Brought to you in partnership with Active Truth.
We drove along the Gold Coast Highway at just after five in the morning, the sun still sleeping and the roads eerily quiet. It felt like it was us against the world, four mums in a getaway car. And by ‘getaway’ I mean that we were getting away for the morning, we were doing a Thelma and Louise style escape from the duties of making breakfasts, packing lunch boxes, gathering uniforms, finding stray socks and putting hair into pigtails. It was practically a holiday.
“So when we get there,” I started to explain, “I think they’re on the 37th floor, so we’ll head up and get hair and make-up done.”
“Oh shit,” Michelle, piped up from the back seat, “I haven’t told you guys, I’ve got a fear of lifts.”
“It will be OK,” we all chimed in, uncertain that we had the energy to climb 37 flights of stairs.
“I’ll be scared,” Michelle promised, “But I’ll do it. Don’t worry.”
From the driver’s seat, I half smiled at the irony, that moment of fear and over-coming it was what our day was about. It was about being uncomfortable, and doing it anyway. It was about being brave, and brave we would be.
You see, our getaway wasn’t to an island or even to grab breakfast at a cafe without kids, it was to do a photo shoot. Over canteen duty one day, I asked my friend Emily, “Hey, what do you think about doing a photo shoot with me? For active wear?”
She pondered for a minute. “It’s for this brand that I love, they’re really beautiful,” I urged as I popped my hand in the pockets of my Active Truth tights {I wear them almost every day} as if to encourage her a little more {POCKETS MAKE EVERYTHING GOOD}.
She agreed, and I asked two more of my mates, and it was interesting how the conversations were all very similar. Each of my girlfriends revealed their insecurities, something I’d never known they had. “I don’t like my thighs though!” said one. “Ugh, I better work on my tummy. I don’t like how it is,” said another. “My arms are too chunky,” said the third {actually, that third one was me}.
I’d always considered my mates perfect, just as they were, and while it was sad to hear them reveal their insecurities, it was comforting to know that I wasn’t alone, and even more inspiring to know that even though they felt that way, they were keen to jump aboard and go on the adventure with me, to put themselves out of their comfort zone.
There’s something to be said for bravery. Me ten years ago wouldn’t have imagined that I’d be doing a photo shoot for anything, not only because I didn’t think I was enough to be asked, but also I just wasn’t one to get in photos. I’ve shared here that I was petrified of being in front of a camera. I didn’t exist for most of my life, as far as photos go anyway. But somehow I end up doing the things that scare me most; being on live TV, snorkeling with sharks, flying in small planes, speaking to large groups, presenting in videos, and traveling solo across the world. In those moments, I often ask myself, “How the flip did I get myself into this?”
But afterwards I always puff up my chest, reflect and think, ‘Boy, am I glad I did!’
Active Truth is a brand I believe in, and when we spoke almost a year ago about collaborating on a range together, I was in. As soon as I bought my first pair of tights two years ago, I was converted. I haven’t, and won’t, wear anything else. Nothing compares. I once loaned a pair to my friend Rebel because she was going away on a Bali yoga trip, and she text me, not to brag about the sights and delights in Bali, but to say, “WHAT IN HEAVEN ON EARTH ARE THESE TIGHTS? They’re magic!”
The other week I was at a kids birthday party and my brother-in-law was there too. I was chatting away to him, and slipped my phone into the pockets of my tights. He, absolutely disinterested in fashion, was shocked, “What!? Tights? Pockets!? Woah!” It was like I’d just reinvented the wheel.
Watching my girlfriends, Emily and Michelle, jump into their clothes at the photo shoot, was like watching a child discover chocolate for the first time. They oohed and aahed. Throughout the day I overheard them say a multitude of compliments, “these really suck me in” and “this fabric is beautiful” and “they really support my back” and the one that made me laugh, “I feel like I could do anything in these tights”.
That’s what they are for me. They’re my ‘get shit done’ clothes. But they’re also my exercise tights. Most of all though, they’re my tights I wear when I’m not feeling ‘enough’. When I need to feel stronger and more able. I know, I know… I know you probably think I’ve gone completely bonkers {and perhaps I have, I’m hitting over 11 years of very poor sleep!} but they do that for me. They make me feel physically strong, and mentally capable. They’re supportive in more than a physical sense, and I know anyone that has tried them will agree with me. I’ve seen people change with one wear. I have.
On the photo shoot, I watched in awe as my beautiful mates glowed. No one would have known that they worried about those body parts that they were stressing about back when. As my inner voice whispered to me that I wasn’t enough, and tried to tell me about how unfortunately chunky my arms were, and thick my thighs are, I looked on at them. I told that voice to be quiet, and I took a deep breath, and jumped {or gingerly walked} into the photos. I did it.
Just like Michelle did when she rode that lift up to the 37th floor, and back down again.
We are amazing, and anything is possible. So are you.
I am so giddy with excitement to share this beautiful FMSXAT collection with you that the lovely team, Nadia and Stevie, have brought to us. The black tights are my favourite, with the perforated legs feature, and POCKETS. The whole range is gorgeous, and I hope you adore it as much as I do. We had eighteen of our community test out the range, and share photos of themselves wearing it. They’re everyday people, just like you and me, and you can see them wearing the FMSXAT collection over on Instagram. You can also check out the whole range here.
Of course I would love if you tried them out, because I know you’ll love them as much as I do. But most of all, I want you to tell me how they make you feel. Please pop back and let me know.
