Superfit Heroes

25 year old USA Track & Field hammer thrower Amanda Bingson became America's favorite body image advocate overnight after ESPN released her photo spread for their Body Issue. "I think it's important to show that athletes come in all shapes and sizes," she told ESPN. 

Amanda looks big, powerful, and absolutely gorgeous in the photos that quickly went viral. In the ESPN article, she talks with confidence and humor about her sport, breaking records, and getting kicked off the volleyball team in high school for being too fat. 

"I'll be honest. I like everything about my body," Amanda says. 

"Whatever your body type is, just use it. There are definitely things that I can do that skinnier people can't do."

We are beyond excited to feature Amanda as this week's Superfit Hero! She sat down to answer a few questions for us. 

Blaque Jac is one of the most loved roller derby players in the sport and that is largely because she is perhaps the most in love with the sport. If you're looking for an athlete with commitment, passion, and a positive attitude, BJ is your girl. She's a formidable blocker and will not hesitate to kick your ass on the track. But she'll quickly follow up with a hug and a selfie at the after party.

Veronica Belmont is the poster child for New Media. She's a TV and online video host and producer, startup advisor, and voice actor. With her passion and deep knowledge for technology and gaming, her business savvy, and her irresistible charm on camera, Veronica has been at the forefront of internet media since the birth of podcasts and video blogs. She rose to fame as the host of Revision3's Tekzilla, and continued from there to host programs for PlayStation and This Week in Tech, among others. She currently hosts the weekly show Dear Veronica for Endgadget and the fabulously nerdy Sword and Laser podcast. We can't leave out Vaginal Fantasy where you can "join Felicia Day, Veronica Belmont, Bonnie Burton and Kiala Kazebee for a gathering of wine, women and smut as they discuss and dissect a new genre romance novel each month!"

Veronica recently completed the infamous hike to the top of Yosemite's Half Dome. 

Veronica is a strong, fit, feminist woman making her own way in the world. We're beyond excited to share her story with you! 

27 year old London based blogger and personal trainer Sophie Kay sent shock waves through the social media world by “Debunking Fitness Myths" so often perpetuated on Instagram and other social media platforms. 

In her post, Sophie poses for her own selfies to reveal the tricks often used to create the perfect "fitspiration" photos. All it takes is finding the right angle, improving the lighting and of course, adding a filter. "Don't trust what you see," she warns and "don't pay much attention to those before and after shots!"

To say Brittany Gibbons is a force of nature would be a complete understatement. She took the world by storm in 2011 by taking her clothes off on the TED stage. She has since become one of the most recognized body image advocates on the planet. She's currently on a national media tour to promote her new book, Fat Girl Walking, and she can now add New York Times Best Selling Author to her long list of accomplishments. She's gorgeous, smart, hilarious, and she's on a mission to help all women feel more comfortable in their own skin. 

Our featured athlete this week is Angel City Derby Girls skater- Athena Harper AKA Stubborn Pup.

Pup, who’s been skating for 4 years, is  captain of her team (the Road Ragers) and leads Safety for the entire Angel City organization. Despite many injury setbacks including a torn miniscus, minor concusions, rolled ankles and other bumps and bruises, she’s refused to allow those injuries to keep her from playing the sport she loves. If anything, learning to recover from those injuries has taught her how to be more in tune with her body, understand it’s limitations, and use that knowledge to help keep others safe in this high contact sport.

Nia Shanks is the ultimate Superfit Hero. Nia is the powerhouse behind the Lift Like a Girl website and podcast. With Lift Like a Girl, Nia shares down to earth information and strength training programs for women. In her own words:

I’m here to help you filter through the BS and show you the Sane and Simple way to strength train and eat to build a better body. No overblown promises or any of that mess — just information you can use today to build the body you want.

Lift Like a Girl is so much more than a workout plan.

Leah Gilbert, a plus size endurance athlete from Australia, has learned to embrace her body and her bold and fierce personality. Leah is on a mission to not only increase awareness about plus size endurance athletics but also encourage women of all ages to live/train freely and fearlessly.

Fifi Nomenon may only be 5 years into her roller derby career but the Texas Rollergirls travel team Captain has already had a phenomenal journey. When she’s not working as an art director and digital artist for a production/post production boutique, she’s training hard with both her local league and Team USA Roller Derby. Like many skaters, she found roller derby after watching the film Whip It.

Fifi shares her story of starting as skater with no experience, who through consistent hard work and training, support from teammates, friends and family and amazing opportunity- is now considered one of the best roller derby skaters in the world.