Kate Hardcastle is like a modern day gladiator fighting successfully across many arenas: customer service, public and motivational speaking, raising awareness for many a good cause including increasing the numbers of women in sport and now Image. Working in fashion, people can have the wrong idea that looks are all I care about. This is a misconception. Yes, looking good makes you feel great, knowing you have nailed it with your outfit is a natural high. BUT – looks are not the only thing and in today’s society sometimes we are guilty of forgetting that.
So this January check out KATE HARDCASTLE and her A POSITIVE IMAGE campaign. Let’s get this clear straight away –this campaign isn't anti-fashion or anti-beauty it is merely encouraging people to LOOK BEYOND THE MIRROR to beat the CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE that many teenagers are going through on a daily basis.
Kate did a talk at her old school and walking down the corridor she got chills – bad memories came flooding back. So if our Yorkshire Gladiator had a bad time at school, and suffered from a crisis of confidence, she figured that lots of adults must've also carried bad memories from school into adulthood, negatively affecting their confidence and belief in themselves. So she started digging for facts:
· 1 in 4 teenagers is depressed and unhappy with the way they look.
· 3/5 of girls want a figure that is physically unachievable without surgery.
· 80% of girls and boys want to be famous as their career goal.
80% just want to “be famous” as a career goal. Wow. So where has this mind-set come from? Let’s turn our attention to TV: TOWIE, Made in Chelsea, The Valleys and Big Brother. The quota of reality TV is astounding but the lack of positive and credible role models is what is even more shocking. As Kate points out,
“There is no-one saying ‘This is how I’ve earnt my living, this is how I earnt my place in the world’ and the effect this has on young people is critical.”
So passionate is Kate about a Positive Image that she now speaks about the campaign at all her business engagements – the message is rippling out to MP’s, the world of sport, and fashion. Have you checked out the A Positive Image t-shirts? I’ve ordered mine. Hand crafted by the hand of former Red or Dead owner Wayne Hemingway the t-shirts aren’t some crappy charity t-shirt you use to go jogging in on a Sunday morning – they are awesome logo statements to have on any chest.
A Positive Image is first and foremost about increasing confidence in teenagers, harnessing their belief in themselves, creating some goals, letting themselves shine and that all this is possible regardless of how they look. So get involved this January – donate 1 hour of your time to help increase confidence in groups of teenagers.
