The Road Ahead

2022 was a fantastic year for Pursuit, I was able to get really clear on the kind of people I want to work with whilst expanding my creativity further than ever, however at the start of December, I was struck with a stark realisation: since the pandemic reared it’s ugly head, I haven’t actually sat down and looked at where I wanted to go.

For the last 2 years I’ve been very much in survival mode, living week to week and not really looking any further. So upon that realisation, I took myself off to my local Starbucks with a laptop and notebook for a good old goal setting and planning session. A self employed meeting with just myself.

So for this month’s blog, since we’re now at the start of 2023, I thought I’d tell you all about my biggest plan for the year.

The nude shoot days have been a catalyst of creativity, as much for the empowerment of my clients, but also for myself to expand as an artist. And during these days I’ve had the pleasure of working with some incredible women, hearing their struggles with their bodies and the acceptance of themselves, and offering them the chance to see themselves in a totally different light.
The common theme that I’ve come to notice is how, through lifting, we’ve found a sense of personal acceptance, it’s been a way to see our bodies in a new light, to appreciate them for what they can do and recognise how magnificent and beautiful we are.

I’ve been inspired even further by this.

We hardly see any representation of muscular female bodies in our world today, bodies that do a job, that perform incredible athletic feats, that move heavy fucking weights and carry us through the struggles of life too.

I want to be the person that acts as a channel for that representation.

So over the course of this year, I plan to shoot a number of female strength athletes, nude, in their strength, and for the most part, not lean. The only time I see muscular women represented is after an extreme dieting period, I want to represent these strong bodies with a natural covering of fat, to show the world what these bodies actually look like in year round condition, because for me personally, seeing more of these bodies through my line of work has been hugely healing.

As a strength athlete myself, watching my body change shape, my waist get thicker, the way fat is distributed over the muscles, noticing how I don’t fit the standard “woman” mould, it’s been really challenging not to pick myself apart, but seeing other women with these bodies has helped me to understand that the way I look is totally normal and 100% okay.

With this series of images, I want to turn them into a published book. I want to tell the stories of these women, to talk about their struggles, to show their bodies and what they do in a true light, to help others see what a strong body looks like. And not just one shape of strong body, as many shapes as possible, because we’re not a one size fits all.

We’re all incredibly unique and that should be celebrated, not something to be ashamed of.

If you’d like to be a part of this project, please do get in touch. I want this to be as big as possible and need to get the wheels in motion sooner rather than later.

Let’s be the change this world needs.