“Growing Up Hip Hop” star and daughter of hip-hop royalty, Rev Run, Angela Simmons has been taking her health seriously lately. She’s been on a fitness journey where she shared the results of her slimmer and trimmer body on social media in the fall of 2023 sporting a white bikini and embellished chain skirt as her hair blew in the wind. With a scenic beach view as her backdrop, she danced to Tyla’s hit single “Water”.
Throughout her weeks of the fitness challenge, the model, reality star, and entrepreneur created a video diary documenting the challenge. Day 1 of her fitness journey started at 6 a.m. with her trainer, Ashley J, pushing her to new limits. From hills to fields to bleachers, Simmons showed off her hard work day by day.
She continues to show her progress via social media, especially as swimsuit season is coming up.
The now 38-year-old’s first transformation came a year after Miami Swim Week 2022. The destination event usually features tons of models who flaunt their incredibly fit and somewhat unattainable bodies. Many models nowadays would share their edited, filter-filled pics of themselves to floss on social media.
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But Simmons went another route.
Reactions to Simmons Transformation Were Varied (Good and Bad)
She shared her beautiful, glistening body with all of its lumps, bumps, jiggle and marks. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
“Raw no edit. REAL bodies matter,” she captioned the two images showing her in a green bikini from the Matte Collection. The 36-year-old Angela added that, “Thick thighs save lives lol.”
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Following the post, fans celebrated the reality TV star and showered her with love for her body positivity. Gabrielle Union said Angela was “beautiful.”
Love & Hip-Hop star, Joseline, also chimed in with “Beautiful” and a heart-faced emoji.
“I think it’s so amazing and so inspiring for you to show real bodies, in real life, in real-time,” songwriter Angie Beyince said. “It’s bold & it’s brave! You are beautiful and what you’re doing is beautiful for so many girls & women.”
Other fans applauded Angela for being unafraid to post images of her curves and natural body. Several of Angela’s 7.5 million fans said she was “gorgeous” and “real.”
Swim week has become a staple season focused on pushing for actual diversity on the runway. Shows across the board feature plus-size, sample, and mid-size models to walk their stage, which further helps highlight the narrative that all bodies are beach bodies. Matte Collection, founded in 2017, is amongst the brands that have been consistently spotlighting all types of bodies.
Joining Simmons on the runway were Miami native and rapper JT, of the hip-hop duo City Girls, content creator Achieng Agutu, and influencer Ari Fletcher.
Angela is Making Her Fitness Routine for Everyone
According to her website, BNBbyAngela.com, Simmons’ fitness regime is “built, not bought.”
The program is designed for those looking to get back in their own groove. It’s a 14-day program designed to take you through some of her favorite movements along with daily meditation, stimulating your mind & body. Its time for a reset.
The website also offer 3 key areas of focus:
1. Better Results
Empower your mind and body to stay focused and achieve the results that you’re looking for.
2. Better Movements
Follow the exercises in order to improve your body mobility to get you achieve your reset.
3. Better Mobility
Create habits through functional movement in order to achieve the mobility you need.
Are Real Bodies Making a Comeback?
While receiving some praise, there were also other reactions to Simmons’ stunning photos that sparked debate. “People saying ‘real bodies coming back in style’ after Angela Simmons dropped her raw photos is wild to me because what do y’all mean ‘back in style?’” one person tweeted, asking, “You know how many women out here rocking their real body and get body shamed?” citing Lizzo as an example.
That commenter was right. Body image issues are a real thing.
According to new online surveys that were conducted by the Mental Health Foundation, they showed that:
- One in five adults (20%) felt shame, just over one-third (34%) felt down or low, and 19% felt disgusted because of their body image in the last year.
- Among teenagers, 37% felt upset, and 31% felt ashamed in relation to their body image.
- Just over one-third of adults said they had ever felt anxious (34%) or depressed (35%) because of their body image.
- One in eight (13%) adults experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings because of concerns about their body image.
- One in five adults (21%) said images used in advertising had caused them to worry about their body image.
- Just over one in five adults (22%) and 40% of teenagers said images on social media caused them to worry about their body image.
Overall, the research suggests that body image can be influenced by:
- our relationships with our family and friends
- how our family and peers feel and speak about bodies and appearance
- exposure to images of idealised or unrealistic bodies through media or social media
- pressure to look a certain way or to match an ‘ideal’ body type
There are further issues relevant to body image and mental health that are specific to certain factors and experiences, such as:
- long-term health conditions
- cultural differences around body ideals
- gender and sexuality
“I do not feel any pressure to look a certain in Hollywood or to be a certain size. I’m gonna be who I am,” she told Page Six Style. “I want people to know ‘perfect’ is not perfect. I looked at myself one day and I said, okay, maybe I have cellulite. Maybe I don’t have this perfect body. But I am perfectly healthy and I love myself, so there’s nothing wrong with embracing a roll.”
