Meet the Team
Creator of Mid Strike Magazine Jesse (Specs) Spellman an avid runner since 2016 and proud member of Black Men Run NYC, my goal was to create a diverse magazine which showed our run culture and journeys. As a runner I’ve always struggled to find stories of runners that look or sound like us. We are all wonderful people with some awesome stories and the goal of the magazine is to essentially spotlight that.
When Curtis Caesar John isn’t writing and editing for Mid Strike Magazine, he is the executive director of the nomadic microcinema The Luminal Theater which exhibits Black independent film in and for Black communities. This month, the Luminal is partnering with the 2021 Sundance Film Festival to present new films and original event programming in Columbia, South Carolina. Curtis is also the club manager for Black Men Run NYC.
Born and bred in the Bronx, and life long New Yorker. Kim is a wife, mother, lover of travel, runner and triathlete. She is a 6 time marathoner, has run countless half marathons, and is on a quest to run a half-marathon in all 50 states. You can catch her weekly chronicling her running and travel adventures on her YouTube channel, str8kim.com, or tune in to her podcast The Run Wave or pop culture podcast that she co-hosts Le Twins Experience.
A Community Organizer and Activist from East NY, Brooklyn. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Politics from Utica College and holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. As an activist and organizer, he advocates on pertinent issues and organizes community stakeholders to launch campaigns for the alleviation of suffering and awareness. Keron currently serves as a Co-Chair for radical political organization, Operation P.O.W.E.R. and most recently served as a candidate for Senatorial District 19. He currently is the Deputy District Manager for Brooklyn Community Board 5.
Keron is also an avid runner of all distances and recognizes running as a tool for community change. As a member of Black Men Run NYC, he has organized several community runs for community understanding and political empowerment. He is a current editor/contributor for Mid Strike Magazine"
Founder of The Running Edge, an organization focused on providing run programs to urban communities. The Running Edge currently has youth run clubs in Brooklyn, New York, and Miami, Florida. Coach Toussaint also weekly community runs in South Florida, known as "Tribe" runs. Toussaint is a regular contributor to Midstrike Magazine's Youth Runner section.
Ricardo C. Sandy is the owner and principle photographer of RCS Images LLC also an avid runner/member of Black Men Run NYC.
As a photographer, he believes that the camera holds the extraordinary power of capturing and preserving all aspects of life. The mission of RCS Images LLC is to capture the unique personalities of each client through the camera lens.
As an accomplished runner Ricardo has completed numerous marathons across the globe, such as the TCS New York City Marathons, Rock n Roll Run Series Hall of Fame and St. Jude's Memphis Marathon just to name a few.
As a member of Mid Strike Magazine he uses his photography skills combined with his running experience to bring you a visual of each story or journey being told.
Donyetta lives in Atlanta, GA but her roots are from Alabama. She has an MBA in Finance; however, travel, health and natural hair care are her passions. Her favorite travel destination is the beach and she's yet to visit one she did not love. Running is herfitness hobby and she's run 2 marathons, 12 half marathons and countless other distances over the years.
Her blog, Dyetta (pronounced D Yetta), was created to share some of the things that I love and what I have learned with a smile and an extra dose of good energy!