01/02/2026
I don't know whether to call this day 32, because we are officially finished the January Client Spotlights, but I have some more beautiful women still to celebrate!
So to kick off FEBRUARY, and a NEW MONTH, let's strap in for the next little while, as we celebrate Mel.
Now, if I went back through the NINE years, the photo album would be never ending.
With more than 1700 sessions under her belt, she is part of the furniture.
Every year, she inspires me, motivates me, and shows me what is possible with personal conviction, dedication, and focus.
Last year, she had the fight of her life. A brain tumour.
Some people would play the victim and quit everything. Not Mel, she strapped in for the ride, got even stronger and healthier than she was already. Doing the reps BEFORE, to give her the greatest shot of an epic recovery and future.
That is what movement is about. That is what commitment is about. To live your best, fullest life. To hike epic mountains and cliffs in your 60's. To dance and run around with your grandbabies. To move with ease and grace. And... to be ready for anything that comes.
So many people wait until after a near death experience to change their life.
But what about the importance of what comes BEFORE? We never know when anything is going to hit us. We never know when our health, and our strength, is what is going to be the difference between do - or - die.
We don't face our own mortality, our own fragility. We take it for granted. We think we are too busy, too broke, too overwhelmed.
But the people that make true change? Who truly live their best life? Are the ones that don't make excuses.
The busiest of people still find time for movement. In fact, the movement is what allows them to live their life to the fullest.
It comes down to what you value. And maybe you don't value your health because you have never faced a challenge great enough to make you realise that without it, you don't have much at all.
Maybe you are just not even thinking of the future, because you are too stressed out and caught up in your own head in the present. Maybe you are too scared, or don't want to feel what comes up for you when you take a long, hard, look at yourself in the mirror, at your behaviours, at your actions, at your habits, at your excuses.
This post isn't about shame. It is about motivation, inspiration, showing you what is possible. Giving you a reason, greater than yourself.
Mel. I remember I was intimidated when she wanted to join *my* bootcamp all those years ago. Such a powerful, well known woman. Now? She is a beautiful friend, a mentor, a client of 9 years, and someone I couldn't imagine my life without her in it. We share sunrises and sunsets, beach pics, and she makes me believe in myself and to never stop fighting for a future I deserve, when I forget. She has seen me in all my phases and evolutions, and she grows with me. Because growth stops us from stagnation, from rotting out, from being anything less than the extraordinary humans we were born to be.
People look at Mel, and don't realise the adversity and challenges she continues to overcome. You see some fit, strong, woman in the gym, but you don't see what she went through to get there. The days 99% of women would quit on themselves. The injuries she found a work around for. The rehab she respected and completed with the discipline that many lack. The unwavering focus and energy direction towards what actually mattered, instead of all the s**t that really doesn't matter at the end of the day. You don't see the days where people try to kick her down to the ground but she stays standing and still chooses herself, her health, her promise.
She is healthier, stronger, fitter with a rock solid mindset than most others I know. And that isn't because she had an easier ride, it is because of her road. Where she didn't fall into victim. She took her story, and made the most of it. She honoured herself, her health, her strength and values and she didn't let anything get in the way of it.
Control what you can control....and you can control a hell of a lot when you don't fall on your ar$e and expect it to be handed to you without any effort.
I hope you can feel my passion for this woman behind the screen, behind my words. The fierceness and begging you to not take your health for granted. To stop letting all the little stuff get in the way of the bigger picture. The woman you want to be, the life you want to live, the body you want to have. It is all there for you if you are willing to do the work, if you are willing to show up, if you are willing to get kicked in the guts but keep going because you have an unwavering self worth and a non-negotiable will to live your best, most beautiful, active, adventurous, love filled life.
If you are waiting for something to go terribly wrong before making a change... you are doing it the wrong way around.
The foundation, who you are BEFORE, is what makes the biggest impact after.
What could have knocked Mel on her ar$e for years on end (and some people still are)... the work she did, in the months, years, life before, had her walking like nothing happened and out of hospital before most people are even out of bed without help.
Never underestimate the importance of muscle, of strength, of the power of your mind.
Mel, I love you dearly. I am so grateful for you. I wouldn't still be here if you weren't a part of my life. I am forever in awe of you and I am forever in your corner, and I am so excited for your future adventures, and what we can experience together as well.
I am proud of you and you deserve to be celebrated everyday. I know you don't need validation from others, because you are a walking self love self worth magnet, but just for now, hear all of this, take all of this, and know that you change lives, just by being you.
