Who says girls can’t fight? On Saturday, October 22nd, dozens of girls gathered for a PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT Pink Party hosted by Olympic gold medalist Carmelita Jeter (known as the “Fastest Woman Alive”) at the Andrew and Walter Young Family YMCA in Atlanta, Georgia. The intimate Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence Awareness event featured a mile run, a H.E.A.T. Xtreme cardio class, a DIVAS IN DEFENSE self-defense workshop, and a Q&A panel including breast surgeon Dr. Erin Bowman, group fitness trainer Lauren Smith, and breast cancer survivor Tosha McDade (co-owner of Total Fitness Revolution). 

The festivities started off with a bang when the first Sweat Sister to arrive was gifted a PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT® Duffel Bag. 

DID YOU KNOW: 1 in 8 women are affected by breast cancer.  

After checking in, ladies left messages for a loved one who has battled the autoimmune disease.

The Sweat Show officially kicked off with a welcome message from PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT and SWEAT MAKES CENTS founder, Aeshia DeVore Branch. After sharing the emotional story of the loss of her aunt and godmother Patricia Brown to breast cancer, she then went on to introduce the Pink Party’s host, Carmelita Jeter. All sweat sisters adorned in pink PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT tees were then divided into groups to participate in an icebreaker challenge called “Get Together,” which required them to line up and race in chronological order based on a prompt given by Aeshia. Guests, including FBF Body founder Zakia Blain, then joined hands to recite the PRETTY GIRLS SWEAT pledge and welcomed new members to the Sweat Sisterhood. Immediately after, Carmelita led the ladies to one of her favorite places – the track – for a ten-minute run. While jogging, she offered advice to students who want to follow in her footsteps.

Following the run, guests engaged in a high-energy H.E.A.T Xtreme workout led by Lauren Smith. In just 15 minutes, every sweat sister exhausted each part of their bodies while jamming to an incredible playlist that consisted of tracks such as “Pop That” by French Montana. To watch the full workout, click here.
 
Skye Walton of DIVAS IN DEFENSE wrapped up the fitness portion of the event by teaching life-saving self-defense moves to each attendee.

Guests grabbed AQUAhydrate, Sabra Hummus, and Stacy’s Pita Chips to refuel and sat down to ask each panelist questions ranging from career tips to breast cancer prevention. During the discussion, Carmelita shared how her aunt Brenda Washington’s breast cancer diagnosis and passing affected her on and off the track. Dr. Erin Bowman expressed that she became a breast surgeon because she wanted to help other women fight through their diagnosis and Tosha McDade shared how positivity allowed her to survive her battle with breast cancer. Major takeaways included:

Know Your Body

Be familiar with your body and your breasts; know what feels right so you will know if something is wrong. If something looks or feels out of the ordinary (i.e. lumps, swollen, or leaking breasts), consult your doctor immediately.

Breast cancer doesn’t discriminate

It doesn’t respect age, gender, race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or a healthy lifestyle. About 85% of breast cancers happen in women with no family history of the disease. Get checked!

Stay Positive

Don’t panic about getting breast cancer – it’s rare in young women! Be proactive and understand your personal risk instead. 

7 ways to lower your risk of breast cancer

1. Limit alcohol. The more alcohol you drink, the greater your risk of developing breast cancer.
2. Don’t smoke.
3. Control your weight.
4. Be physically active.
5. Breast-feed.
6. Limit dose and duration of hormone therapy, like birth control.
7. Avoid exposure to radiation and environmental pollution

In loving memory of:
Brenda Washington (Carmelita’s aunt)
Patricia Brown (Aeshia’s aunt)

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To support our mission to encourage teen girls to make their health a priority and to fund free fitness events for teens, purchase apparel in our online shop (HERE), make a donation at sweatmakescents.org, or email us at hi@prettygirlssweat.com to partner with us, become a mentor, or volunteer.