Ethel's Club
Conventional wisdom says real Gs move in silence, but that wasn’t the route taken by Naj Austin, founder and CEO of Ethel’s Club. When she started piecing together her idea for the social and wellness club designed for and by people of color, she unapologetically shouted what she was working on from the rooftops.
“Before the company was real to me, before I even knew what it was, I was tweeting about it,” says Naj, 29, who initially conceived of Ethel’s Club in 2018 as a place where folks could connect with therapists of color. An early website and Instagram account vaguely described “a space for people of color to thrive” and invited suggestions. Putting herself out there paid off.
“When you take people along for the journey, they feel like they’re already a part of it,” Naj says. “A lot of what you see here was built for our members, based on what they told us they wanted.
Organic word of mouth also brought in media coverage and investors like Roxane Gay, allowing Ethel’s Club to open last November in East Williamsburg. The airy yet cozy social club offers wellness practices including meditation, Reiki and mental health consultations, all led by practitioners of color; breakout tables, lounge areas and quiet rooms for working and hanging out; a library carrying books and zines by writers of color; stadium seating for intimate performances, panel discussions and other cultural programming; a podcast studio; a boutique selling goods by POC-owned brands (also available online); a cafe with snacks made by POC food entrepreneurs; a rotating art gallery and more.
“Everything we do is intentionally designed with: Is this going to make a person of color happy? Is it going to make them feel supported; is it going to make them feel seen?” says Naj. “We deserve to have spaces to unburden and celebrate ourselves.”
“Everything we do is intentionally designed with: Is this going to make a person of color happy? Is it going to make them feel supported; is it going to make them feel seen?”
With nearly 300 members and growing, and a waitlist upwards of 4,000, Ethel’s Club is addressing a clear longing. “People want to spend time together; they want to have experiences,” says Naj. “They don’t want to live online as much as we thought they did, and they’re struggling to find out where they belong.”
She turned to Shannon Maldonado, a Black Philly-based interior designer, to help visualize this kind of gathering space with the identities and experiences of people of color expressly in mind. Accordingly, Ethel’s Club is brimming with unique accents, warm patterns and cool discoveries that represent a broad intersection of POC makers and icons, from the books on diverse artists and photographers scattered throughout, to the phone booths wrapped in black-and-white wallpaper, custom-made by tearing apart ‘60s ESSENCE magazines.
“When we first opened, a member walked in and heavily sighed,” Naj says of the response. “He was like, ‘I already feel like I belong, like nobody’s going to question why I’m here.’ It’s hard for people of color, especially Black people, to walk into certain spaces and feel that way. That’s why this is important.”
Just as thoughtful as Ethel’s Club’s intentional and affirming design aesthetic is its roster of daily programming curated by head of brand experiences Vanessa Newman. Past events have included film screenings, a zine-making workshop, comedy night featuring Jaboukie Young-White, a poetry showcase with Mahogany L. Browne and Melissa Lozada-Oliva, podcasting classes, and talks on everything from investing to creative branding to stick-and-poke tatts for brown skin. (Needless to say, Black History Month is about to be lit.)
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with two tiers of membership — full access to the clubhouse and events for $195 per month, or access to five events per month for $65. “We’re mindful about bringing in people who have at some point in their life, whether personally or professionally, uplifted a community of color in some manner,” says Naj. “Or they’re looking to do so and they don't have the tools. That way we can give them something, and they can add to the fabric of what we're building as well.”
315 Meserole Street, ethelsclub.com
