It seems like no matter how hard they try; plus-size women still face heartbreaking amounts of adversity when trying to break into the world of fitness. One activewear and outdoor clothing brand, however, just hired a plus-size model who wants to change that, and they're even getting involved in the body positivity fight themselves.
Academy Sports and Outdoors has chosen plus-size Instagram fashion model Anna O'Brien as the new face of their 'BCG' line, which runs up to size 3X for women. The New York-based O'Brien has struggled to keep an active life herself over the years and blames some of the anxiety she felt towards working out on a lack of available and affordable plus-size clothes. "This single challenge is one of the greatest barriers to plus-size women becoming active," she wrote for Academy's Instagram page. Though O'Brien rocked a sporty photo shoot that has now attracted more than 13 thousand likes, not everyone watching had something nice to say about plus-size fashion and her photos.
Though O'Brien has proven herself in the past to be more than capable of putting Internet trolls in their place, Academy issued an excellent response of their own when they noticed a particularly nasty body shaming comment under one of her photos. It's an encouraging step in the right direction towards acceptance of all bodies that strive to be fit. Scroll down to see what was said, and add your thoughts at the end.
This is Anna O'Brien, a plus-size fashion blogger who just became the new face of Academy's 'BCG' active wear line
"For plus size women, finding active wear that fits and is available in-store is nearly impossible," she writes
"I spent 25 years waiting to be active. Now I will spend 25 more helping people of all sizes see the benefits of moving more"
Still, even in the face of such a noble goal, a cruel individual felt the need to express their negativity
Though O'Brien is a pro at dealing with Internet trolls, the response to this one came from a surprising source...
Academy Sports and Outdoors themselves
Did anyone else just hear a mic drop? Seriously, the world needed this more than ever right now
People are now rallying around Academy, and we suspect they may have a spike in business headed their way
Three cheers for tolerance, support, and understanding each other
