Conversations With Series: FTM Journey with Jadis Montijo from Motivo Scar Care
🌈 Welcome to the first episode of "Conversations With Series" on Closeted History! 🏳️🌈
Need scar tape? Use our code HISTORY10 for a 10% discount on Motivo Scar Care products or use the link
📕 TABLE OF CONTENTS 📕
00:00:00: Introduction and Welcome
00:00:07: About the Host and Podcast
00:00:25: Guest Intro: Jad, CEO of Motivo Scar Care
00:01:33: Jad's Transition Journey and Entrepreneurship Background
00:02:30: Overview of Motivo and Its Mission
00:03:04: LGBTQ+ Identity and Influence on Jad's Journey with Motivo
00:05:15: Motivo's Product Impact and Innovation in Scar Care Market
00:06:53: Community and Inclusion in Motivo's Brand Mission
00:08:43: Motivo's Target Audience and Accessible Scar Care for All
00:10:20: Discussing the Impact of Scars on Mental Health
00:14:27: Challenges Faced in Promoting LGBTQ+ Inclusivity in the Skincare Industry
00:18:56: Advice for LGBTQ+ Entrepreneurs
00:20:03: Maintaining Mental Health as an Entrepreneur
00:21:49: Closing Remarks and Social Media Info
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/ / About Us 🌈
Hi, welcome to Closeted History! Your number #1 spot to learn the Queer and Trans history you never knew! To learn more, check out our website ➡️ [www.closetedhistory.com] Wanna work with us? Check out our media kit ➡️ https://beacons.ai/closetedhistory/mediakit
My name is Destiny (she/they) and I am the creator behind the podcast. Educator, creative, and fellow LG(B)T(Q)+ community member. Nice to meet you!
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Full Transcript
Show Introduction:
Welcome, welcome to Closeted history, the podcast where we out the queer and trans history you never knew. My name is Destiny. I use she, they pronouns, and our quest for knowledge begins now.
A few things before we start the episode: If you enjoy these episodes, please give us a review on your favorite podcast platform. Or if you're watching on YouTube, please, like, comment and subscribe. All that stuff really helps out the channel. And if you do have the means, we have a Patreon page where we post bonus and behind the scenes content, episode outlines, and would love to have you join our little corner of the Internet. And lastly, this episode is a new format that we're bringing onto the show.
I am so super excited because this was our very first interview guest. So with that being said, I hope that you enjoy the show.
Interview Begins:
- [Destiny]: I am joined by a very special guest, the very first guest I am so excited to share with you. So why don't you go ahead and introduce yourself?
- [Jadis]: I am Jadis. I'm the founder and CEO of Motivo Scar Care, and my pronouns are he/him.
- [Destiny]: Thank you so much for joining me. So, as I mentioned, you are the very first guest of Closeted History. Thanks so much for reaching out. I'm really excited to be able to allow you to share your story and tell us about your business, and kind of how your story is wrapped up in that. So, do you want the terrible question of tell us about yourself.
- [Jadis]: About me. I transitioned from female to male about five, six years ago. I went through the process of hormone replacement therapy, top surgery, and my overall life. I'm a business person. I guess people call that an entrepreneur.
My business background started in cannabis back in 2013, but as of 2020, when starting Motivo, I still do stuff in cannabis, but my main focus is the scar care company.
- [Destiny]: Okay, well, and speaking of, do you want to kind of give us an overview of Motivo and its mission and kind of what you all do over there?
- [Jadis]: Yeah, for sure. So Motivo is a performance proof, affordable, and effective scar treatment that myself and Dr. Jonathan Keith created through my personal experience with scar care. And our overall mission is to not only help people heal and diminish the appearance of their scars, but to really educate people on scarring. Some of those scars come from some traumas, so we really try to create an emphasis around mental health and the importance of all that stuff and healing internally as well as externally.
- [Destiny]: So how has your LGBTQ+ identity and your experiences, how has that influenced your journey in both founding and leading Motivo?
- [Jadis]: So my experience, I resonate with the T and the LGBTQ. So, through my experience with my transition and the surgical procedures that come along with that, I got a top surgery.
