00:00:00
Simone Maya welcome to my podcast uh
00:00:02
thanks for having well
00:00:05
thanks can we cut
00:00:07
this no no this is it this is it we're
00:00:10
on we're live um this is um Simone my
00:00:13
four times cman do multisport world
00:00:16
champion uh you've done God's Own events
00:00:19
you've raced all around the world you're
00:00:21
an absolute you're you're you're bossing
00:00:23
it you're a Savage and you're you're 43
00:00:26
years old and this is part of what I
00:00:27
find exciting about your story it's like
00:00:29
um
00:00:30
you just seem to keep getting better
00:00:32
with
00:00:33
age yeah if you look at the piece of
00:00:35
paper yeah K looks like that where do
00:00:38
you think where do you think you are if
00:00:39
it's like a mountain peak where do you
00:00:40
think you are are you on the way up to
00:00:41
the Apex are you at the Apex or are you
00:00:43
on the downward slide now I think I'm
00:00:46
maybe maybe just before the the apic I
00:00:49
still I I think I that's how I feel I I
00:00:53
try and scrape the last little piece of
00:00:57
things to the top of the summit like the
00:00:58
Everest you know there's this there's
00:01:01
not much left but I feel like um I can
00:01:03
hover out a little bit more and then I
00:01:06
think I'm happy yeah yeah this is what I
00:01:08
love love about this um this sport that
00:01:10
you're in this endurance sport it sort
00:01:12
of um you know favors persistence and
00:01:14
patience and and time you know um so you
00:01:17
do sort of get to middle age before you
00:01:19
sort of reach your Peak which is really
00:01:20
exciting it's
00:01:22
cool yeah I don't know if I I feel like
00:01:25
oh imagine if I would have done all
00:01:27
things 10 years earlier where I could
00:01:29
have
00:01:31
been now I feel like oh I'm such a not
00:01:33
old but if you look at the number I'm
00:01:35
I'm 43 years young I say but it's quite
00:01:39
well it is a bit old but it's also I
00:01:42
guess I don't know it feels a bit oldd
00:01:44
but I feel like the 40 is maybe the
00:01:47
young the new 30 now that's what they
00:01:50
saying I'm I'm 50 now so I'm I'm like 50
00:01:52
is the new 40 whatever age you are you
00:01:55
wind it back 10 years don't you um but
00:01:57
the the the um the Intriguing thing
00:01:59
about you and I thought you'd be an
00:02:00
amazing podcast guest is um if we use
00:02:02
like the The Mountaintop analogy again
00:02:05
um so your highs in life have been just
00:02:08
crazy high uh and your lows have your
00:02:11
rock bottoms have have been just so so
00:02:13
low as well it's like a life of
00:02:15
extremities and it's amazing so to to to
00:02:18
see where you are now from where you've
00:02:20
come from it's a remarkable story and
00:02:23
it's fantastic and it's wonderful to
00:02:24
have you here today oh thank you so you
00:02:26
you moved to New Zealand to wer in your
00:02:28
20s mid 20s 27 I was just turned 27 and
00:02:32
you couldn't speak English pretty much
00:02:34
yeah yeah I would come with a few words
00:02:36
and I remember people ask me how you
00:02:39
doing you know as I they walk past you
00:02:41
and I say hi hello greet them and
00:02:43
they're like how are you doing and I
00:02:44
start talking to them and they just walk
00:02:46
past me and I was like you just ask me
00:02:48
how I'm doing you want to hear actually
00:02:50
you know what I'm doing so that was one
00:02:52
thing I would go um to the to the check
00:02:56
out and the again how I'm doing and I
00:02:59
tell them how old I am oh I'm 27 how you
00:03:02
doing you know like totally
00:03:04
misunderstood what they asking me to do
00:03:07
yeah they must be like the most you know
00:03:09
when when you're a kid it's easy to
00:03:10
learn learn new things and pick things
00:03:12
up just easily and it doesn't feel like
00:03:13
learning but when you're an adult like
00:03:15
in you're you're 27 years old um I can't
00:03:18
imagine it's easy going to a new country
00:03:19
and learning a brand new language it's
00:03:21
got to be [ __ ] difficult yeah it was
00:03:23
I guess it was my my my initiative
00:03:26
thought or why I came over here was I
00:03:28
was 26 and I hit the I hit a point where
00:03:32
I'm like oh I'm so sick of this not
00:03:34
speaking a second language if that makes
00:03:36
sense I had English at school like from
00:03:39
year I don't know one two three four
00:03:42
fifth fifth class you have your you have
00:03:44
English for the entire life you till you
00:03:46
finished school and I just struggled so
00:03:49
much at school and I guess maybe because
00:03:51
we brought up with only one language at
00:03:53
home we never went on a holiday where
00:03:55
you would speak a second language so I
00:03:57
guess no one felt the need to you know
00:03:59
and even at school I it was was my major
00:04:01
Focus I was more the the sporty Arty
00:04:04
girl and I guess also with my grandma I
00:04:07
probably had severe highly
00:04:09
dyslexia because I still strug struggle
00:04:11
with the grammar or reading or putting
00:04:14
it all into the right how do you say
00:04:16
language and grammar um anyway and then
00:04:20
by just traveling with your mates to you
00:04:23
know when you get older in your teenager
00:04:24
life and you go to Italy or wherever
00:04:26
Spain and they're all chatting away and
00:04:28
I'm the only one that just sits there
00:04:29
and kind of feels dumb and like I don't
00:04:32
know you know you feel a bit kind of not
00:04:34
useless but embarrassed but it was like
00:04:36
that's where I realized oh my God I
00:04:38
should have done what the teacher told
00:04:40
me you need to go home and do when you
00:04:44
learn your vocabul and what did I do I
00:04:46
mean I did my homeworks but I probably
00:04:48
went home did my homeworks and then I
00:04:50
was out and about just training and you
00:04:53
know enjoying sports that was my purpose
00:04:56
Al so you legit only spoke German no
00:04:58
other languages you most people you I
00:05:00
don't know I'm probably gen generalizing
00:05:02
here but most people I've met in Europe
00:05:04
seem to speak like one core language
00:05:07
then like a you know bits and pieces of
00:05:09
other languages whereas here in New
00:05:10
Zealand everyone speaks English and
00:05:12
that's for the most part it yeah you
00:05:14
might get some people that know like a
00:05:15
little bit of maldi or maybe a little
00:05:17
bit of French from school but most
00:05:18
people only have one language here you
00:05:20
were the same yeah yeah pretty much yeah
00:05:23
um and in in German it's actually
00:05:24
composer you have to learn English but I
00:05:27
I just really struggled I just didn't
00:05:29
yeah and then anyway then I got 26 um
00:05:33
and I said right that's it I'm going to
00:05:35
do it myself I'm going to jump into the
00:05:37
deep and I don't want any friends and
00:05:38
family I broke up with my boyfriend at
00:05:40
the time I like I'm going to go by
00:05:42
myself I like oh we can have distant
00:05:43
thing like no I don't want a distant
00:05:45
thing I just have to do this and I don't
00:05:47
know because I didn't want someone being
00:05:49
back in Germany waiting for me you know
00:05:51
a year or even six months it's such a
00:05:53
long time 100% we going to grow in
00:05:56
different directions I don't want any
00:05:58
attachment and I don't don't want him to
00:06:00
be attached if someone pops around you
00:06:02
know what I mean so anyway so I
00:06:04
literally I picked up everything I also
00:06:07
had this feeling inside that I just need
00:06:10
to leave and I probably had another
00:06:12
purpose which we might hatch on lat yeah
00:06:15
we we'll we'll get back to that I
00:06:17
thought thought we'll focus on the um
00:06:18
just your outstanding athletic
00:06:20
achievements here in New Zealand because
00:06:21
you're got one to
00:06:23
say I won the adventur race World
00:06:26
Championships last year with um Team AA
00:06:30
we listen we can we can get into all
00:06:32
that but I think we need to like break
00:06:33
it down so that people have got an
00:06:35
understanding of what these what these
00:06:36
events are and what they entail there's
00:06:38
there's a lot to it but the um the
00:06:40
bottom line is you're you're a Savage a
00:06:43
Savage right you're you're an absolute
00:06:45
Beast like a weapon out there hey like
00:06:48
what you've done is just Unthinkable
00:06:50
really oh I guess it keeps me
00:06:53
occupied so first of all before we get
00:06:55
into notice you're wearing a radex um
00:06:56
T-shirt I'm um I'm a radex um fan as as
00:06:59
well they've been sponsoring this
00:07:00
podcast uh for the best part of a year
00:07:02
now um how did that Association come
00:07:05
about R audio my I'm proudly sponsored
00:07:08
by rics too which is great that came
00:07:11
about I guess I was racing in China with
00:07:14
my teamate Sam Clark at the time in 2018
00:07:17
I think and he was sponsored by rics and
00:07:22
he bring bring he brought all the meals
00:07:25
over for the team and it was incredible
00:07:28
because usually ch is always I mean I
00:07:31
love China but the food you just have to
00:07:33
