Illustration by Pablo Lobato
If you don’t know Lauren Chan by name, chances are you’ve seen her face. The Canadian model, editor, advocate, and founder of plus-sized clothing brand Henning, is everywhere. In 2023, she made history as the first queer rookie to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated, penning an intimate coming out essay. And earlier this year, Chan became the magazine’s first solo lesbian cover model. She is also a vocal advocate for size-inclusivity, LGBTQ+ voices, and AAPI representation.
In this instalment of the series “Joy Diaries,” Chan shares why her pet dog reminds her to slow down and enjoy life as she works to breaking barriers.
For me, joy is a dog: my eight-year-old rescue mutt, Pepper. Being outside, making new friends, walking with my wife (director Hayley Kosan), sitting and touching grass, bird watching – all of those things are guaranteed to be a part of my schedule, thanks to Pepper.
To observe her and be around her is a reminder that we are more than our work, our accomplishments, and all the things that we get caught up in this culture. She reminds me to slow down, put the screen down and have moments of connection; to relax, exercise, and eat well. She’s also led me to a lot of the environments and communities in my current life that bring me the most joy.
My wife and I have a great group of friends we met at the dog park; we walk with them pretty much every morning for about an hour, and that’s been a huge change in my life – from waking up, rushing to get ready, commuting through New York to an office while getting inundated in my inbox, to now waking up, not checking my phone, getting dressed for the park, stopping to get a coffee and meeting friends to be outside in nature for an hour with the dog. It changes my day, it changes my chemical makeup. It helps me be more present and kid-like and joyful.
Model and entrepreneur Lauren Chan is out and thriving
I don’t know anyone these days whose natural demeanour is to be relaxed and joyful. We have to work hard at it and carve out the time, then notice and reflect on when we do have glimmers of joy, in order to make sure that we keep creating space for them. Pepper forces me to carve out that time.
Recently, we went to upstate New York for a holiday weekend with the friends we made at the dog park. We were all sitting outside in the yard, someone was making hot dogs, one dog was jumping in the pool, people were reading and someone else was setting up a hammock. I felt so calm, joyful and grateful. Upstate New York, right now, is the place that brings me joy, partly because it reminds me of Canada. I really love to leave the hustle and bustle of the city and unplug.
I used to think relaxing was a waste of time. I was super oriented toward constantly overworking myself. It served me for many years and I’m very proud of all that I was able to accomplish, but in my mid-30s, I’m learning that rest and relaxation are, if not as important as hard work, perhaps more important.
Because my younger self worked so hard, it’s a blessing to be able to take my foot off the gas a little bit now and make sure that all of the projects that I take on are aligned with my North Star – which is the representation and celebration of folks who have been marginalized. In order to be creating impactful work that requires vulnerability, I need to be well; I need to be calm and slow down and have access to my joy. Joy is part of resistance.
As told to Katherine Singh