Krissy Cela Wants Every Girl to Feel Strong. Here's Where That Starts
She wants more young girls to find their strength through sport—and she's making it happen.
I hated PE when I was in school; I just didn’t feel confident taking part. I didn't discover my own love for fitness until much later in life, when I started weight training while studying for my law degree.
I always wish I'd discovered movement sooner. The mental clarity, self-belief, and general understanding of my body’s importance would have been really helpful in navigating my teenage years.
That's why I created Project Power, a school initiative aiming to counter how many teenage girls drop out of sport. Going into schools, providing supportive workout clothing and teaching the fundamentals of strength training, the goal was simple: to boost these girls' confidence and show them just how mood-boosting movement can feel.
The idea came about after I'd read some research on women's confidence. I noticed that so many of the challenges women experience around body image and self-belief actually begin in girlhood.
At the same time, I came across statistics showing that so many teenage girls are disengaging from physical activity because of something as simple as feeling uncomfortable in their PE kit. There were so many barriers to taking part.
That really stayed with me. I wanted to create something that could help change those early experiences and give girls the confidence to move their bodies without fear or self-consciousness. Fitness had such a positive impact on my own life, and I wanted to help more young girls discover that same feeling much earlier than I did.
Krissy Cela on Inspiring the Next Generation of Girls to Get Active
I think a lot of women can relate to the body image struggles you have during your teenage years. Our bodies are constantly changing, and beyond that, we’re also more generally trying to build our confidence and learn who we are.
Providing the girls with a kit isn’t just to remove a practical barrier to participating, but also a way they can feel genuinely confident.
Strength training as a superpower
Strength training is important for women at every age, but starting in our teenage years really sets us up for success. I chose to teach the girls the basic strength training fundamentals because building those foundations during our teenage years will help increase muscle mass, improve bone density, boost confidence and create a lifetime of healthy habits, which will support us for years to come.
Common misconceptions
The most common misconception I've encountered is the idea that young girls believe they need to look like other women they see online. Having that perception negatively impacts their body image and overall confidence, which in turn deters them from staying active as they feel like they constantly need to chase unrealistic aesthetic goals.
Doing the work that matters
One of the most rewarding things to witness is the transformation that happens during a session. Students often walk into the sports hall feeling shy, uncertain, or unsure of their abilities. But once the music starts and they begin moving, you can see something change.
They start to challenge themselves, realise they are capable of more than they thought, and experience the enjoyment and confidence that movement can bring. That shift is exactly why Project Power matters. Teenage girls are at a stage where confidence can be fragile, so seeing how the tools we’re giving them are supporting them in feeling stronger, more capable, and more confident in themselves really drives home why this work is so important.
Coming into their lives at this point and hopefully inspiring them to choose themselves will instil confidence that they can take through life.
Challenging the system
Beyond the workshops themselves, I think more wellness education outside of the regular PE curriculum is needed. This could include supporting girls with their body image, deepening their understanding of all the ways their bodies can change and how key fitness is a pillar in life.
Fitness isn’t just for our physical wellbeing and aesthetics, but choosing to continuously take care of yourself is incredibly mentally empowering.
Trying something new
If a girl reading this has already written herself off as "not sporty," I'd recommend she try different types of movement. I push the importance of strength training, but any movement is better than nothing.
Pilates and run clubs are really popular right now, but if those more trendy forms of movement aren’t for you, it doesn’t mean you should give up. For example, as much as I love training in the gym and doing hot mat classes, I also absolutely love to walk and hike. It’s great for my health and good cardio, but it also really clears my busy mind. I recommend finding the movement you love, as it’s always easier to stay consistent that way.
Tailoring the message
I've made a conscious effort to use my platform to remind people that following someone's "what I eat in a day" videos or ab workouts won't make you look like that person. We all have different bodies, genetics, and lifestyles, and it's so important to keep that perspective.
I wouldn't say the message itself is different for teenage girls, but it does feel even more important. Through Project Power and conversations with my community, I've seen firsthand how much pressure young girls are under and comparing themselves to what they see online. That's why I want to encourage them to focus on how movement makes them feel, rather than how it makes them look. Building confidence, strength, and a positive relationship with exercise from a young age is so much more valuable than chasing an unrealistic ideal.
Continuing the growth
In the next five years, I'd love to see Project Power expand its reach and deepen its impact. While we're incredibly proud that we've already visited over 50 schools, delivered workshops to nearly 5000 students, and gifted over 18,000 Oner kits to teenage girls across the UK, our ambition is to inspire even more young women in the years ahead and take Project Power around the world.
I'd also love to find meaningful ways to stay connected with the girls beyond the workshop itself, supporting them at different stages of their journey. Community has always been at the heart of Oner, and I want Project Power to embody that same sense of belonging and ongoing support.
It would be great to bring back girls who have been through the programme to help lead future sessions. Hearing directly from someone whose confidence, relationship with movement, or outlook has been shaped by Project Power would be incredibly powerful. It creates a full-circle moment, showing the next generation what's possible and, hopefully, also helps inspire them to continue their own journey long after the session ends.
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