Our identity – both how we see ourselves and the world sees us – is important. But what happens when we let a hobby like exercise become what we’re known as?

The highs and lows of being the fit girl

Lauren Flymen has always been known for loving sport. “I was in the first team for everything at school, I swam for my town and I played squash for my county. At school, I was named as most likely to win a gold medal at the Olympics,” she laughs. But it was only recently that fitness became her public persona.

During the first lockdown, she picked up a skipping rope and fell in love. She wanted to join the community of jump ropers she found online, so set up her Instagram account Lauren Jumps. Despite her friends knowing that she loves exercise, and openly talking to them about skipping, she “started a new account because I was embarrassed for my friends to see what I was doing,” she says.

“It’s funny that I was happy for random people to see videos of me skipping, but not for my friends. I guess I didn’t want them to see me trip up – I was falling a lot. My personal Instagram account was very much a highlight reel and my videos were so far from perfect.”

‘The fitness one’: what happens when training becomes your identity