A COUPLE who launched a new sportswear brand promoting body positivity after struggling with body dysmorphia - Beyond Fitness is trader of the week.
Joe Morrison and his finacé Bobbie Cone from Bournemouth launched Beyond Fitness in July 2022.
Joe's struggles with body dysmorphia are what pushed him to open the business.
He wanted to open a brand which will create a "community" of others who may be going through similar struggles and help them feel "feel as confident as possible."
Joe said: "Bobbie and I are both very into fitness and I have personally struggled with body dysmorphia so I was keen to start a business that is more reflective of real people.
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"I want to help to normalise stretch marks and things like that and help promote body positivity.
"We want to try and build a community of people that maybe don't feel comfortable going to the gym or getting out and exercising and help them overcome that together.
"Body dysmorphia is something I have always struggled with on and off, I am always conscious about my body, sometimes I feel worse about it sometimes I feel better about it.
"I want our brand to make people that feel like they are on a safe journey where everyone supports each other.
Joe and Bobbie are aiming to help encourage as many people as they can to enjoy a "healthy lifestyle" and are hoping to open a physical store for their brand in the future.
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Joe added: "I don't like the thought of people being put off having a healthy lifestyle because they don't feel good enough.
"It's all about making people feel comfortable in their own skin and helping them feel as confident as possible.
"We are going to continue attending various events to spread the word and in the future, we would love to start up a physical store.
"My finacé is in charge of the creative side of things and I run the financial side.
"It's going well, we have attended several events, including Bournemouth international triathlon and spoke to different people about our brand and we had a really good reception.
"We are currently doing this alongside our normal jobs, I work in finance and Bobbie is a trained actress and she is currently also studying for a marketing master's at Bournemouth University."
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