The Body Image Movement can only be described as a revolution.
And it began in 2013 when Taryn Brumfitt posted a ‘non-traditional’ Before + After photo one night on Facebook.
On the left, the ‘before’ photo showed ‘ripped’ Taryn on stage at a bodybuilding competition.
On the right, the ‘after’ photo showed a ‘softer’ Taryn with visible rolls around her tummy looking content and happy.
The switching of the photos (not to mention Taryn’s obviously content and happy nature in the ‘after’ photo) clearly resonated.
Overnight the image went viral and within 12 months, it had been viewed by 100 million people!
That led Taryn to produce the ‘Embrace’ documentary which explored why so many people (and women in particular) hate their bodies.
She’s also founded the Body Image Movement (BMI) which is on a mission to help people love and embrace their body, regardless of shape, size, ethnicity or ability.
Get the full show notes for the episode here.
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Follow Taryn on Instagram: instagram.com/bodyimagemovement/
Muay Thai may, on the surface, appear to have nothing in common with endurance sports, but you might be surprised…
I was certainly was when I spoke with Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu for this week’s episode of Sparta Chicks Radio.
Sylvie is an American born woman living in Thailand who currently holds the record for the most number of Muay Thai fights by any Westerner - male or female - which (at the time of writing) stands at 242.
And, much to my surprise, she’s been a long-time listener of Sparta Chicks Radio too!
Since taking up what she describes as a “beautiful sport” in New York, Sylvie and Kevin have since moved to Thailand so Sylvie can pursue the sport on a full-time basis, and chase her next goal; the World Record for the most number of professional fights. This record of 471 fights has stood since the 1920s!
In the conversation, we discuss:
- what she gains from listening to the podcast (given she doesn't participate in any of the sports we traditionally cover),
- why she thinks Muay Thai and endurance sports have more in common than you might think,
- how she discovered Muay Thai and why she describes it as a 'beautiful sport’,
- why she (as a woman and feminist) struggles with some of the traditions of the sport (eg, men may enter the ring by climbing over the top rope, but women must go under the bottom rope),
- why it's important to "reduce the space" you give your self-doubt and focus instead on the process,
- how to reframe competition (even in the context of sport) as a collaboration that brings out the best in everyone and an opportunity to practice in gratitude, and
- the biggest life lesson she's learnt from her sport.
Get the full show notes for the episode here.
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Visit the Sparta Chicks Radio website here
Follow Sparta Chicks Radio on Facebook: facebook.com/SpartaChicks
Follow Sylvie on Instagram: instagram.com/sylviemuay
Karen Barrett has a remarkable story which reinforces for me of the power of choice and the power of self-belief.
A talented runner as a child, Karen had an offer to train at the Australian Institute of Sport. But was forced to turn it down due to her difficult family circumstances.
Fast forward a few years and she had become “virtually homeless” and had developed a 2-pack-a day (and more on the weekends) smoking habit.
Then in her early 40s, she decided it was time to quit. She started walking her dogs daily and built up to running 5km - in her steel capped work boots no less - before she discovered and bought her first pair of running shoes as an adult.
That transformation started in 2009, and she hasn’t looked back.
Since then she’s gone onto win and set the women’s course record for the Buffalo Stampede Grand Slam (a series of races in the Victorian Alps over 3 days) and this year, in 2019 she became the first woman ever to finish the Down Under 135, a 135mi/217km race described as Australia’s “gnarliest” foot race.
Oh and I should mention - she was 3rd overall too!
In this conversation Karen shares why trail running is so important to her, why she sets out to win any race she enters (and where that confidence comes from), the extensive mental preparation she puts into her races, and how much sleep she got during the 49 hours it took her to finish the Down Under 135 (you’ll be amazed!)
Get the full show notes for the episode here.
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Visit the Sparta Chicks Radio website here
Follow Sparta Chicks Radio on Facebook: facebook.com/SpartaChicks
Follow Karen on Instagram: instagram.com/karen_barrett_tail.runner/
Settle in and buckle up; this is a fun, deep, long and laughter filled episode of Sparta Chicks Radio.
Tiffany Winchester is an ultra-endurance cyclist, with a love of doughnuts, who is currently preparing to ride the Paris-Brest-Paris; an iconic 1,200km endurance cycling event in France later this year.
Tiff finished her first bike race as a child and then took a “25 year rest week” from almost all forms of exercise.
It wasn’t until her 30s that she started walking and “procrasta-hiking” (as she calls it) as a way to clear her head and clarify her thoughts while working on her PhD.
After a brief (yet deep) love affair with trail running, Tiff was introduced to the world of cycling 3 years ago - and hated it at first!
Ultimately, she has since found her ‘happy place’ in the incredibly gruelling world of ultra-endurance cycling.
In this conversation, Tiff and I discuss:
- why she had to stop racing for mental health reasons,
- why she didn’t consider herself a ‘cyclist’ until after her first 1,200km ride, and
- the impact social media had on her perception of herself as a cyclist and how it fed her sense of feeling like an Imposter.
Get the full show notes for the episode here.
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Visit the Sparta Chicks Radio website here
Follow Sparta Chicks Radio on Facebook: facebook.com/SpartaChicks
Follow Tiff on Instagram: Instagram.com/tiffo012
I could fill a page just listing Samantha Gash’s achievements.
In 2010, and in her first ultramarathon, Sam became the first female and youngest person to complete the Racing the Planet 4 Deserts Grand Slam, running 4 ultra marathons across the driest, windiest, hottest and coldest deserts on Earth.
That was followed in 2011 by a 222km non-stop race through the Indian Himalayas.
It was during that run across the Himalayas that Sam decided to use her running for a greater purpose.
Since then, she’s run 379km solo, non-stop across the Simpson Desert in Australia as well as the length of South Africa’s Freedom Trail (almost 2,000km) to raise funds and awareness for the work of Save the Children.
Then in 2016, as an ambassador for World Vision, Sam set out on her most ambitious project to date; running across India.
Over 76 days, she ran 3,253km from the west to the east of India and, in the process, raised close to $200,000 to fund 6 programs to improve access to education for children in India.
In this conversation, Sam and I discuss:
- the tipping point when Sam transitioned from running for herself to running for others,
- what inspired the ‘Run India’ project as well as the impact it had on her,
- why she cringes at the word 'inspiration’,
- her experience with the Imposter Complex,
- the power of (and what it means to be) truly committed to a goal.
Get the full show notes for the episode here.
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Visit the Sparta Chicks Radio website here
Follow Sparta Chicks Radio on Facebook: facebook.com/SpartaChicks
Follow Sam on Instagram: instagram.com/samanthagash/