Alumna and fitness guru Cassey Ho '09 opened up about the struggles she faced on her journey to YouTube stardom.
Ho hosts a fitness video blog or "vlog", Blogilates, on YouTube and tweets her fans about her latest blog posts and other fitness tips. She now boasts more than 3.1 million subscribers to her YouTube channel—but not everyone was supportive of her.
On Thursday morning, Ho discussed at the online video convention, VidCon, how she had been knocked down by body-shaming comments, which "becomes such a physical war on your body," according to People. The VidCon panel, titled #GirlLove, also included Rosanna Pansino, Lilly Singhand, and Lindsey Stirling, and focused on how women can support each other both online and offline.
She also opened up about how she used to have an eating disorder and body image disorder, "because I thought I had to be super skinny and super toned and all of that kind of stuff, and compared myself with other fitness people and Instagrammers," the magazine adds.
The recipient of the 2015 Whittier College's Outstanding Young Alumna award, Ho earned this recognition to honor her passion for fitness and entrepreneurial spirit. On a path to becoming a doctor, Ho earned a degree–with honors–in biology from the College. But, her professional life took a different direction and she became one of the most influential people in health and fitness today.
Read more about her story at People.
You can also watch the VidCon panel, which is included in the convention's day-one coverage here.
Image: YouTube
