Equinox Gym’s moving ad campaign features a model with mastectomy scars
We knew 2017 was going to bring great things, and this thing is great. #CommitToSomething is Equinox Gym’s new ad campaign that features a model baring her double mastectomy scars. Since yesterday, the gym has posted two videos on Instagram of model and cancer survivor Samantha Paige with her mastectomy scars visible. But Paige describes her scars as “beautiful badges, reminding you what you chose to go against.”
If you’re looking for inspiration in 2017, we’ve got it right here.
After the release of Equinox’s Instagram video campaign, Samantha Paige talked to People Magazine about her battle with cancer. She explained that after she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, she then tested positive for the BRCA 1 gene mutation, meaning she was susceptible to several female-specific cancers.
A video posted by Equinox (@equinox) on Jan 3, 2017 at 5:00am PST
The 41-year-old model and mother told People,
“When my daughter was seven months old, my determination to be healthy for my baby was so strong that I decided it was the right time to preemptively have the double mastectomy. I didn’t want to keep going for MRIs and mammograms every three to six months — it was too unnerving and the risk seemed too great.”
Paige decided that it was in her best interest to remove both breasts to avoid larger health concerns in the future. She told People that making that decision was undoubtably “scary.”
She eloquently describes her decision in the caption of the Equinox Instagram post. It reads, “Sometimes commitment is not about what you stand to gain, but what you’re prepared to lose.”
A video posted by Equinox (@equinox) on Jan 3, 2017 at 10:47am PST
Paige continued,
“It’s a huge surgery and a painful one, but for me [making that decision] was also a moment of empowerment and committing to something, which was to be in control of my own wellness.”
Although Paige chose to undergo reconstructive surgery, she feel that the breast implants didn’t make her “normal.” In fact, she blamed them for an aggressive staph infection that lasted several months. Paige chose to remove her implants and admits, she feels healthier and happier without them.
A photo posted by Nycole (@hairbynycole) on Jan 4, 2017 at 7:34am PST
When Equinox approached about joining their 2017 campaign, Paige agreed right away. She told People,
“Equinox’s message of ‘Commit to Something’ is about being able to look at yourself in the mirror and realize who you are and stand up to those values. It just dovetails with what I believe in.”
She hopes her involvement with Equinox’s campaign inspires people to be more confident in themselves – flaws and all.
“After coming to this place of loving my body and every scar, my goal is to influence, first of all, how my daughter feels about her body as a growing woman, and if it can influence another person to do the same, I feel as if I have done something beautiful.”
Equinox and Samantha Paige are inspiring us to love ourselves in 2017. With such an amazing woman as a role model, loving oneself and “committing to something” feels doable and empowering.
