Jenny Bruso is the founder of , an inclusive community highlighting the underrepresented outdoorsperson. Here, she鈥檒l share gear reviews for plus-size outdoor enthusiasts as well as her experiences battling stereotypes within the outdoor industry.
Who are your favorite plus-size outdoor adventurers?听I can wait while you think about it.听Just one. Name just one?
Alright, I鈥檓 not going to give you too hard of a time about it. As brands and outdoor news hubs continue to ramp up the conversation on diversity in the outdoors, there鈥檚 still a notable lack of body diversity represented. In fact, most brands don鈥檛 make plus-size clothing, let alone gear, which is the very first step in acknowledging that plus-size people are recreating outdoors.
When I started hiking, I definitely wasn鈥檛 seeing us at outdoor听conferences and events听or on听the outdoorsy social media accounts I followed, but I knew we were out there. This is why I started . I was desperate to connect with other plus-size adventurers and everyone who wasn鈥檛听represented in ads and social media.
says, 鈥淐hange your feed, change your life.鈥 The importance of diversity in the outdoors should go without saying by now, but do your social media feeds reflect these values? If you aren鈥檛 following any plus-size adventurers, you have no more excuses! I鈥檝e done the work for you. These five plus-size outdoorspeople听are just a sampling of the many of us out there. And for you aspiring plus-size adventurers, the outdoors isn鈥檛 waiting on you to be anyone other than who you are right now, so don鈥檛 wait for it. These leaders听have some words just for you.
Mirna Valerio (@themirnavator)
Mirna Valerio is an ultramarathoner. Sometimes听she runs for days at a time. She is also an educator, opera singer, cross-country coach, , and the author of a memoir called听. She started running as a teenager, but after a health scare in 2008, Valerio听recommitted to the sport. Today, her presence in the athletic world is normalizing the image of the plus-size athlete. Seeing Valerio profiled in publications like the听 and 听is a huge win for representation.
鈥淲hen people ask me how they can move their bodies more, I tell them to just start with a walk around the block and to notice how their feet and legs feel, how things look and smell,鈥 Valerio says. 鈥淢ovement is about so much more than losing weight.鈥
Ashley Manning (@ashleysadventure)
Ashley Manning is a whitewater rafter and hiker. In 2018, she completed more than 1,000 miles of听the Appalachian Trail. Currently, she鈥檚 leading rafting trips on the Green River in Utah. Manning is a , where she writes about her experiences as a plus-size adventurer and offers tips on plus-size activewear and gear. In outdoor media, women and femmes aren鈥檛 always celebrated for their amazing feats,听but rather for how they look while doing what they do. Manning regularly posts photos听of her听wild rafting adventures and of听herself owning her body and sexuality, challenging the way plus-size bodies are desexualized and policed. 鈥淒o not let anyone鈥檚 words stop you from enjoying what you love,鈥 she says. 鈥淔or the most part, the outdoor community is full of lovely, accepting, and kind people.鈥
Jolie Varela (@indigenouswomenhike)
A couple years ago, Jolie Varela, a听citizen of the N眉眉m眉 and Yokut Nations, was going through a deep depression and wanted to begin the work of healing and reconnecting with her homeland, Payah眉眉nad眉 (Bishop, California). Through her organization,听 (IWH), she shines听a light on issues many nonnatives don鈥檛 know about, like the epidemic. In 2018, Varela and other indiginous women听 their ancestral trade route, N眉眉m眉 Poyo, also known as the John Muir Trail, which ignited conversations about the whitewashing and colonization of many of our most beloved trails and public听lands. IWH is currently working on a gear library to give indigenous people, who are largely left out of the outdoor recreation narrative, access to gear. 鈥淭he land does not discriminate,鈥 Varela says.听鈥淵our beautiful body belongs on the beautiful land.鈥
Sam Ortiz (@samortizphoto and @biggirlsclimbtoo)
Sam Ortiz鈥檚 outdoor adventure life began only about five years ago, but she鈥檚 done a lot in that time. She hikes, mountaineers, climbs, and volunteers with search and rescue efforts in Washington. She launched a plus-size climbing event series at her local climbing gym after lobbying听for plus-size harnesses, which the gym agreed to. Ortiz recently began an Instagram community called 听to increase awareness of plus-size climbers and share information. Her mountaineering experience has landed Ortiz a cover of ,听and she鈥檚 modeled for big outdoor brands like REI and听Eddie Bauer. 听鈥淚t鈥檚 OK to be slow. It鈥檚 OK to try and fail and try again. It鈥檚 OK to ask for help,鈥 Ortiz says. 鈥淵ou belong out there just as much as anyone else, at any pace, in any capacity that you desire.鈥
Megan Banker (@pdxoutdoorchiro)
Sometimes, being a leader is incidental. You鈥檙e just doing what you love, but there are so few of us that it sort of happens anyway. Megan Banker is one of those people. She鈥檚 a climber and mountaineer who regularly posts pictures of herself atop massive mountains, like Mount Hood and Mount St. Helens, as if it鈥檚 just what people do on the weekends. That isn鈥檛 to say Banker doesn鈥檛 regularly get real about what it听takes, even calling attention to flippant attitudes by climbing bros who act like there are 鈥渆asy鈥 ways to climb a mountain. It鈥檚 refreshing in this social media influencer age to see Banker just doing her. 鈥淏ecoming an outdoor adventurer takes curiosity, time, determination, and usually chocolate,鈥 she says. 鈥淣one of these things come with size restrictions.鈥 Rumor has it that听Banker will be starting her own plus-size climbing group in Portland, Oregon.听(Megan, I鈥檓 ready.)