Nicole Byer’s New Book Is An Exercise In Funny Photo Captions

You probably know Nicole Byer as a comedian, podcast host and Netflix star who co-hosts the show Nailed It!, which laughs along with the failed bakers on the show. Now, she is releasing her first book, which is an exercise in funny photo captions. Featuring over 100 photos of Byer wearing a bikini in various places across California, the book puts jokes in the photo captions, making it still a comedy book, but also a photo book. The first of it’s kind, perhaps? Perhaps.

Her book is out today is called #VERYFAT #VERYBRAVE The Fat Girl’s Guide to Being #Brave and Not a Dejected, Melancholy, Down-in-the-Dumps Weeping Fat Girl in a Bikini. A long-winded title, for sure, but she explains: “I, Nicole Byer, wrote this book to #1, share my impressive bikini collection and my hot body with the world, and #2, help other people feel #brave by embracing their body as it is.”

Amen to that. Byer speaks from her home in Los Angeles about the new book, being honked at, why podcasting and the weirdest things that happened while shooting the photos for this book.

Did this all start as an Instagram hashtag?

Nicole Byer: It started on Instagram as a hashtag, me and my friend Marcy went to Palm Springs in 2017 and I only packed bikinis. I was like: “I’m only going to use the hashtag #veryfat #verybrave.” We know that when fat women post pictures of themselves in less clothing, people say: “You’re brave!”

How did you and the photographer Kim Newmoney decide on the shooting locations?

Kim took my photo at a standup show at the Virgil, she reached out to do portraits which came out so beautiful, she was easy to talk to. I thought she would be great to go with for the book, since she’s up and coming, fun, smart and good at her job. Not only would we be taking photos, but spending a lot of time together, so we met up and vibed really well, we drove around Palm Springs, took photos inside shopping carts, a lot of weird stuff. We had the best time.

The shopping cart photos are the best ones!

A lady drove by and did a double take, like – what? What are you doing!?

Why is it so hard to accept our bodies today and be “brave” in a bikini?

I don’t think its just Instagram, its just ingrained misogyny. You’re meant to be seen and not heard. Don’t take up space, apologize if you’re too loud, type of thing. I think it just stems from years of women’s bodies being told how and what they should be. Now, if you’re on the ‘gram, you see people saying they’re on a journey of discovery and self love, so people are heading in the right direction.

You host five podcasts, how did you get into podcasting?

A friend said to me: “You’re so good at talking and being funny.” It took a push from someone for me to do it. I learned to be self-starting and realized that if a door is closed, you can open a different door.

How do you explain this new book anyway—its like a photo book with jokes in the captions?

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a photo book like this, it’s a coffee table book with little short essays that coincide with wearing a bikini and being fat, or whatever. Each photo has a caption of the worst-case scenario, something that just wouldn’t happen. There’s one review of the book on Good Reads and it says: “I think the author might hate herself.” And I think, ha! You think I hate myself because I took a picture in 100 bikinis and made jokes about it? You’re delusional. Someone who hated their body would be hiding their body.

Do you have any funny anecdotes from shooting this book?

There’s one colorful wall in Los Angeles at North La Brea Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard, and I wanted to change into a different bikini on the side of the road as people were walking by looking at us. Every car that passed honked. In Palm Springs, we pulled over to take photos with dusty rocks at the side of the road, and the pictures turned out so pretty.

Get your copy of #veryfat #verybrave here.