Ash Pryor is one of Peloton's newest instructors. The founder of Relentless Rowing Academy, a nonprofit that helps BIPOC and disabled athletes get involved with rowing, joined the popular workout platform to teach its new rowing classes, introduced on September 20, 2022. But that's not the only reason why Pryor is getting attention this week.
Despite being met with excitement and praise over her new title by many fans and followers, the athlete has also experienced an all-too-common aspect of entering the spotlight: body shaming. (See: Why Body-Shaming Is Such a Big Problem, and What You Can Do to Stop It
"This week, I got to share with the world a project I have been working on for almost a year, and the love was unmatched," she writes in the caption of an Instagram post paired with photos of her in a Peloton workout set and on a rowing machine. "I looked at FB [Facebook] hoping it would be the same as everywhere else. It was not," she continues. "The amount of disgusting fat shaming comments, ironically by men with profile pictures standing with their wife and daughter, [was overwhelming]."
Along with calling out the Internet trolls trying to take her down, Pryor used her post to show that she's not afraid to be exactly who she is. "Let me be clear," continues the Peloton instructor in her caption. "I am healthy. I am a size 12 pant. Size large legging, XL sports bra, and size large tank top. The middle school me would be mortified by those sizes, but the healed 31-year-old stands proudly in her truth."
Acknowledging how hard she's worked to get to where she is today, Pryor explains the importance of making her voice heard. "I worked hard to make waves in rowing the way I have," she writes. "I have played small a large portion of my life, and when this opportunity came about I said I'm showing up unapologetically because why not me? Someone needs to see someone like me! So let me be the first!"
Pryor ends her post with a message for those who felt the need to send her nasty comments about her body. "To all the fat shamers questioning my health and calling me Lizzo, that's actually not an insult," she says.
As for her advice to those who might look up to her success? "Keep fucking going," writes Pryor. "I promise the other side of your healing is like nothing you have ever felt...When you start choosing you first, you stop noticing the people who notice you last," she adds. "It is easy to [criticize] when you're not in the arena. Let them talk while you work."
Unfortunately, those in the spotlight are often subject to scrutiny, especially when they don't live up to unrealistic body ideals. But Pryor's ability to call out her haters and be unapologetically herself is admirable. If you were looking for a reason to sign up for a future Peloton rowing class when they drop, consider this it.
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