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Re:Thinking with Adam GrantRe:Thinking with Adam Grant

How Olympian Molly Carlson handles body dysmorphia #bravegang

Molly Carlson is a professional high diver, three-time runner-up at the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, and the founder of Brave Gang, an online community of people who encourage each other to face their fears together. In this episode, Molly and Adam reflect on anxiety and motivation, the functions and dysfunctions of fear, and how to harness the benefits and overcome the costs. They also discuss what Molly has learned from her challenges with mental health, body image, and asking for help. The TED Audio Collective is a collection of podcasts for the curious. The TED Audio Collective videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy (https://www.ted.com/about/our-organiz...). For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com.

Adam GranthostMolly Carlsonguest
Sep 17, 20250mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Molly Carlson on body dysmorphia in judged, revealing sports

  1. Carlson says judged sports can amplify body dysmorphia because athletes perform in minimal clothing that exposes normal body changes like bloating or cellulite.
  2. She describes how her genetics made cellulite a persistent source of shame that “haunted” her for years.
  3. Over time, she reframed cellulite from a flaw into a point of pride, emphasizing what her body can do rather than how it looks.
  4. She challenges the implied standard of perfection in aesthetic sports by questioning whether visible “flaws” should ever mean an athlete has to quit.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Judged sports intensify body scrutiny because the uniform removes privacy.

Carlson notes that minimal bathing suits make normal, temporary changes (like bloating) and common traits (like cellulite) highly visible, which can fuel obsessive self-monitoring.

What feels like a personal defect is often a normal, genetic trait.

She highlights that cellulite was largely genetic for her, suggesting that self-criticism can come from treating common biology as a disqualifying problem.

Shifting focus from appearance to capability can reduce dysmorphia’s grip.

By centering the extraordinary physical feats she performs (“I jump off cliffs”), she grounds self-worth in function and skill rather than surface-level aesthetics.

Self-acceptance can be an active, hard-won process—not a switch.

Carlson emphasizes it “took a while” to move from being haunted by cellulite to embracing it, implying progress comes through repeated reframing and experience.

Questioning the sport’s implicit beauty standards can break the shame loop.

Her rhetorical question—whether she should quit because of perceived “flaws”—exposes the unfairness of tying athletic legitimacy to an unrealistic body ideal.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

I think what makes judge sports worse is that you're wearing almost nothing.

— Molly Carlson

But you're in these small bathing suits literally showing if you're bloated, everyone can see that. If you have cellulite, everyone can see that, and this haunted me for years.

— Molly Carlson

My genetics are cellulite everywhere, and like, now I love it. I'm like, "Hell yeah."

— Molly Carlson

I jump off cliffs with cellulite. Like, you can't do what I do literally.

— Molly Carlson

Am I supposed to quit because I have flaws or flaws in what we think are flaws?

— Molly Carlson

Body dysmorphia in judged sportsImpact of revealing uniformsVisibility of bloating and celluliteGenetics and self-imageReframing “flaws” into pridePerformance vs appearance mindsetCultural standards in aesthetic sports

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