Fat Bottoms find fame in Te Awamutu
Cambridge’s Fat Bottomed Girls’ popularity is spreading over the town boundaries towards Te Awamutu.
The group of women, and now men too, can’t be missed in their purple t-shirts, rocking the streets of Cambridge in their second annual Urban Challenge.
It involved each person in the group walking every street in their town, in a bid to increase fitness and become more active.
Founder Robyn Chappell said her aim was to see the ‘‘Fat Bottoms’’ spread around other towns.
‘‘Interest from Te Awamutu, when we floated the idea, was huge with some ladies joining up straight away.
‘‘We are formalising our Urban Challenge routes for Te Awamutu with our first groups expected to be hitting the streets before the end of the month.’’
Each walk distance was around 5 kilometres.
Fat Bottomed Girls walking groups started over a year ago when Chappell stood in her new pair of exercise pants thinking she had received the wrong size.
‘‘I had always been very slim, but I had become a slim person in an ever-increasing body,’’ said Chappell.
Feeling she may be judged working off the extra kilos in a gym, she took to social media for other options.
Other women commented that they felt the same and Chappell invited them to a meeting.
The Fat Bottomed Girls was formed shortly after.
‘‘We are a supportive, nonjudgmental walking group for women and men, who are keen to get active, gain confidence and make new friends,’’ she said.
‘‘Everyone this year has joined the group for different reasons.’’
Superannuitant Vicki Hanan said she was just ‘‘mucking around the house’’ before joining the Fat Bottoms.
‘‘I had always worked with people, and now I’m retired this gets me out among people and I’m exercising.’’
New member Tipsy Todd was encouraged by her daughter who was a member last year.
‘‘This is my second walk with the girls, and I love it.’’
For more information on The Fat Bottom Girls, see www.fbg.co.nz