Rachel Hollis has made a positive impact on social media without even trying to.
This mother of three and blogger inspired a number of fans last week by posting a "flabby" photo of herself in a bikini while vacationing in Cancún and calling out her stretch marks in the caption. Soon after her post, the picture went viral with over 12,000 comments and even motivated others to proudly post their own bikini photos.
"I am inspired," Hollis said in a video "momfession" posted yesterday. "I posted a picture online and I could have never anticipated this kind of response. People keep asking me my reaction to everything that has happened and I am so overwhelmed because this is not anything that I did. This is something that you did."
The video includes a number of bikini photos shared by others who felt encouraged by Hollis' Instagram pic, along with a few of the inspiring comments left on her snapshot.
"I think that so much, online and in the media, we see images of what we are supposed to be and there is something so chic about being the real you and putting it out there in the world," she says.
"I have stretch marks and I wear a bikini," Hollis captioned the viral photo.
"I have a belly that's permanently flabby from carrying three giant babies and I wear a bikini. My belly button is saggy... (which is something I didn't even know was possible before!!) and I wear a bikini. I wear a bikini because I'm proud of this body and every mark on it."
Hollis added, "Those marks prove that I was blessed enough to carry my babies and that flabby tummy means I worked hard to lose what weight I could. I wear a bikini because the only man who's opinion matters knows what I went through to look this way. That same man says he's never seen anything sexier than my body, marks and all. They aren't scars ladies, they're stripes and you've earned them. Flaunt that body with pride! #HollisHoliday."