I was TERRIFIED. Knees shaking, I stood & walked slowly down the long corridor that led to a brand new, unknown, & utterly terrifying chapter of my life. “You can still turn back” I thought to myself, for the hundredth time. Gathering the courage to step onto the plane - to take that one tiny step - was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Just seven months prior, my husband & I were overjoyed to find out we were expecting our first baby. Shortly after this, he was offered his dream role…in Hong Kong. After weeks discussing the pros & cons, we decided to take the plunge & relocate for a year. Whilst we were loving our peaceful rural life in New Zealand, we’d always wanted to travel & I felt a calling to see more than the quiet countryside we called home.

But we didn’t expect to wait so long wait for our visas. After an agonising six months, I reached 35 weeks pregnant & our visas STILL hadn’t come through. If they weren’t granted within the next few days, we’d need to cancel our relocation plans. 

Amazingly, the visas came through the next day.

So there I was, stepping onto a plane that would take me into a brand new stage of life. Stepping into Hong Kong felt like stepping onto another planet. Hong Kong assaults all your senses - humidity rushes to embrace you, neon lights shine with vigour, acid-smelling air seeps into your pores, & the streets buzz with the energy of thousands of people. It was SO different from the peaceful rural life I’d left behind in New Zealand.

For the first time in my life, I faced crippling anxiety & panic attacks. 

Whilst I’d done my best to prepare mentally & emotionally for the move, physically being in this big, busy city was utterly overwhelming. Simply walking through the train stations became a nightmare as people pressed into me from all sides (personal space bubbles don’t exist in Hong Kong!), triggering panic attacks.

After a few weeks of battling anxiety, overwhelm & panic attacks, I was on the verge of giving up our dream to live abroad. Mental health is key & without this, it’s diffult to be the best version of yourself.

But then I discovered an INCREDIBLE secret. I’d started exercising daily as a way to get out of our small hotel room, & every time I exercised I felt calm. I felt strong, powerful, & as if I could achieve anything. The transformation on my wellbeing was absolutely incredible.

It was so profound that I couldn’t believe it. How could I go from feeling overwhelmed, stressed & anxious to feeling a deep inner strength? So I started researching. And what I found shocked me:

Study after study showing profound positive impacts of exercise on human health. Like a recent study showing physical activity is 1.5 times more powerful at relieving mild to moderate symptoms of depression & anxiety than MEDICATION. And irrefutable evidence showing that physical activity decreases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, & obesity. These are serious diseases affecting millions worldwide, yet I’d never heard the message of how powerful physical activity is at preventing these diseases. 

Plus, incredible benefits to mental health. Such as a 20% decreased risk in developing dementia, . As I lost my grandfather to dementia, this really hit home with me. 

Adopting a physically active lifestyle didn’t just transform my wellbeing, it transformed my life. I’ve now had the privilege of travelling all over the world, shown my children some of the most beautiful places on our planet, & engaged with cultures I’d never have otherwise seen. And I got to decorate a nursery after we were blessed with our second child, Ava. My life is so much richer for it.After discovering these incredible benefits & seeing the transformation physical activity had on my own life, 

My mission is to empower & inspire as many people as I can to embrace an active lifestyle, transforming their lives in the process. I believe that every one of us arrives on this earth with energy, curiosity, and unique strengths & talents to bring into this world. Yet it is so much harder to bring those strengths into the world when we’re feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, anxious or battling a chronic disease such as CVD, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or obesity.