By Nicole Fuge, Mama Disrupt® Managing Editor
How many times have you bought activewear, only to be disappointed? Let me tell you girlfriend, you are not alone.
Which is why we are so obsessed with the ultra cool Australian activewear brand – Active Truth.
A size-inclusive brand for sizes 6 to 26, for women in all stages of their lives. And an advocate for women, so we can all feel comfortable and confident in our second skin.
Nadia Tucker and Stevie Angel are the increds #bossmamas behind Active Truth.
They met when they became neighbours in Brisbane. Both new mums, they bonded over coffee play dates, which were often followed by yoga or a gym sesh.
“While chasing toddlers up and down slides [and hitching our see-through tights up while doing so] we talked about the activewear we were buying and the fact that we were continually disappointed by these products,” Nadia says.
“Products that looked beautiful on models in photos but didn’t perform in real-life on bodies without model proportions.”
And they were really onto something.
Nadia and Stevie quickly found that women who were pregnant or wore larger sizes were being underserved by the activewear market.
“We spoke to girlfriends and many of them shared their experiences of pants that rolled down when they downward dogged, that they resorted to wearing men’s t-shirts and shorts and that they did not feel like they belonged in a gym or studio,” she says.
In Australia, the average-sized woman is a size 16
Yet she is still often forgotten about when it comes to activewear. Can you believe it?
“Not having access to clothes that make you look and feel good when you workout is a significant barrier to participation in exercise,” Nadia says, explaining she also has a real issue with the way women are marketed to.
“All of the models I was seeing were young and sexy, had six-packs and thigh gaps or they were elite athletes. It wasn’t aspirational. It was demoralising and frankly unattainable for the majority of us.
“What was inspiring to me were the women in my life who were incorporating exercise into their busy lives and for positive reasons – happiness, enjoyment, and participation. Not for the number on a scale or for a smaller dress size.”
“I believed women deserved better.”
And they couldn’t be more right. Women do deserve better. We are goddesses!
“We want women to know they are seen and heard while having access to products that make her look and feel her best. Giving her the confidence and support to be active for the right reasons – health, happiness, enjoyment, community and fun,” Nadia says.
We looove that Australian activewear brand Active Truth has also made a commitment to never retouching their images. Yep! So what you see is what you get.
“Wearing great activewear shouldn’t be a privilege only for women of a certain size, shape, stage of life or ability level. For too long the majority of women have been excluded from the conversations around their health and fitness.
“The truth is, we should expect more. More respect, more representation, more confidence, more options. Celebrating body confidence, positivity and female empowerment, Active Truth bridges the gap in the activewear space for women with a customer-centric approach in everything we do.”
Because guess what… what you wear when you workout matters.
“Scientists call it ‘enclothed cognition’, the co-occurrence of two factors: the symbolic meaning of clothing and the physical experience of wearing the clothing. Both of which have a direct correlation to how you feel about yourself,” she says.
Active Truth is more than making and selling clothes
It’s a community; a platform for all women, real women, to feel seen, heard and included.
And the response has been massive.
“I’m what you call a plus size girl. I hover at around a 16-18. I’ve dreaded buying activewear and have never been able to find the right fit. Plus size gear is always flowy and unflattering, or has ridiculous waist bands that create bulges. Most brands don’t even cater for active wear over a size 16,” one customer shares.
“When I fell pregnant in 2016 I was unable to work out comfortably because I couldn’t find any gear. In 2017 I stumbled across your tights during a late night Instagram search. For my second pregnancy I lived in your tights. I wore them to exercise and dressed them up for every day socialising.”
Supporting mums through pregnancy and postpartum
As mums themselves, Nadia and Stevie are passionate about helping women through their pregnancy and postpartum stages by delivering solutions to their specific needs throughout this season. It’s not just about making clothes that look good.
Take their signature high waistband for example. It has bump support that alleviates the pressure on sore back, hips and pelvis. And the supportive fit promotes core stability and helps to reduce other aches and pains.
“These styles also feature an eight-way stretch and moisture-wicking fabric, which is designed to grow with your bump and allows these styles to be worn during pregnancy and postpartum. All our maternity leggings offer 100% opaque coverage (squat proof!) allowing you to bend and move without distraction,” Nadia says.
Community at the core
Keen to use their platform for the greater good [they really do have the kindest souls!], Active Truth is also all about giving back, and have donated to more than 1000 community groups including Red Cross and Make-a-Wish.
And for the last four years, they have released a limited edition collection to raise funds and awareness for Share the Dignity, a charity helping women in need.
“Through charitable partnerships and ad hoc support for small organisations, we are generous in our giving. With a focus on organisations that advocate for support and women’s issues and rights,” Nadia says.
So when you are rocking your fav pair of Active Truth tights, you can not only look freaking awesome, but you can feel good too. Knowing you’re supporting an increds Australian activewear brand.
You are part of a revolution, baby. A disruption to the activewear scene. How cool is that?
