Katie Sturino Gets Real About Body Confidence

What prompted you to launch your company?

I created Megababe because when I looked for products to combat chafe, everything was cheesy or geared toward men and athletes. I wanted something that was for women—for a girl who’s wearing a skirt, who’s walking to work, and who doesn’t want to chafe. It’s funny, people who have chafing were like, “This is genius. I need this immediately.” And people who didn’t have it were like, “Hun, I think you should probably think of a different business idea. This is dumb.” So I had to really believe in myself because not everyone was on my side.

RELATED: I Didn’t See Women My Size on the Internet—So I Decided to Change That

You’re a social media wizard. Any tips for people?

Stop starting every video with, “You guys…” (Ha!) But really, I’d tell people to worry less about how many followers they have and to just talk about what interests you. People choose to follow you, which means they want to hear what you have to say!

You encourage brands to carry more inclusive sizing with your hashtag #MakeMySize. How did that start?

I kept ordering clothes from sites and nothing fit—nothing came even close. I was like, “F— this, I am a fashion blogger who needs to buy clothes and I can’t—this is crazy!” I was frustrated and posted about it. For a long time, I wouldn’t have done that publicly. But I got to a point where I realized, “If these designers don’t make my size, they don’t care about me anyway, so what do I have to lose?” I’ve had lots of great reactions from brands—like Veronica Beard, who wound up making my size.

 

You post frequently about working out. Do you get a lot of feedback around being a curvy woman in the fitness scene?

Yes, I do. I post workout photos, and followers will say things like, “I walked into SoulCycle, and I walked right out. I can’t work out with those girls with washboard abs.” I find that at so many workout classes, I go in and I’ll be the only person in a sports bra—which is funny because I’m often the biggest girl in the room.

Is that why you’ve partnered with model Hunter McGrady to encourage women to exercise by hosting workouts at different studios in NYC?

Yes. There’s such an intimidation factor around going into those places. Hunter and I are both confident about going into those spaces, but many of our followers aren’t. So we decided to create safe workouts where you don’t have to feel bad if you can’t keep up and you can wear what you want. It’s been freeing to see women who are embracing their bodies together—it’s powerful.