be a bit more careful and yeah so anyway
00:07:36
we had these redic meals and it was just
00:07:37
mind-blowing how we didn't get sick
00:07:40
which is a a major bonus not to get sick
00:07:43
and have no sick teammates we also while
00:07:45
we are racing because they're quite
00:07:47
extreme situations like it's a stage
00:07:49
race where you go for four five days
00:07:51
sometimes you sleep in between but you
00:07:53
know the nutrition is a key element of
00:07:56
recovery as you probably know as a
00:07:58
runner you know know and your overall
00:08:00
well-being and what we all found that we
00:08:03
recovered much better and we also didn't
00:08:06
come back with such a graving you know
00:08:08
usually you feel like you've been sort
00:08:09
the mental but it just balanced us
00:08:11
really well you know if that makes sense
00:08:13
yeah yeah oh I by the way thank you for
00:08:15
bringing up that I'm a runner it's worth
00:08:17
it's worth pointing out the longest I've
00:08:19
done is like a 50k run I'm generally
00:08:21
marathons but um one thing which um I
00:08:23
found particularly amazing with radex is
00:08:26
um yeah there's a book I've been reading
00:08:28
Navy book called Extreme ownership and
00:08:30
it's about just owning absolutely every
00:08:33
possible scenario and taking it on
00:08:34
yourself and where that fits into radex
00:08:37
with me is um for example recently I
00:08:40
went to Sydney for the the marathon in
00:08:41
September and when you're staying in a
00:08:43
hotel you don't know what you're going
00:08:44
to you don't know if you're going to
00:08:45
have access to a toaster or a microwave
00:08:47
for your porridge or whatever so if I
00:08:49
take the radex breakfast with me um I
00:08:52
know that as long as there's a tap with
00:08:54
running water I'm going to be to fuel
00:08:55
myself um in a way that my body's become
00:08:57
accustomed to for the event h me um not
00:09:00
leaving anything to chance and it's just
00:09:01
so convenient and so bloody good it is
00:09:04
it is basically exactly the same when we
00:09:06
go to China you just never know in
00:09:08
especially or even with the water you
00:09:09
don't even know what water you're going
00:09:11
to get so but if you get a bottled water
00:09:13
and you put it in the um Jack to boil it
00:09:16
then you pretty safe and that's even I
00:09:18
roll it with this still like last night
00:09:21
on my way up to Christ Church I I had
00:09:23
two reic meals I just made them on the
00:09:26
side of the road because I was starving
00:09:28
I was running L it's like I just don't
00:09:30
have time and I it's just good because I
00:09:32
know what I get it's pretty good
00:09:34
nutrition takes all the boxes it's
00:09:36
really healthy there's no additives no
00:09:38
fillings no sugar like no crap in it
00:09:41
it's really good ingredients like anyway
00:09:44
sorry I don't want to run on it but they
00:09:47
oh no no it's it's it's really good it's
00:09:49
like I I tell people about that they're
00:09:51
like you're sponsored but it's like no
00:09:53
even if I wasn't sponsored I'd still be
00:09:54
talking about this [ __ ] um like you rip
00:09:57
the bag open and it turns into a bowl
00:09:59
even if you don't have a spoon you can
00:10:01
yes if there's enough water in there you
00:10:03
can drink it and what I guess like the
00:10:04
most it it it it's it makes um it adds
00:10:08
up my values what I stand for and what I
00:10:10
believe in like I feel like there's a
00:10:11
good match like we have a similar
00:10:14
probably the same vision and you know
00:10:15
like the whole overall picture like we
00:10:17
want to be healthy we want to eat
00:10:19
healthy we want to look after our well
00:10:21
building and we want to make it
00:10:22
affordable so these meals they are
00:10:24
actually affordable so much rather than
00:10:26
I don't want to break about McDonald but
00:10:27
you know like you going to Super Mark um
00:10:30
it's well invested yeah so anyway it's
00:10:33
for everybody not just athletes that's
00:10:34
what I want to say oh no no no it's it's
00:10:37
great and yeah have you had a lot to do
00:10:38
with the team like the team they are
00:10:39
incredible and when you when you meet
00:10:41
the team and you get on the same page as
00:10:43
them and you see what their goals and
00:10:44
objectives are it's like yeah this is a
00:10:46
this is a brand I can get behind oh yeah
00:10:48
they're just always Forward Thinking or
00:10:49
evolving and that's I guess reflects me
00:10:52
as well I want to evolve I want to learn
00:10:54
I want to grow I want to do the best I
00:10:56
can how can we make this happen you know
00:10:58
I don't want to be just stuck oh okay we
00:11:00
I've done this now and no there's so
00:11:02
much more and I guess you see that with
00:11:04
the packaging now you know it's less
00:11:07
waste they make it more recycl
00:11:09
recyclable and probably in the near
00:11:11
future it will be compost I don't know
00:11:13
but you know and I like that too like we
00:11:15
need to look at our plan uh out our
00:11:18
planet and you know the future
00:11:20
compostible packaging it's like you're
00:11:21
coming with a 5 plan for the
00:11:24
company they are pretty amazing yeah
00:11:26
they are they are okay so let's talk
00:11:28
about your athletic achievements first
00:11:29
of all what what is um what's the god
00:11:31
Zone event is that the one that Richie
00:11:32
mord does oh my God yeah so yeah Richie
00:11:36
Mard Gods I raised with Richie MCO in 20
00:11:39
I think 21 he kicked his ass no he was
00:11:42
in he was my teamate oh he's in your
00:11:43
team he was in my team and we came
00:11:45
second with Richie second of all right
00:11:47
so what is what has God say because I'm
00:11:50
guessing there's a lot of people
00:11:50
watching this or listening to the second
00:11:52
yes sorry so I guess there's a bit of
00:11:54
different definition or different
00:11:56
difference between adventure racing and
00:11:57
multisport I guess what they have in
00:11:59
common they're all in nature outdoors in
00:12:02
the mountains you know yeah but an
00:12:04
adventure race is basically uh a race
00:12:07
where you go from A to B or A to Z and
00:12:10
you've get a given a map with control
00:12:13
points and you have a navigator and you
00:12:15
go all day all night and no one tells
00:12:17
you what to do you know well you got
00:12:19
given the the lengths like you have like
00:12:21
a 200k cycle length or even 122k run/
00:12:26
hike and kayaking so it's all in nature
00:12:30
and you have all sorts of elements with
00:12:32
upselling climbing so you kind of have
00:12:34
to be sort of an all round allrounder
00:12:36
sort of but you don't have to how do you
00:12:38
say like you definitely need a navigator
00:12:41
because you have to navigate and it's
00:12:42
really old school there's no GPS there's
00:12:44
no technical um devices allowed and with
00:12:47
your team of four so it's always a team
00:12:49
of four and the rules is usually three
00:12:51
guys and a
00:12:53
girl and you I guess try and be the make
00:12:57
your way as quick as possible from a to
00:12:59
the Finish Line collecting these
00:13:02
controls and yeah yeah that's amazing
00:13:05
you don't really sleep much so it's
00:13:06
probably um like I can understand not
00:13:10
understand but I I feel a bit like must
00:13:12
be like when you have a baby you know
00:13:13
the first few weeks or months or years
00:13:16
they talk about sleep deoration the M um
00:13:20
probably similar to that yeah the only
00:13:22
difference is your Gods on you play
00:13:23
don't end it with crack nipples
00:13:26
maybe so so so teams are four so so what
00:13:30
were I'm guessing you pack different
00:13:32
teammates for their strengths or
00:13:33
whatever yes so like what did Richie
00:13:34
bring to the team well Richie it was
00:13:38
actually originally it was Richie's team
00:13:41
and that kind of got Stripped Away week
00:13:43
by week someone got injured someone
00:13:46
couldn't and then we had that period
00:13:48
with lockdown so the last one couldn't
00:13:50
get out from Oakland because they shut
00:13:51
Oakland down and um so it was him he was
00:13:56
the last one standing and even his
00:13:57
Navigator got Stripped Away but he's
00:13:59
actually really good n Navigator himself
00:14:01
and I guess his key element is I don't
00:14:05
know much about rugby but what I've
00:14:08
experienced with him he's actually a
00:14:10
great team player and a really good
00:14:13
leader as such like um quite fascinating
00:14:17
like it's just yeah I mean you've had
00:14:19
you've had a ringside seat I guess to um
00:14:21
yeah Richie mccor and his leadership
00:14:23
post rugby but um and it's his
00:14:25
leadership is something that most of us
00:14:27
you know very few new zealanders would
00:14:28
have to experience during his 148 tests
00:14:31
but what do you mean can you think of
00:14:32
any
00:14:33
examples is he just good at keeping cool
00:14:36
under prer or oh he's very cool and he
00:14:38
would never give up no many how many
00:14:40
stumbles I did say I think I did say to
00:14:43
him once he was he's quite clumsy I
00:14:46
