working out in group settings, Crawford now mostly trains on their own, in a barn theyve outfitted to meet their fitness needs. I push myself much harder when Im alone, Crawford says. But I realize that most people have the opposite experience.
BUCKLE UP During matches, Crawford gets into a specific mindset as Moon Miss. They picture Moon Miss as an alien here to visit the earthlings, on a quest to become the greatest wrestler in the galaxy. Like, Im touching downits my time to shine, baby. Lets go!
TOP DOG Daisy, a street dog rescued from Cairo who fell into Crawfords life in June 2021, arrived with a significant amount of anxiety and physical limitations (she only has three legs). While she cant join her owner for long walks or swims, she loves hopping in the car for a ride.
BIG DIPPER Last March, Crawford started a daily cold-plunge ritual at a local waterfall. Im still coming every day, even when its cooler out, and Ill keep going as long as I can, they say. But I stay in the water a lot longer in the summer.
CHOPPING BLOCK Crawford says they learned to cook because they love to eat, and their inventiveness in the kitchen is also clearly a creative outlet. Food is more than fuel: Its comfort and art and healing, connection and community. I went through a period of my life where I counted macros and it made me feel terrible. I will never do it again.
IN GOOD TIME If theres anything I have 10,000 hours of practice with, its femininity, Crawford says. They also perform in drag shows as Moon Mister, their characters masculine alter ego, because if theres anything else I have spent 10,000 hours studying, its masculinity.Next: This Ultramarathoner and Mom Is Bringing Reconciliation to the Trail-Running World
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