I had a pretty negative overall experience with the scar care products that existed on the market. I went through multiple brands. I'd wake up, they'd be in my bed.
I was at a bar one time, and someone's like, "What is on your shoe?" and my scar tape fell off. It fell from under my shirt just from literally standing there sweating. And I don't know if it's just me or testosterone, but I sweat staring at a wall. So after that, I pretty much neglected to wear a scar treatment in general, which led to my scar stretching becoming pretty- just sensitive and irritated in that spot from the stretching. I built up some scar tissue and just the overall appearance wasn't looking as good as we wanted it to. We, as in Dr. Keith and I. So, we wanted to do a scar revision surgery.
So, basically, from my not wearing scar treatment resulted in me having to go under for another procedure, and the follow up care for that was: "Wear scar treatment". [LAUGHS]
And I'm like, this does not work. You know what I mean? It's not working for me. And he understood, and it was a problem that he saw with a lot of his patients.
So he's just kind of like, do what you can do. And I was like, "Well, why can't we do something better?" And was on board for trying to figure that out.
- [Destiny]: And now he's part of the business, right? He's a partner.
- [Jadis]: Yes. So he is a partner in the company. Him and I formulated the products together. I do day to day operations, and he continues to be an excellent surgeon and just overall resource and pillar of support for the trans community. He's one of the leading gender affirming surgeons in the United States.
- [Destiny]: And so how has Motivo scar care addressed the need for product improvement within the scar care market? Because you were talking about how you would sweat and it would come off. How did you kind of approach that within your company?
- [Jadis]: So what we did was we have a tape that is water resistant. It'll stay on your skin for up to three to five days through showering and exercising. And what we also did to improve upon the market and create more inclusivity was create multiple skin tones. So we are currently the only ones on the market that offer skin tone variations and scar tape. It's usually like that nude bandaid color.
So what we wanted to do there was just go give people the ability to have a more discreet wear while healing their scars.
- [Destiny]: Awesome. Do you feel like that is part of what sets your products apart from others in terms of promoting proper healing?
- [Jadis]: Yeah, for sure. I think that sets us apart. The water resistance sets us apart and then just being a brand with a patient who's gone through the negative experience of using scar care products. And then a physician who has the expertise of what is needed to help diminish the appearance of scars over time. So, having a brand that has people behind it who actually care about the problem that they're solving really makes a big difference.
- [Destiny]: Yeah, for sure. And your tagline is "Healing Together". So emphasizing community and inclusion, could you share some of the specific ways that your company fosters a sense of community amongst both customers and those who support your brand?
- [Jadis]: Yeah, the "Healing Together" tagline is basically that you're not alone during your healing process, whether that be internally or externally. We're absolutely here to support you and we currently take a lot of time on educating customers on internal healing and external healing. You can go onto our website, go to gender affirming surgery, and you can see link to a blog about what to expect after gender affirming procedure and then also any kind of potential mental health ailments. Because the recovery process of that is pretty grueling process. No matter you're getting top surgery or bottom surgery, it's an extensive healing process.
Some people don't have family and support down the line. We would love to be able to support in more ways by creating places where people can go and heal after these surgeries, but right now we can really give education. We're working on a resource page and a community page where people can interact with others who have similar scar types as them, who have maybe been through similar experiences as they have. And then also the resource page too? If it's not something that we can personally provide, we may be partnered with someone who can provide help.
- [Destiny]: Yeah, that's going to be awesome once you all get that together.
- [Jadis]: Yeah, working on it.
- [Destiny]: It takes time.
- [Jadis]: Yeah. A lot of moving parts, always in a business, but it is a high priority.
- [Destiny]: While the intended audience is someone who's received gender affirming care, your scar care is for everyone, right?
- [Jadis]: Absolutely. Yeah. So it doesn't matter what kind of procedure you've received. It could be surgical wound, it could be a burn, it could be just a simple cut, or wound tattoo scar, just overall, any kind of ailment to the skin, acne scarring, any stuff like that. We have a solution for.
- [Destiny]: Now does it have to be like a recent scar or can it be, like, older?
