WalkGood LA: Creating a Community of Healing

WalkGood LA is a Black-led community wellness organization in Los Angeles, run by family members Etienne Maurice, Ivy Coco Maurice, and Marley Ralph. What started out as peaceful protests turned into a space for healing, now offering yoga classes, hiking, run clubs, and more.

“Walk good: A Jamaican expression used to wish a person the very best in their endeavors and to travel with good spirits, peace, love, and affection towards others.”

What started as a Los Angeles production company took a powerful turn during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. It was after the death of Ahmaud Arbery that Etienne Maurice, founder of WalkGood LA, shifted his goals in terms of advocating for the arts. He recalls a sort of limbo period in deciding if he wanted to protest or not, but after the death of George Floyd, he knew he had to do something and attended a few protests.

The protests Etienne attended inspired him and his cousin Marley to start their own. Their first protest was a 5k running protest, and they decided to have Marley guide them through a few yoga stretches before; “taking the time to stretch and breathe in the midst of a movement centered around George Floyd’s words ‘I can’t breathe’ was extremely powerful. It was beautiful to see people actually taking a moment to grieve the lives they once had and the lives lost by gun violence.”

The next week they had their first yoga class, which they dubbed “BreatheGood LA”. They proceeded to protest for ten weeks straight on Saturdays, followed by yoga classes every Sunday. As the Black Lives Matter movement started to die down, the protests got smaller but the yoga classes got bigger, expanding from thirty-five to as many as five hundred people at a time. Eventually, BreatheGood led to RunGood, HikeGood, YouGood?, and more. They even started Film Good - the first film and wellness festival that featured six underrepresented film directors centered around the arts and mindfulness, as they are "two things that should exist together because art is healing”.

The name “WalkGood” is in honor of their Jamaican heritage, meaning to take care, be good, and look after yourself and the world - as their grandma always told them. It’s a reminder to always take care of yourself and the people around you. WalkGood’s strong family values are a crucial part of their core as a community.

Being a family-started organization, the unification they’ve had since birth is evident in their relationship, and it rubs off on people. Their community sees this family dynamic and notices how it carries over to everyone they meet; WalkGood believes everyone is family, it’s not just about blood, it’s about community. 

WalkGood LA is here to combat societal norms with people of color engaging in wellness practices. For generations, people of color have been stigmatized and oppressed, and "we’ve yet to see the true benefit of fighting". It’s WalkGood LA’s mission to “shift the perspective from fighting to healing. Not to say that we should give up on fighting, but healing will allow us to show up better on the battlefield.” At first, Etienne didn’t think of mental health and well-being in connection to the term “walk good”. Now, their community sees them as a bridge to starting their mental health and healing journey, while also advocating for societal change. WalkGood LA is that beacon of light, catering to all and not just one, and building a community through healing.

Photos by Kavi Peshawaria @kavipictures