Jenny Tough and Emily Chappell discuss body image and performance in “This Rider”

Emily Chappell and Calgary’s Jenny Tough are both accomplished long-distance athletes. When they discovered their shared, but separate history of struggling with body image, they decided something needed to be done. In the pair’s episode of This Rider, the two endurance riders open up about their struggles with body image while on a bikepacking trip together through Slovenia.

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“We realised that the thoughts plaguing our own minds were not actually unique to us – that there is a widespread problem here that should theoretically be easy to fix,” Tough says of the decision to start the project. “We wanted to start being part of that fix.”

Watch This Rider below and join the discussion.

Jenny Tough and Emily Chappell: This Rider

What does Canyon have to say about This Rider?

This episode of “This Rider” uncovers an otherwise unseen part of Emily Chappell and Jenny Tough’s careers. Conscious that they are not alone in their struggles with body image, they openly discuss their relationship with their bodies with the goal of encouraging others to be kinder to themselves.

The film follows Emily and Jenny on their trip through Slovenia. It’s a story of friendship and the importance of having someone to open up to.

Talking about her motivation to work on this project, Jenny said: “We realised that the thoughts plaguing our own minds were not actually unique to us – that there is a widespread problem here that should theoretically be easy to fix. We wanted to start being part of that fix.”

“We hope that the film will start a thousand conversations and give people the space and opportunity to bring their own body issues into the light. It’s often only when you finally look the problem in the face that you start to recognise it for what it is, and for both of us, it was hearing the other person talking about her poor body image and thinking “but you have nothing to worry about,” that ended up being a lightbulb moment,” said Emily.

Talking about the film, Canyon’s Road Brand & Marketing Manager, Matthew Leake said: “Jenny and Emily are both renowned for their incredible physical feats, the kinds of rides and adventures that genuinely inspire. What sets them apart even further are their skills in communicating, not just about their accomplishments, but around issues that really matter. With this project we wanted to provide a platform to an important conversation they have been having on body image and perception, a topic that many people can to relate to.