Yesterday I attended Sweaty Betty Live 2018 at the Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London. Sweaty Betty has, over the last year, become one of my favourite shops, both for their beautifully patterned clothing and their ethics. I love Sweaty Betty’s values, to inspire women to find empowerment through fitness.
Sweaty Betty Live is a wellness event that brings together the best of fashion, fitness and food under one roof, for one day only. This year is their 20th birthday and so they really did have a SB Party to celebrate.
The event came with such an amazing vibe; I adored the community environment and the positive buzz circling the whole space. The venue was packed with like-minded women who have an equal passion for health, fitness and yummy food.
My mum and I joined the Sweaty Betty community for an afternoon packed full of incredible workouts, talks from the UK’s top wellbeing experts and delicious healthy food. We sweated, yoga practiced, shopped, ate, listened to inspirational women and wandered round the beauty area that was bigger than ever.
I really didn’t know what to expect before we went. We entered through an archway of Sweaty Betty coloured balloons, got out wristbands and floor plans. When ordering our tickets, we both booked on to one of their three sessions so we could go together. I went for the double sweat ticket that gave access to two classes, unlimited access to talks and a goody bag worth over £70; my mum got the same but just a single sweat.
Our first stop of the afternoon was the Sweaty Betty clothing stalls. It was very busy with women getting excited over workout and yoga wear. They had items from all of their collections. I was most excited by their leggings which are beautifully designed and stunning quality. The Sweaty Betty ambassadors were so helpful in getting sizes and restocking shelves/stands. Their newest collection, to celebrate 20 years of their iconic bum-sculpting leggings, was getting a lot of love. There was also the opportunity to get purchases monogrammed with initials for free.
I wouldn’t normally allow myself to spend that amount of money on clothing, however I have had my eye on some of their designs for a while now, so seeing that I could get 20% off shopping, I realised that I would be silly not to make the most of this. I tried on several styles of vest and leggings, however in the end, with the help of my mum, I chose the black Pacestter Run Vest as it was the perfect fit, not too light and not to loose, and also the Contour 7/8 Workout Leggings. I am quite petite and so have short legs, so the 7/8 style was a great length for me; the purple pattern print was also very pretty. I also treated myself to the black Cross Train Hoody that I will be using to get to the gym at uni, running and even as an everyday jacket.
We wandered around the beauty stands; people were getting their hair braided, nails painted and much more. I enjoyed looking at up-coming beauty brands that use natural ingredients to help us glow and thrive.
The eateries really were a street food festival the Sweaty Betty way. They had everything from healthy cake to cocktails, avocado toast to yummy salads. I went for a falafel pitta for lunch from Magic Falafel, which was a brown pitta packed full of mixed salad, tomatoes, onion, hummus and the vegan veggie falafel. My mum wasn’t overly hungry and therefore got a small avocado on toast from Pollen and Grace. We sat and ate on the long benches in the centre of the space where everyone was sat their together.
My mum treated me to some naturally delicious and free-from healthy treats from Escape & Bake. We got a peanut butter cup and snickers bar to share. They were both so chocolatey and delicious! There were water filters all around the space to fill up reusable water bottles, which I thought was great!
After lunch, mum and I attended a talk powered by Form Nutrition. It really got my brain buzzing with the innovative talk by inspirational women. The talk was presented by Venetia Falconer; I love her podcast Taking Tastebuds. Olivia Wollenberg, creator of Livia’s Kitchen and Jasmine Hemsley, one part of the HemsleyHemsley duo, spoke about ‘How to have you cake and eat it.’ We wore headphones to cancel out the noise buzzing around the space.
These three ladies are all at totally different stages in their businesses, lives and experiences. It was an amazing, insightful, honest panel. They discussed that everything is in balance, from food, exercise and work. It was also really great to hear that one size doesn’t fit all. Jasmine was explaining that her way of calming and clearing her mind was daily meditation and yoga, whereas Olivia clears her mind while doing a high intensity cardio class. Jasmine is constantly wired and on-the-go travelling so needs a calming activity to wind down but Olivia has a more calm and relaxed personality so the opposite effect activities work best for her. For me, it depends on the day; I love yoga and more intense training equally, depending on how I’m feeling.
Jasmine really intrigued me when she discussed a new term that I hadn’t heard of before, ‘Ayurveda’ and this is how she lives her life. Ayurveda is an alternative medicine that is all about the delicate harmony of our mind, body and spirit. I’m thinking of doing a whole post on this as it really interested me.
Our first class was a yoga class by Jessica Olie. I was amazed how many people attended the session. The podium was in the centre and we were all positioned around the base on our mats. The flow was calming, grounding and empowering and the session full of back-bends and pigeon stresses. It was great to see so many people loving the practice of yoga as much as I did.
Lastly, I tried out a workout from one the capital’s coolest studios. I chose to take part in the Paola’s Body Barre class. It was warm and smoky in the room which really added to the atmosphere; I definitely got a sweat on! The session was a highly efficient workout that fused many disciplines including dynamic Pilates, Ballet Barre conditioning, functional training and HIIT. I definitely worked my core and legs hard; I really enjoyed it. Everyone was at different levels but it was great to see people getting involved.
What a super powered goody bag to get us home! Peanut Bounce Balls, form nutrition discounts, a Sweaty Betty discount code, Pulsin peanut choc bar, Emily Veg Crips Sweet Potato sticks with chilli and lime, Rebel Kitchen chocolate mylk and Primrose’s Kitchen raw carrot, apple and cinnamon muesli. The beauty bits we got were Eyeko London yoga water proof mascara, Sukin foaming facial cleanser, Pretty Athletic Workout glow, Fresh soy face cleanser, The Natural Deodorant Co. clean deodorant balm and Urban Veda soothing facial oil and radiance facial oil samples. The best bit of all, we received a Sweaty Betty vest to match their newest released collection with the saying, ‘I am a Sweaty Betty’.
I loved Sweaty Betty Live; it was so evident that everyone involved had put in such an amazing amount of work to organise and successfully run an event like this. I loved how relaxed everything was and how many women attended, all races, shapes, sizes, ages, etc, with everyone embracing the same things. The event really inspired me to strive to be happy, healthy and fit; to be my strongest, most soulful self. I will continue to be passionate about what matters to me the most with a balance for friends and family. We are all continuing to learn and grow; the key is becoming a part of a supportive community who bring out the best in those around them.
Rachel
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