My Big White Thighs & Me encourages us all to turn down the volume on the demands of the world and to celebrate the quiet heroism of a female life and it’s body. An award winning story about womanhood, miscarriage, healing, loving your own skin & freezing your bum off in cold water. My Big White Thighs & Me follows Hannah’s personal journey of how she rebalanced her life and began to appreciate the small things by dipping her feet and taking the plunge. The film has won over 15 accolades at international film festivals including several ‘Best in Festival’ and ‘People’s Choice’ awards.
My Big White Thighs & Me: A film about womanhood and swimming
BODY IMAGE AND THE ENDORPHIN RUSH OF COLD WATER
Originally written for the Vancouver Sun Newspaper. An interview with Hannah Maia the filmmaker and protagonist of My Big White Thighs & Me. Hannah Maia decided a year-long cold water swimming adventure would be a great way to get to know herself again. Her film My Big White Thighs and Me is part of the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival’s Women in Adventure Program.
Q. Why did you want to make this movie?
A. To start with, it was a personal project to help me heal from a recent miscarriage and provide me with a reason to keep up my two passions; getting outside and being creative. At my lowest point I found myself feeling too fat to go for a swim in the hotel pool whilst on holiday … a feeling that was so intense, and at the same time so frustrating. I was annoyed that I was allowing bullshit societal pressures of body image stop me from being me, and doing the things I love. It was a make or break moment, and fortunately I decided to try and change something … and that wasn’t to lose lots of weight but to change the way my brain was valuing myself.
Q. What kept you motivated?
A. At the very start I had set myself the goal of ‘swimming outside (without a wetsuit) at least once a month for a year’. It felt achievable but also a challenge. The difficult bit was to keep filming myself, but no one other than close family knew the goal I’d set and I felt comfort in knowing it could all just stay on my hard drive.
Q. At what point did you start looking forward to plunging into cold water?
A. Actually quite quickly. It’s an incredible endorphin rush. I found that once I had dipped in cold water everyone I met that day looked 10 times more beautiful and the world so much more awesome. It was a real pick me up. I still obviously needed to talk myself into it, though, when I was stood next to the water’s edge.
Q. How did you pick the locations?
A. There’s quite a community of open water swimmers in the UK so I mostly took inspiration from them online. Sometimes my dips were quite impromptu as I carried my swimming costume in my bag to have the opportunity whilst out on a walk. And they were also a mix of places I’d been to before but never swam, and places I’d never been but wanted to explore.
Q. What was your most memorable swim?
A. I think it has to be the first trip to the mountain lake on my own, on Cadir Idris in Wales. It was a 2-hour drive to get there and then and hour to walk up … and then 15 seconds to dip, but oh so worth it. I was immensely proud of myself for getting out there and doing it. It just made me excited to keep going. I suppose I was out of my comfort zone, and that makes it memorable too. I think it’s important to nudge ourselves into doing something a little different now and then.
Q. When you look back on the year what memory makes you the happiest?
A. The birth of my beautiful son, but I also feel a deep sense of happiness in knowing that I will always have natural resources to lift my spirits whenever life feels difficult. There will always be cold water, and I’ll always be able to dip in it.
“You’re mad! Bonkers!” For those not initiated to the bliss of cold water it can seem like quite a strange thing to do.
Q. Did you find the “old Hannah?”
A. I did, although I now have an 11-month-old son, so my identity has definitely shifted a little bit again towards being Arlo’s mum, but right now I’m happy with that. I know that I’ll have more time again in the future, and it’s important to do things that make you happy.
Q. What was the most common reaction you got when you told people what you were doing?
A. “You’re mad! Bonkers!” To those not initiated to the bliss of cold water it can seem like quite a strange thing to do. There’s one scene in the film where I’m jumping into the sea from a harbour wall, and a lady watching asked me why I was jumping in. My answer was because it was fun, but her face certainly seemed to question my sanity. I guess different people have different notions of fun. To me it’s like taking me back to my childhood and those carefree times of being in the moment purely for the joy of it.
Q. Have you done any more cold-water swimming? Do you have plans to?
A. I have, but not as much as I would like. However we are moving to the Lake District this year so I very much envisage weekly swims in lakes and rivers. I can’t wait! On New Year’s Day I took a dip in the pool at the bottom of the tallest waterfall in Wales. It was blustery and raining with more onlookers than I’m used to, but it was a good start.
Q. Any plans for more personal, soul-seeking adventures?
A. I think we probably need a family adventure next. I’m looking forward to making sure my son is a happy little water baby. And maybe we’ll do something with bikes.
Q.If you could give another woman one piece of advice what would it be?
A. Other than to dunk quick and not dilly dally around getting your toes cold at the water’s edge, it would be to try and turn down the volume on the demands of the world and to appreciate your inner strength and beauty.