fashion

'I could see my underwear in the mirror.' 9 women share their activewear disasters.

Active Truth
Thanks to our brand partner, Active Truth

Hi, my name is Keryn and I’m the victim of multiple activewear disasters.

I’ve tripped over my own pants, had the wire in a sports bra snap in the middle of a walk, and displayed some very questionable sweat patches throughout a packed Pilates class.

As I’ve ran to my car trying to hide the split in my pants with my handbag or thrown off a badly fitted bra as soon as I’ve entered my front door, I’ve taken solace in one thing – every single woman I know has experienced some kind of activewear disaster in their life.

From the painful to the expensive to the just plain embarrassing – we’ve all been there.

Thankfully, Active Truth is on a mission to end activewear disasters once and for all with their confidence-boosting activewear designed for all women.

 

Active Truth's high waist tights with smart pockets. Image: supplied.
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Their range - which is available in sizes small to 3XL (8-26) – has gained a cult following thanks to their high-waisted tights which firmly hold you in and stay put through any workout you can throw at them (and yes, some of them even have pockets). Now you can downward dog without fear of the world seeing your undies.

Their maternity range features tights (named a pregnancy fave by Zoe Foster Blake), tees and tanks, and a genius breastfeeding crop with magnetic clasps for easy access.

While we now have the activewear we so desperately deserve, we'll always be haunted by the activewear disasters of our pasts.

So, in the spirit of sharing, here are our most mortifying activewear horror stories:

The sweaty boob situation - Ella.

A couple of years ago - before I found activewear with pockets - I would always put my phone in my bra while I was working out at the gym. Then it started not working and I figured out it was 'water' damaged from the sweaty boob situation and I had to buy a new one. I was too embarrassed to tell the person at the Apple store where the 'water' came from.

The rainbow downward dog - Gemma.

When I was in high school, I wore rainbow underwear under my leggings during our school sport Pilates class. I was in the front row because I was way too keen, and every time we did the downward dog everyone would start giggling. My friends only told me after the class that I was putting on a lovely rainbow show for everyone. I was mortified. To this day, I still do every squat test under the sun in front of a mirror before I buy new activewear.

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The boob pop - Elle.

I was in the 'mums and bubs' swim class the other day, admittedly wearing a one piece that was too small for me, and my boob popped out mid-class. It's very hard to wrangle a child and breasts in the water.

Active Truth's mama feeding crop. Image: supplied.
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The very painful horse ride - Samantha.

So I grew up horse riding and did it very competitively throughout high school. One afternoon I was having a riding lesson and my (very attractive) coach was holding my horse. I swung my leg up to get on my horse and the entire crotch of my jodhpurs violently ripped open and I just sat on my horse pretending it never happened, and did my entire hours ride with skin on leather. Then when my lesson finished I had to go straight to a school Christmas dinner with a jumper wrapped around my waist to try and hide my entire bum that was on show.

The flying iPhone - Jade.

One time I was wearing shorts without pockets, so I tucked my phone into my waistband and sort of... forgot it was there. Later, I was doing box jumps, and mid-jump it FLEW out of the waistband, across the floor and the screen totally smashed. It was so sad.

The undies in the mirror - Jenny.

I made the mistake of doing reformer Pilates with shorts on. They weren't tight enough so the legs gaped and I could see my undies, etc, in the mirror. It was a very long class.

The treadmill trip - Liz.

When I was 17, I joined the gym all the cool girls from school went to. I was definitely not a cool girl but they were always lovely to me. One day, I was on a treadmill next to two of them when I tripped over my own pant legs and went flying, smashing my chin on the end of the machine.

The Training Pocket 7/8 Length Tight — Havana Nights Image: supplied.
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The pink towel - Bella.

I signed up to Bikram yoga after a friend begged me to come along. But then she bailed at the last minute and so I had to go alone and I was freaking out.

The class was so intense I had to strip down to my sports bra because I was so sweaty. Only it was a really cheap bright pink bra and when I looked down at the white towel I'd hired, I realised the colour had leaked all over the towel. It was mortifying.

In the end, I sheepishly went up to the front desk and said "Sorry, my sports bra leaked all over your towel". Thankfully they were cool with it, but I haven't been back to Bikram since.

 

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The treadmill breaker - Jessica.

Back in the days of iPod nanos, I tucked mine in my waistband while on a treadmill. It fell out and went under the belt of the treadmill and was essentially... eaten. Not only did I destroy my iPod but the treadmill was also out of service for several weeks afterwards.

Now that Active Truth has our backs, we can go out into the world knowing our iPhones, rainbow undies and rented white towels are safe from the side effects of bad activewear.

Tell us your activewear horror stories - or recommendations - below!

Active Truth

Confidence-boosting activewear

Created in Brisbane by two mums, we are dedicated to delivering exceptional customer service and offering our full activewear range in inclusive sizing from S to 3XL.

We believe in moving your body for the right reasons – happiness, energy, health, community and fun. 

We celebrate diversity. We refuse to photoshop our models and challenge stereotypes and bias around body image.
We believe women deserve to look and feel great in activewear that fits, flatters and supports.