Meet The Creator – Kayleigh Cooper
1. Please tell us a little about yourself
Hi! I’m Kayleigh and I’m an image editor and a content creator from south-east Kent. You can usually find me having a big walk either on the coast or in the woods, and probably with a big flask of tea too!
2. When & why did you start your body neutrality journey?
I started my body neutrality journey in the summer of 2021. For what felt like years and years and YEARS of my life being wasted because I was always conscious of how my body looked, or what I thought my body looked like, I just decided to view it differently. It took me getting to an absolutely horrible place with my body to make the change. I feel like when you are in such a bad place a switch can just go off and you just decide to change, because you know you have to in order to get better.
3. What made you decide to share your journey online?
I think the main reason for me wanting to share my journey online was because I feel like this is what I would have loved, and needed to have seen, when I was younger. And if I had seen this kind of content when I was younger, then I think I would have been in a much better place now with my relationship with my body, so if I can give that confidence and love to a whole new generation, and anyone who needs to see this kind of content, then it’s all worth it. And I am a creative person, so I love taking photos and creating things anyway, so it felt really natural and it makes me happy to create.
4. Do you think the online world has changed in recent years? Positive or negative? In what way?
Yes and no. I feel like because everyone has access to social media, everyone feels like they need to share their opinions of things, which can be good, but it can also be really bad and damaging for some people. But I truly do believe that the internet is, and can be, a wonderful place.
5. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
I don’t think anyone has ever given me any advice – I think I’m usually the one giving it to other people, haha! So I shall give you some – visualise your highest, most wonderful, most accomplished self... and then exist as them.
6. Which brands could you not live without?
I am very much in love with The Body Shop, their Almond Milk Body Yoghurt is just my favourite moisturiser ever and I cannot live without it. I also really love Dame for their reusable period pads, and Daye for their compostable period pads! I’m a lover of anything eco-friendly/recyclable/reusable, so that’s always something I look out for when I’m buying things.
7. What does a typical day in your life look like?
I wake up at about 7am ish, get ready and then me and my partner walk the family dog, Milo. It’s my favourite part of my day as it’s a time where my partner and I have a check-in, we ask each other what we’re doing for the day, how we’re feeling, and just have time to talk. It really grounds the both of us for the day. Then we come back and have some breakfast, and I’m off over to my office for about 9am. I’m an image editor and I’m very lucky to be self-employed and work from home. I finish work at about 7pm ish, and then it’s another dog walk and then time for dinner and bed! On days where I don’t have any work, that’s when I like to make content. I’ll either shoot in my room, or go for a walk to find a cute backdrop for an image or video.
8. What are your links for people to follow?
My Instagram: www.instagram.com/kayleighcooper
My Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/kayleighjadecooper/
My TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kayleighjadecooper
My YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kayleighcooper
My Blog: www.kayleighcooper.co.uk
9. Anything else you’d like to share?
If anyone is struggling with their body image, please know that you are not alone. It will get better. Nurturing a good relationship with your body is difficult and ongoing, but it will all be worth it. You deserve to feel good about your body and all it can do for you, but if that’s too difficult for you at the moment, the body neutrality is always an incredible place to get to. We shall get there together.