Lippitt students discover 'positivity' of Flex Your Face

By Katie Corbitt
Posted 5/31/16

Standing in front of an auditorium full of Lippitt Elementary School students May 23, Ryan Espjerg, 32, founder of Flex Your Face, held up a dollar bill and began to tear it. There were gasps from the audience. He crumpled up the bill to

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Lippitt students discover 'positivity' of Flex Your Face

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Standing in front of an auditorium full of Lippitt Elementary School students May 23, Ryan Espjerg, 32, founder of Flex Your Face, held up a dollar bill and began to tear it. There were gasps from the audience. He crumpled up the bill to more gasps, but there was a motive to the demonstration and it had to do with being positive.

Lippitt was one more step in Espjerg’s mission to spread “positivity.” Espjerg spoke enthusiastically on the importance of self-worth – the focal point of Flex Your Face.

Julie Quinn, a Lippitt fifth grade teacher and brand ambassador of Flex Your Face, became aware of the organization after seeing a friend wearing a Flex Your Face shirt at the gym. Contacting him through Facebook, Espjerg agreed to visit the schools and was able to come to Warwick just three weeks later. He also spoke at Greenwood School.

Quinn thought it would be “uplifting for kids, just great to hear.” Proving right, Espjerg received a receptive and excited response from Lippitt students.

“All these people in the world, but there’s no one like you,” Epsjerg said.

Holding up the dollar bill, he asked kids to imagine it was a 100 dollar bill, Espjerg began to tear it. “Can you still use it?” Espjerg asked, receiving a loud and unanimous “No.”

He countered that the bill still has value whether torn or dirty. “Every single one of us is a 100 dollar bill,” Espjerg continued. “You have a tremendous amount of value, just like the person sitting next to you.”

Espjerg used five main points in his presentation emphasizing feeding the negative versus the positive; not letting negativity creep into your world; the uniqueness of every individual out of the 7.5 billion in the world; the value everyone has no matter the condition you’re currently in and not procrastinating but taking charge of your life.

“Our mission is to ignite people’s lives through the celebration of small moments in this day,” Espjerg said in an interview following his presentation. Graduating from St. Lawrence University in 2005, Espjerg began Flex Your Face in response to personal hardships he had faced, such as the loss of several close friends. He is 32 years old.

“It got as simple as just the air in my lungs,” Espjerg said, beginning this organization in a pursuit to simplify his life. Starting the Facebook group in 2013, Flex Your Face really took off after Espjerg posted a picture of a t-shirt idea he had.

However, Espjerg said, “We’re not a t-shirt company,” selling the shirts and giving 100 percent of the profit back to the buyers. The goal of the t-shirts is to spark conversation and spread awareness, not to bring in a profit. Officially launching the brand in 2014, these marked the beginning of the organization.

“School is so much more than ‘open a book,’” said Principal of Lippitt Elementary School Martin Susla. Speaking to Espjerg on the importance that Lippitt places on remaining positive, Susla said, “the kids already know, if you’re struggling, you just haven’t found it yet.”After hearing the 100 dollar bill analogy, Carter Nolan, a third-grader at Lippitt, approached Espjerg after the event and said he had found a 100 dollar bill on the playground the previous year, and instead of keeping it donated it to Haiti.

“Whether you like it or not, you’re part of the Flex Your Face team,” said Espjerg to the excited kids. “It’s up to you what you want to do…Do you want to choose positive, or do you want to choose negative?”

Turning to the students in preparation to take a video to share on social media, Espjerg told the kids to be “ninja quiet,” having them all scream “Flex Your Face” in unison on his count. Ecstatic with the overall response he got, Espjerg says he “can’t wait to show the world this.”

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  • Justanidiot

    We had a demonstration like this back in the day. The guy next to me said I wasn't worth a plugged nickel. Scarred me for life. I haven't left mom's basement in years.

    Wednesday, June 1, 2016 Report this