Nia Dennis & Corey Rae | The 2022 MAKERS Conference

Nia Dennis & Corey Rae at the 2022 MAKERS Conference.

Video Transcript

COREY RAE: Hi, everyone. A little runway to get here. How are we doing today? It's been a good conference. Everyone's happy. We need maybe a little refresh, a little zhuzh, a little uplifting? Well, I've got something in store. We have gymnastic viral sensation Nia Dennis here today. So, please welcome Nia Dennis, everyone.

Don't need these. I feel like I should take these off. Yeah, we'll just-- OK. That was sick.

NIA DENNIS: Thanks.

COREY RAE: Good job.

NIA DENNIS: Thank you.

COREY RAE: Good job. That was lit. You need a breath?

[BREATHING DEEPLY]

OK, cool.

NIA DENNIS: Thank you.

COREY RAE: OK, well, you've had so many incredible moments in your career.

NIA DENNIS: Thank you.

COREY RAE: Obviously, being a UCLA gymnast, going viral for your routines, being here at MAKERS. And you're just an overall inspiration for women everywhere. So thank you.

NIA DENNIS: Thank you.

COREY RAE: I'm curious, how do you communicate your power through gymnastics, and what is your process designing your routines?

NIA DENNIS: So, when it comes to designing my routines-- excuse me, I'm still of breath, guys. Still a little out of breath. When it comes to designing my routines, I really like to think of a theme first, and kind of a story that I want to tell with my body through movement, through gymnastics, through skill. And-- excuse me.

COREY RAE: Can we get some water?

NIA DENNIS: I'm like, I just need a minute. Yeah. So, I just like to tell a story, start with a theme. And then I start picking music selections that really correlate with that theme. And then I attack it.

COREY RAE: Love it. Here. By the way, for anyone who didn't catch her amazing performance at the Met Gala, please find it on the internet. She's also rocking Stella McCartney during that performance. It's fantastic.

NIA DENNIS: Thank you.

COREY RAE: And how, for that particular performance, did you celebrate Black culture?

NIA DENNIS: Well, I mean, it was just a huge salute to HBCU schools all around.

[CROWD CHEERS]

I went to UCLA, but I was really inspired by HBCU culture. And I have a ton of family in New Orleans, so I went to Battle of the Bands every year. I wanted to be a majorette dancer growing up. So, yeah, that's how we celebrated it.

We brought in the marching band, and I came in and I brought the culture.

COREY RAE: Yes, you did. And Stella brought the design.

NIA DENNIS: And Stella brought the design.

COREY RAE: Well, you make it look so easy and graceful. But we know that female athletes are under a lot of pressure to keep their bodies at optimal health. And our next session discusses the future of health care. And you were part of Simone Biles's post-Olympic Gold Over America. So what changes do you want to see to better address health concerns for athletes, and how are you focusing on self-care in your new business?

NIA DENNIS: Well, would just love to see a safer space in sport. I really feel like we're always bottling everything in because we're used to a lot of ridicule from authority, whether it's coaches, parents, family members, whoever it is. We feel a lot of pressure coming from them. And sometimes we don't feel comfortable to speak up, say, if we're hurting. It's really hard to do that sometimes.

We don't feel like it's a safe space. It's not a safe environment to express yourself freely. So I would really love to see just a safer environment, starting with the coaches. I really think the authority sets the tone.

In return, we would all be nicer to each other. We would be kinder to each other. I feel like we would support each other more. And I focus on mental health pretty much daily. I journal all the time. It's my saving grace, I really feel like. And yeah, that's what I focus on.

COREY RAE: It's pretty important.

NIA DENNIS: Yeah, thank you.

COREY RAE: How do you stay at optimal health? And what's important for younger gymnasts and athletes to know about all of that?

NIA DENNIS: Rest is just as important as the hard work that you put in. You need to recover well to be at your 100%, to put your best out there, right? And to the young athletes growing up, coming up, just keep working hard. I know it gets tough. But remember your why, and the reason why you're doing everything. Whether it's for somebody else, whether it's for you, just remember your why.

COREY RAE: I love that. Speaking of the future, how are you making the future? In gymnastics, personally, professionally.

NIA DENNIS: Well, in gymnastics, I like to do floor routines like what you just saw. Pushing the boundaries, stepping outside of the box, doing things you don't commonly see in the sport. And I just want to empower other people to feel the same power to do the same exact thing.

And I'm taking it steps towards dancing, and starting my professional dance career, and designing, and entertainment. Kind of all things entertainment, finding myself still after spending all my time with gymnastics. Yeah.

COREY RAE: Love it. Give a round of applause for Nia Dennis, please, everyone.

NIA DENNIS: Thanks, guys.

COREY RAE: Thank you.

[APPLAUSE]