would Express him as like or he keeps
00:14:49
falling over in in the woods and I was
00:14:51
like you just got rakby with TRS you
00:14:53
just bump into those trees to knock
00:14:55
something over I don't know if you found
00:14:56
it funny at the time but I had to laugh
00:14:59
how could you not how could you
00:15:02
not
00:15:04
and you know he had some good words of
00:15:07
wisdom which I can't recall it right now
00:15:11
but while we were walking and we were
00:15:12
walking a lot for a long time um we had
00:15:16
some deep meaningful conversations and
00:15:18
that was just fascinating so he because
00:15:21
I had no idea about him I know he was a
00:15:24
rugby Legion you know and even when you
00:15:25
go shopping with him there were people
00:15:27
coming and hey Richie and wanted an
00:15:29
autograph and blah blah and I was like
00:15:31
man we under time pressure you know get
00:15:34
out of
00:15:35
here but anyway he is quite kind and he
00:15:38
takes the time and you know um but I had
00:15:41
no idea till I saw with my own eyes what
00:15:43
an impact I guess he has on the people
00:15:45
and how well respected he is and you
00:15:48
know what I mean like yeah um so yeah it
00:15:51
was an honor to to to race with him yeah
00:15:54
I thought at some point we might kill
00:15:56
him but oh God would be a disaster so in
00:16:00
these so in these godzone events so you
00:16:02
you you're allowed to sleep if you want
00:16:04
but if you sleep obviously you're not
00:16:05
making any sort of movement so we as a
00:16:08
team do you decide to have a 15 minute
00:16:10
nap 20 minute nap or yeah there are
00:16:12
times um we had sometimes they have um
00:16:15
compulsory dark zones like you can't go
00:16:18
on the Wild River so you have to stay
00:16:20
there for the whole night you know and
00:16:22
that's a good thing to know that you
00:16:24
know you've got a good quality sleep you
00:16:25
got eight hours of resting so sometimes
00:16:28
you have to push for two days to get
00:16:30
there but then you have eight hours of
00:16:31
sleep sometimes that not that doesn't
00:16:33
happen and you have to structure with
00:16:35
your team when you're going to sleep
00:16:38
most teams they probably don't have any
00:16:41
sleep the first 24 hours because you so
00:16:43
awake and you know you just want to go
00:16:45
yeah you are wired um but also it comes
00:16:48
down to the guy that is in charge of the
00:16:50
N or ideally want to have two people on
00:16:52
the N so they can share the load and it
00:16:55
this A B it is a bit based on how they
00:16:57
feel if they feel like they need to
00:16:59
sleep then you know you need to listen
00:17:01
to them because they are your main
00:17:04
components like if they get tired and
00:17:06
make you know when you're more tired
00:17:07
you're more so I guess it's easier to
00:17:10
make nness mistakes so yeah or get
00:17:13
clumsier if you're yeah yeah no he was
00:17:16
pretty
00:17:18
good and even if it would fall over like
00:17:20
we had one scenario he climbed over the
00:17:22
fence he got caught and he was falling
00:17:24
down on the other side on these funny
00:17:26
cut tree stamps and I was like oh my God
00:17:28
we might have to stitch him up but he
00:17:30
just got up dusted off the dirt and had
00:17:34
a deep breath and marched on I was like
00:17:36
man CU when he was playing rugby and
00:17:37
it's one of the most successful all
00:17:39
black rugby careers ever like 148 test
00:17:42
at every single postmatch conference he
00:17:44
had blood everywhere like he's used to
00:17:46
being cut he's fine I know I just had no
00:17:49
idea you know I just God I couldn't even
00:17:51
punch someone probably he like ah that
00:17:53
hurts you know like I don't like pain is
00:17:57
such anymore more that makes
00:18:00
sense are you sure you're in the right
00:18:02
spot then it seems like a very painful
00:18:03
SP endurance pain I guess it's different
00:18:05
than you
00:18:06
know and Co Coast to Coast I suppose is
00:18:09
the thing that you've really sort of
00:18:10
like pushed through and made a name for
00:18:11
yourself here in New Zealand was that
00:18:13
fair to say over recent years so you you
00:18:16
won Coast to Coast correct me if I'm
00:18:18
wrong um but you won coast to coast in
00:18:20
19 uh 2019 yeah 2021 mhm 2022
00:18:25
2023 and you're training for the 24
00:18:28
event and you're the you're the first
00:18:30
woman to do a three p three three wins
00:18:32
in a row I'm not sure I should actually
00:18:34
I should know I've got the trophy at
00:18:36
home looking at every day um no I think
00:18:40
there has been another woman they have
00:18:42
done three oh maybe not three in a row
00:18:44
that's a good point I have to I will do
00:18:46
some homework but I know there is Kathy
00:18:48
Lynn she won it five times so if you if
00:18:51
you win in touchwood and 2024 that
00:18:55
that's five times as well yes w
00:18:59
that's a big goal that's a lot of
00:19:00
pressure on
00:19:02
yourself yeah it's good though keeps me
00:19:05
going yeah I know sometimes it's maybe a
00:19:07
bit too much but it's like yeah and then
00:19:09
people like oh you need to do six hour
00:19:10
like no no
00:19:12
no it's enough and and um yes so you won
00:19:16
in uh 2019 2021 20 yeah what happened in
00:19:20
2020 that was a dnf did not finish yeah
00:19:23
what happened I I got hypothermia I had
00:19:27
too many swims in the boat I was pedling
00:19:30
and I decided that I'm not it's not safe
00:19:32
enough for me to carry on because I
00:19:33
would probably become a hazard or you
00:19:36
know um a danger zone for other
00:19:38
competitors and I think it's not fair
00:19:39
enough they trained all year for this
00:19:42
event for me to potentially ruin I was
00:19:44
hypothermic before way back in Germany
00:19:46
in my early 20s and I thought I I don't
00:19:49
want to go there anymore like I was
00:19:51
probably I could have probably maybe
00:19:52
carried on but I was like what's the
00:19:54
point like you know I'm it's not safe
00:19:57
you know and there's too it's not life
00:19:59
threat it's not lifethreatening I'm not
00:20:01
dying here it's of course it's a race
00:20:03
but at the end it's just a race it's not
00:20:05
the end of the world yeah but that must
00:20:06
have been it must have been
00:20:07
heartbreaking for you though like oh it
00:20:08
was it was a oh it was a bit of sweet
00:20:11
moment it's probably not the worst
00:20:13
moment but one of these worst moments
00:20:15
you don't wish on anyone and I guess
00:20:17
everyone that had to pull out of a race
00:20:19
for whatever reason or had to give up
00:20:22
you know whatever they trained again for
00:20:23
their six months leading into it it's
00:20:27
it's definitely not an easy pill to
00:20:29
swallow but I feel like with all I
00:20:31
wouldn't call them failures but with all
00:20:33
the things that didn't plan out or
00:20:35
didn't go my way I wanted I I feel like
00:20:37
I come out on the I I learn so much more
00:20:40
than when things oh keep going the right
00:20:43
way if that makes sense 100 100% you
00:20:45
learn so much more from your um your
00:20:47
failures or your disappointments that
00:20:49
yeah you learned nothing from winning
00:20:51
yeah it's nice it's sweet but then it
00:20:53
doesn't last long but when you feel like
00:20:55
you you really earned it you know
00:20:56
everything came together you worked on
00:20:58
this for so long you overcome a certain
00:20:59
fear whatever and you nailed it like
00:21:01
last year for an example or 200 what's
00:21:04
23 that was one of these moments where
00:21:07
I'm like I I feel like I I've succeeded
00:21:09
now not in everything but you know like
00:21:11
I I can ride a bike really well I can
00:21:13
run over the pass really well it didn't
00:21:15
show because I had a hamstring injury
00:21:17
but you know if you put it all together
00:21:19
like and then the peddling was always my
00:21:20
critical moment and I first time ever I
00:21:23
could deliver a good pedal it wasn't
00:21:25
fast but I I had the fastest time on the
00:21:27
day as the individual woman and they
00:21:29
couldn't gain any time on me and that
00:21:31
was really rewarding because in the back
00:21:33
back in the days it was like oh yeah she
00:21:34
keeps saying this every year the same
00:21:36
thing she works on her pedaling daddy
00:21:37
dadd like i' have been working on my
00:21:39
pedaling and you know it's so
00:21:41
frustrating when you have been but on
00:21:43
day it just doesn't you still scared or
00:21:46
you can't put it together and then
00:21:47
finally it it just I could deliver what
00:21:50
I was saying and I was like oh that felt
00:21:53
that win felt so much better than all
00:21:55
the I mean the all the wins are great
00:21:57
and I'm grateful for it and I worked
00:21:58
hard for it but that one felt complete
00:22:02
and then I was like that's it I was like
00:22:04
it no more I've done what I
00:22:06
wanted um yeah but here I am again yeah
00:22:09
so scker for punishment so yeah for
00:22:13
anyone that doesn't know the um the the
00:22:15
ins and outs of the coast to coast event
00:22:16
so you do the event known as the longest
