cover story
Haley Cairo is
what’s known
as a “fitness
influencer.”
She chronicles
her fitness and
beauty routines,
how she eats
and takes
supplements,
and also offers
plenty of tips for
staying organized
and being a
businesswoman.
youtube.com/
haleycairo
instagram.
com/haleycairo/
instagram.
com/haleshealth/
When you think of social media
“influencers” the stereotypical
“millennial” might be what comes to
mind – entitled, taking the easy way
out, not wanting to work, everything
handed to them. However, Haley
Cairo is none of those things –
a great group of friends. She began
every adversity, challenge, obstacle,
wearing makeup and it made her
every “no” – she turns it into fuel to
feel prettier, but she still struggled
do more, be more, and inspire more. with feeling good about herself. She
Haley’s journey really began as
continued playing sports through
a child when she went from tons of
high school, and as she entered into
room to play to a more sedentary
eleventh grade, she found herself
lifestyle with a fast food
with a high school crush.
diet to boot. Her mother
As things progressed
Research
fell very ill in 2001,
in the budding romance,
suggests that
leaving Haley’s father to
Haley didn’t feel quite
body-image
take care of her mother,
issues can begin
ready to date. She was
as early as 3
run their company single-
staying out past curfew
years old. If your
handedly, and take care
and breaking other
child is making
of Haley and her brother.
rules here and there to
comments about
With dad running the
feel accepted by her
their body, don’t
show, there was little
crowd of friends. She
dismiss it. You
time for meal planning
decided to back off of
may want to seek
or preparation, so
the relationship, but
professional
oftentimes, he had to turn
help in working
from there, things got
through
to fast or frozen food as
worse. The crush began
self-esteem
the solution for his family.
spreading rumors about
conversations as
As time progressed,
her, not just through
well. Remember:
Haley remained fairly
school, but on the
Girls aren’t the
active through sports and
internet as well. It didn’t
only ones who
play, but began putting
take long before no one
can have body-
on weight and even
she’d been friends with
image issues.
experienced some self-
Listen to your
was speaking much to
boys, too.
esteem issues before
her and she began to
middle school hit.
feel isolated. It was at
In middle school,
this point in time that
Haley’s body image issues became
Haley began dealing with anxiety
worse. She didn’t feel like she fit in
issues. The stress of school, her
well and while she played sports,
peers not being inclusive, and her
she felt that her friends were all
persisting body-image issues had
much smaller than she was, and she
Haley looking for