Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman are redefining the bikini modeling industry and are inspiring young women everywhere to think about their ideas of what "healthy" and "fit" bodies look like. Living in a society that is constantly plastering images of photo-shopped and airbrushed models everywhere isn't easy, and it starts to affect the mentality of young people. These two best friends, who go by their nicknames Tash and Dev, have created a blog, "A Bikini A Day," where they write about topics relating to body image on a weekly basis. For example, they recently published a post titled, "The Thigh Gap Is Nothing But A Trap." They also just recently launched a swimwear line, called "Monday Swimwear," stocked with designs meant to flatter bodies of all shapes and sizes. Both girls are extremely fit, but do not categorize well in the typical image of wafer-thin bikini models. They prove that a true "bikini body" is a confident one.
These two women preach self-love as the key to a healthy mind and body and never advocate crash diets or insane workout routines as a step towards achieving this goal. The truth is, no matter how hard we wish we had someone else's body, we will never have it; we need to learn not only how to accept our bodies, but also how to embrace them. Instead of looking at other people in jealousy for having our dream bodies, Tash and Dev believe that we should start to admire their dedication and hard-work on bettering themselves -- qualities that we actually can develop within ourselves that will eventually help us to achieve our own personal fitness goals. We should work hard and realize that the only thing standing in the way of our goals is us.
They also believe that if we choose to work out more frequently and eat a healthier diet, we should do so because we want to, not because society tells us that we should or because that's what all of our friends are doing. As long as we are healthy and happy with our bodies, then no one else's opinion will matter. This is a huge step in loving ourselves and accepting ourselves for who we are.
Overall, these two young, beautiful entrepreneurs want to challenge us to become our best selves and to offer support and motivation to others. We are all on the same team! Let us encourage each other to work hard at living healthy and happy lifestyles instead of tearing each other down. In a society that is constantly telling us we aren't good enough, we need to start believing that we are. One change of heart can spark a revolutionary way of thinking about body image, as we've seen through the example of these two women.
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