Rob Smith with Phluid Project - Visible and Unstoppable 2025

I'm going to go ahead and introduce the next speaker we have. Okay, so I have the pleasure to introduce Rob Smith, who is the founder of the Fluid Project, which is a gender-free fashion brand that is grounded in activism and community. The brand creates a space between the binaries that allows each of us the curiosity and freedom to truly be our authentic selves. And Rob, I borrowed all of those words, which were originally yours, but they were just great. And I loved it. And I can't wait to hear from you. So thank you for being here. Thank you, Angela. Happy Pride, everybody. My name is Rob. I use he, they pronouns. And as Angela mentioned, I'm founder of Fluid, which includes the Fluid Project, our gender-free fashion collection, which includes, gosh, from apparel, accessories, we have scents, we have gender-affirming undergarments, sex and wellness toys. It goes on and on. So Fluid, you can find at our website, the Fluid Project, and buy products directly from us or from some of our partners at Wholesale. And I'm most especially proud of our Spencer's collection, where we have created binders, stackers, tuckers, all for really affordable pricing. So check that out. And our scent collection, which mixes feminine and masculine notes to create a gender-neutral scent. And that's some of the stuff we do. I think our product is really fun. It's really, I think, timely right now. Our bestsellers are Protect Trans Kids, Protect Trans Youth, really leaning into activism and affirmation through our products. We also have Get Fluid, which is gender-expansive training. We help companies prepare for a gender-expansive, gender-expressive workforce and customer base. So we do corporate training to try to create change and impact through corporations, because sometimes politics is a lot more challenging. So we find friendly partnerships through corporations. And then finally, the Fluid Foundation, which is our nonprofit, where we have, through corporate donors, we have found a need. Lots of money for the queer community goes to the big companies, HRC, GLAAD, Trevor Project, great organizations, Lambda Legal, great, great organizations. I'm not going to say anything bad about them, but I would say a lot of corporate money doesn't make its way to grassroots organizations. So we have identified opportunities and partners, and we have gifted away, not granted, but gifted away over $1 million to grassroots organizations across the country, primarily focused on the most vulnerable in our community, which includes youth, which includes Black and Brown queer communities, which includes trans communities. And probably it's the thing I'm most proud of, what we're able to do is support from coast to coast, and especially getting into small cities like the Tulip House in New Orleans, which houses Black and Brown trans women. Yeah, we continue to support the Ruth Ellis in Detroit, or organizations like that. So that's a bit about Fluid. I started off, I created Fluid by merging my passion with my profession, my passion being retail and fashion, my profession being retail and fashion, my passion being social justice, and especially around LGBTQ issues as a queer man myself. I like to think, what can I do to take care of our community and leverage the gifts that I've been given, and the opportunities I've been given, and to especially, as a gay man, support trans women of color. I went to a great event last night with BTFA, and just really try to do what I can to support our entire community, now more than ever. I don't think a lot of gay men or women step up to support the TGNC community. And so yeah, Fluid started off as the world's first gender-free store in NoHo, two-thirds retail, one-third community space. And then the store closed, we went virtual. And yeah, our mission statement is we challenge boundaries with humanity. We say just because something is one way, does not need is a better way. And our values are openness, intention, fearlessness, and it's really about being your authentic self. So I'm honored to be a part of this group of people who are coming together. And anything else I can share, just check us out at Fluid. It's easy to spell, P-H-L-U-I-D. Fluid is the ability to navigate between two spaces easily. I reject constructs. I reject the idea of like, this is what it's to be a man, this is what it is to be a woman. They're all societal constructs. So we reject constructs, religious constructs, racial constructs, that we are each allowed to be our own human being, who we want to be, regardless of what people tell us to be. And Fluid is breaking down those walls, those barriers, and the P-H represents balance. So this idea of balance. And I myself identify, I'm part indigenous, I really identify as two-spirit, which is about your essence and your spirit, and I'm an equal amount feminine power as masculine power. And I believe each one of us has the potential to be that as well. So that is Fluid. And I'm open to questions, or I could just disappear. But I encourage all of you to check out Fluid on Instagram or TikTok, and follow us, and share any feedback you have. Yeah, Rob, maybe just one question before you leave. What do you do to take care of yourself, or to relax and not work? What's your go-to for some joy? That's such a great question, Elliot. What I do is I call it MEDS. MEDS is my acronym. So it's meditation, exercise, diet, and sleep. And when I have all of those humming, I feel really good, and I'm much more productive. But that means waking up in the morning and meditating, it means exercising in the morning, it means getting seven, eight hours of sleep and eating healthy. So that's my secret. I'll be 60 in two months. So far, so good. Yeah, I feel really good. I feel like I'm 30 years old right now. I was gonna say, looking good for 60. We all have to be in the same state as well then. Well, thanks, Rob, for hopping on with us today. I really appreciate it. Thanks, Elliot. Bye, everybody. Have a happy and healthy pride. And let's continue to lean in and take care of each other in these times more than ever. All right. Thank you so much. Peace. Bye.