In Pics: New Fitness bunny alert! Zinhle Masango bares it all. So Zinhle Masango (25) decided to hit the gym as a way to escape the pain and learn to defend herself.

She felt helpless while enduring abuse at the hands of her fiance for almost two years. Little did she know that this would lead to her freedom. Today, not only is she a survivor of abuse, she is also a fitness trainer.

While many envy her body, others criticise her shape and refer to her as muscular. But Zinhle said she was not bothered by any nasty comments. She said she was 21 years old when she got engaged to the man she thought was the love of her life.

Shortly after their engagement, Zinhle fell pregnant with her son. She said she blamed herself when the abuse started as she felt she deserved it.

“He would apologise and promise it would never happen again. I believed him. But the abuse continued and he would just apologise each time,” she said.

Zinhle said she felt she could not fight back or defend herself. “I joined the gym as an escape and to learn to fight back,” she said. She said she become mentally empowered and was finally able to stand up for herself.

“I started noticing the change in my body with time. But then I also started getting criticism, especially when I posted pictures of myself on social media.

“Some people went to the extent of saying I looked like a man, but my goal wasn’t to look pretty but to intimidate men,” said Zinhle. Check her pictures below…CLICK NEXT TO SEE MORE PICTURES