A former beauty consultant who is trolled online for her weight says she won't go to the gym because she could lose followers.
Olivia Messina shows off her size 22 figure online promoting body positivity - but her confidence does not always prompt positive reactions.
The 27-year-old Canadian, from Toronto, has built up a following of 1.3million across her social media platforms, but faces constant abuse from bullies who criticise her 23st weight.
While Olivia receives plenty of praise, she is attacked in equal measure by keyboard warriors who warn she is promoting obesity and risking early death.
But the plus size advocate said she is proud of her body and insists she will not give in to her tormentors because her size is her brand.
Hitting back, she explained how being her size has actually made her more successful in a recent interview with Fabulous.
The influencer even claimed that she would be miserable if she lost weight because she would lose the platforms she has built for herself.
"I refuse to work out daily like the bullies tell me I should," Olivia said.
"If I did I’d end up like some people who lose weight and are unhappy with their bodies and lives when I’d much rather be fat and fabulous.
"I’d lose my social media followers and income and I’d be miserable. By taking on my trolls and flaunting my size I was showing them they could do their worst.
"I refuse to comply with their view of how my body should look and I am literally shaking my big beautiful woman’s body in their faces."
Heartless trolls have called Olivia "disgusting" and told her she will "be dead by 40" on her TikTok account.
While fans have praised her attitude hailing her a "queen" and a "Goddess."
"By taking on my trolls and flaunting my size I was showing them they could do their worst," she said.
"I refuse to comply with their view of how my body should look and I am literally shaking my big beautiful woman’s body in their faces."
Olivia was able to pack in her job and make a living as an influencer thanks to her growing following on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.
But her journey to self love has taken more than 25 years after a tumultuous time as a teenager describing herself as "the fat friend" accepted by girls because she was "not a threat."
At the age of 14, she was a size 16 and grew to an 18 to 20 by the time she finished secondary school.
Cruel comments "took its toll" which came from boys especially and Olivia reached her heaviest in 2017 topping the scales at 24st.
At university, she began working at a plus size fashion store named Torrid where she enjoyed styling "big girls" and became the best seller.
When she lost almost 100lbs, dropping around four dress sizes to a size 16, Olivia claims she "felt miserable."
Rather than feeling more healthy and confident, she realised that being skinny was not the key to her happiness and that being plus size was fine.
She later took to TikTok in a video that went viral, admitting how she does not visit the gym daily because she would "end up super skinny with no confidence."
Now she uses her platform to educate people and unite people of all shapes and sizes from across the world.
"My plus-size empire is growing and my fans cannot get enough of my body, my body confidence, my skimpy dance videos, my make tutorials and fashion styling," she added.
