Today we’d like to introduce you to Ali Tate Cutler.
Hi Ali Tate, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story as a curve model began in London in 2010. I had gone to London for a year of study abroad and to play soccer for a brief stint at Wimbledon AFC.
One day when I was sitting in a hair salon, I saw an advert for “UK’s Next Top Curvy Supermodel.” They were looking for models over a size UK 12. I had always been insecure about my size and weight (even at the height of my Division one athletic soccer days) and so something stood out to me about this advert. I was tired of feeling insecure and undervalued in my body and I think that saying “yes” to that competition was my subconscious way of seeking validation. So I showed up to the competition of over 30,000 British women and it turns out… I made my way to the top 3! I won a contract at a UK plus model agency and that changed the trajectory of my life.
Over the next ten years, I would go on to become one of the most sought after and successful plus-size models. I worked for brands like Max Mara, Mango, H & M, Anthropologie, Target and more. I shot editorials for exotic magazines in far flung countries. I traveled nonstop. I made good money. All the while, I slowly dismantled beliefs about my body. Being surrounded by other plus-size models and witnessing all of their beauty and glory allowed me to reprogram some of my core beliefs around lovability and body image ideals. I realized even though I had always been “bigger” than many of my peers, I was still beautiful. I stopped thinking about losing weight all of the time and started living my life.
Over the last few years, I have been slowly moving away from modeling and into the world of wellness. I completed my yoga training my health coaching certification and started a podcast called The Love You Give where I interview spiritual experts on mind-bending topics. My goal has shifted from body image activist to overall wellness warrior. I want to help people in the ways that I have been helped over the last five years.
After my husband and I moved to Austin from NYC during the pandemic, I started to really focus on my most recent endeavor. I started an intimate skincare company called Playdates that is set to launch in March 2022. My goal with this company is to facilitate conversations around stigmatized skincare issues and also provide natural, herbal, and science-backed solutions to these issues. Things like cold sores, yeast infections, smelly nether regions, ingrown hairs and cellulite are our focus, and at Playdates, we believe these issues are totally normal. We want to leave the shame behind.
And just before Playdates launches is my most exciting venture to date! I am pregnant and about to give birth at any moment. This is my first baby and I am so terrified/excited/anxious/all-of-the-feelings about being a new mom. I am especially thrilled to be doing this in Texas, my family’s new home that I don’t think I could love anymore.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been filled with nothing but bumps and obstacles and stick bits. I have had so many ups and downs. Ups that felt like the highest-highs and downs which felt like I would be unable to lift myself out of the muck again.
Some of the biggest struggles along the way really stemmed from these beliefs:
– Core beliefs of unlovability
– Seeing my worth as rooted in my productivity
– Struggling with self-censorship (not feeling able to speak my truth without fear of reprisal)
– Experiences with cancel culture that left me with PTSD and ideations of suicide
There are so many other struggles that go along with being alive, and these are just some of mine. Looking back, I honestly wouldn’t change any of these. They made me the person I am today; the person about to launch a business and birth a baby boy who is going to do their damn best to be a leader and a mother.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am most known for my work as a plus-size model. I worked for years on different sets around the world and in the body acceptance communities.
Now, I am known for my spirituality-based podcast The Love You Give and my soon to be intimate skincare company called Playdates.
The career accomplishments I am most proud of are my collaboration with brand Reformation on the first plus-size clothing line they have offered which sold out and being used as the first plus-size model for Victoria’s Secret. They were huge honors for me and really felt like a culmination to my many body insecurities I struggled with my entire life.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
There are so many inspiring works and creators out there that keep me going.
My favorite book for this year has been The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck- I loved this book because previously (and excuse my French) I was giving way too many Fucks. I was self-censoring myself online and in person because I wanted to be liked and approved by most people that I met. After I read this book, I really took stock in what I should care about and what needs to be left behind. I decided that catering to other people’s feelings or expectations about myself was most certainly something I don’t need to care about anymore!
I also love listening to old episodes of my own podcast, The Love You Give. I have spoken to some of the most amazing people with unique things to say. The themes of my podcast surround spirituality, wellness, body image, and trauma release- all things that I have wanted guidance on in the past. So yes, I am a bit biased.
I want to give a special shoutout here to an online community of heterodox thinkers that I have come to depend upon for sanity. By heterodox, I mean contrarian and out-of-the-box thinkers who are saying things that need to be said. So many people right now are living under fear of cancelation and they are self-censoring themselves. I really am attracted to people who speak their truth- even if it is unpopular. I identify as politically homeless and I love the offerings of that community. Too often, people’s identity becomes enmeshed in their political tribe and I saw that happening to myself. I broke free of those cult like dynamics with the help of these heterodox thinkers online and I truly feel able to think critically on many issues now. This is one of the most important things to me in life and I am happy I know so many people doing the work on this,
Pricing:
- Playdates Yoni Aftercare 38$
- Playdates Holy Tea Soap 14$
Contact Info:
- Email: happykeeper22@hotmail.com
- Website: iloveplaydates.com
- Instagram: ali_tate_cutler
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100072845392789
- Other: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-love-you-give/id1435020240
Image Credits
White backdrop images taken by Sky Cutler black and white photos taken by Maria Kanevskaya. Color images of campaign Playdates taken by Parker Thornton.