- [Jadis]: Depending on the scar type would depend on the type of product that you would use. But right now we have four different products that, depending on what stage you are in your process, would depend on what products you use. Like our roller serum was really created for a newer wound because it has some ingredients in there that really help with itching and irritation. And then our cream helps with evening out, the pigmentation of the skin and the scar for someone who may have an older scar. And then our scar tapes, those are for newer incision based wounds to help keep the tension off the skin, help keep the scar compressed, keep it protected from the sun.
Like we said that we created the tape and skin tones for discrete wear. So it really depends where you're at in your process, but either way, we have something for you.
- [Destiny]: Yeah, it sounds like you've got a little something for everybody.
- [Jadis]: Yeah, for sure. We try to include everyone.
- [Destiny]: So my next question is, how does Motivo scar care work to ensure that everyone, regardless of their financial circumstances, can access the best scar care available?
- [Jadis]: Although we are not the cheapest product option on the market, we're also not the highest priced option on the market. We're a pretty medium priced, but we are offering a premium product. And for the price, you're getting more than our competitors are giving you for a lower price. For instance, our roll of tape comes with 20 strips. For someone who has had a top surgery that's using two strips every couple of days, that should last you about a month worth of use.
Our cream can last a decent amount of time. It really depends on the size of the scar, and we're always running promos and discounts, and, I mean, if we don't have one available that you can see, reach out. If you direct message us, we'll throw you a discount code. We just want you to be happy with the purchase and be able to afford the purchase and heal without worrying about the fact that you just broke up the bank on treatment.
- [Destiny]: Yeah. Because as we talked about in our chat before the interview, it really can be super inaccessible for a lot of people. So, I really love that you all are trying to get rid of any barriers that you can, that you have control over.
We offer free samples of the scar tape before you even purchase to make sure that it's a fit for you. If you go on our instagram page, there's a link to sign up and get a free piece of scar tape, mail it out to you for free. It's literally just put in your email, get a free piece of tape. Try it out. It also comes with a 20% off coupon.
So, if you actually do like it and you want to purchase a full roll, you can go on our website and you can use that 20% off for any of the products.
- [Destiny]: You mentioned the impact of scars on mental health and transitioning, can you elaborate a little bit more about that?
- [Jadis]: The fact that mental health overall is such an important aspect of everything in your life. I mean, how you respond to things, how you internally talk to yourself, just your mindset overall is an important part of healing. Healing not only mentally, but externally. Bad mental health and bad mindsets, they lead to just overall, a lot of physical ailments and slower healing processes. So it's really important to going into these procedures, you're changing who you are and who you've been and who people have known you as for the majority of your life.
So there's a lot of thoughts that come with that. So, I do believe that it's important to, if you don't have support at home, try to find a community that does support you. There's so many Facebook groups and other groups out there with people who are in similar boats or different boats. Everyone's experience with this process of transitioning is different, but I believe that there are resources for everyone. If you don't have a supportive family, there's other people who have been in the same boat and who have found resolves for that and a way through to still be able to become the person that they always wanted to be.
And there's a resource for everyone. It's just about finding that and preparing yourself and diving into that before going into these major changes in surgical procedures, you can ask them questions, how is your healing process? What should I be prepared for? All that kind of stuff.
- [Destiny]: So how do you think that your company's products are going to contribute to kind of changing that broader narrative of LGBTQ plus history and wellness for LGBTQ plus people?
- [Jadis]: My overall end goal with the success of this company is to really create a major resource for the LGBTQ community for after surgery care. I do want to do a nonprofit house of healing for trans patients who don't have a home or supportive place to go to after their procedure that they'll be able to heal, get back on their feet, and figure out a path forward from there. That's our mission and something that we are working on to implement that hopefully sooner than later, because I think it's really important. I mean, people come from different states, different countries to get procedures done by Dr. Keith, and some of them are getting Airbnbs in areas that they don't know about.
And then also some of them who are traveling to get these procedures, they're staying in these places alone and having to care for themselves and rest is a very important part of the process of healing from any surgery in general, but especially from this. I had like to use Trex arms for, like, six weeks. Couldn't cook. You can't lift anything heavy. Not even heavy.
