The health influencer telling males it is alright to ‘ogle girls’
- Danni Levy, based in Andalucia, says she wants men to have a ‘safe place’
‘Men need to be men,’ says Danni Levy as she promotes the new iteration of Loaded magazine; online publication Loaded World of which she is at the helm as executive editor.
The fitness influencer-turned-reality TV star-turned-magazine editor, 39, has assured men they should be able to ‘ogle beautiful women’ and promises the rebirth of Loaded will give them a safe space to do so.
Danni, a fitness model based in Andalucia, Spain, who competes in international contests, was once editor of Muscle and Fitness magazine before going on to found Muscle and Health in 2020.
Her career in journalism began in 2010 as a freelance writer in the fields of health and fitness, and she also became a fitness columnist for New! Magazine in 2015 until 2019.
In her personal life, Danni is a married mother-of-one, who documents her toddler son Leo’s antics on his own personal Instagram account.
Danni Levy, the new editor of loadedworld.com, has argued men need a ‘safe place’ to ‘ogle’ women’s bodies – something she hopes to provide with the revival of the 90s and noughties ‘lad mag’
She describes herself on Instagram as a ‘master of female fitness’ and often posts family photos with her husband, Rich, and little Leo.
Speaking to The Times ahead of the second digital issue of Loaded being published, Danni argued that men are crying out for an outlet in which they can look at women without watching porn.
She said: ‘Porn is free, it’s all over the internet and it’s giving youngsters a warped idea of sexual normality.’
The editor explained Loaded, in its new form, aims to occupy the ‘middle ground’ where men can ‘appreciate beautiful women’ without fear of being reprimanded.
‘As a woman and a mother I don’t feel that I am missing out, there is plenty out there for me but for men it’s either full-on or they get caught up by the safety net,’ she continued.
Danni, 39, takes the helm at Loaded as it enters a digital age and promises to bring straight-talking and ‘beautiful women’ to its readers
Danni is also a fitness model and, in a past life, starred in reality TV show Life on Marbs, which documented her lifestyle in Marbella
Danni lives in Andalucia, Spain with her husband Rich and their son, Leo
In addition to her new mission with Loaded, Danni fronts her own bikini line and partners with protein supplement and fitness brand, Prozis, in paid partnerships on Instagram.
Elsewhere, Danni’s career has seen her carry out a stint in reality TV, and she appeared in the ITVBe show Life on Marbs.
The show, which ran for one series, followed just some of the rich and glamorous elite living in Marbella – including fitness fanatic Danni.
However, during her time on the show, Danni revealed there was a darker past behind her glam lifestyle and meticulously sculpted body.
Writing for MailOnline in 2015, the fitness influencer revealed she had previously battled with anorexia athletica – something that went undiagnosed for a long time because it took the form of over-exercising, rather than under-eating.
Danni uses her Instagram account to partner with fitness and protein brands, and she also offers a fitness coaching programme
The influencer and editor has previously opened up about suffering from anorexia athletica which saw her obsessively exercising
She said: ‘I know TV shows like Life on Marbs and the media being full of thin bodies are part of the problem.
‘I wore a bikini every single episode of the show, and that’s when I was getting emails from skinny girls asking how they can get toned like I was.’
Danni questioned why TV shows didn’t feature ‘curvy girls’ more often.
She explained she first began to feel conscious of her weight at 15 – three years into her education at a performing arts school where she would dance for four hours a day and often wore shorts and crop tops as part of her dancing gear.
After going on holiday (to Marbella) and seeing women with slight figures in bikinis, Danni told herself she wanted to look like them.
‘I was going to go running every morning and only eat fish. Before I hadn’t given any thought to being skinnier,’ she said.
Danni lives with her husband Rich and their son, Leo in Andalucia, Spain
‘When I got back to school I started to run five miles around the block after the hours of dancing. Then I’d go for a 15 mile cycle ride. At weekends I’d go horse riding if there was time.’
Before long, Danni’s weight went down from 8 stone to around 6 stone and her parents and teachers became concerned for her health. She maintains that, during this time, she continued to eat three meals a day – however she was obsessed with ‘burning off’ any of the calories she consumed.
‘People would stop my mother in the street and tell her I needed help. She refused to take photos of me because I was so thin,’ she revealed.
Finally, after fearing she might be sent away from home to a rehab clinic, Danni began eating more and eventually became a healthy weight again. But her experience made her want to become a personal trainer so she could learn more about health and fitness.
Since then, Danni has dedicated her life to health and fitness, offering plans to help other people lose fat and build muscle and covering fitness journalism.
However, Danni revealed she worried about her figure once more in 2022 when she discovered she was pregnant with Leo.
‘I’m not ashamed to say that for vanity reasons, even though I did always want a family, I was really accepting of the fact that we couldn’t have children because I was scared of getting fat,’ she told The Sun.
The fitness fanatic revealed she was surprised to learn she was pregnant after she’d experienced some sickness and taken a test, because she and Rich had been led to believe they couldn’t conceive.
She revealed she tailored her exercise regime to suit pregnancy and continued to eat what she wanted.
As the expectant mother gave her advice to other pregnant women, she revealed she has previously been trolled as a ‘fat-shamer’.
She argued: ‘I don’t see why you shouldn’t use pregnancy as a reason to be healthier, not an excuse to eat more.’
In 2012, alongside her fitness career, Danni published a diet book, The Pyramid Diet. It encouraged people to lose weight by rotating their consumption of carbohydrates each day.
However, Danni’s career has taken a new turn as she takes to the helm at Loaded and promises to give men a ‘safe’ place to look at women’s bodies.
Her bold claims come amid a similarly bold relaunch for the publication which went out of print in 2015 following 21 years at the height of popularity in Britain.
At its 90s and Noughties height, the magazine, which had the strap line ‘for men who should know better’, was one of Britain’s biggest and bestselling publications, rivalled by FHM and copycat magazines Later, Maxim, Nuts and Zoo.
Its journalists bagged the biggest industry awards, and it was lauded for its fashion pages – although it also garnered plenty of criticism for its unapologetic ‘laddism’.
The social, environmental and political landscape may have vastly changed – and its original readership are now nudging 50 or over – but the newly launched outlet claims it’ll be a space for ‘straight talk, epic experiences, and a community that aims to celebrate who men really are.’
