TEMPE – At parks and trails across the Valley, a group of women stands out as they laugh, smile, and walk together in a show of camaraderie. Known as the Phoenix Babes Who Walk, their organization has gained a large following over the past three years.

The walking club, which advertises itself as a safe space “for girls, gays & nonbinary babes” on Instagram, held an hour-long walking event Sunday at Gilbert Riparian Preserve.

Brand manager and Phoenix Babes co-founder Grace Juliet credits the group for helping break her out of her shell. Now, the Arizona State University senior hopes for the same experience for others.

“I wanted to find community after (COVID-19), and I saw this Instagram post about a walking club that was starting up,” said Juliet, a nonprofit leadership and management major. “I just forced myself to get out of bed even though it was early and went to a walk. It literally changed the course of the next two and a half years for me.”

As Juliet has grown her skills as a non-profit businesswoman, she has communicated the purpose of the walking club to local businesses and they have worked together to provide free gifts and events for the community.

“We’re able to work with businesses that are really trying to do good and then spread the word or share the gift of a product or a brand,” Juliet said. “We partner with certain businesses to do free events, or low-cost events, so that we can make something that may be expensive to some affordable to people and to kind of give them a gift back, because life doesn’t give gifts all the time.”

However, Juliet has found that most of the impact comes directly from the walks themselves. The club can draw more than 100 “Phoenix Babes” to any of their events, though the turnout is usually lower during the summer months due to the excessive heat.

“It’s basically just people finding their other soulmate or best friend, maybe forever or maybe a chapter, but it makes their quality of life better,” Juliet said. “As much as you’re doing it to find connection, you’re also doing it for yourself. You’re exercising, you’re talking to people and socializing, which is so good for people. It checks all of these boxes just from you getting the courage to come for a walk.”

Juliet credits the growth of Phoenix Babes to their presence on social media. The group’s Instagram and TikTok account each boast more than 38,000 followers, while their Facebook page has 1.6k followers.

A huge part of that impact has been through Juliet’s own camera lens, which chronicles the club’s essence over the years.

“I try to just take as many pictures as I can and try to capture the little moments where people might not see me there,” Juliet said. “We show all age ranges, all races, people of different communities. We have students, teachers, people who work blue collar jobs, we have so many different people who come to these walks.

“People of underrepresented identities are everywhere and doing so many different things, and we’re able to bring them together through just the power of walking.”

In addition to taking photos, Juliet spends much of her efforts on creating a welcoming atmosphere for Phoenix Babes Who Walk. It’s the environment, she says, that helps brings strangers together with ease.

“Because everyone comes to the walk with that same want of friendship, that social anxiety barrier that’s normally up comes down,” Juliet said. “It allows people to walk up to each other that might be wearing something that another one likes, or sees themselves in another person, and they’re able to ask about each other’s lives and join in each other’s lives.”

To some, though, the group means more than just friendship and exercise. Sometimes, the main draw is the safety in walking with a group instead of alone. Others have a more profound story.

“One of the wonderful ladies from our group came up to me (at the end of a walk) and told me that her spouse had passed away and she was really depressed,” Juliet said. “She told me just how thankful she was for something that she was able to go to every week that got her out of bed. It was just so powerful to me. It reminds you how important it is even just to do one walk or keep things going because you could save one person’s life or change one person’s life. It’s the most rewarding thing.”

While reflecting on her time with Phoenix Babes, Juliet is just grateful for the experiences and sense of community that she has found and built here in the Valley.

“I would say that there’s a lot of success stories,” Juliet said. “I know that if I didn’t get out of bed two and a half years ago my life wouldn’t have changed completely and changed myself completely. I thank myself every day for having the courage to just do it. Tell yourself to just try, even if you go and nothing happens. There’s so many more walks, there’s so many more events, and a person that keeps trying will always find success.”