Georgia is just one of the participants in a challenge that made her feel better naked | Photo: Gay Star News
It’s something so many of us want to achieve – but feeling good naked can feel like an unachievable goal.
Whether it’s about getting ready for summer holidays, an oncoming heat wave or just wanting to be more confident – there are so many reasons to improve the way you feel about the skin you are in.
And its something these LGBT people have learned to do, in just one month.
‘Sometimes I love my body and I think it’s the best thing ever. Other times – not so much,’ Georgia told Gay Star News, the day before she started a one-month fitness and mental challenge.
‘I’m bisexual, and I didn’t realize that stuff that I thought didn’t bother me about my sexuality, does bother me. But it’s really been affecting my body confidence.’
But having agreed to take part in a looming naked body shoot, she had a date and a goal to make a change.
‘I thought about the shoot the whole way through the process, I’ve never taken part in anything like this before.’
Mo, who also took part, was as equally apprehensive – but relished in the challenge:
‘I’ve struggled with weight all my life. I was a little bit chubby when I was younger. Then I lost weight and gained it again. I hope it can help me break the barrier of weight I get stuck on.’
On a journey to be a more confident and Fitter You, Georgia and Mo worked with personal trainer Matt Boyles.
When GSN first met Georgia and Mo – they were both terrified of the idea of being naked in front of people.
But now, not only have they taken part in a naked body shoot, they feel more comfortable with the way they look.
Watch how they did all of this in just one month:
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This is how you can feel comfortable naked too:
Matt Boyles is the personal trainer Georgia and Mo worked with in the build-up to the naked shoot for Digital Pride.
He set up his online course because he found a real lack of provision in the personal training market for LGBTI people:
‘I was tired of off the shelf fitness programs. In the LGBTI community, we have different needs and pressures to the straight world. The way we grew up was so different, with the likes of internalized homophobia and I wanted to address this in a more holistic way.’
‘I try and move people away from physical metrics. There is no point in getting hung up on: “I’ll be happy when I reach this weight or this size bicep.” I don’t use scales and body fat measuring with my clients because it’s detrimental to them.
Mo before and after taking part in the Fitter You challenge for one month | Photo: Gay Star News
Matt used his own experience of learning to be more comfortable in the body he is in, to help others in the community:
‘I feel as confident as I do naked now because regular meditation and exercise helps me feel in control of who I am.
‘It makes me feel powerful enough to worry less about what other people think. That’s the main route to happiness, realizing the what other people think of you is something you should not worry about.’
Here are Matt’s top tips to feel better naked:
- Everyone has their own hang-ups and are probably more worried about their own bodies over yours anyway. So don’t worry about what they think.
- Feeling better in your own skin is about changing your approach to your body. Rather than trying to change your body.
- Body confidence comes in many forms, but building exercise into your life will improve confidence and boost your mood. It’s not about improving the way you look, but taking control of your body and boosting you ‘happy’ endorphin hormones.
Watch more from Digital Pride:
These LGBTI people stripped naked to celebrate their (extra)ordinary bodies
Tchaikovsky’s secret gay history that Russia doesn’t want you to know
