1. Did you participate in sports as a child?
I was a really active child! I started sport at the age of three. I did Physical Culture (baby ballet) and competed in Little Athletics. I also played netball and field hockey. I began gymnastics at the age of five due to of my mum being afraid I would break something in her house because I was always trying to flip myself around and be upside down. She figured she should get someone to teach me how to do that properly!
As a gymnast I excelled at a really young age. By the age of eight I was winning state championships and was offered a gymnastics scholarship with the Australian Institute of Sport to train under the Australian National Coach and as part of the Australian National Gymnastics Squad. At the time I was the youngest athlete to ever be offered a scholarship to the AIS. So as an eight year old I was training 7-8 hours a day, 6 days a week in the gym.
I trained for eight years as part of the Australian Gymnastic Team and was ranked as one of the top 5 junior gymnasts in Australia. I was training to compete in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games but unfortunately a knee injury that required 3 knee surgeries ended my career.
After my third surgery I took a year off to recover and then began training in Trampoline Sports, focusing on the tumbling side of the sport. I was a member of the Australian Trampoline Team for 5 years and also a 3 time Australian Tumbling Champion.
2. How did you get into performing?
I guess you could say I got into performing through stunt work. Towards the end of my competitive sports career I started training in stunts with the Australian Stunt Academy. I started performing doing stunt shows here and there. I worked as a stunt double in the first Scooby Doo movie and then after that I started to get more serious about possibly making performing a full time career.
An old boss of mine was the one who actually suggested I audition for Cirque du Soleil. At the time I knew very little about Cirque and my response to him was “My mum would KILL me if I joined a circus!”. However, after a little research I discovered what it really was and then my thought became ‘Why would they want someone like me?!”
So … long story short, I applied to Cirque as a joke and 2 weeks later was being asked to send videos and my resume to the casting department. I then auditioned when one of the touring shows was passing through my city and a few weeks later I was on a plane to Montreal to start training. Now I have been performing with the company for almost 10 years!
3. What are your overall goals?
To be the best I can possibly be and in the process inspire and motivate others to be the best that they can be. I am currently working toward my masters degree in school for exercise science with a focus on performance enhancement. I think mostly I want to inspire people and let people know that anything is possible. If you have realistic goals and are willing to challenge yourself … put in the time, commitment, and sacrifices it takes to achieve them then you can achieve anything you set your mind to. I really want to inspire and motivate people.
4. What are your competition goals?
I have been approached by many people and asked to be a part of fitness competitions, but I have so many other things going on at the moment that I want to continue to place my focus on those things. I spent a great deal of my life competing, and I still compete with myself everyday. So for now my competition goals are just to continue to better myself.
5. Have you done any fitness modeling?
I have been doing some fitness modeling. Mostly just local stuff here in FL, but it is definitely an area of the fitness industry that I would like to get more involved in.
6. Where would you like to take your fitness career outside of the performance stage?
I would like to be seen as one of the top trainers. Like I mentioned before, right now I am working towards getting my masters degree. I have been an elite athlete for over 20 years and with Cirque du Soleil for almost 10 years so I have a lot personal experience with fitness. And with the education behind me I think that I will have a lot to offer people. I have 10 years experience as a nationally recognized gymnastics and trampoline coach back home in Australia and have been working as a personal trainer now for about 4 years. Ultimately, I would like to be that go-to person in the industry. One that people can trust and know that they are getting valuable information from. Mostly I would like to target the acrobatic type sports and women.
7. What is your diet like?
I really don’t have a regular diet. I change what I eat everyday. For the most part I try to eat as healthy as possible focusing on whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. I am vegetarian so I mostly consume protein in the form of veggie ‘meats’ and beans. I would say my diet is low-fat and toward the high-carb side. I certainly do not follow a high protein, low carb diet, or starvation diet, which everyone who emails me thinks I do lol. I actually eat a lot and if I want to have a ‘treat’ I will have it. I don’t believe in the word ‘diet’ and I also don’t believe in having things completely off limits. I believe everything in moderation is fine.
8. What is your workout routine?
I have a pretty intense workout routine. I don’t workout long, but my workouts are very intense. I’ll generally switch it up between a tabata style training routine, bootcamps, circuits, and supersets. I incorporate a lot of bodyweight exercises in my workouts like climbing rope, different variations of pull ups and push ups etc. I prefer doing exercises that involve a whole bunch of different muscles because this way I feel like I get more ‘bang for my buck’ . A more intense workout in less time.
My typical workout routine looks a little something like this:
Tuesdays: 30 min Total Body Bootcamp, 10 minute core
Wednesdays: 30 minute plyometric leg workout, 30-40 min Upper Body
Thursdays: 30 minute core class
Fridays: 30 minute plyomteric circuit, 30 minute total body bootcamp
Saturdays: 30 minute Upper body Workout
On top of all of that I also perform 10 ninety minute shows a week as well as practice a few hours a week.
9. Do you use any supplements?
I take a multiviatmin, omega 3.6.9, vitamin D, whey protein, creatine, and sometimes an amino acid complex. I have really only recently started using supplements. I was never a big fan before and still believe that we should try to improve our nutrition first and then supplement as necessary rather than the other way around.
10. What would you like your fans to know about you?
I love to help people!! I’m kind of quiet and shy when I first meet people. I’m the kind of person who sits back and observes the crowd for a while when I meet new people and this can be taken the wrong way at times with people thinking that I am ‘stuck up’ … which I am not at all! I’m really just a very down-to-earth, easy-going girl who is trying to inspire and motivate others to make positive changes and live a healthy lifestyle.
