- This bra right here, the sports bra
that I just pulled down and this one
are the only style bras I've ever worn
in my whole life and now I'm wearin' some cups here.
(upbeat music)
- Growing up I was really self conscious
about my body, I was just like a little boy.
Just board, board, board, just flat.
- I was always aware that I was a little bit bigger
than all of my friends or more muscular built
than all of my friends and it was kinda tough.
- I would think that I had football shoulders
and that I was masculine.
Like I would fear getting too big.
- I got made fun of a lot and I was really
self conscious about it.
It was really difficult to embrace my strength.
- I was never as ripped as the other athletes.
I was never as skinny as some other girls,
but I was really strong.
- I never really equated being an athlete
to being sexy, so being in lingerie today
and having a little bit more sex appeal
is going to be out of my comfort zone.
- I've never been like, in lingerie,
so I'm super nervous.
- What have I gotten myself into?
- Coming on set here and seeing how cool
and just chill this atmosphere is,
there's no pressure.
- Being here with seven other wonderful
female athletes is surreal.
- Hair and makeup team over there
are beautifying everybody.
I'm trying not to focus on the fact
that I'm about to go do a photo shoot in lingerie.
- I'm getting pampered for the first time
in a really long time and I think that is
something that you are allowed to indulge in
from time to time.
And you don't have to just be an athlete
and make everything super hard
and make everything painful and you don't need makeup
and you don't need this, you know.
Those are my conditioned thoughts.
- [Lydia] Watching Victoria's Secret fashion show,
I appreciate it for what it is.
There's so much glamor, there's so much beauty,
there's so much fun.
But at the same time I wanna see more diversity,
I wanna see women of different shapes.
- [Jamie] They do train really hard and I know
that their diet and their workout regimen
is very strict and much respect to all of them.
And they look fabulous.
And myself and all the other athletes here,
we train more performance based
and we value our performance over our aesthetics.
- [Brittany] We're just all used to wearin' sports bras
and now we're in lingerie, so now I feel
like really feminine and pretty,
and who doesn't want to be a Victoria's Secret
model sometimes?
- [Lydia] I see so much of the stereotypical ripped,
trained athlete and as a curvier woman,
I don't always relate.
And I do wish that there were more body shapes
so that women that grow up being athletes
like myself, can see that and feel beautiful,
empowered and strong too.
- [Erin] When you see these like Victoria's Secret
fashion shows, everyone looks like they
either have fake boobs or they're wearing
like the best bras in the world
that make them have, like perfect cleavage.
With me having an athletic body,
and I don't particularly find myself feeling super sexy.
- [Marlene] I struggle with like, a lot of weight problems,
I get too thin, I get too big, and I definitely
like, overcame everything by being not only
physically strong, but definitely mentally strong.
Being healthy and strong is definitely
the key to everything.
- [Caroline] Being healthy and strong
to me is mind and body.
Mind body connection, if you don't have one,
you don't have the other.
- [Kim] Modeling lingerie, especially pink lingerie,
it's not something I would normally wear.
And it's definitely putting me outside
of my comfort zone.
And I really just wanna embrace myself
and embrace my confidence.
- Thank God for Kim because she got me here,
she was like, you have to do this.
- It's fun to be back with Caroline.
I haven't seen her for a while
and we were both on the Olympic team in 2008 together.
- [Photographer] Do you guys wanna do some
group shots together?
- Yes - Yeah, we'd love that, yeah.
- [Kim] We're used to being competitive
and athletic and so this is different,
tryin' to be softer.
And I think it's hard to do strong
and so often have that be a dynamic that is balanced.
- [Lydia] When I was getting my picture taken,
I just felt free.
I just felt free in my own skin.
- I just saw some of the pictures
and I was like, oh wow, that's me?
It was really surprising.
- How could I look so pretty?
But you know I grew up so rough
and being so tomboyish and like, whoa.
Look at me now.
- [Marlene] I'd tell my younger self to just stop worrying.
Focus on yourself, better yourself.
- [Erin] Saying you know what, screw it.
I'm just gonna be sexy anyways
and it's sexy, to just be confident.
- I've met seven other wonderful athletes
and it really helped me feel more comfortable
being in front of the camera and just embracing my body.
It's been amazing and I can't wait to do these
group shots with them.
- [Kim] Being comfortable in your confidence
is something that's sometimes hard with women.
You don't wanna be too confident,
'cause you don't wanna make someone else feel bad.
But I think that when we allow ourselves to shine,
we actually are giving permission
for other people to do so too.
(upbeat music) (camera snaps)
(camera snaps)
- [Kelli] One, two, three,
- [All] Go BuzzFeed.
(upbeat music)