SortUi social media seems to be no respite: every day A new filter, a new diet, a new “right” body to show. In this scenario, the video published by Ilona Maher On Tiktok it is a small revolution. There American rugby playerknown for his direct style and powerful physique, has decided to oppose the cult of thinness at all costs With a message addressed to all women: you can be beautiful, healthy and strong even outside the box.
Ilona Maher, between Sport and Body Positivity
Born in 1996, originally from Vermont, Ilona Maher is one player of the American Rugby national team. He participated in the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics, conquering bronze at the games last year and distinguishing himself for his aggressive style in the field and for an increasingly incisive media presence. Graduated in Nursing, it has become a recognizable face not only for its sports performances, but also for the ability to use social media as female empowerment tools. His Tiktok account is today a platform where sport, body positivity and irony coexist naturally.
«I feel well nourished. I feel ready “
In the video published last July 13, Ilona Maher shows herself in front of the camera as she flexes the muscles proudly. His firm but light voice is an invitation to abandon unrealistic aesthetic models: «Have you ever tried to be strong? I feel great. I feel well nourished. I feel ready to face anyone. You have to try it, really. It is another level. I feel … Woo! I love it ». Then he adds, with the humor that distinguishes it: “And have you ever tasted tiramisu? Because that stuff there … my God “.
The video collected hundreds of thousands of views. Among the comments, there are those who write: “Being strong is a beautiful form of femininity”, and those who call it “a strong queen”. The message has passed. And perhaps, this time, he hit the mark.
Large bodies, right bodies
It is not the first time that the athlete uses his channels to counter the dominant narrative. In another video, published a few months ago, he already had questioned the obsession with weight loss: «It seems to me that every time I open a social, I am overwhelmed by an advertisement of slimming or I see an already lean celebrity that has become even more thin. Or I see those “before and after” in which the girl’s girl is beautiful … and that of the after is still beautiful, but the implicit message is that the “before” was not enough ».
And then, once again, his key statement: «It is fine to exist in a larger body. Many of us are not made to be small. I am not made to be small. This robust body is made to weigh 90 kgwhich is as much as weight now ».
Fitness and body mass: Ilona Maher’s reasoning
In his path of acceptance, Ilona Maher has no never hidden his measures, nor has he tried to conform to an ideal. When someone criticized his body mass index (or BMI, in the English theme), he replied with lucidity: «The BMI does not say what I can do. He does not say how fit. It’s just a number. He says nothing about how much muscle I have. So yes, I have a 30 BMI. I am considered overweight». And concluded with an elegant irony: “I am 1.78 tall, weight 90 kg and I have – about – 77 kg of lean mass. Do you accounts. You probably can’t. In the end, I go to the Olympics … and you don’t ».
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