Meet Erica Lassiter | Advocate.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erica Lassiter and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erica, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
At the age of 15 I was sexually assaulted. With many awkward sexual encounters to follow and this trauma following me to a new stage of life, college I seeked healing. Diving deeper into my spirituality I learned about self healing and mindfulness practices. I really wanted to spread my awareness to other survivors suffering the same outcomes like foreiting in the act of sex because of tramuatic anixety attacks. The African Deity; “Oshun” I later discovered is a manifestation of intimacy and sexuality, beauty, and love. I began to fantasize of a world where my assault didn’t define my limitation of sexuality, love, and beauty. And so the birth of “Osun” would later follow. Osun is a black owned spiritualist brand that offers workshops and spiritual self care tools to allow others to achieve their best of self care. We recently launched a podcast thats in it’s second season were we address what a holistic lifestyle embodies.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I’d say my art embodies the healthy being. What every healthy looks like to you (spiritually, mentally, and emotionally) Osun wants to help you achieve that. I think my biggest challenge was myself. Fighting of imposer syndrome especially after a sexual assault is hard. Who cares about your story? Who cares about what you have to say? I realized when I began to spoke so many black and brown, men and women understood. They were waiting for me to be the voice. I want the world to know that happiness is literally within arms reach… You just gotta grab it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well Im from Newark! A really dope city surrounded with local art, music, and food. In the morning we’d grab a coffee at the black swan cafe. Then we’d go shopping on Halsey at Brownmill co. We’d probably grab lunch at some of smaller restaurant like Dario’s and end the day in military park at one of the music in the park festivals.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Latora Johnson instagram : talkwithtora

Website: osunthebrand.co

Instagram: osunthebrand

Other: anchor : Sister To Sister

Image Credits
instagrams: yinde_dinde and viewsfrom_n