Video

"promo sm"

I was a gymnast at 11. By 12 I was bulimic. It was 1973. I went from 115lbs to 83lbs. I received so much praise. No one helped me. At 16 I had my first root canal. I can still remember the dental assistant saying to the dentist… She’s so young to be having to endure this. No one understood or knew the shame of this disorder. I’m now 61. I still struggle. We need programs like this. We need people to help us. We need the world to understand this disorder. Thank you Holly

Omg I just want to give high school Susan Bick the biggest hug... 😭 Thank you Holly for sharing this message! I remember getting identified as fat in elementary school, and adults encouraging me "getting healthy" through weight loss. Even when I was underweight in high school and college, I mentally carried that identity of being overweight. In my late 30s, I have a plus body and participate in ultra endurance bike races. Sometimes I still struggle with feeling like a "real" athlete, but through years of affirmation and training groups, I can also tell myself that my body is capable of amazing things. I'm so thankful for the training (shout out to Alaskan bada** coaches Lisa Keller, Larrell Paterna and Janice Tower!) and friends who've never treated my size as a limitation for setting big goals.

This is a video that should be shown at every first practice. It shines light into the dark spaces of eating disorders, offering athletes and coaches healthy ways to talk and think about food and body image. It's also part of a larger dialogue about re-humanizing sports, placing a person's humanity before their athletic achievements. A big thanks to Holly Brooks, Dr. Yolanda Evans, Susan Bick, Ben, and Jessie Diggins for bravely and truthfully contributing to very important work. Your big hearts make all the difference.