I was always
too short to model
too fat to be an athlete
too emotional to be captain
too different to be accepted
And while I may still be all of those things now, none of them actually kept me from becoming a model, working out, and being accepted. All the way down too my core, I felt those statements above were true, and that ultimately, my fat, chubby, short body would prevent me from living the life I dreamt of. It wasn’t until I discovered women—like me—living the very dreams I called “fantasy” and “unrealistic,” to realize that I could attain any goal I set, live my life by design, and love the body I had hated since I could see my reflection.
Sometimes we need a push or an ally to show us that are dreams are within reach, and that were capable of our wildest ambitions no matter how far away we may seem. And while I never thought a sportswear brand could be an ally to my plus size body, I felt uplifted when I took a recent trip to Nike Chicago. I knew the brand had started carrying plus size clothing a couple of years ago, but I didn’t know just how much careful thought and consideration went into their plus size offerings until I visited the store. On the third floor, there was a plus size section with giant posters of plus size women wearing Nike. Their body types were all different from each other, and I instantly wanted everything they were wearing. Not only did they have the plus section, but I could also find my size in different sections throughout the store. I felt seen, heard, and valued at Nike. And as a fat person, I never thought I would have felt as loved by an athletic wear brand as I did the day I visited.
And when I put on this look, my doubts melted away, my confidence was turned up a couple of notches, and I felt like I belonged. Each piece embraced and enhanced my curves instead of masking, compressing, or hiding them. Not to mention, the style was so cool, edgy, and even sexy, which is something that I feel a lot of athletic wear brands get wrong when they sit down to design plus sizes.
SIZING INFO: I am wearing a size 2X in the Nike Plus Size Air Cropped Running Leggings and the Nike Plus Size Women’s Hooded Running Jacket Nike Air, which is my usual size, and both fit perfectly. I decided to size down in the Nike Air Women’s Crop Top because it was very stretchy. So I am wearing an XL, and I love it! I topped off the look with my Nike Tanjun Running Shoes, which I am wearing an 8.5 in!
