By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
Get our newsletter
ROCKFORD — Jeniece Smith was absorbed in the task of clearing out a new home in Winnebago County when she caught a glimpse of her phone that puzzled her.
“Why does it look like I have hundreds of notifications,” she recalled thinking while looking at the phone’s social media apps.
It was a hot summer day last June, and Smith had just posted a video of herself on TikTok speeding down a recreation path on roller skates. She was showcasing the side-surfing technique she uses to squeeze past blockers during roller derby.
The 35-year-old had started using TikTok as a means to expose herself to new music and escape the malaise of the pandemic, but this video was different. Views, comments and likes started piling up. Thousands of them. Then tens of thousands.
“I couldn’t even keep up with it,” she said. “My first inclination was I should delete my account.”
The video now has more than 830,700 views, and a total play time of 5,869 hours, according to TikTok analytics. That’s nearly eight months of watch time on the 30-second clip. There’s also been more than 157,400 likes and 4,500 comments.
More features: Rockford’s ‘crying girl’ became a viral meme. Here’s what she’s up to now
The video eventually caught the attention of the company whose brand she was wearing. Tomboy X, an apparel company whose focus on gender inclusivity and body positivity appealed to Smith, sent her some clothing as a thank-you. Then, it formed a partnership with her as an unofficial influencer, setting her up for interviews on the company website and doling out more clothes for her to show off on social media.
“I still get embarrassed,” Smith said. “The word influencer is weird to me. There needs to be another word. My brain is still wrapping its way around that.”
Her full-time job is as an assistant director of marketing and communications at Northern Illinois University, where she’s also completing her master’s degree.
“This has all been the weirdest accident ever to happen to me,” she said.
The attention was initially off-putting for Smith, who grew up viewing herself as the chubby kid compared to her slimmer siblings. She didn’t see herself as someone capable of modeling in form-fitting activewear or under garments.
But her initial instinct to flee gave way to the opportunity to inspire. Friends helped her see that by embracing herself as she is, she could embolden countless young people who may have struggled from the same crisis in confidence she once did.
“It’s showing body positivity and that it’s OK to love yourself no matter what you think other people think you look like,” said Ruby Rennicke, a friend from Poplar Grove who Smith met about 16 years ago during roller derby. “Once you get rid of other people’s perception of you and just accept yourself, everything is just so much easier.”
More news: 10 ways national media has described Rockford
(story continues below photo)
Fashion stigma, ‘so what’
Smith was raised in a devoutly religious home and attended a church that adhered to strict gender roles. Last year, she came out to her family as pansexual. A month later she told everyone else.
Now, she’s set to help Tomboy X launch its pride prints celebrating LGBTQA+ people.
“The fashion world is getting more inclusive … but there’s still a lot of that pressure kids face across the gender spectrum,” Smith said. “I think there’s some beauty in just putting it out there who you are and people liking that.”
So she decided to show off her authentic self to help people see “the world deserves all of you, who you are right now.”
“I’m just charging into an area where stigma exists and I’m like, ‘so what,'” Smith said. “We’re changing it. We’re talking about it.”
As a teenager, Smith was often uncomfortable with the girly fashion trends of her peers. At Tomboy X, she’s found comfort both in how the clothes feel and how they make her feel. There’s no gendered sections of clothing, sizes are inclusive and the company is mindful not to force anyone into a gender role, she said.
“I started ordering some of their stuff and loved it,” she said. “I just decided I was going to be comfortable.”
More news: Rockford native teams up with Dolly Parton for Taco Bell musical
Whatever insecurities Smith may have had about herself, they didn’t show on camera, said Paul Hecker, a Loves Park photographer and friend who shot a series of portraits of Smith in Tomboy X.
“For as shy as she is, she’s incredibly photogenic,” he said. “I don’t understand how some people have that super power, she’s just a natural.”
Hecker said he tried to make Smith feel at ease by working collaboratively with her for the shoot. They also staged the photos in her natural environment: a roller-skating rink.
“It wasn’t until more recently, as the deadline was approaching, that I realized this could help a lot of people feel comfortable with who they are,” Hecker said. “People see themselves in images that they see online. That helps to create a narrative about who they are and who they want to be and who they want to present themselves as to the world.”
‘Fearless’
In video that brought her widespread attention, Smith careens down a hill with the same fearlessness she’s known for in the roller derby rink. She plays the role of jammer, one of the most demanding positions in roller derby and the one responsible for racking up a team’s points.
“She’s fearless, she’s strong, she’s super athletic, and she’s just a good teammate,” Rennicke said. “I don’t ever want to be against her. She’s a force.”
Smith started the sport in 2006 with the Rockford Rage and is now with the Barbed Wire Betties in DeKalb. But roller derby, like nearly every other group activity, was shut down during the pandemic.
“Not skating with my team, it was a big sad,” Smith said.
And she was still healing from what she described as a previous controlling and abusive relationship. She’s now in a healthy relationship, she said, with her partner Brendan Dutmer.
“I went through a lot of healing, and it’s messy and not at all linear,” she said. “Now I’m trying to move into identifying who I really am and coming out of this confident and strong.”
Rennicke said Smith is showing that confidence and strength, and in doing so she’ll help other people find themselves, too.
“She really is an inspiration,” Rennicke said, “and she’s filling so many roles people need to see.”
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on Twitter at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas.