Hey bold readers! We like to deliver what we promise! And, we’ve been “stalking” Cheyenne Medland and her amazing Instagram account ever since we introduced you to her! Did you know she’s also an account manager at FabUplus? We caught up with their CEO and now it’s time to hit Cheyenne with the tough BOLD questions! Cheyenne is one of the youngest plus size models to hit the scene and start making waves! Like Sara Smith, and other young models before her, she’s crushing the scene, one post at a time! But, there’s more to Medland than meets the eye. Cheyenne went from being a bullied teen to being a role model for fat athletes and models everywhere. Do we love it? Yes! Now, it’s your turn! Enjoy!
Bold Magazine: Cheyenne, we recently connected after finding a post of yours about being a “fat athlete.” We love this! What are your few favorite activities?
Cheyenne: I’ve always LOVED being active (believe it or not) I was nominated as 1/3 finalist in high school of “the most athletic female of 2014” of a school with 3k kids! I enjoy cheerleading, wrestling (competing provincially 3 years running), being the first and only girl in my schools history to make the “men’s” football team and be a starting lineman, but my most fought out sport would be rugby as I played for my high school team, a club rugby team during summer and even made team Alberta rugby one year.
Bold Magazine: Do you play any of them formally? In a league or on a team? You mentioned cheerleading!
Cheyenne: Now that I have graduated high school I do 2 sports on teams. 1 of which is being a cheerleader for the calgary Stars and rugby for the calgary Saracens.
Bold Magazine: You’re also a model? Awesome! What are the some of the brands you’ve worked with?
Cheyenne: I am! I’ve worked with Swimco numerously (catch me on their website) but I mostly organize “message photography” which I like to model in and brings me great pleasure! Such as my “Body Love” “Fitness Love” “McDonald’s” photoshoots!
Bold Magazine: Recently, we’ve done a few pieces on FabUplus and we’ve learned that you’re an account manager there. What’s that like? How did you end up there?
Cheyenne: I LOVE IT!! FabUplus’ message is the EXACT same message I try to express everyday of my life! Branding with plus size companies and other plus size models is so surreal and just an absolute pleasure! Oddly enough one of the ladies I follow on insta was featured in the magazine and posted about it – that was my first contact. They did a “curvy girl cover contest” where the winner would get the cover of the winter 2017 issue! I placed 3rd and loved the energy they brought! Couple months later they made a post about looking for a sales rep annnndd here we are !!
Bold Magazine: So, you’re hitting multiple areas of the plus community. How do you have time for it all?
Cheyenne: Honestly, I just try to inspire in my everyday life! I must say life gets BUSY! Thankfully my sports are different times of the year so when cheer ends rugby starts (thank god) so I have my sports 2-3 times a week and workout with my friend at @KaylaRaeFitness 2-3 times a week! I work full time as a supervisor at the Costco distribution centre as well! So all my photoshoots happen on weekends and anytime I have spare time I make it work!! Body positivity comes from how YOU feel about yourself! Most people get the common misconception of how I’m working out to lose weight that has NEVER been my goal. My goal has literally been to workout to honestly not die through a cheer routine or be gassed the first 5 minutes of a rugby game! So yes I love posting about loving my body and love being plus size but I also love posting about my health and wellness as well! It’s a full body experience ♥️
Bold Magazine: You’ve been really inching up the Instagram ranks, too! You seem to be really making an impact. What’s your goal in the plus size community?
Cheyenne: I’ve grown TREMENDOUSLY on Instagram in the last 6 months! So with that I’ve been trying to work with more companies in the plus size industry to bring more plus size fashion etc to us beauties who may not know just how many plus size companies are out there!! My main goal is to bring awareness and INSPIRE! As I’ve posted before I will take all the negative comments on my posts and he whispers while I’m in my 2 piece cheer uniform if that means I can inspire just one girl, woman, or anyone for that matter! There was a time in my life where I needed the Cheyenne I am today! We need to prove there is more beauty in the world than just Victoria secret models!
Bold Magazine: Where do you see plus size fashion and media going? How do you plan on staying involved?
Cheyenne: The plus size community is BOOMING right now. It’s such a growing market and more and more companies are launching plus size lines to keep up and market to this growing audience. With Ashley graham making the cover of sports Illustrated or Tess Holliday SUCCEEDING with being a plus size tatted model – this is just the start. Staying involved – I HAVE to! I always need to have an eye out for the brands launching plus size and reaching out to them for fabUplus. I’m always looking for events near me and following plus size bloggers etc. There are so many ways to keep in touch within what’s hot and what’s not now because there are so many people posting about what’s new and exciting! You just follow follow follow as much as you can!
Bold Magazine: Talk to us about your body positivity. You’ve been pretty vocal about what a plus size woman can do. Where do you get this energy and motivation from?
Cheyenne: Truthfully, high school was absolutely HELL as far as bullying goes. People were relentless on how they treated “fat” people. It got so bad I literally stopped eating for days at a time and it back fired on me causing medical issues. I could never understand why people would not only make fun of my size but also the sports I played etc. If a guy would show the slightest bit of interest in me he would literally get bullied so much he wouldn’t pursue me. I intimidated a lot of people in high school being the only girl on the football team, the captain of my wrestling team. So my passion really drove from the bullying I went through! People would always tell me “oh you have such a pretty face” “you’re pretty for a big girl” like huh?! Why can’t I just be a pretty girl… why does my size have to weigh in on it! So I grew the courage to apply to be a model last year and they called back within a couple days and they wanted me!! The more I got behind the camera .. the more confidence I grew and the more confident I became the more I posted and the more I posted to more followers I got. I know my brand and I want to be that role model for the chubby kid in high school who is actually active!! I can’t stress it enough just because you’re skinny does not mean your in shape and just because you’re chubby that does NOT mean you’re lazy!!
Bold Magazine: What’s next for you? Boxing, cheerleading, etc. Is there something you haven’t done that you really want to try?
Cheyenne: I just started boxing as a form of cardio (nothing serious) but it’s such an energetic stress release I might actually think about taking a couple classes!! Other than that I’ve been seriously debating starting a blog! Maybe I will team up with RaeTaylorFitness and do a fat fit fitness blog
Bold Magazine: Lastly, Cheyenne, what makes you BOLD
Cheyenne: Well… that’s a tough one!! I’ve always been strong willed and bold, never afraid to be different and stand out from the crowd. I’m motivated by people telling me I “can’t”.
Girls “can’t” play football.. challenge complete ✔️
Fat girls “can’t” cheer … challenge complete ✔️
Fat girls “can’t” model… challenge complete ✔️
Fat girls CAN and will do anything they want just as much as petite woman CAN and do anything they want! Bold to me is being “unapologetically yourself” despite what anyone might say about it! POST that boudoir photo, post that workout video where you’re sweaty and don’t look your best, post about doing a hike you didn’t finish, post your bikini picture .. POST WHATEVER THE HELL MAKES YOU HAPPY