00:22:17
day yes so that's um Bike Run kayak bike
00:22:22
you run off the beach for 2.2k yeah and
00:22:25
then you bike I think 55k and then you
00:22:28
run over Golds pass what's it like 33 uh
00:22:32
maybe 30 33 I think it's maybe 30 or
00:22:36
maybe yeah around 30 it's it's intense I
00:22:38
I did that a few a few years ago and
00:22:40
it's like a lot of it's not actually
00:22:41
running it's like yeah you're hopping
00:22:43
over Boulders and stuff you like imagine
00:22:45
a goat it's intense and it's it's uh
00:22:48
it's very very Steep and then it gets to
00:22:50
gets to Flap it at the end and you're
00:22:51
running over like massive massive River
00:22:53
stones for maybe 8 or nine kilometers
00:22:55
yeah it's like a river Beed run
00:22:57
eventually up Hill up Upstream yeah it's
00:22:59
a so you do that and then um after the
00:23:01
run you back on the bike for a bit yeah
00:23:03
for 15ks you bike on the main highway to
00:23:06
the Mount white bridge and then you jump
00:23:09
in the boat and pedal 7 kilometers down
00:23:12
the W M Gary River 7 Z yes and then you
00:23:16
jump back on your bike and then you bike
00:23:19
another 70 kilometers probably one of
00:23:21
the most boring roads here in New
00:23:23
Zealand it's so straight but it's I
00:23:26
guess it's the good thing you don't have
00:23:27
to think much about it just put your
00:23:29
head down and ride for your live yeah so
00:23:33
and to do it in to to win it like how
00:23:35
many hours is that how many hours does
00:23:36
it take 12 and a half to 13 or 12 to 13
00:23:39
sort of in that yeah and that's that's
00:23:42
going full noise right that's not
00:23:43
[ __ ] around at all that's yeah yeah
00:23:45
pretty much yeah yeah
00:23:47
yeah that's a lot um oh so so that um
00:23:50
dnf in 2020 that's not your only
00:23:52
adversity are you broke your back in
00:23:55
2009 I did yeah so you broke yeah you
00:23:58
this this amazing so you broke your back
00:23:59
and then um then you came back and did
00:24:01
the Iron Man and cona like a few
00:24:03
months how did you break your back what
00:24:06
I was mountain biking which is in onea
00:24:09
in a forest which is called sticky
00:24:10
forest and I was going actually quite
00:24:13
slow but it's a very sort of narrow
00:24:15
single track and I just clipped the tree
00:24:18
I just I don't know why bumped into the
00:24:20
tree and then I got pushed off obviously
00:24:23
and then I heard this cracking noise
00:24:25
like oh my God I was just lying on the
00:24:27
ground I like go that doesn't sound good
00:24:30
but I got back up got back on the bike
00:24:32
because I was up with a maid and I
00:24:33
caught up with him and I was breathing
00:24:35
he you know like like carefully he like
00:24:38
are you right he's like oh I feel like I
00:24:40
don't know I just had a crash he like oh
00:24:41
okay a
00:24:43
crash and I carried on biking with him
00:24:45
down to ivelt toown I said oh let's get
00:24:46
out of sticky let's just go flat but at
00:24:49
every pedal stroke I was like man this
00:24:50
is not good I said I might have broken
00:24:53
something and so I decided to go home
00:24:56
and then my FL that mate at the time she
00:24:58
was a nurse and she's like uh I was
00:25:01
trying to stretch it out and then I went
00:25:04
up into the house and she's like you
00:25:05
look a bit weird I was like yeah I'm
00:25:07
just a bit broken or I don't know B so
00:25:10
and then she kind of did some what is it
00:25:12
called like an exam and he like oh I
00:25:14
think I called the doctor which was a
00:25:16
good friend of her so she just came
00:25:17
around it's like I think you got a
00:25:19
broken bone there
00:25:22
broken that's that's Terri is there a
00:25:24
chance you could have end up like
00:25:25
confined to a chair
00:25:28
can can find to like paralyze oh no it
00:25:30
was just one of these Vera things um
00:25:33
wasn't too bad I guess that's why
00:25:35
they're like Jesus you you were you look
00:25:36
way too good to have a broken bag you
00:25:38
know like I was like yeah yeah yeah you
00:25:40
know but I I think that's again the body
00:25:43
is an amazing thing when things happen
00:25:45
like you and I guess because they've
00:25:46
been sporty and physically I don't know
00:25:50
no I don't know I had broken ribs and I
00:25:53
I certainly was broken I got to move was
00:25:56
like I'm dead well I'm not
00:25:58
dead so anyway it wasn't I think it was
00:26:01
bad but not as bad but it definitely um
00:26:03
put me out for a few months yeah but
00:26:05
then you were back doing the full Iron
00:26:06
Man and con full Iron Man by the way
00:26:08
that's like a a 4K swim 160k bike ride a
00:26:12
3.8k Swim 180k
00:26:14
Bike Marathon yeah yeah yeah but I guess
00:26:17
it was a it was this life um this
00:26:21
childhood dream I I had when I was a
00:26:24
little child I really want to do the
00:26:26
Hawaiian Iron Man and it didn't matter
00:26:28
if I'm Pro or AG group or but I just
00:26:30
wanted to fulfill my dream and in 2009 I
00:26:33
qualified the aim was to qualify in Tao
00:26:35
and do it all at once and you know like
00:26:37
when you have a wish take it off and
00:26:39
that's how it happened and I had this
00:26:41
amazing community in mon car they they
00:26:44
actually raised a lot of funds for me
00:26:45
that I can actually go because I just
00:26:48
didn't you know I just didn't had that
00:26:50
money to do but they just yeah there was
00:26:52
so much more involved than just me going
00:26:54
and doing you know going to the world
00:26:55
Jam so um and I knew because it's so
00:26:59
expensive it will be a one-off I don't
00:27:00
know how other people afford unless you
00:27:02
go I guess that's why you have sponsors
00:27:04
and yeah they PID a big buck but yeah
00:27:07
anyway and because it's just me like
00:27:09
there's no family around that would say
00:27:11
you know that I have support from um Mom
00:27:14
and you know not Mom I should bring Mom
00:27:16
and Daddy but you know from the family A
00:27:18
oneway Wagon trying to wave my wife make
00:27:21
my way through uh achieve my childhood
00:27:24
dream anyway I didn't want to let these
00:27:25
people down and we booked already
00:27:27
flights I'm pretty sure we had
00:27:28
everything booked and we had this party
00:27:30
um they organized a big party for me
00:27:33
yeah like a home thing oh it was amazing
00:27:35
yeah we raised over $3,000 on the door
00:27:39
it was a big yeah so it was cool and I
00:27:41
still had my you know I think we had six
00:27:44
months still to get ready but I knew
00:27:47
with a broken bag it will be you know
00:27:50
the aim was just to complet it there was
00:27:53
no I mean I still came third but you
00:27:55
know it wasn't pretty yeah yeah yeah
00:27:57
yeah one one thing I've learned from um
00:27:59
doing this this podcast almost two years
00:28:01
now and speaking to some amazing people
00:28:02
is that there there there's only one
00:28:04
cheat code for success and that's hard
00:28:06
work it seems like that's the only
00:28:09
unfortunately like everyone wants like
00:28:10
an easy solution right and that's the
00:28:12
only that's the only common threat with
00:28:14
every High performer I've had here hard
00:28:15
[ __ ] work it is it is and it's like
00:28:19
sometimes I have to remind myself that's
00:28:21
you know the outcome of the money might
00:28:23
come later because right now I'm just
00:28:24
putting in the hard work but there's no
00:28:26
money and it's like oh oh my God is it
00:28:28
paying off it will pay off I'm 100% sure
00:28:30
it will pay off yeah yeah you just have
00:28:32
to keep believing so what does an
00:28:33
average training week look like for you
00:28:36
just like an average boring one so say
00:28:38
do you mean in terms of uh the average
00:28:40
hours ID do or yeah well yeah we start
00:28:43
with hours it's probably like on an
00:28:45
average week and then a heavy week 25 25
00:28:48
and heavy probably goes over 30 but it
00:28:50
will be probably not many there will be
00:28:54
won't be huge amount of weeks of over 30
00:28:57
plus oh don't lie
00:29:00
[Laughter]
00:29:06
Simone so so so so on a real heavy week
00:29:09
say say 45 hours a
00:29:11
day yeah like usually I have sort of
00:29:14
easy days like for an example this week
00:29:16
would look like yesterday I had a big
00:29:17
weekend um which wasn't probably
00:29:21
scheduled from the coach but I just play
00:29:24
catchup which I should probably not do
00:29:25
and sometimes because I'm coaching
00:29:27
myself now is like don't do this ketchup
00:29:30
game but anyway so yesterday I had an
00:29:32
easy easy cycle just a v train session
00:29:36
or an easy spin outside and then just a
00:29:38
an easy run for an hour whatever and
00:29:41
then today was supposed to be some track
00:29:45
you know some speed running and I can't
00:29:47
probably a pedal I think and
00:29:50
tomorrow would be probably like a
00:29:52
combination of maybe a bike just kind of
00:29:56
duration and probably a run as well and
00:29:59
then on Thursday usually I have like a a
00:30:02
workout on the bike and then a run off
00:30:03
the bike oh my God I'm giving my
00:30:05
