Lindsey Vonn says she struggled with her body image after the Olympics
Lindsey Vonn might be confident in her athletic skills, but she hasn't always felt the same about her body.
On Monday, the Olympian spoke with John Burn for "The Keep Going" podcast about her skiing career. She also discussed growing up in the spotlight, training for the Olympics, and how she grew to appreciate herself.
"While it may seem like I've always been comfortable with who I am, I definitely have not always felt that," Vonn said when asked what advice she would give to teenagers struggling with body image.
"I definitely had a hard time after I won the Olympics because I was taken outside my ski bubble and put in this entertainment and celebrity bubble and around people that were half my size," she said. "It was like, 'Am I supposed to look like this?'"
Vonn continued to say she had "a really hard time" adjusting to her new life and the attention to her body that came with it. But now, according to the athlete, she's since "figured it out."
"I am who I am," she said. "I feel like I've never conformed my personality or my style, but for positive body image, I definitely struggled with that."
"I have cellulite, I have stretch marks," Vonn added. "I work out every single day and I still have all those things and they're not going away. So it's like, this is me, take it or leave it."
Vonn acknowledged that while it might be easy to tell young children and teenagers to be themselves, it can be a lot more difficult to do — especially with added pressures from social media.
"It's just trying to get them to believe in themselves and embrace their uniqueness," she said.
"The exterior doesn't necessarily match the interior," Vonn added. "All this makeup washes off. You have to be a good person and believe in yourself deep inside — and sometimes that's the hardest thing to do in life, is to really be confident in who you are."
Just a few weeks earlier, Vonn shared more thoughts about makeup, body image, and photo filters on Instagram.
"Same person, same day... all that changed was makeup," she wrote alongside a side-by-side photo showing her with and without makeup on.
The skier also said in her post that while she loves "getting glammed up" for events, she still wants people to know that she remains "the same person with the same feelings" underneath the glamour.
"In the world of IG filters and makeup hacks, I always remind myself that true beauty is the character you bring to every room... everything else washes off! ♥️" she said.