Burlington, Vermont
NCS
—
Rather a lot can occur in six months. And nobody is more conscious of that than Ilona Maher.
Since the Paris Olympics started final July, Maher has grow to be an absolute sensation. She received a historic bronze medal as a member of the US Women’s Rugby Sevens squad, graced the cowl of Sports Illustrated’s “Swimsuit Edition,” completed runner-up on “Dancing With the Stars,” garnered new endorsements on her social media accounts, and signed a contract to play with England’s Bristol Bears rugby workforce — which moved its matches to a greater stadium to fulfill the surge in ticket demand upon her arrival.
All the whereas, she turned the most adopted rugby participant on the planet with 8 million followers (and counting) throughout social media platforms.
Because for 28-year-old Maher, it isn’t nearly the accolades — it’s about her message. With her signature sense of humor (and ever-present daring lipstick), she has spoken overtly about body image, confidence and magnificence “standards,” breaking the conventional mould and inspiring tens of millions of followers in the course of.
So, how does it really feel to have grow to be America’s sweetheart?
“I love when people call me that because I feel like I’m maybe not the image you would have of a sweetheart in some sense of the word,” Maher instructed NCS’s Christina Macfarlane throughout a latest interview in Maher’s hometown of Burlington, Vermont.
“I’m honored.”
At the similar time, she provides, “This was sort of the trajectory I wished it to take. I knew that in my sport, I wouldn’t simply get to play my sport and be pleased with it. I knew that I needed to do more to have a comfy life for myself, to unfold my sport, to unfold rugby normally. So for years now, I’ve been main up so far, hoping to do what I’ve completed.
“And I’m so happy that this worked out like it did.”
In photos: Ilona Maher’s 12 months for the ages
First and foremost, Maher is an athlete — one who’s proud of her physique, and what it could obtain, she says. But individuals usually overlook that athletes are more than what they see on the subject.
“I think (people) put female athletes, especially, into a box, like that’s all she is — ‘She plays on the field and that’s it.’ They forget the personalities that we have, how funny we are, the friendships, the way we are outside, the way we like to get dressed up,” Maher mentioned.
“So it was important for me to show many sides of me and the body positivity, body appreciation side kind of came naturally in a way because it is something that I feel strongly about. Also, with a lot of my content, I try to see what’s relatable for others. And it’s so interesting in my time of learning to appreciate my body, you kind of start to realize, ‘Oh, everybody has insecurities.’”
Maher credit her dad and mom — together with her father Michael, who has performed rugby for more than 40 years — for getting her into sports activities and supporting a constructive physique picture, at the same time as she “struggled with that growing up.”
“I have a body that a lot of people would say is not feminine or is not beautiful or is too strong, too this and that,” she mentioned. “I never understood why my big body looked like this, yet I was always so fit and I was always so fast and I could always keep up. I didn’t look like them, so I just love that people are seeing me.”
But studying she ought to by no means apologize for who she is was a essential lesson — and it got here from her father. While taking part in fast-pitch softball as a younger lady, Maher recalled, one other father on the opposing workforce got here as much as her and mentioned she wanted to decelerate — not one of the different gamers might hit her pitches.
Maher’s personal dad was having none of it. He pulled out the rule e-book and mentioned, “This is a fast-pitch league. She gets to throw fast pitches,” Maher remembered.
“I think that was the first moment of being told to never tone it down,” she mentioned, “because that dad over there … wanted me to tone myself down so that it could be easier for (his daughter). But that’s not the world, is it? The world isn’t going to tone down for you.”
Spend any time scrolling by feedback underneath Maher’s social media posts, and it received’t take lengthy to see her confidence is a trait so many of her followers admire.
And what she doesn’t have, she says, is imposter syndrome.
“I feel like I deserve what I’ve got,” Maher instructed NCS. “I think I’ve worked very hard, even in the rugby space … And then I do all the work off the field.”
“I posted videos consistently from (the 2020 Tokyo Olympics) until now,” she added. “I put myself out there, I put my whole personality — my whole everything — out there. So maybe I have a little (imposter syndrome) sometimes … but it’s OK to be proud of what you’ve done, and it’s OK to believe that you’ve worked to earn this.”
Coincidentally, not lengthy after her interview with NCS, Maher posted a video on her social media accounts lamenting the idea of imposter syndrome and the truth that folks usually assume profitable ladies have it.
Her unapologetic self continues to resonate. After her on-field debut with the Bristol Bears on January 5 — which featured a common season league report crowd — Maher spent over an hour speaking to followers, signing autographs and taking selfies.
“Hopefully, what my fans see is also a person who’s not perfect, who shows every side of themselves … it’s a constant battle of learning to love and appreciate your body. It’s never going to be, ‘I got it. I figured it out,’” she mentioned.
She says she’s grateful for the individuals who’ve helped her see her personal physique on this gentle, highlighting the position of rugby — a sport that reveals what the physique is succesful of.
“That was what really helped me. And then my teammates — being around other women like that who are so confident kind of feeds into your confidence … It comes from inside,” she added.
“But it also can come from those outside factors and surrounding yourself with really good people.”