Last Updated on September 16, 2025 by Laura Jensen
EMD UK Chief Operating Officer, Shelley Meyern, reflects on her personal and professional experiences with This Girl Can following the launch of their new campaign: We Like The Way You Move.
Today marks the launch of This Girl Can’s new TV advert, part of the campaign’s latest phase, ‘We Like the Way You Move’. As someone who vividly remembers the original launch back in 2015, and the energy around the five-year anniversary and second advert, I find myself reflecting on just how transformative this campaign has been, not just for the sector, but for me personally.
From the very beginning, This Girl Can has challenged stereotypes and broken-down barriers for women and girls in sport and physical activity. It’s done more than just raise awareness; it’s help shift a culture. Over 4 million women have been inspired to get active, this isn’t just impact, it’s a legacy of work since 2015, and for those of us in the sector before that point, even longer.* Some of these people inspired are friends and colleagues.
Written by Shelley Meyern
The new advert, showcasing 13 real women moving in ways that reflect their everyday lives -from dancing in the kitchen and pregnancy yoga to wheelchair rugby and dance fitness [2], celebrates movement in all its forms, and a bold statement that every way of getting active counts. It’s inclusive, diverse, and fundamentally human.
For EMD UK, the national governing body for group exercise, we are proud to see group exercise featuring heavily in the new campaign, and rightly so. It’s one of the most effective ways to engage women, especially those who may feel excluded from other activities – 3.43 million weekly** take part.
Group exercise offers connection, community, and a safe space to move, laugh, and grow stronger together. It also offers a breadth of diversity of choice which is unmatched.
That’s why our collaboration with This Girl Can on Reach Up means so much. Reach Up is a resource hub for group exercise instructors, designed to help them create welcoming, inclusive environments where every woman feels she belong***. It’s built on the understanding that barriers – whether cultural, physical, emotional or logistical – can be overcome with the right support and tools.
Through Reach Up, instructors gain access to practical guidance on everything from engaging Muslim women in group exercise to supporting participants with long-term health conditions. It’s about meeting women where they are and helping them take that first step – and keep coming back.
For me this isn’t just work, it’s personal. I had a plethora of opportunities to take part in sport and activity throughout life and that’s not lost on me. It’s shaped who I am, my career, friendships and relationships. It’s picked me up in challenging times and it has provided some of the most memorable experiences I could have asked to have. I believe in the power of movement to transform lives. I believe in creating opportunities, removing barriers, and making sure every woman and girl feels seen, heard, and supported. And I believe in This Girl Can.
As we celebrate this new chapter, I’m proud of the work EMD UK has done, and continues to do, in partnership with This Girl Can. Together, we’re not just promoting physical activity – we’re building a movement.
So, here’s to every woman who’s ever felt unsure, intimidated, or left out. We see you. We like the way you move. And we’re here to help you keep moving.
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References
* Our new advertising campaign is here! | This girl can
