Persona in Progress

So much more than meal plans, this was joy, connection, and good vibes only.

I went to the Lean Girl book signing expecting a fun little pop-up. Maybe a few glam influencers, some protein bars, and a cute selfie station. What I didn’t expect was to find a community. A real one. The kind where women smiled at each other in line, swapped meal prep tips like secrets, and lit up when someone else mentioned their small win. It wasn’t competitive. It wasn’t curated. It was kind.

And let me tell you… us Jozi girls do not play. The event was scheduled to start at 9am, but when I arrived just five minutes after, the queue was already winding out the door. Some girls had pitched up at 7am. On a Saturday. Not for show, but because they genuinely love what Angelique (aka The Lean Girl) stands for.

And honestly, it’s easy to see why. She’s got that presence… the kind that feels both aspirational and somehow completely relatable. She looks like a cover model (and not the airbrushed, enhanced kind). I mean, it makes sense, you want a fitfluencer to look good. But her real beauty shines from deep within. She doesn’t talk at you, she talks with you. And when you finally get to the front of the line, she makes you feel like your journey matters.

Although, I might’ve gotten a bit too excited when I met her. I jumped up in pure fangirl energy… and nearly took out an overhead lightbulb. Truly. You can’t take me anywhere. We both burst out laughing and ended up giggling through the entire interaction. It was chaotic and wholesome and weirdly perfect.

But what stuck with me even more was the vibe in the queue. I ended up chatting with the two women next to me and we just… connected. We shared little stories, laughed about our nervous excitement, and hyped each other up. There was no awkwardness. No comparison. No “mean girl” energy. Just three strangers, standing in line and being really, genuinely lovely to one another.

I think I had expected something different. Maybe something shinier or more intense. You know how it goes… sometimes in fitness spaces, there’s an unspoken competition. Who’s leaner, stronger, more disciplined. Who’s eating clean and who’s falling off. But this didn’t feel like that at all.

The girls there looked like me. Like real people. In leggings and takkies, some with full face glam, others barefaced and glowing from the inside out. All just trying to feel a bit stronger, a bit better, a bit more at home in their bodies.

And somewhere between the protein bars and the lucky draw giveaways, I realised I’d stumbled into something special. A space that felt like a soft landing. Where growth wasn’t a competition, and where we could celebrate our own wins without needing to outshine anyone else.

I came for a signed copy of a book. I left with a heart that felt a little fuller, and a quiet kind of hope. That maybe this whole self-improvement thing doesn’t have to be so lonely.

Maybe we really can do it… together.