Like many people, Chrissy King began exercising because she was unhappy with her body. After she began strength training, however, King's relationship with fitness transitioned from a means to an end to an uplifting part of her weekly routine. "It was one of the first steps towards changing my relationship with my body," King told POPSUGAR. "I recognised that I could focus less on what my body looks like, [because] there's so much power in my body's capabilities." Now she finds peace through exercise, by listening to what her body wants and respecting those wishes.
After King traded in her day job for a career in personal training, there was one thing she noticed as she dove deeper into the industry: a striking lack of people of colour. Having studied social welfare and justice at Marquette University, King decided to use her fitness-focussed Instagram as a platform to promote inclusivity in wellness — both online and in the real world. "I took my passion for social justice and my passion for exercise and fitness, and have merged that into the work that I'm doing now," King explained.
Along with vocalizing the need for representation, King encourages others to reevaluate their notions of beauty and wellness, a move best captured by her Body Liberation Manifesto. King challenges women to shift the energy they exert analysing their body's appearance to rethinking the structures that make them feel less than perfect in the first place. "Holistic health is not just about exercise and nutrition," King said. "It's about physical health, emotional health, and spiritual health. [Knowing] that racism is a public health issue, how can an industry that's so focussed on helping people be well not talk about things that are having a real impact on people's health?"