What do you get when you combine soft fluffy pillows, a ring, and women with a cause? Tough-ass ladies, that’s what. Meet Melanie Watts, a new mother and founder of the East Vancouver Pillow Fight Club.
Hosting pillow fight events at the Astoria Hotel in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Watts and her team of fighters admittedly “kick each other’s asses for your enjoyment” and for a cause. Their last event, held this past weekend, raised over $700 for The Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter. What’s more kick-ass than that?
Sad Mag: Who are you?
Melanie Watts: Melanie Watts, founder of the East Van Pillow Fight Club. Emily Carr grad originally from Alberta. Self-employed designer/photographer/entrepreneur who also makes mustard and cross stitches profanities.
SM: Who is the East Van Pillow Fight Club?
MW: A group of tough and compassionate women who are bringing a new form of combat sport and entertainment to Vancouver; thereby turning the common conception of pillow fighting as a thing that ‘cheerleader-type’ girls do in their pyjamas at slumber parties on its head, while raising money for rape relief.
SM: What inspired the creation of the East Van Pillow Fight Club?
MW: Boredom. Frustration. Desperation. And the PFL (pillow fight league) that once existed in Toronto.
SM: What can one expect from an East Van Pillow Fight Club event?
MW: What one can expect from an East Van Pillow Fight Club event is hard-hitting entertainment and the chance to be a part of something which truly empowers women.
SM: What’s the charity you support and why is it important to you?
MW: The Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter. We also host bike wash fundraisers in the summer time and give 100% of all the proceeds to VRR. This charity is so important because they are not government funded and their funders do not have any say in how the shelter functions. This is a very positive thing because it allows the VRR to do what is best for their programs, and the women and children who need them, instead of making decisions based on the ideologies of their funders.
SM: What do you love most about what you do?
MW: I get the privilege of being with a very inspiring group of women every week while we train and advocate this new sport. Also, I love walking through the crowds at our events and have people tell me how honestly entertained they are.
SM: How has motherhood changed you?
MW: It has made me a worse fighter in the ring (because my body is still getting back into shape), and it has made me a better fighter for equal rights because I want my daughter to never for a moment doubt herself because of her gender.
SM: What do you love most about East Van?
MW: The diversity.
SM: What is your vision for the East Van Pillow Fight Club?
MW: We would love to perform at the fair at the PNE one day or have another club to have tournaments with. West Van Pillow Fight Club anyone?
Consider yourself a fighter? Get involved in the next East Van Pillow Fight Club event—sign up today. Not ready to enter the ring? Make sure to come and watch one of Vancouver’s most beloved underground events and feel good doing it.
More information about the club can be found online.