I'm grateful for the freedom I now feel'

Eve Boggenpoel talks to Alice Liveing about her past abuse, the pressures of being a social media icon and how she turned her life around to find inner peace

When I was growing up, exercise was never sold as something that could make me feel good, energise me, improve my longevity or make me more mobile. It was solely seen as something that you did when you wanted to change your body and lose weight.

'Women are constantly fed the idea that thin is best. It doesn't even need to be overtly said - although it often is as it's so apparent from the messaging that exists all around us, whether in the media, online or in celebrity culture. There is also so much expectation placed on us as women. We are expected to be homemakers, career women, stay looking as young as possible for as long as possible and never change body shape, even as we age. We create impossible standards for women to adhere to, which only serves to make the majority of women feel as if they're never quite good enough. I want to change that.