training away
00:30:08
stop are you are you quite um do you
00:30:11
keep your cards quite close to your
00:30:12
chest do you do like do you do you share
00:30:14
your your training on stra or anything
00:30:16
or no no I don't really but it's like I
00:30:19
love sharing things but I don't know
00:30:22
many female athletes or pro athletes
00:30:24
they share anything with with other
00:30:26
females so oh that's it's interesting
00:30:29
yeah wow so it's not like a not like an
00:30:32
exchanging of information or ideas no
00:30:34
like I talked to a tri Le the other day
00:30:36
how how long did it take you to run a Lu
00:30:38
in Monica and she's a pro and you know
00:30:40
how Pros they know everything down to
00:30:42
the second and she's like I don't know
00:30:44
it's like [ __ ] you do know I'm not
00:30:48
naming it but it's like you do know you
00:30:50
know like you know every down to the
00:30:53
millisecond he's so in tune with times
00:30:56
and everything like that's so
00:30:59
competitive yeah it's like this is
00:31:00
interesting we're not even compatible
00:31:02
because she's doing Trion whatever you
00:31:05
know like itu whatever and I'm doing
00:31:07
multisport oh sorry I haven't actually
00:31:09
answered your question before with
00:31:11
multisport I guess that's different like
00:31:13
the coast is very different to an
00:31:14
Adventure Race because it's on a day
00:31:16
it's just a few hours or sometimes 10 11
00:31:18
12 hours but that's it and it's a course
00:31:20
that's marked that's given you just
00:31:22
follow you don't have to navigate you
00:31:25
don't have a compass and the adventure
00:31:27
side is you know Adventure races you
00:31:29
have Old School compass no GPS nothing
00:31:32
no marked course you find your way the
00:31:35
quickest way to the next checkpoint um
00:31:37
does
00:31:38
it take yeah how do you how do you train
00:31:41
for that is it just being um is it just
00:31:44
training yourself for endurance and
00:31:46
making sure you're okay with sleep
00:31:48
deprivation or what or with the god zone
00:31:50
or with those Adventure races I guess
00:31:52
what I I have never learned anything
00:31:54
like it um and never heard about it when
00:31:56
I was in Germany but I guess that's the
00:31:59
advantage not Advantage but probably in
00:32:01
other countries too that they grew up
00:32:03
with orienteering and um Road gaining
00:32:06
you know and they they they get taught
00:32:08
get taught at school I don't know map
00:32:10
braiding and you know looking at the
00:32:12
landscape and finding Clues and having
00:32:15
all these really cool games and being in
00:32:16
nature and I had I haven't had that
00:32:19
since I came here I was like wow this is
00:32:21
actually yeah I that's something I
00:32:23
really want to learn a bit more after
00:32:25
this following the path and and you um
00:32:29
you you managed to fit all this training
00:32:30
in with um like employment and stuff so
00:32:33
just up until just recently you've been
00:32:34
like a life card in a Poland Monica yeah
00:32:38
but um I have to say the last probably
00:32:41
three or four no three years I do sort
00:32:44
of cut down on work yeah in the final
00:32:47
month leing into into the coast because
00:32:50
I just feel like that's me personally I
00:32:52
just want to I guess I get so not
00:32:54
obsessed but I'm kind of driven I want
00:32:56
to give it my best and someone said just
00:32:58
imagine you could give it you Absolut
00:33:00
like what would you imagine you give it
00:33:02
you know it's a big commitment but I
00:33:04
guess it's either all or nothing you
00:33:06
know I'm all in on I can't do this half
00:33:08
half which I've done in the past I Tred
00:33:11
to do multisport and you know Iron Man
00:33:13
and Trion and you just hover around on
00:33:16
always kind of scratching sort of being
00:33:18
at the top level but you not quite there
00:33:21
because you just and you not committed
00:33:23
100% you know like it's almost like an
00:33:25
excuse which is like I hate excuses like
00:33:28
and then a few years ago I just like
00:33:30
bang okay I stop work and I use my
00:33:32
savings which is probably not the way to
00:33:34
do it but anyway um hopefully will pay
00:33:38
off not hopefully but usually hard work
00:33:40
and dedication and even if it doesn't
00:33:41
pay off like in
00:33:44
20920 is it was heartbreaking and yes
00:33:46
you lost money but at the end like I
00:33:48
think you learned so much more than any
00:33:51
money could pay for it as well you know
00:33:54
yeah doesn't make sense yeah well it's
00:33:57
um should we go back and um zoom in on
00:33:59
some of the early years in Germany yeah
00:34:01
yeah okay so you so you're growing up in
00:34:03
whereabouts in Germany uh the bottom
00:34:05
South right and and you're you're a
00:34:06
sporty kid you're into inline skating oh
00:34:09
anything just anything and everything we
00:34:12
we we like naturally naturally talented
00:34:14
or naturally fast or anything
00:34:16
or I don't know it was I grew up in a
00:34:19
very small village with about 800 people
00:34:21
so it was very small and I guess you
00:34:24
just kids just having fun really you
00:34:26
know there was no pressure mom never
00:34:28
said oh you need to go into your running
00:34:30
you know go Athletics or dance class or
00:34:33
it was all self-driven and I just I
00:34:36
don't know I just loved playing hang out
00:34:39
with my mates they were mainly males and
00:34:42
um I played soccer basketball volleyball
00:34:45
i l the team sports and I also loved
00:34:47
Athletics and gymnastics doing your own
00:34:49
individ individual
00:34:51
Sport and yeah I skate love
00:34:54
skateboarding like just yeah just having
00:34:56
fun I guess but all quite lowkey I knew
00:35:00
I I was quite good running like at 800s
00:35:02
but even to at the competitions we had
00:35:05
and I you know when I was running the
00:35:07
best um they would say oh you need to
00:35:09
come to get better you need to get to a
00:35:11
different Squad and you know you need
00:35:12
someone to drive you there mom was like
00:35:14
I can't do that like we are working we
00:35:16
got two old you got two older brothers
00:35:18
they go to soccer I'm not here to be
00:35:20
your shauer you know so it was just like
00:35:22
okay that's fine I just gonna just keep
00:35:24
having fun and I was happy with just
00:35:26
being that the kit that just turns up
00:35:29
every now and then in
00:35:30
some and and um the um yeah we can talk
00:35:35
about this in um as much as little as
00:35:37
you want the the eating
00:35:39
disorder where did where did that
00:35:41
begin oh my eating disorder so that that
00:35:45
came about I just left school I think I
00:35:48
was like 15 so I finished school early
00:35:52
and I
00:35:54
guess do you want to mean how it came or
00:35:57
like yeah it was I guess um it for me it
00:36:00
was a wealth a wealth like I I got funny
00:36:03
pictures in my head and made me kind of
00:36:05
really sick and U nauseous and I just
00:36:08
wanted to throw up and that's what I did
00:36:10
and I guess that got triggered because
00:36:12
of my past which came up when I was a
00:36:15
teenager like just um 14 years old yeah
00:36:19
yeah you want to chit about that or yeah
00:36:21
I can check pretty open about it because
00:36:23
it's made me who I am and yeah yeah I've
00:36:26
read some read some articles about it
00:36:28
and stuff but I'm sure every every time
00:36:30
you every time you chat about it I'm
00:36:31
sure it's uh exhausting probably more
00:36:34
exhausting than running goat goats pass
00:36:36
it's not a nice thing to chat about yeah
00:36:38
so so you start having flashbacks when
00:36:39
you're 14 about some um sexual abuse
00:36:42
that happened when you're real young
00:36:43
yeah yeah which was from the neighbor
00:36:46
which was like we used to it was like a
00:36:48
grand day to us just looking after us
00:36:50
and it just happened when I was four or
00:36:51
five years old which at the time I had
00:36:53
no idea you know kids are so innocent
00:36:55
like they're just so young young they
00:36:57
don't really know and even they think
00:36:58
it's funny but when you get older and I
00:37:00
guess that's what happened to me I
00:37:02
forgot about I forgot all about it till
00:37:04
I became a teenager and had my first
00:37:06
boyfriend and we were playing basketball
00:37:08
at the time and he grabbed me just to
00:37:11
pretend uh protect that I don't throw a
00:37:13
hoop and that movement from holding me
00:37:15
from behind just triggered everything I
00:37:18
was like what is going on and every
00:37:21
night I was just like thinking about
00:37:24
that movement what happened and every
00:37:26
day I would just it just unraveled more
00:37:28
and more and I was like Wow and it just
00:37:31
made me from this happy child to some I
00:37:34
would say probably severe depressed
00:37:36
within days you know like even mom was
00:37:39
like what's going on with you and I was
00:37:40
like I think I'm going psycho like
00:37:43
absolutely I think I'm watching too many
00:37:44
horror movies or psycho things which I
00:37:47
didn't but I was like wow something is
