By Becky Andrews
Unless you’ve been living under a rock or perhaps not on social media, you’ve probably heard her commentary on everything from CrossFit to sick kids. She’s Heather Land or you may know her as the “I ain’t doin’ it” lady whose hilarious commentary has gone viral. It all started in September when on a whim she sent her friends a short video of what she really thought of CrossFit. That video, enhanced with a clever Snap Chat filter, has garnered more than 20 million views and caught the attention of some pretty big names in entertainment like country music superstar Miranda Lambert. A few weeks and additional videos later, organizations from across the country began reaching out because they wanted this funny lady to entertain at upcoming events.
It’s been nearly six months since that first post. Since then, Heather and her two children moved to Wilson County.
Even though she’s got a very busy tour schedule and kid schedule, she made some time to sit down with Wilson Living and answer a few questions, so we could get to know our new neighbor a little better.
WLM:
Where are you from originally?
HEATHER:
“I’m from Milan, in West Tennessee. After I graduated from high school in 1994, I hopped around a little bit and
eventually wound up in Pensacola, Florida and started classes at a bible college. That’s where I met my ex-husband.”
WLM:
How long were you married?
HEATHER:
“We were married for almost 15 years. We were in ministry for a long time. I was a worship leader and he was a youth pastor. We worked at a church in West Texas for 10 years. After our tenure in Texas, we moved to Colorado Springs where I wrote and produced an album. I started homeschooling my kids at that time too. After some international travel with the church, the bottom fell out of my marriage. And here we are.”
WLM:
Going through a divorce is hard enough, but as leaders in your church, did that make it even harder?
HEATHER:
“It’s hard when you’re in ministry. I don’t know if it’s people from the outside or ourselves that hold unrealistic expectations. Probably both. Your are held to a standard and we just couldn’t meet the standard.”
WLM:
What was the standard?
HEATHER:
“I think in my mind it was perfection. How stupid is that? You know the American Dream. You have it all together.
I think that’s part of the problem too. We appear to have it all together on the outside…”
WLM:
But on the inside?
HEATHER:
“Everything’s a mess. No one can keep up that act. I think some looked at me and thought, “How can you minister
to other people when you are fractured?” If we love the Lord, we minister out of our brokenness. That’s what I’m
doing. I don’t consider myself broken emotionally, but my marriage was broken. And that seems to be doing me and the people around me more good than when I was ever pretending like I had it all together.”
WLM:
How did you make the leap from Heather to the “I ain’t doin’ it lady”?
HEATHER:
“I had tried CrossFit in the past and I think one day I had noticed one too many “CrossFit Check-ins” so I decided to record a video. I sent it to a group of my girlfriends and they said I should post it online. I mean if you can check-in every time your feet hit that Cross-Fit mat, I should be able to give my thoughts on why I can’t do it. It was all in good fun. I remember posting it and going to a meeting at church. Three hours later it had been shared 15,000 times.”
WLM:
Your fanbase is huge. What do you think the appeal is for your fans?
HEATHER:
“That’s weird to hear. “My fans”? I have fans? Anyway, I think it’s honesty. It’s very freeing to be yourself. It’s less
exhausting. When you become who you were meant to be, you discover that the only person holding you back was
the old you. I know for me, I love when someone is honest enough to show their brokenness; people who will look at your wounds and say, “I’ve been there too. But guess what? We’re going to be ok. That’s all we need in this world. To know we’re not alone.”
WLM:
Tell us what’s next for you? Also, how can our readers keep up with you?
HEATHER:
“I’ve got a pretty busy tour schedule. We’ve also got some exciting things in the works. The best place to keep up with me is on social media. On Facebook @iaintdoinit or my YouTube Channel @Iaintdoinit
