Abigail Cuffey

“As you get older, you can push boundaries.”

Did I also come home with my first tattoo? It’s possible.

It’s no secret that the new year is loaded with pressure to make major proclamations about or alterations in your life. It can feel overwhelming, for sure, but it also provides a natural opportunity to check in with yourself and ask: Who do I want to be? Am I already that person? Or is there an aspect of my life, micro or macro, that I want to change? If the answer to that last question is yes, know that the beauty of transformation—though by definition means a “thorough or dramatic change”—is t…

After seeing kettlebells fill her Instagram feed, trainer Taylor Beebe decided to dive in with team Body Bell on the Ladder app, led by WH advisor Lauren Kanski. What she discovered with that iron bell shifted everything.To say that the kettlebell changed my life would be an understatement. What started as a new way to train during the pandemic (I was initially inspired by seeing Maggi Gao, a kettlebell coach who’s Asian, like me, throw the bells around on social media) turned into a purpose dr…

From exhausted mother of two to triathlete who trains in a war zone and competes around the world, Juliya Azzopardi Mazur credits sport with enabling her to confront her daily stressors with positivity.As a kid, I had a medical exemption from PE due to chronic anemia and stomach issues. Up to the age of 28, I didn’t do anything athletic except go to the gym occasionally. Then one day, in 2016, I saw an advertisement on Facebook for a fun run. I signed up and had so much fun with a group of “nonr…

Andraéa LaVant is a disability consultant and advocate and was the first Black disabled woman to go down the Oscars’ red carpet. As she worked to transform the world around her, she also went through her own (major) mindset shift. I grew up in Louisville. As a Black physically disabled child (a wheelchair user), I was often the only and the first. In fact, I was typically people’s introduction to disability, and I grew accustomed to not seeing myself represented in anything. Not in TV, film, or…

Jenn Drummond—mom of seven (!) and author of the forthcoming book BreakProof—survived a near-fatal accident, then decided it was time to live in a bigger, more epic way for herself—and for her family.I was driving home to Park City, Utah, in 2018 when I saw a vehicle in front of me slow down. I went to move into the fast lane but didn’t make it. After flips and rolls, I landed upside down in the median. I was pulled through the windshield and taken to the hospital, where I was cleared. I was fin…

Valentine Thomas, a lawyer turned spearfisher, and the author of Good Catch, struggled with severe anxiety until she realized that repetition of controlled risk actually freed her.I have had anxiety my whole life and started having severe panic attacks when I was 18. I couldn’t get out of my house. In my early 20s, someone told me that my anxiety attacks would pass at some point if I just kept pushing through. So I hung on to that hope and started working on my mental strength. Let’s say there w…

When executive editor Abby Cuffey sat down for a botanical-inspired painting class, she got way more out of it than just a pretty picture. Here’s what went down... I’ve always been skeptical, to say the least, of group painting classes. Though I love a reason to be social, the idea of getting together to produce questionable-quality versions of the same tree or still-life scene seemed…uninspired? Art isn’t exactly my forte either. (My go-to phrase when justifying my lack of drawing skills over t…

Ever since having my second child in 2019, I’ve been on a journey to determine the right products and wash method to get my hair’s bounce and health back. My hair is long and fine, and I’ve experienced postpartum thinning. I used to be able to go days without cleansing and would supplement with dry shampoo, but while on this mission, I’ve learned that an everyday wash with a focus on scalp care is a must—buildup makes my fine hair feel heavier, greasier, and a lot less healthy. Head Shoulders’…