00:37:50
not right and then one night she asked
00:37:52
me again and I just unloaded and she's
00:37:54
like oh is that what happened happened
00:37:56
in the past and I was like shell Shong
00:37:59
is like what do you know from the past
00:38:02
and then she said oh yeah when you were
00:38:03
little this is what happened next door
00:38:05
and you told us all about it and then
00:38:07
Dad went over and confronted him and he
00:38:09
had all his excuses but then of course
00:38:11
we got told not to go there anymore and
00:38:13
of course he had he had triggers he was
00:38:15
like oh come with me and I give you
00:38:17
lollies upstairs D Dy da you know like
00:38:20
the most normal common thing for a five
00:38:23
four year old you know like to go with
00:38:25
and like oh this is so cool and because
00:38:28
it and it wasn't you know nothing was
00:38:30
painful or you know I had no idea um
00:38:34
just weird behaviors out of that but
00:38:36
anyway enough of this I don't
00:38:38
want but that was the the beginning and
00:38:42
um I guess my poor not poor parents I
00:38:45
guess they they punished for life as
00:38:47
well but I forgiven them and um I guess
00:38:50
yeah how like how do how do you forgive
00:38:52
them because they must be I don't know I
00:38:54
suppose like if you uh
00:38:57
yeah I don't know I'm probably
00:38:58
projecting here but if you look at it
00:38:59
from a from their perspective and a
00:39:01
place of Compassion maybe they're like
00:39:03
uh if we go to the police and the
00:39:05
authorities it's just going to drag you
00:39:06
through years and years of this maybe
00:39:08
it's best just to confront him and tell
00:39:11
him to stay the [ __ ] away and leave it
00:39:13
that but I guess for them they didn't
00:39:15
really know how to deal with it and for
00:39:17
them for them the best and easiest for
00:39:19
them was to just shut it all down and
00:39:21
nothing happened and we don't talk about
00:39:23
it sweep it under because they just
00:39:24
moved there and they were worried about
00:39:26
what the neighbor thing you know this
00:39:27
whole what other people think and we
00:39:29
don't want to be that the the the people
00:39:32
they like oh you know like yeah so that
00:39:36
that was all sweet till till till I was
00:39:39
14 and um had this this unraveled trauma
00:39:42
coming up and because um it affected my
00:39:46
life so much and I guess I didn't know
00:39:47
how to deal with it that I just started
00:39:50
having panic attacks and um
00:39:53
hyperventilating every time a guy would
00:39:55
come close to me or teachers was like it
00:39:57
was just awful um and I've seen
00:40:00
psychologist and then later down I guess
00:40:03
I told the you know talk to the P
00:40:05
psychologist and then they he would then
00:40:08
I guess do the job he would go and tell
00:40:11
my parents off but they had a whole
00:40:12
major of ripple effect on me coming home
00:40:14
still living at home when you're 40 you
00:40:16
know and I got severely punished for
00:40:18
that I was like oh my god I've got no
00:40:20
one to talk to so then when I left
00:40:23
school and then the funniest thing is I
00:40:25
left school and I didn't really know I
00:40:26
had no purpose in life and mom was like
00:40:29
oh just do a job do any job and I got
00:40:31
your job in the bakery as an apprentice
00:40:34
and I was like okay and that was
00:40:35
probably the worst thing for me with an
00:40:38
eating dis AO but you just don't know
00:40:40
you know but anyway I did this
00:40:42
apprentiship and it was hard work you've
00:40:43
got long hours I couldn't do my sport I
00:40:46
guess it was a major thing too because
00:40:48
sport maybe that's why sport kep me kind
00:40:50
of going and alive and I was thriving
00:40:54
with sport because I could just let go
00:40:55
of my ener and maybe deep down that was
00:40:58
the unconscious to pack it all up and
00:41:00
like sport was sort of my my wealth you
00:41:03
know what I mean even that class I
00:41:04
remember a teacher gave me the only
00:41:07
permission like I was the only child
00:41:08
that could get up and walk around
00:41:10
because I would just break all the
00:41:11
chairs all the time from
00:41:12
ging and annoying my classmate because I
00:41:15
was like so flim like just so vibrant
00:41:19
anyway long ramble yeah no no that's
00:41:22
good what's your what's
00:41:24
your what's your Rel ship like with your
00:41:26
parents now like like you know have you
00:41:29
forgiven them is it okay or is it always
00:41:31
going to be a little bit weird no um I
00:41:34
guess that's why I'm on the other side
00:41:35
of the world as well so it wasn't just
00:41:36
the language but it was also sort of
00:41:38
Escape how far can I go to not be away
00:41:41
from my parents I mean you know the when
00:41:44
you I guess it took me a long time to to
00:41:47
come to peace with all of this and even
00:41:50
understanding them and and then I Revel
00:41:53
their situation and when you unravel
00:41:55
their situations like oh there's no
00:41:56
wonder we all a bit not effed up but you
00:42:00
know bit screwed up because if you look
00:42:01
at their lives and what they've been
00:42:03
through it's like oh my God but no one
00:42:05
talks no one that's I think find I find
00:42:08
it so hard that we don't talk about
00:42:09
certain things or even as a family and I
00:42:11
guess that's what I learned through
00:42:13
therapy and I'm happy to talk about
00:42:15
these things now talking has helped me
00:42:17
to just get it out of me rather than
00:42:20
suppressing it or you know like you're
00:42:22
botling it up it's been a big kiwi thing
00:42:25
over the years as well we're very good
00:42:26
at just things guess there's this whole
00:42:28
me mental mental health you know like
00:42:31
this yeah you just have to you really
00:42:33
have to talk about it let it out it's
00:42:35
like this when you open a champagne B
00:42:39
you know and I guess with the sorry with
00:42:41
the eating disorder the that helped me
00:42:43
to deal with the pressure that was like
00:42:45
this instant just the pictures not
00:42:47
pressure but it was like a pressure
00:42:48
release like for me it felt like I guess
00:42:50
when you are taking drugs or drinking it
00:42:52
felt like I was just numbing myself and
00:42:54
I guess first it started with um just
00:42:57
not eating or whatever I ate I was
00:42:59
throwing up and even just water I just
00:43:01
needed that throwing up feeling which is
00:43:02
so bizarre because now when I get sick
00:43:04
I'm like oh my God how did I do this
00:43:07
under the purpose you know you know when
00:43:10
you get a tummy back and you're like
00:43:12
it's awful in anyway but it was this
00:43:15
that was like my release of just I don't
00:43:18
know
00:43:19
being like a quick fix and so more I did
00:43:21
it so more I felt just released like
00:43:24
just this throwing up feeling was like
00:43:26
my key of just surviving like scratching
00:43:28
an edge yeah well I did cut myself back
00:43:31
in the days too like I was just like
00:43:32
cutting and doing self harm a lot just
00:43:35
to deal with that pain like that I guess
00:43:37
when Mom told me that they knew about it
00:43:40
was like someone's just ramed the knife
00:43:42
into my heart and it's my parents and
00:43:45
you think they are the people they
00:43:46
supposed to look after me and support me
00:43:49
you know what I mean like if I would
00:43:50
have a child and I would find anything I
00:43:52
would hear anything about it I think I
00:43:54
would kill you know like i% I would be
00:43:56
like okay I can't kill this guy but I
00:43:59
would be wow I think that's why that's
00:44:03
why it's so that's why it's so um hard
00:44:05
to hard to understand because it's you
00:44:08
were a you you know you were like a
00:44:09
defenseless little girl and you did
00:44:11
everything right like you you told um
00:44:13
you know you the people in a position of
00:44:15
power yeah and still nothing was nothing
00:44:18
was done for you and that's [ __ ]
00:44:19
heartbreaking and I don't know how you
00:44:20
how you get past that mentally um but
00:44:23
[ __ ] you've done the work haven't you
00:44:24
but it's like you you you lost your
00:44:26
entire teenage years really didn't you
00:44:28
oh yeah that was um yeah sometimes I
00:44:31
feel like I have some catching up no I
00:44:34
don't no I suppose this is your like the
00:44:37
teenager years which you s of Lost with
00:44:39
s of your University of life like you
00:44:41
went through all this adversity then and
00:44:43
it's made you the incredible you know
00:44:46
absolute Savage that you are today was
00:44:48
how work um nine years of nine months of
00:44:51
therapy like I was locked away for six
00:44:54
months and then I had three months in
00:44:55
sort of
00:44:56
um a living area where you on the clinic
00:44:59
side but you more introduced into a
00:45:01
normal living but you've got doctors and
00:45:03
everything there and then I got put into
00:45:06
like it's not an orphanage home but they
00:45:09
put young teenagers there to to grow
00:45:12
there you know to learn their life
00:45:14
