It’s never easy getting fit, but when you can’t even find workout clothes in your size, exercising is an even bigger challenge.
The activewear brand Academy Sports and Outdoors aims to fix this problem with their new “BCG” line of workout gear, which runs up to a size 3X. To promote their new clothing, they chose plus-sized Instagram fashion blogger Anna O’Brien to be the face BCG. Anna, who lives in New York City, was delighted to be selected to represent the brand, especially since she says that she’s always had trouble finding clothes in her size.
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“I spent 25 years waiting to be active,” Anna stated on Academy’s Instagram page. “Now I will spend 25 more helping people of all sizes see the benefits of moving more. For plus size women, finding active wear that fits and is available in-store is nearly impossible. This single challenge is one of the greatest barriers to plus size women becoming active. With the launch of BCG Plus, Academy is offering a whole new group of women the opportunity to move more.”
Instagram
Naturally, whenever a plus-sized model appears on social media, there always seems to be a nasty troll who pops up to try and make her feel terrible about herself. Several of these negative comments appeared on Anna’s pictures, including this one:
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“This is disgusting you are making being fat a good thing people should be ashamed of being fat no proud.”
While Anna is no stranger to handling mean internet comments herself, this time her employer stepped in and shut them down for her… in the most professional way possible.
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“Hi James, at Academy, we truly believe every woman should have the same opportunity to enjoy sports and the outdoors. As a result, we continue to represent a wide range of body types. We’re all different, but our access to an active lifestyle shouldn’t be.”
Way to go, Academy! Shut. It. Down. It’s so refreshing to see a major brand clap back at the haters of the world, isn’t it? We’re so glad more companies are focusing on all that we have in common, rather than our differences.
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