I am one of 7 children and am the eldest. From a young age the desire to care for, help and support people was pretty well ingrained, as two of my siblings were diagnosed with a genetic condition called Friedreichs Ataxia. One of them Alex, sadly passed away at the age of 19, but my other sibling Dallas is still with us and is determined to show the condition who’s boss and not give up. Its certainly a trait my brother also had, and its something that I really see as a quality to be admired and bring to my life and how I help my clients achieve their health and fitness gaols. Seeing that struggle though, its not always as simple as showing it who’s boss, it can’t be sustained all the time and just trying to be there and listen, even if you don’t know what to say is very important and its no different with my clients when it comes to their struggles. Being truly present is so important.

As far as my own obstacles go, I have battled mental health for a long time, going through some particularly dark periods as a teenager and young adult, thankfully I survived that period and it taught me a lot of lessons and made me much stronger and that along with more recently losing my cousin to his battle with mental health, has made me very much so an advocate for mental health awareness and I refuse to treat it as a taboo subject.

For the majority of my childhood I also experienced growing up in a domestic violence situation. It was difficult in a lot of ways but I have survived that situation. Sometimes there are still moments but they don’t last to long. I choose to move forward in my life rather then dwell on what I can’t change.

I was also diagnosed as having high functioning autism, and in a lot of ways I do fit the typical stereotype of loving comic books, star wars, manga, anime and all the typical pop culture stuff but I also love cricket, getting as much of it into my life as possible and of course my training in the gym and getting stronger and more capable with my body. I guess that one of the biggest misconceptions I want to well and truly declare needs to die regarding high functioning autism is, yes we on the spectrum may see the world a bit differently at times and it has absolutely had me having to learn a lot about fitting in and the social norms but I will always be a little quirky and that’s ok. I care about people, will bend over backwards to make sure people are ok and if anything I feel a heightened sensitivity to people’s struggles and a particularly strong calling to use my expertise to support them in in becoming stronger, healthier, happier and find that balance that’s going to give them the most amazing life possible.

I think really I see the diagnoses as more of a privilege then ever to be honest because my little brother also has been diagnosed on the spectrum and I get him completely, he knows that, and I get to support him like no one else quite can in our family and make his way in life a little bit easier through teaching him about my experiences.

I am so excited for the future, what it has for store for me and my clients, who continue to amaze me and teach me valuable lessons along the way.

Why Did I Become a PT?

Well, like many I started really getting into my fitness because I was concerned I was heading down a path of poor health and something needed to change. I had already seen to much in my family of what issues poor health can bring. I tried a couple of times and fell off the wagon. Third time was the charm though. I started working with the amazing Jodi Redgrave the third time, and for the first time I felt completely supported and considered when it came to my own struggles with exercise, movement and health. My confidence grew and at some point along the way I started seriously thinking, how amazing would it be to be able to give to people what my PT was gifting me.

There was a little bit of a bump in the road after this though. I still kept training but I ended up really pushing to get to the bottom of long term sleep issues of its effect on me because I was really starting to have trouble progressing as much as I would have liked. After seeing a sleep specialist and going through some test, it was discovered I suffered Sleep Apnoea. This was not a complete shock, it after all explained a lot of things I believe I had experienced as far back as a young kid, with my sleep, but with it now being treated, still getting so much out of working with my PT but being more motivated then ever to stay healthy, because quite frankly I did not want me future to be an early death from going into cardiac arrest in my sleep. It not just about how I looked and how my body moved and what it was capable of now. It was quite literally about making sure I live a long life too.

With this being treated though I was back to thinking about being a PT. I always knew I wanted to do something to help people at a deeper level just never knew what specifically but after finally picking up the courage to talk to my PT about it and her being so supportive of me doing it, and then talking to my mum, I was no longer thinking, I was doing. I was going to do what I was always meant to do. Using my passion for movement, weight training and health to have a positive impact on peoples lives.

Getting those qualifications was the best decision of my life. It’s so fulfilling not just helping people get stronger, lose body fat and all those typical goals but seeing them transform and being so much more fulfilled and confident, there’s nothing like it. Being a part of such growth feels like they give you that little piece of themselves that always stays with you and it teaches you and makes you a better person.