skills again and um get a job and they
00:45:17
have a I had two caregivers looking
00:45:19
after me and helping me with guiding me
00:45:21
through life again and they I got to
00:45:24
thank them a lot they're still alive and
00:45:26
still in contact with them and it's yeah
00:45:28
they yeah they they must be they must be
00:45:31
so proud have they have they indicated
00:45:33
how proud they are like oh yeah one of
00:45:36
the guys his name is B and he got me
00:45:38
back into running and he was this when
00:45:40
you were when you were a smoker oh yes
00:45:43
yeah had to imagine I had to imagine the
00:45:46
three time Coast to Coast um being a
00:45:50
smoker I think I have a bit of act
00:45:52
addictive personality May oh no I think
00:45:54
I still have it but but when I do things
00:45:57
I don't do them halfway I either all in
00:45:59
or
00:46:00
nothing oh my God just good in bed we
00:46:03
were you a good smoking like how many a
00:46:04
day uh few packages oh my God that is
00:46:08
disgusting mainly mainly at the weekends
00:46:10
when you're out probably you know like
00:46:12
yeah and then always with coffee and
00:46:15
alcohol you know when you just
00:46:16
socializing yeah yes you're R
00:46:21
ex things have changed or they have
00:46:24
changed tremendously I mean I had a long
00:46:26
time now you know we talking about 20
00:46:28
years yeah yeah yeah yeah you had to do
00:46:31
the work though no one else could do
00:46:32
that for you he I mean it would have
00:46:34
been easy just to to to to stay down
00:46:37
there and yeah wallow in yourself pity
00:46:38
or be a victim or whatever and you chose
00:46:41
the hard one you had to do the work but
00:46:42
you had to do it yourself yeah and
00:46:44
that's it's it's so hard and I
00:46:47
understand when people are depr you know
00:46:49
like when they say oh I just can't do it
00:46:51
like I don't know if it's a life lesson
00:46:53
about everything you do in life um
00:46:56
sometimes it is hard work and sometimes
00:46:58
you just have to take it off as you go
00:47:00
and put one foot in front of the other
00:47:02
and don't look at the big outcome you're
00:47:04
just going to do it as I you know like
00:47:07
even getting out of my eating disorder
00:47:08
it wasn't that they're like oh you have
00:47:10
to completely stop from today you know
00:47:13
it wasn't that they put me in a clinic
00:47:15
and you know you're going to be you
00:47:17
can't throp anymore whatever there it
00:47:19
was actually quite amazing they they
00:47:22
gave me like a diary and I had to record
00:47:24
every everything and I I guess I went in
00:47:27
there I was I was I just I was 17 at the
00:47:30
time and then in the clinic I turned 18
00:47:33
but I was such a young child you know
00:47:34
like literally I was the youngest with
00:47:37
70 women only women and they had all
00:47:40
sorts of addiction from alcohol drugs
00:47:42
medication anything you name it obesity
00:47:45
anorexia the whole
00:47:47
spectrum
00:47:49
and but they gave me the I guess again
00:47:53
they can only do so much it's up to me
00:47:55
what what I do with it like I've got
00:47:57
this one chance in my life and I take it
00:48:00
and work on it and I know it's going to
00:48:02
be hard but hopefully I learn enough and
00:48:05
be strong enough to come out you know
00:48:07
that I can regulate or come out on the
00:48:09
other side like not come out but
00:48:12
establish myself well enough that I can
00:48:14
have sort of a normal life by myself and
00:48:17
not you know like without the addiction
00:48:19
that I don't think about the addiction
00:48:21
that the addiction doesn't um how do you
00:48:23
say this sorry sometimes I struggle with
00:48:25
ulating myself you don't I think you're
00:48:27
doing great with English it doesn't
00:48:28
Define you addiction takes over you and
00:48:30
everything everything in life is based
00:48:33
you know when I was 15 it was about it
00:48:35
wasn't about life anymore for two three
00:48:37
years I was like not work not friends
00:48:40
not family I did not care all I care was
00:48:42
when can I throw up how can I throw up
00:48:44
how many times can I throw up and it was
00:48:46
this constant cycle before you go to bed
00:48:49
when you wake up the first thing it was
00:48:50
basically all around your
00:48:52
addiction but how can I have you know
00:48:55
like learn learning how can I have a
00:48:57
life with not thinking about this
00:48:59
anymore and that I don't need this
00:49:00
anymore as an outcome does that make
00:49:02
sense yeah so there was um that was
00:49:04
amazing when I went to the clinic like
00:49:07
that wasn't like your knife on your
00:49:09
chest like no cut it all you know like
00:49:11
and if you thow up we going to punish
00:49:12
you no it was like I guess this it's you
00:49:16
take it it's your guidance like I and I
00:49:19
recorded everything and I was really
00:49:20
open and honest I guess that's a good
00:49:22
thing about me I I am very open and
00:49:24
honest and I didn't want to let anyone
00:49:26
down and even my family I wanted them to
00:49:29
be proud of me you know that but for
00:49:30
them it was quite funny it's like oh you
00:49:32
go into a clinic and you come about you
00:49:34
just go put the car into a garage and
00:49:36
you come out and you the old Simone
00:49:38
again it's like no so that that was sort
00:49:40
of I guess the first step into the you
00:49:43
know a new life um and then I because
00:49:46
they're like oh you can't come home and
00:49:47
live with us again I was like no I
00:49:49
actually if I come home I'm going to be
00:49:51
in the same Circle in the same [ __ ] it's
00:49:53
like putting alcoholic bag into the bar
00:49:54
like and and even my employeer at the
00:49:56
time he was quite amazing because it was
00:49:58
in the bakery and he said he knew I was
00:50:00
pretty sick and I had an e order and
00:50:02
he's like I give you the time all the
00:50:04
time in the world you're just going to
00:50:05
go and look after yourself and you can
00:50:07
come back and finish off your
00:50:08
apprenticeship whenever you want you
00:50:09
just go and look after yourself so I'm
00:50:11
very grateful for this opportunity to
00:50:14
but he's not alive anymore unfortunately
00:50:15
he passed away but amazing amazing boss
00:50:18
heart but I learned so much yeah and
00:50:21
then with the clinic yeah the team was
00:50:23
amaz like the I have to say like the the
00:50:25
help I had it was
00:50:27
just yeah next level like I mean it's
00:50:31
hard as it's like over here you know
00:50:33
first [ __ ] needs to happen before they
00:50:35
take action like I had to collapse in a
00:50:37
club which is quite funny in a
00:50:40
nightclub in order by the way can I just
00:50:42
say it's it's not that
00:50:44
funny but to get immediate um uh
00:50:49
prescription into a clinic you know we
00:50:51
were fighting for half a year with with
00:50:54
the support in my head and they're like
00:50:56
oh we just put you in a waiting this
00:50:57
she's not bad enough you know she's not
00:50:59
bad enough it's like you hear us so
00:51:00
often here with the health system it's
00:51:02
like oh people it's okay you know
00:51:04
they're still walking they're still
00:51:05
breathing it's like when they say I have
00:51:07
a problem or you know when they call out
00:51:09
for help you should not just put them on
00:51:12
hold but I guess I don't know if we need
00:51:15
more educated or you know doctors or
00:51:17
psychologist I don't know but um yeah
00:51:20
anyway I don't want to go there now but
00:51:21
I had this amazing team with me and um
00:51:23
amazing psychologist nurturing me
00:51:26
through this whole process through the
00:51:28
six months and um first I thought after
00:51:31
four weeks I can't wait to get out of
00:51:32
here after two months and I keep
00:51:34
extending and extending because I got
00:51:36
more into it and I you I guess you just
00:51:39
felt so safe in there you know suddenly
00:51:41
you just like this little um
00:51:44
chicken blossoming again yeah um and
00:51:47
it's funny because I used to I turned on
00:51:49
my sort of feelings and everything off
00:51:51
so when I was up there in the clinic we
00:51:53
were living on the top of a hill I put
00:51:55
on my my roller blades on one day and I
00:51:56
decided I'm going to roller blade down
00:51:58
to the next
00:52:00
Village and it was pretty steep and then
00:52:02
I realized I was breaking on the roller
00:52:04
blades my brakes were disappearing and I
00:52:06
had no more brakes and kid you not it
00:52:08
was the first time I actually feeled for
00:52:11
my life for I don't know how many years
00:52:13
because I guess what I haven't also said
00:52:16
like um I tried to do a suicide attempt
00:52:18
when I was 14 yeah so that didn't work
00:52:21
but anyway I had I just wanted to die
00:52:23
literally you know after this whole I
00:52:24
just had know life purpose but anyway I
00:52:27
was so happy and I had to run off into a
00:52:30
padic and Tumbl to and I was all bruised
00:52:33
and you know scarred up and with with
00:52:35
cow [ __ ] and all [ __ ] I came back to the
00:52:37
clinic and people like oh my god what
