{"id":17650,"date":"2021-08-04T16:33:05","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T20:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prose.com\/?p=17650"},"modified":"2022-02-09T11:10:47","modified_gmt":"2022-02-09T16:10:47","slug":"colleen-quigley-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prose.com\/blog\/colleen-quigley-interview","title":{"rendered":"Down to the Root: Olympian Colleen Quigley on How Mental Health Touches Every Aspect of Her Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

Has hair always been top of mind for you? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hair is a big deal. For me, but also for just about anyone I’ve ever talked to\u2014both male and female. For whatever reason, it’s such an important part of our identity and through #fastbraidfriday I realized it can be such an incredible way to create community and bring people together.<\/p>

In high school and in college I was the “team braider” on my team, braiding my teammates’ hair on the bus on the way to the meet in high school and in the hotel room before the meet in college. That role was so important to me because I knew my teammates entrusted me with such an important part of their race prep. Then through my #fastbraidfriday movement as a pro, I figured out how to create a kind of “team” centered around braids that allowed me to have “teammates” from all around the world. It’s been just as amazing for me as for all the girls and women who take part in it every week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You speak a lot about the way “hair” can evoke confidence, as opposed to just being something for vanity. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Good hair makes me feel confident and energized, ready to take on the challenge in front of me. It’s just hair right? It’s so much more than that. I take the time to do my hair and makeup before workouts and races because it’s part of the preparation to do something I know will be really hard. It’s a way of hyping myself up for the challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any beauty hacks you can share?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I love to do a simple and clean makeup routine. But to do that you need to take care of your skin. I never go to bed with makeup on and use plenty of sunscreen since I spend so much time outside. As for hair, I rarely blow dry it. I usually opt to towel dry and use a leave-in conditioner and then maybe some hair oil. I often workout twice a day, but I don’t wash my hair more than once a day so it doesn’t dry out. Dry shampoo is a life saver on those days!<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cI want to tell my followers ‘things are not perfect over here!’ but also ‘I’m figuring it out and having as much fun as possible along the way!’<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>
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Why do you do what you do, professionally speaking? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is a really good question. First, I love running. It’s probably the thing I’m best at and I get a lot of joy from running, training, and competing. Beyond that, I love the moments where I get to meet fans, especially young girls, who are looking up to me and following me in my journey and see me as a role model and inspiration. I think that is probably the biggest WHY for doing what I’m doing today. I especially love it when these girls have their hair braided and are a part of my #fastbraidfriday movement (which they almost always are!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has been the biggest impact of #FastBraidFriday? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The biggest impact is the community it has created and the way it brings people together from all over the world to inspire and support one another in their individual endeavors. I’ve done a couple in-person braid bars in New York when I was in town for races (before COVID) and I’m really looking forward to doing more of those soon! I might actually have one coming up in October in Chicago…:) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Colleen Quigley (@steeple_squigs)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>