NikeWomen have always been one step ahead of the game when it comes to innovating women’s sportswear – both by perfecting the products themselves, and aligning them with empowering body positive campaigns.

For their latest Nike sports bra collection, the brand commissioned Eloise King to cast and direct London-based women on a film inspired by a poem by Abondance Matanda, celebrating the strength and capability of female bodies.

Alongside Abondance, the video features dancer Belen Leroux, professional boxer and queer rights advocate Cherelle Brown, nail artist and DJ Jess Young, and award-winning social worker and activist Tanya Compas.

The Nike SS19 Bra Collection goes up to size 44G. Throughout the film the new FK Indy, FK Fenom, Tech Pack Moto Spacer, Mesh and Bold styles are featured, all of which have been designed to maximise comfort, confidence and support. Read our chats with Jess and Tanya below, and pick up a copy of the Nike athlete cover of our Spring issue here.

Why were you drawn to getting involved with this project?
I was drawn to getting involved in the project because I felt that it challenged the image of what it means to be a ‘woman’. Womanhood is often looked at in such a monolithic view and for myself, as a queer, fluid Black woman, I felt like I didn’t have to conform within the project, I could exist loudly as my entire self without having to change myself to fit into the often restrictive mainstream view of womanhood.

What message do you want young women to take away from this film?
I want women to know that they can exist in so many different ways, there isn’t one way to be a woman. You can be feminine, you can be masculine and you can float around between the two. Your womanhood is still valid.

How did it Abondance’s poem resonate with you personally?
Personally, I am a huge fan of Abondance’s work and how unapologetic she is. With this particular poem I resonated with the following, because it’s always been our birthright to exist as ourselves and listen to our bodies, and we are free to stretch and explore what our bodies mean to us:

“in dis dream dimension
where we’re free to stretch
never bound by no stress about
what’s coming our way
cos we finally remember
it’s always been our birthright
to love and listen to our bodies…”

What’s next for you?
What’s next for me? I’ll continue working with young people, particularly Black and POC LGBTQ+ young people and young women, letting them know that they matter, that it is their right to explore their identity and provide a space for them to do so and making sure they know that they can and should exist loudly, no matter how they identify or express themselves.

Why were you drawn to getting involved with this project?
I was super flattered when Eloise rang me and told me that she loved what I was doing and wanted to feature women doing important and amazing things. I also loved and support the futuristic and empowering concept of it, and wanted to try something new and challenging.

What message do you want young women to take away from this film?
I found the shoot itself challenging as I’ve never been shot, or just never really do an intense workout. I felt pushed mentally and physically, and when I got home I really gave myself a pat on the back for getting through it. So my message to young women: do things that scare you, because when you overcome fear and realise the world isn’t as scary as you think, you learn so much more about yourself and your real potential.

How did it Abondance’s poem resonate with you personally?
I think just reading that made me realise that the universe has given me this opportunity for a reason, because that poem literally just spoke the deepest and darkest corners of my mind. The bit at the beginning where she talks about wanting more from birth, and about loving and listening to your bodies, is super personal because its a realisation I have only recently come to. I always knew from a young age that I wanted to do a lot of things for the world, but it wasn’t until I isolated myself from negativity and societal norms that I actually started to believe I can be whatever I want to be. I’ve only recently embraced my new freelance life, but spending more time with myself has encouraged me to listen to my intuition at all times, because only you know what truly feels right.

What’s next for you?
I want to do so much more with Boys in Polish and let the world hear all the amazing conversations that we have! So I’ve been manifesting more documentary type projects, but I also want to have nail art pop-ups and shoot boys around the world. I would love to do some more interactive things with it, such as workshops to teach boys how to do nail art and meet up events. I’m also focusing on making my own music and DJing, as I feel like now is the time for me to share my musical side with the world. I will always be pushing my growth and craft as a nail artist, so let’s see where life takes me…