Let's Talk About It With @Cheethamswithdreams

6 min read

Talking Health and Inclusivity with @CheethamsWithDreams

We believe the health and fitness space should be a welcoming one; being healthy is a journey, not always a destination after all. Everyone should feel able to explore and find what works to help them live a happier, healthier life so we’re kicking off a series of conversations with people with different perspectives on all things health, nutrition and fitness. It might challenge your assumptions, or even inspire you to try something you previously thought you never would! So, let’s talk about it.

MEET @CHEETHAMSWITHDREAMS

One of the incredible things about social media is the opportunity it gives for people to share different perspectives. Just by sharing your own day to day life, you can sometimes end up inspiring thousands. That’s exactly what Becky and Hannah from @CheethamsWithDreams have done.

If you aren’t one of their 1.9m followers on Tik Tok, Becky and Hannah are a sister duo, sharing their life, dreams and experiences. Becky is a nurse, who juggles busy job, busy life and family alongside their social channel and Hannah is a racing obsessed adrenaline junkie who happens to have Cerebral Palsy. Between them both, they have opened some incredible conversations about living with disability, challenged expectations of what disability should look like and shown the joy of sibling relationships!

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

MF - Tell us the story of what drove you to create your account with Hannah

(Becky) Boredom! Ha, no about 6 years ago we went indoor skydiving and I put it on my personal account and we had a ton of comments saying that’s so inspirational, you don’t let disability get in the way and we thought ‘oh this could inspire a lot of people’ so we set up Cheethams with Dreams and made a list of dreams – we didn’t want to call it a bucket list because none of us are passing away any time soon hopefully – it was a list on a piece of card!

Then during the first lockdown everything kind of stopped for Hannah so I joined Tik Tok to have some fun time on Tik Tok and Hannah was like ‘let me in on that action!’. She obviously made the world love her and it’s gone from there really.

We turn everything into humour. As it grew, the more people we were reaching, the more family people that reached out to us saying we know that life’s going to be ok because we’ve seen you. It makes you want to do it a bit more

MF – That’s the great thing about Tik Tok, it lets people ask those difficult questions that maybe you might not otherwise. We love that you tackle the difficult issues that are sometimes hard for us to talk about on a daily. Can you tell us why this matters so much to you?

Yea we get a lot of questions and we’ll try to answer. If it’s for education purposes we will always answer. I’ll ask Hannah and she’ll say yes or no. Education is the key to inclusion, I have always said that. For example, you know if kids see us in the street and look and their mum or whoever says ‘don’t look’ and then you’ve lost your opportunity to say a simple sentence like ‘she’s just like us her legs just don’t work as well as ours’. Then they grow up thinking I can’t look at anyone that looks different.

Education is definitely the key. I used to feel like I needed to answer every troll and I had to re-educate them but then I realised sometimes you just need to stop.

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt though. We’ll always educate if it’s coming from the right place, or try to help with a way to say it.

MF - When it comes to feeling healthy and happy, what would you say your definition of this is?

(Hannah) My sister, my chair, my independence.

(Becky) Being content in life. That calm feeling where you feel… happy. I’ve been through tough times and I have had times of feeling a lot of highs and lows so having the support around you and being content. Healthy? It’s trickier. I was skinny at college yet thought I was the biggest person ever. Healthy to me is more now a mental place. I probably feel more healthy now but probably because I feel more comfortable with myself.

I don’t think healthy is just an image you put out there.

I mean when I first spoke to you guys I said I’m not like what you’d expect to try healthy food or like some of the other people you’ve worked with. But you guys are helping by showing and talking about different types of bodies and healthy habits

MF - Yes we feel health can be more of a spectrum than an end goal and when you take away some of the assumptions you can really start looking more deeply into what you and your particular body needs

It is so different. I’ve come to terms with the fact my body will never be the same as it was when I was 18, it isn’t made for it, I don’t think any of your bodies will be like they were when they were 18 and getting that out of your head is tough, I’ll never look like Hannah and Hannah will never look like me. For Hannah, she’s slim but she eats all the time, we eat the same stuff but I look different!

MF - So, have you guys ever come across negativity or comments from people making comments on what is healthy or healthy looks like?

We used to get comments saying about me that you’re unhealthy or fat, but I can do a lot. I work 19 hours on my feet in a ward, I carry Hannah, I go for walks, I’m strong, I very rarely get ill, but someone might look at me and not think that. I don’t class that as unhealthy, and there are probably people nearer Hannah’s size who are unhealthier than me.

I don’t think bodies are meant to be all the same. None of us were born to be the same. The models all do look the same but it needs to be more normal that we don’t just see things that are not achievable.

We fell into influencing but hopefully we fell into it for the right reasons and people are seeing us out there and relating. I’m thankful for a body that works (Hannah – and me) you’re thankful for your body and everyone is thankful for what it can do for you and I think that overtakes looking a particular way any day.

MF - What’s your best advice for someone who feels like they struggle with confidence because they feel the pressure of the likes of social media and what is deemed as healthy

If I’m having a down day Hannah literally will put me in a headlock and be like ‘you are beautiful’

MF – so everyone needs a Hannah!

Yea! Also confidence comes with time. When you know it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, when you realise you are powerful, kind thoughtful giving, they all outweigh what we look like. The world would be boring if it didn’t.

MF - How much, if any, unsolicited advice do you get across social media about yours or Hannah’s health?

We do. We get a lot of ‘have you tried this…’ the amount of advice on us caring for Hannah is ridiculous. You don’t know our family, we don’t try to advise other families, just show our lives.

Not everything works for everyone else, everyone has an individual situation.

There’s a difference between wanting to help people with something that helps you and saying ‘what you need is…’  

MF - Has that ever made you nervous about exploring more into the health and fitness conversations?

I’ve probably put it off for a fear of failing. But I think being healthy is a life changer, you’ve got to do it for life.

I am more nervous about talking about lifestyle changes I am making because I might fall of the wagon but hopefully, I will feel empowered to share more and show others they can too.

MF - With both of you being sisters with different needs in order to keep healthy, you’ve talked about this before. Can you explain more on how you manage this and how it impacts your day to day to work towards those managing your different needs.

I’m only Hannah’s main carer for a couple of days a week, if I have Hannah for a week or two, I find it really hard to look after myself. Also trying to remember what we’re giving Hannah to keep her weight on isn’t what I need is a hard one to remember and separate sometimes!

MF – last question. What do you think are the three most important things in your life to have a happy, healthy life and mindset

Family. Medication (it definitely gives us both the best chance at living our best lives). Opportunities.

LET’S TALK MORE

Want to join the conversation? If you’ve related to any of Becky and Hannah’s experience, we’d love to hear more about it. Come chat with us over on our social accounts.

Looking for more personal experiences, expert advice or healthy food inspiration? Check out some of our other blog posts for more.