Five years ago, hiking enthusiast Steph Wetherell hiked all 160 miles of the arduous St Olav’s Way pilgrimage in Norway, in supermarket leggings, tops from a high street store and an ill-fitting men’s waterproof jacket. You might assume that Steph was unprepared, but she wasn’t. Rather, she simply had no other option. As a plus size woman, brands just didn’t make hiking clothing in her size.
And that wasn’t her only issue. UK size 20 and outdoor loving, Steph was confronted with ignorance on every trail.
“Like a lot of underrepresented groups in the outdoors, coming across microaggressions is not uncommon,” she tells me. “I’ve done a hike before where I've had eight or ten people saying ‘well done you’, ‘you’re so inspiring’. On a hike that’s well within my ability, and I'm receiving those comments just because I'm plus size.
“I think a lot of people just don’t think plus size people can do these things.”
Fed up with uncomfortable kit and patronising strangers, Steph and other plus size adventurers she’d met on social media decided to take action, forming a plus size hiking group.
“We were frustrated that we couldn't get the clothing and kit we wanted and so we decided to try and do something about it,” she explained. “So we set out to work within the industry and try to get brands and retailers to make larger sizes, and make plus size clothing fit better.”
Inspired by similar movements in the US, the group set up Every Body Outdoors to improve the plus size experience of hiking and other outdoor pursuits. Their initial plan was to focus on clothing, working with brands and retailers to make plus size options available, and encourage advertisers to increase plus size representation. However, immediately after launching, it became clear that Every Body Outdoors would become a far bigger community operation than anticipated.
“We set up an Instagram page and had 1000 followers in 48 hours,” says Steph. “We got messages from people saying how inspired they were to go out and do more things, how they wanted to meet other plus size people who liked doing outdoor stuff.”
Inspired by the love of their new found community, Every Body Outdoors strived to take direct action, getting plus size people into the backcountry with the launch of hill skills and navigation courses, regional walking groups and a whole host of other community activities.
Led by a qualified mountain leader, hill skills and navigation courses take participants to the heart of the outdoors, teaching them the valuable skills and knowledge needed to be confident in the backcountry.
Run by fully trained, local volunteers, Every Body Outdoors’ 25 regional walking groups allow participants from up and down the country to register and walk with other plus size nature lovers, making friends and building a valuable community in the process.
Steph explains why this is so important: “There’s such a barrier to getting outdoors because people are so worried about being the slowest. They’re so worried about getting left behind, and these are valid concerns because people have been left behind… they’ve been made to feel unwelcome by other participants.”
“We have these walks as a space where people don’t have to worry about having the right clothing. You don’t have to worry about being slow. You don’t have to worry about how out of breath you get.”
In addition to its community work, Every Body Outdoors has made serious progress in the clothing industry, working with brands and retailers both inside and outside the UK to accommodate plus size bodies.
“The brands who’ve done well are the ones who’ve actually bothered to test on actual plus size people,” Steph explains, praising Cotswold Outdoor and Rab for stocking kit that goes up to size 20 and 24 respectively. Gregory and Osprey also get a mention for their range of backpacks which hug the plus size body rather than squeezing it.
Still, many suppliers are getting it wrong, simply sizing up their existing products rather than modifying them for plus size customers.
“Trousers are a really classic thing,” said Steph. “I need my trousers to come over my belly, so I need the rise on my trousers to be higher. If you just scale up from a normal size, they fall down, they’re uncomfortable, I can’t hike in them.”
Representation is another issue Steph and the team are fighting hard to improve. Mainstream advertising for clothing rarely features plus size people, especially in outdoor wear, where slim, athletic builds continue to dominate.
“They represent one kind of person, and one kind of outdoors,” says Steph. “It’s usually ‘harder, faster, stronger, more painful, more difficult’.”
Aiming to change the norms, Every Body Outdoors is urging brands and retailers to be more inclusive in their advertising. It’s also highlighting the plus size people taking on the outdoors on their social media, where they aim to spread the word about Every Body Outdoors and their growing community.
“There’s an old saying: if you don’t see yourself represented, you don’t feel like you belong.”
For too long now, plus size people have been excluded from the outdoor spaces they may otherwise flock to, forced out by a lack of representation and viable clothing options. Every Body Outdoors is here to change that, nurturing a community where people of all sizes can enjoy the outdoors without worry, regardless of their experience, clothing or body shape.
“My biggest piece of advice: you’re not in a race” says Steph. “It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you go, it’s about finding your enjoyment and your pace within that.”
Further information about Every Body Outdoors, their community and how to get in the backcountry as a plus size person can be found on the Every Body Outdoors website.
