Woman proudly displays mastectomy scars in new Equinox campaign

When a new year hits, we expect to see lots of gym promotions urging us to fight the fat after all our festive cravings. But London-based gym Equinox has gone down a very different path.

Their new campaign, ‘Commit to Something’, features US artist Samantha Paige proudly showing off her mastectomy scars. The 41-year-old opted for a double mastectomy after tests revealed she carried the BRCA1 gene mutation. After getting breast implants, Samantha suffered from an aggressive staph infection, eventually opting to have her implants removed eight years ago.

The advert, shot by fashion photographer Steven Klein, sees Samantha undergoing a floral tattoo surrounding her scars. The 2017 series hopes to shed some light on “topics rarely addressed in advertising including a woman’s decision to embrace a new perspective on beauty after a double mastectomy.”

Speaking on her decision to take part in the campaign, Samantha said: “‘Commit to Something’ is about being able to look at yourself in the mirror and realise who you are and stand up to those values. After coming to this place of loving my body and every scar, my goal is to influence, first of all, how my daughter feels about her body as a growing woman, and if it can influence another person to do the same, I feel as if I have done something beautiful.”

“Scars aren’t ugly. Scars are really just beautiful badges reminding you what you chose to go against – not just the size of your opponent but the size of your commitment – because the things you commit to are the things that make you,” the artist can be heard saying in the campaign footage.

If that’s not an inspirational message to kickstart your 2017, we don’t know what is.

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