In today’s world of social media, YouTube, and other forms of digitally available content, a market that has arisen is that of workout inspiration and workout plans. This has enabled athletically illiterate people, or people who are looking for more workout inspiration, to have an immense number of tools at their fingertips. Yet, like all good things, there is a catch: much of the workout and wellness products and medias produced are accompanied by toxic messages and are incredibly hostile to bigger body types. Mik Zazon, founder of “Normalize Normal Bodies”, recognized this gap in the wellness industry and inserted herself to make a change.
The defining factor of Mik’s brand is her tagline to “normalize normal bodies” which originated on her Instagram page where she began posting pictures of herself in workout clothing, bathing suits, etc. that showed that it is normal for bodies to have the “imperfections” that the diet and wellness community tries to “fix”. Her brand grew as she designed a workout guide that featured the popular HIIT style of workout yet with all sorts of alterations and accommodations depending on your fitness and capability level. What is more, each of the workouts is joined with a video of Mik herself demonstrating the workouts. In these videos, Mik makes a point to not distort, edit, or position her body so as to look different. Her message is genuine, and her goal is to encourage others to celebrate their bodies through exercise, to honor its needs, rather than to make it look a certain way.
Mik has further capitalized on this positive movement by designing “Normalize Normal Bodies” gear, cute workout gear with an inspirational message designed to flatter the shape of your body. Her most popular product is a crop top with her key tagline on it which spreads the message that your body is worth being shown, not hidden. What is more, Mik has grown an incredible community on Instagram where she shares inspiration from her recovery from an eating disorder and does affiliations with brands. This Instagram page is another source of revenue for Mik as she makes money off of ads that support her message.
Mik’s brand is not revolutionary, but it has been effective, and has drawn a large following. She took inspiration from her own life and her past struggles which informed the message and the products she produced. Her company is growing and will continue to reach those who want to learn how to embrace their bodies while learning how to honor it through working out.
I like how you pointed this statement out. “Mik’s brand is not revolutionary, but it has been effective, and has drawn a large following.” Innovation does not need to be revolutionary, for it only needs to be effective. That is encouraging to us young entrepreneurs as we begin to explore what products we may want to pursue and create.
I think the toxicity is people placing their identity in their appearance. The standards set for beauty by social media are so high that the typical person has a hard time meeting these standards and thus feels worse about themselves. I think the “normal body workout posts” by an inspired entrepreneur will do very little to change widespread social media trends. Additionally, people are more likely to take advice from someone who has already achieved what they are looking to achieve. This is why most people are inclined to take the fitness advice of an athletic person over a “normal” person. I agree that social media communicates very toxic messages but I honestly don’t think this entrepreneur’s solution will make much of a difference. The issue is more deeply rooted in the human mind. I believe the real real solution will address these questions: How can we communicate that physical health is important and being overweight is bad. But at the same time, how can we communicate that our worth is not defined by our physical appearance?