You can barely lift anything light. Like, you really have to be very mindful of those things. And I want to give just as simplistic of a process as possible. Go into the hospital, get a surgery, come out, you have a place to go for a couple of weeks, and then we help you figure out what's happening from there.
- [Destiny]: Yeah, that's going to be awesome. To see how your company grows and the more things that you all are able to accomplish as you do that. What challenges, if any, have you faced in promoting LGBTQ plus inclusivity within the skincare industry, and how have you navigated those?
- [Jadis]: I think the overall skincare industry is opening up a lot more, but there still is a huge just lack of education towards just the differences in scar. People with darker skin scar worse than people with lighter skin, you know what I mean? I'm having an issue right now just spreading the awareness that I have a resolve for people with darker skin. So it's like, that's stuff that even the overall industry, to each individual company, everyone's trying to do what they can, but it's a lot of lack of education towards the products and what actually fits for a specific person. Over the course of the past three years of building this company, I've really taken the time out to understand the process from beginning to end and everything that is needed in between for specific individuals, and it's all ever changing.
Like, the products we have right now are what we have to start with. We just launched in February, and we will continue. There's a whole list of new products that we want to add going into the future that may cater to someone with darker skin versus someone with lighter skin. Just even different ingredients, different variations of the formulas.
- [Destiny]: Overall, what advice would you offer to LGBTQ plus entrepreneurs who are seeking to make a difference with their work?
- [Jadis]: Definitely going back to the mental health and mindset aspect. I mean, being an entrepreneur, and I'm in a few accelerator programs, I've been in accelerated programs. It's a very mentally taxing career choice. I'd say it's not easy owning a business, trying to make a difference. At the end of the day, the majority of the time, people don't care about you.
They care about what you're doing to help them. You know what I mean? So it's just having a good EQ, just the emotional intelligence to know what to take in and what to just let roll off your shoulders. It's not easy for anyone. It's especially not easy for the LGBTQ plus community and other communities.
You really have to keep your mind in check. I think that being mentally sound or as sound as possible while being an entrepreneur is important, it's important in helping you keep your passion and the reason why you started doing what you were doing to begin with. I mean, there's so many times where I'd be laying in bed at night, like, the fuck am I doing? You know what I mean? You have to keep it together, and you're not keeping it together for the business or for the people that you're helping.
You're keeping it together for you. Like, you first, you're important, and you should make yourself a priority to you and really take care of your mind and just do mindful activities. That's the advice that I have, and it helps you keep to your goal and your passions.
- [Destiny]: What are some things that you like to do to keep your mental health as sound as possible in these times.
- [Jadis]: Other than bang my head against the wall, I don't suggest doing that. No one has the perfect situation where they don't fall off of their routine or don't fall, like, right now, of course. I just got a steroid injection in my shoulder yesterday, and I'd still have a few more days to let it settle in, but I'm so excited to get back into a workout routine. I got a tear in my shoulder, and it really threw me off of my routine for, like, a couple of weeks now. And being just thrown off of that has affected my overall days.
I don't feel as clear. I'm a lot more anxious. That affects my decisions overall. I'm having so much of a workload put on my plate with some of these accelerator programs that I'm just like, I need an escape. Like, the fresh air, the walking, the running, the hiking.
Even a couple of times a week, I try to go watch a sunset. Just seeing some kind of water is really calming to me and helps me bring some mental clarity. It's a lot more than just manifesting. You have to put actions to it, but those things count, too. You're speaking into yourself, being positive to yourself, to help you keep to your passions and your goal.
But I say my little prayers here and there. I don't know what I believe in necessarily, but I know there's something bigger than me, and I know that I'm not doing this by myself.
- [Destiny]: Well, thank you so much for joining me. I really appreciate you coming on the show and reaching out. Do you want to tell the good folks where they can find you?
- [Jadis]: You can find our products at motivoscarcare.com. All social media is @motivoscarcare, and you can find me @jadismontijo on Instagram, or anything else that you want to find me on.
- [Destiny]: Okay, well, awesome. Thank you so much again for joining us.
- [Jadis]: Thank you. Thank you for the opportunity.
