For Muffy Collins, running was the thing you did to stay in shape for basketball, and occasionally the thing you did when practice went badly. Growing up in Chicago’s Robert Taylor Homes, he saw early how much environment, opportunity, and access decide where a life gets to go.

Years later, after eleven men he knew were diagnosed with prostate conditions, he started using sport as a reason to get people in the same place and keep them moving.What started as a prostate cancer weekend, a basketball game, a round of screenings and a 5K, has grown into something bigger, with Components, his South Side running store and lounge (where you can find Courier!), at its center. 

We sat down with Muffy to talk about Chicago, the run crew, the doctors who changed how he thinks about health, and why he measures progress less by who crosses a finish line than by who walks in the door.

[COURIER]: Before Components existed, who was Muffy? Take us back a little. Where did you grow up, what did you do before the store, and what experiences shaped the way you think about community today?

[MUFFY]: I was born in the Robert Taylor Homes housing projects, once the largest public housing development in the world. Four generations in one building, all with dreams of becoming a public figure in this universe, unfortunately it doesn’t work out that way due to environmental circumstances.

Growing up between the South Side of Chicago (Woodlawn) and the south side of Madison (Penn Park), you face challenges of being left behind in society due to economic inequality, housing, structural drivers, health outcomes and the nature gap. Those experiences shaped me to become an organizer and leader in my community, fighting for business growth, health equality and guidance, following in the footsteps of my late mother and grandfather.

[COURIER]: What is your own relationship with running and movement? Was sport always part of your life, or did that come later?

[MUFFY]:Coming from a family full of athletes in track and field, football, basketball, baseball and volleyball, you tend to lean toward a sport that gains your interest, and for me it was basketball. I was able to travel around the nation growing up, playing basketball on the AAU circuit, which led me to a full student-athlete scholarship at Blinn College and Huston-Tillotson University.

Running was a tool to stay in shape for basketball, and often viewed as a form of punishment as opposed to physical gain for the mind and body. I inherited running from my grandmother, who ran track, and my aunt, who has run multiple marathons. In my 20s I loved to go on a good run on the lakefront, it was extremely therapeutic and helped me navigate lung conditions from being asthmatic since childhood.

[COURIER]:  Prostate cancer started showing up among family and friends. Was there a moment that made you think, I need to do something about this?

[MUFFY]: Run From Prostate Cancer was created because multiple men I knew personally, 11 in total, were battling prostate conditions of some form, so my journey was to take action, knowing one day I could face the same fate I once witnessed. The goal was to create a sports and wellness weekend centered around prostate cancer. The weekend includes a men’s basketball game, a high school basketball tournament and a prostate health seminar with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screenings, and concludes with a 5K walk/run. We just completed our 10th annual Run From Prostate Cancer 5K Walk/Run on August 31st.

[COURIER]:  What did you learn once you started speaking with doctors and healthcare professionals? Were there disparities or realities around prostate cancer and men’s health in the Black community that genuinely surprised or disturbed you?

[MUFFY]: During our prostate cancer seminars and tours with our urologist, Dr. Murphy of Northwestern University, we learned that in the Black community across the US, especially in big cities such as Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Houston, the risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer is three times higher than other nationalities. The causes are living in food deserts, poor environmental conditions, lack of exercise, limited healthcare resources and, most importantly, the high levels of stress that you inherit in our communities from ongoing challenges passed down through generations.

[COURIER]: Why the South Side? What does this community mean to you personally, and what did you feel was missing here that ultimately helped inspire Components?

[MUFFY]: The South Side is extremely important to me, it’s where I was first introduced to community wellness and where I grew into that work. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of so many who paved the way for us to expand our knowledge and understanding of what it truly means to make a difference for the next generation coming after you. All of those elements created Components.

[COURIER]:  What does Components provide that you don’t think existed on the South Side before? Beyond selling great running product, what do you want somebody to feel when they walk through the door?

[MUFFY]: Muffy’s Lounge & Components feels like a home away from home. The goal is always to treat our guests with kindness, respect and dignity. Components brings energy to brands that had zero visibility on the South Side of Chicago, putting them in front of a new set of eyes and a new generation that gravitates toward a grassroots movement, similar to what Nike did in the ’80s and ’90s with mom-and-pop retailers.

[COURIER]:  Can you think of people whose journey represents what you’re trying to build? Someone who perhaps started by walking or simply trying to improve their health and eventually became a runner, racer or marathoner?

[MUFFY]: I can think of multiple individuals who have started the journey of consistently walking and running weekly with the Components Run Crew to become healthier, and who have goals of becoming race day finishers. Whether it’s a 5K, 8K, 13.1 or 26.2, our doors are open! Being around like-minded people whose goal is to invest in their wellness is truly the asset we need in our community.

[COURIER]: You’ve now seen people progress from simply getting active to training, racing and chasing performance. What does that evolution mean to you?

[MUFFY]: The evolution is very interesting, we continue to witness it daily with so many individuals becoming more health conscious and learning what it means to add walking and running to their daily routine. The new normal for our communities will change for the better, considering the many years of suffering from the effects of environmental and social disparities.

[COURIER]:  Fast-forward two to five years. Forget revenue or the size of the store for a moment. What would need to happen within the South Side community for you to look back and say, we really made a difference here?

[MUFFY]: I can see Components becoming a treasure for the community, with ongoing annual events, walk/run crews and a safe space for the next generation to express themselves through craftsmanship and creative development, with a passion to build a safe passage that is not compromised.

 

Follow along with Muffy & Components.