Two years ago, we put out a casting call to our customers in celebration of International Women's Day. There was just one caveat: all applicants had to be 50 or older. This blossomed into our Age Doesn't Matter campaign — a push to celebrate and spotlight women over 50, who are largely overlooked in the media.
The campaign also cemented our love affair with Colleen Strong, a self-designated Harley-riding grandma and breast cancer survivor. With a little encouragement from her daughter, she responded to the casting call and bared it all for the cameras.
Now, as we continue to push the boundaries of the mainstream in 2022, she's at it again in our new film: Big. Strong. Woman. Co-created by Joanna Griffiths, our very own CEO and Founder, and Supermodel and Entrepreneur, Ashley Graham (who also serves as Creative Director and narrator on the project), the film tackles gender norms and the expectations placed on female identity and bodies.
In honor of this exciting new launch, we caught up with Colleen to see what she's been up to since that fated casting call, how she continues to celebrate her age, and what being a big, strong woman means to her.
The last time you worked with Knix, it was for the Age Doesn’t Matter Campaign. How did it feel to step out of your comfort zone and champion body positivity for people who’ve had mastectomies?
Participating in the Age Doesn’t Matter campaign was my favorite feeling: half terrified and half excited. When I have that feeling, I know I’m challenging myself to do things that result in personal growth.
To be honest, I didn’t think I had much of a chance. When I was actually chosen I had an “uh-oh” moment when I realized I’d be a 50-plus year old donning underwear in an ad campaign.
I thought about backing out but caught myself and decided to lean into the “excited” half of my emotions. Being surrounded by all those badass women is an experience I’ll never forget.
How have you continued to celebrate yourself — your beauty, age, and wisdom — since then?
I just turned 60 and I’ve never felt more comfortable in my skin. I’ve always been somewhat of a rebel when it comes to societal norms and don’t hesitate to questions the definitions and limitations others try to place on me.
As I examine and release the ones that don’t align with me, I feel freer and more authentic — which results in more lightness and happiness. The women who look the most beautiful to me are the ones with grey hair, scars, laugh lines, and a direct gaze. To me, they know their worth and dare the world to tell them otherwise.
As a Life Coach, you help people live free from external validation and the trappings of what it means to be “successful.” What led you to this calling?
I turned to life coaching to help others to experience the life-changing transformation that I’ve undergone (and continue to undergo). When I was younger I followed the formula for success. And it worked… except I was shocked to find success didn’t make me happy. It made me a sick, lonely overachiever.
Being diagnosed with cancer was a huge wake-up call. Instantly, it became clear that I’d been focusing my time and energy on things that didn’t really matter to me.
I redefined success based on what was truly important to me and began to make a series of lifestyle changes that greatly reduced my stress and increased my happiness. One of those changes was to choose work that fulfilled me and helped others.
The people I work with know that what they’re doing isn’t working, but they don’t know why or how to fix it. I help them to discover the values, goals, and priorities that are unique to them so they can make decisions that support living the life they are meant to live.
What’s the most rewarding part of connecting people to what brings them true happiness?
I see all around me people who are working so hard, chasing the dream, and becoming more unhappy and unwell. It’s tough to watch because I know what it feels like to be in that place.
I feel that women are especially trapped by judgements, expectations, and restrictions. It can be really challenging to step outside what everyone around you expects you to do and be.
When I can help someone release the expectations of others and realize they don’t have to live within a limited framework, it’s exhilarating because I know that their world just exploded with possibility.
We’re thrilled to feature you in another campaign, this time in our film Big. Strong. Woman. How does it feel to be featured in a project that rejects expectations placed on female identity and bodies?
After my first mastectomy and reconstruction, I had to go through a process of redefining what being a woman meant to me. I’d lost both breasts and my ovaries — some of the visible and invisible things that identified me as a female. It took some work to feel “womanly” again, and to reclaim my very changed body as my own.
I knew when I did the Age Doesn’t Matter campaign that I would be having my right breast removed (again). I had decided against further reconstruction and resolved to go flat on that side. It was both an easy and difficult decision.
My happiness relies on me living authentically, which for me means embracing my body as it is and no longer trying to “fix it” with reconstruction or a prosthetic. But it can be very emotionally challenging to live with people’s comments and reactions to having only one breast.
When I first had my mastectomy, going “flat” wasn’t even presented as an option. Breast cancer is unfortunately very common, yet we rarely see women with one breast, or no breasts.
Most of the women I speak to who are facing a mastectomy don’t feel strong enough to face the public scrutiny of living openly with less than two breasts. I want that to change. I love that Big. Strong. Woman. is championing the idea that we should love our imperfect bodies, because I believe that too.
Learn more about Big. Strong. Woman. at Knix.com.