Hey hey, Rebooters! This week we have the epic Becky Scott joining us, fat fitness instructor and founder of MissFits Workout (C), a safe, inclusive and joyful space to move your body. Becky is all about moving with joy, which is definitely a concept we can get behind!
She’s also created a wonderful supportive community around her business, and everything she does sparkles with positivity.
What we talk about
Becky’s experiences and stories we’ve heard about being the fat one in the class or the gym, feeling marginalised due to body shape. She wanted to create something where it was for her and people like her – and so she did!
Feeling awkward or anxious in an exercise space, and creating a space where people don’t feel this way. Different versions of the same move. Surprising people by being a fat fitness instructor!
Being the gateway drug to exercise 🙂
The idea that it’s possible to enjoy exercise while it’s happening, not just at the end!
Becky’s journey
The seed that was planted at Adult Community Learning, many years ago. Realising that diets were bollocks while also discovering body positive and fat positive bloggers online.
“I thought fat was bad and I had to hate myself forever” – lots of us will resonate with this, and how amazing it is when you come to the conclusion that’s not the case.
Zumba classes and really enjoying them, and starting to blog about her own fitness experience, being fat in fitness spaces, sharing what she was doing.
Becoming a This Girl Can ambassador for Essex, inspiring people to move, getting funding towards doing a qualification, signing up to teach a class before she’d officially qualified, then doing two practice sessions after qualifying and teaching a massive class at a festival before ever having run a paid class of her own. (WE LOVE THIS.)
Doing what you’re doing with confidence and a smile – faking it till you make it and doing the Thing before you’re ready!
An encounter with Bodyposipanda, and the power of knowing your direction, so you can take opportunities that move you in that direction when they come up.
“What’s the next little problem to solve, and how can I solve it?” – we love this approach because, in conjunction with knowing what you’d like longer-term, it takes the stress out of planning!
Online classes and how they got accelerated by COVID, and how this widens people being able to take part, which fits so well with Becky’s philosophy of moving with joy and exercise being open for all.
And live streaming from the garden, plus the unexpected brilliance of being able to do live classes and stream them online at the same time, which is going to be great for the future.
Longer-term plans for workshops for children / PE-refusing children and their parents to build a better relationship with exercise – actually enjoying it and showing a different way to exercise.
Glorious moments – personal stories, people’s positive experiences, and that first big event which resulted in self belief.
What’s the worst that could happen?
We love this as a philosophy! See also: interesting business decisions that have turned out really well.
Registering a trademark and future plans for more Missfits Merch. Size inclusive fitness and activewear, and tackling the fatphobia within the industry and beyond.
Having different voices sharing this so they’re all seen as valid (backed up by science, but reaching more people).
In the midst of all this positivity, we always talk honestly about struggles – and one of Becky’s is finding suppliers. As she phrases it, “finding clothes to fit bodies” shouldn’t be as hard as it is.
She also talks about imposter syndrome and how that feels, feeling out of her depth – and we can all relate to that, we don’t think there’s a business owner alive who doesn’t feel like that sometimes. Which is, as always, comforting that we’re not alone (and it’s more common among female entrepreneurs).
Keeping your feet on the ground and not getting too carried away, and whether it’s more prevalent in women or whether we just talk about it more 🙂
The reality that we should be proud – running a business isn’t easy, and if it was, more people would be doing it! An important point here – we’ve all had businesses before the ones that are working now, so experience really does play its part.
That all-important support network
Family is top of the list, then also the fitness professionals who accept and see Becky as valid, support her to take up space in the industry and lift her up – from influencers to other fitness instructors, supporting and raising each other up is a theme we can hear which is wonderful.
Then her wonderful group of women who come to her classes, rave about her work and support what she’s doing – and the experience of finding people have her back.
And finally but by no means least, supporting yourself and being your own cheerleader! Becky’s the first person to say this and we think it’s completely wonderful.
From learning to accept compliments to getting used to leaning on support when people offer it, it’s a good skill to have but can be surprisingly hard to break a habit of self-sabotage.
Words of wisdom
Fake it till you make it – if you believe you can do something, you probably can! See what opportunities come your way, what feels doable and what can you try. Take (small) risks – and if you can find some practical advice about your tax return, do that earlier than you think you need to.
And your tax return being some kind of evil ritual.
Wise words from a wise woman!
Get more Becky in your life
Live classes, free YouTube workouts, class passes and merch (size inclusive t shirts & hoodies, inspirational notebooks and beautiful tote bags) are all on the Missfits Workout website – missfitsworkout.co.uk
Becky and Missfits Workout are on socials – @missfitsworkout on Facebook and Instagram
Fitness Professionals Against Weight Stigma – this is a new initiative Becky’s involved in which we can’t wait to see evolve.