So bad, it’s good
By Brittany Tiplady
@yellowbird888
When we started Loose Lips Magazine four years ago, people told us we were crazy to start a publication that only centred women. We heard over and over that we would run out of content, that we should open up our demographic, that we were being narrow minded.
Well, jokes on them and the patriarchy, because we’ve never run out of stories to tell. In fact, we can’t keep up with the volume of women and non-binary folks who are creating change, making an impact, and developing unique businesses in this city. Just like Amanda Kao, founder of The Bad Academy.
We sat down with Kao on a sticky summer afternoon to talk about workshops and women. Kao has an ebullient, take-no-shit energy that commands the room; she’s bold and brilliant, and tells you like it is. With The Bad Academy, her mission is simple but her efforts to bring her side hustle to life are thoughtful and curious.
The Bad Academy is “a group of self-identifying womxn who like to get [their] hands dirty and learn things most womxn were never taught.” The goal: to be self-sufficient, develop new skills, in a safe, welcoming environment that nurtures growth, community, and overall badassery.
“[Women who sign up for our workshops] like to be around other women and want to grow and learn in a safe space and don’t give a fuck what other people think,” says Kao. “I’m not your typical lady and I thought it would be really cool if there was a place I could go to that had workshops that were only for women and that are also useful. Not to say that I don’t know any people who craft, I love crafting, but I feel we don’t need anymore vegan cheese workshops in this city and I don’t need to learn more about how to make nut milk, I get it. I really wanted to just get my hands dirty and learn things that are practical for my life. I hate asking men for things, I want to be self-sufficient and confident in what I’m doing.”
To curate her list of workshops, Kao’s starts with a log of skills she, herself, would like to learn, and then she finds an expert to lead the class.
“Bad Academy gives the woman instructing an opportunity to teach and feel more confident in teaching. Societal norms have told us that we are not experts in what we do and we’re told not to brag about our skills or what we’re good at,” she adds. “It’s not hard for me to find instructors, people just don’t give them a platform for them to talk on. It’s cool to see it come together and them get excited about teaching women.”
Since its inception in May, The Bad Academy has hosted workshops like Car Maintenance 101, Knife Sharpening, Climbing Outdoors 101, Stick and Poke, Bike Maintenance, and Butchery. Kao, who serves as the Chief People and Culture Officer at Nada Grocery by day, works to keep the workshop costs as low as possible; courses typically remain under $100.
“I think it’s bullshit that only rich people can attend workshops,” Kao adds. “I also have a disclaimer on my website that if you can’t pay, I’ll work something out for you. It makes my day when I get an email from an attendee and they say, ‘I got a flat tire the other day on my bike and patched it myself, I didn’t even have to go to the fucking bike shop to get it fixed.’ The workshop you took paid for itself just in that.”
Typically, workshop tickets move fast; announcements can be found on the Bad Academy Instagram, an account that needs to be on your feed.
Next up from the Bad Academy: Podcasting 101: The Basics (we’ll be attending that one!); Get Bread: Small Business Finance 101; and Pretty Dead: Butterflies, where attendees will learn how to prepare, set and preserve butterflies.
“I’ve always really loved learning and being around women in general,” concludes Kao. “As a result, I was a workshop addict. I would go to embroidery workshops and pottery workshops and all these things around the city, I realized I wasn’t necessarily wanting to learn these things I just wanted to be around a bunch of women who are learning things, because it’s such a magical thing.”
Browse the selection of upcoming Bad Academy workshops here and on their website.
Brittany Tiplady is a writer, editor, former ballet teacher, and the co-founder of Loose Lips Magazine. She loves the indoors, fast wifi, collecting maps, and a generous glass of red wine. She’s a self-proclaimed wizard of time management and a notorious loud talker with a penchant for all things Internet and pop culture.
