With over 2.3 million followers on social media (and growing every day), Fats Timbo has taken the world by storm. A comedian, creator, author, educator and all round sensation, the 26 year old has won over millions with her quick wit and sunny positivity.
But having been born with achondroplasia, Fats also entered a world which often forgets to make space for those who fall outside of expectations. And every day, she's working to change that...
Now, she's about to take on the ultimate challenge with 2023's Superhero sports series, ‘Superhero Tri’ – swapping her phone for swimming goggles as she takes on the role of Celebrity Team Captain in this year's Triathlon.
‘The Superhero Sports series is a triathlon for disabled people, and I’ll be swimming in it,’ she tells Grazia. ‘Marvel are playing a really big part of it where we basically dress up as superheroes. In our own way, we are superheroes every day! It’s a brilliant concept. It’s like the Paralympics, but for younger children that are trying to get to terms with their disability.'
Returning to Dorney Lake on August 12th, the inclusive event will invite people to take part in the ultimate sports day, featuring swimming, cycling, and running alongside a line up of stars. The UK’s one and only disability mass participation series, their mission is simple: to create a day where people with disabilities - dubbed ‘superheroes’ - call the shots.
And in a move that many of us only dreamed of as starry-eyed children, Marvel have taken the chance to morph Fats into her very own superhero.
‘When I saw that cartoon, I was like “Wow!" Someone turn me into a cartoon show – that’s what I want to see next,’ Fats laughs. ‘I’m really thankful to the person that drew it, because it was so nice to see myself framed in this light.’
The Superhero Tri was born out a lack of sporting events for the 'everyday superhero’ living with disabilities - a lack Fats admits was prevalent in her own childhood. Fats was born with dwarfism, but prefers the term ‘little people.’ Talking to the BBC last year, she explained, ‘Dwarfism is the medical term for it, but I don’t like to be called a dwarf because I like to be called a human – I like to be called a person.’
And now she tells us, ‘When I was starting to realise that I was different to everyone else, I was always the slowest in terms of sport.'
‘I remember sports day, and it was always the worst day of my life. I was probably 10 minutes behind everyone else, still running after they'd finished. If I’d done it with other disabled people, maybe I wouldn’t have felt as embarrassed.’
In fact, it was her own experiences that inspired her to take on the Triathlon challenge. 'I didn’t even think twice about it, because I want to represent other disabled people and set an example for other brands to create their own disability-friendly events. Just because there’s one doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be more – especially when there’s so many people of all ages and generations who would benefit from it' Fats explains.
And part of becoming a superhero is deciding on your superpower... For Fats, that's her 'Bulletproof mindset, meaning I don’t let anyone affect my confidence and determination to win in life.’
‘I’ve definitely not always had that mindset,’ she reflects, laughing ‘I probably had a paper-proof mindset, because anything could affect how I felt! To this day, I’m still quite sensitive and certain words do trigger me. But at the same time, the bulletproof-ness is that you can’t tear me down. I can’t change the way you feel about me or what you say, but I can change the way I react. I tend to just look and observe, rather than get affected by people’s malicious actions or words.’
Her confidence might be contagious now, but it’s the result of a lot of hard work – ‘I read self help books, and pushed myself out my comfort zone.’ And when asked about the advice that changed her life, there’s two that spring to mind. ‘One is that confidence is like a muscle – you have exercise it to keep it strong,’ she explains. ‘I thought I was going to wake up and feel confident the next day, but it doesn’t work like that. You have to build it."
And Fats is the queen of advice, after all...
Earlier this year, she released her first book Main Character En_ergy: Ten Commandments For Living Life Fearlessly._ Sharing her story of how she faced challenges and grew to love her body, she shares her story through 10 hilarious – and often emotional – commandments.
But for all her viral videos, Fats still has her own struggles with confidence – and it’s a 'muscle' she exercises every day. Despite her TikTok fame, Fats shares that posting online is something that still scares her, saying ‘I’m always asking my brother and my boyfriend what they think. My previous videos have done well, so I like to think I’ve got good judgement! [laughs] But I still need that reassurance.’
A big part of Fats’s work – and indeed the whole aim of the Superhero Series – is to help build a community for the massive portion of people living with disabilities. Scope writes that there are 16 million disabled people in the UK alone, with 11% of children living with a disability.
‘Representation is so important in this day and age,’ shares Fats. ‘As a child, being unable to see other little people like me created this kind of self-hatred where I felt like I was the only one. I think it’s really important to see yourself in other people. That’s why it’s important for other young disabled children to have the chance to bond with people that look like them.’
And with Fats only a phone screen away, finding your community is easier than ever. ‘Social media is an extreme positive, especially in the sense that it’s so easy to find somebody that’s just like you,’ she explains. ‘And even with events like this – because social media is so big and anyone can access it, people from all over the country can come down and support.’
With over 14.5K followers on YouTube, and 2.9 million followers on both TikTok and Instagram individually, Fats has quite the platform – with her fandom booming after she appeared on Channel 4’s The Undateables.
Reflecting on her career online, she says ‘You know what, I absolutely love it because that was always my goal. When I finished The Undateables, I never expected my platform to be as big as it is today. I just thought, let me see where it goes. Six years later, people come up to me in the street… It’s so surreal.’
And in the years since first appearing on TV screens, Fats acknowledges that diversity on mainstream TV has come on leaps and bounds, adding, 'That is because of social media and the rise of disabled content creators. I think society is definitely more accepting now.'
'Every year, Love Island bring in someone that has a disability – last year they had Ron who was blind in one eye, this year they’ve got Tyrique who is deaf in one ear. And a lot of the times, these people joke about their disabilities! It brings some humour on screen about how light-hearted disability can sometimes feel. We’re not all serious, and we’re not all doom and gloom. Sometimes we are jokers!’
But despite the steps forward, we’re still far from the finish line. ’There’s over 1.3 billion disabled people in the world and that’s not reflected in media just yet. The representation over these last few years has been amazing,' Fats says. ‘But there still needs to be more.'
The Superhero Series, powered by Marvel is open for registrations at superheroseries.co.uk - you can watch highlights from the day on Channel 4 on Sunday 27th August at 08:45am.