00:52:38
happened like I was just being was like
00:52:40
oh my God I just feel fear I want to be
00:52:45
alive that's interesting isn't it so
00:52:48
memories is like oh that's actually
00:52:49
quite severe so it's almost like an aan
00:52:52
anyway because Suddenly It's like um you
00:52:53
felt like you had nothing worth living
00:52:54
for Suddenly It's like you did you
00:52:56
realize faced with potential death you
00:52:58
didn't want to die yeah I was like oh
00:53:00
man I do really want to live like and I
00:53:02
had a few other like both moments where
00:53:03
I'm like one of my best friends um I
00:53:06
grew up with on the streets she was
00:53:09
severely in love and just seeing her
00:53:11
with her partner being so happy I was
00:53:13
like I want to be like this one day so I
00:53:14
had a few amazing key moments where I'm
00:53:17
like no I actually so you know the
00:53:21
anorexia bulimia it was it was all there
00:53:23
for a purpose it just I just didn't know
00:53:25
what to do anymore I just you know what
00:53:27
it was my only coping mechanism like
00:53:30
this this this pain and this oh and also
00:53:33
because I felt so ashamed of the body
00:53:36
and I guess because someone took over
00:53:38
you and did all these funny things with
00:53:40
you and you know like when you get the
00:53:42
feelings and sensation and oh it was all
00:53:45
mixed up I'm like this I couldn't look
00:53:47
under the I could look in the in the
00:53:49
mirror but I couldn't look underneath my
00:53:51
neck basically I just hated it like I
00:53:53
just uh it was disgusting which now
00:53:57
pretty proud of my
00:53:59
body it does amazing things amazing
00:54:02
things and what we we know what we
00:54:04
humans are capable of and just even what
00:54:06
happened in the past yes it's been there
00:54:09
and it's it's a sky it's always going to
00:54:10
be there but I learned I know it's 10
00:54:13
years now but it's it's becoming mess
00:54:15
less meaningless and less hurtful if
00:54:17
that makes sense like I can happily talk
00:54:20
about it now and don't break out into
00:54:21
tears and you know what even it's sad
00:54:23
and it's emotional but it's like like
00:54:25
yeah was there was it yeah was there a
00:54:27
while where it was still hard to talk
00:54:29
about oh yeah oh yeah yeah and even then
00:54:32
was not long ago a few years ago or
00:54:34
maybe a year ago I had to do a course
00:54:36
online for work
00:54:38
about what was it some safety procedures
00:54:42
when we work with kids as a swim school
00:54:44
teacher and you know with violence and
00:54:46
how we can potentially spot certain
00:54:48
things when kids have been um abused or
00:54:52
punished or you know like um and it just
00:54:55
didn't ring the bells but I got really
00:54:57
emotional like oh my God I feel so sorry
00:54:58
for these youngsters like you know they
00:55:01
they don't know and if I don't know how
00:55:03
a grownup can take this away from any
00:55:07
child you know and I guess there must be
00:55:09
so un uncoordinated or are screwed up up
00:55:13
here to even think that way it's like or
00:55:15
they have had the same thing happen to
00:55:17
them it's like I could for me now I
00:55:20
think could I would I do this to anyone
00:55:21
because this happened to me I could not
00:55:24
I I would probably kill the other person
00:55:27
you know um yeah and I always think man
00:55:31
if I not kill them I shouldn't say is on
00:55:33
a podcast but you know like yeah I
00:55:35
definitely had some thoughts like if
00:55:37
something happens to even my niece at
00:55:39
home was like man I'm gonna your auntie
00:55:41
will come
00:55:42
in Yeah well yeah cut the balls
00:55:47
off is um is the um is the the the old
00:55:51
neighbor in Germany still alive alive no
00:55:53
no he died long time ago yeah was he
00:55:57
ever held to account or did he face no
00:56:00
that's I guess another thing what I
00:56:02
guess that made me so how do you say
00:56:05
angry and upset about it because he got
00:56:06
no no punishment for it he just happily
00:56:10
died kind well he probably wasn't happy
00:56:13
I don't know but you know he died before
00:56:15
this all unraveled and then
00:56:18
even even still um the neighbors are
00:56:21
still good friends we just grade with my
00:56:22
mom and dad and I don't even know if
00:56:24
they know to the state to be honest I
00:56:26
have no idea and it's it's um it's like
00:56:28
a family secret yeah it's a it's a topic
00:56:31
well not
00:56:33
anymore and it hasn't been for a long
00:56:35
time because I talk story to tell yeah
00:56:38
yeah which I think it's actually a good
00:56:39
story and more people should actually
00:56:42
should be brave enough and you know
00:56:44
because it's not it shouldn't be normal
00:56:46
it shouldn't happen like no absolutely
00:56:48
it shouldn't and your your your parents
00:56:50
are they um are they full of like like
00:56:53
guilt or shame or regret or remorse have
00:56:55
they have they verbalized how they
00:56:58
feel yeah it's hard I think they're not
00:57:01
good talking about their feelings they
00:57:03
just I guess must be in a generation
00:57:05
thing they're quite hard on them
00:57:07
themselves and they probably like oh we
00:57:08
just had to move on it's like when you
00:57:10
go to war you just have to you know that
00:57:13
happened bom went off Bo we have to
00:57:15
survive you know like it was a bit like
00:57:17
just putting on the carpet move on and
00:57:19
then they're a bit you know religious so
00:57:23
then they go to church talk
00:57:26
to
00:57:27
whoever and think it's all good it
00:57:31
happened and I get this it happened in
00:57:32
the past it's not I guess how we try and
00:57:34
be positive you know what happened in
00:57:35
the past you can't change it I know but
00:57:38
if you haven't like for me I can't just
00:57:41
like if I I probably oh my God imagine
00:57:43
this wouldn't happened when I was 14 and
00:57:45
I would unravel this now oh my it would
00:57:47
be a disaster imagine I would have these
00:57:49
flashbacks now you know like having a
00:57:51
partner and imagine having a child you
00:57:54
know like anyway yeah so I think I'm
00:57:59
glad it happened and it made me who I am
00:58:02
today
00:58:03
and
00:58:05
um yeah but you you did you did you lost
00:58:08
some some years which are are really
00:58:11
cool years in a person's life though
00:58:12
right yeah I I feel like I you know even
00:58:16
I don't it's probably a common thing
00:58:17
these days that you are 13 14 15 and you
00:58:20
just you all partying like I was I think
00:58:22
I was pretty pretty happy I had
00:58:25
and even now I love
00:58:26
parties I don't do them right now so
00:58:29
much um because I'm too focused on like
00:58:33
like like a c loing party the night
00:58:35
before an
00:58:36
event yeah I probably give
00:58:39
asms so what's your what's your um
00:58:42
what's your mental health like now is it
00:58:44
pretty
00:58:46
good yeah I think so I mean I have my
00:58:48
ups and downs but who hasn't got them
00:58:50
you know and I guess the past definitely
00:58:53
has left some um how do you say um scars
00:58:57
definitely some scars and I have I have
00:58:59
to admit I have massive trust issues
00:59:01
which a friend always caus me up she
00:59:03
would laugh about this
00:59:05
Emily it's like it's okay Simone and
00:59:08
then she gives me a Big C so you can't
00:59:10
trust me um and even my partner but I
00:59:13
definitely fight not fight but this a
00:59:15
big I struggle with not on a daily base
00:59:18
but you know because I am open and
00:59:20
honest and I guess it helped me to even
00:59:22
overcome what I been through in the past
00:59:24
because I'm more talk and rather than
00:59:25
piling it up and whatever I whatever
00:59:28
goes on up here sometimes I blur it out
00:59:30
and sometimes it's maybe not a good
00:59:32
thing to blur go you but at least it
00:59:34
comes out you know what I mean like
00:59:36
especially for my my poor partner but he
00:59:38
then can kind of puts it into play like
00:59:41
that's something don't worry about it
00:59:43
you know what I which I worry about it
00:59:45
yeah or when I say oh I I can't I
00:59:48
struggle to trust them all these people
00:59:50
probably have some Mischief up for me or
00:59:52
they want to ad me you know like as an
00:59:54
example it's like no why would they
00:59:55
they're your friends but you know it's
00:59:56
so creepy it's like so I still have
00:59:59
certain things they it's your like
01:00:01
default setting yeah and I feel like
01:00:03
when I get more tired and more stressed
01:00:04
or you know like not enough sleep or
01:00:06
sleep is a big thing I get more and more
01:00:08
I guess it's when people get anxious and
01:00:10
I guess anxiet anxiety groups I was like
01:00:13
why should I have anxiety there's
01:00:15
nothing you know nothing scary it's like
01:00:17
I guess it's just me it's like oh you
01:00:18
need to just style back have good food
01:00:21
you know there where nutrition nutrition
01:00:23
comes in as well like
01:00:25
nutrition has so much more in life than
01:00:27
just feeding ourselves like nutrition
01:00:29
plays a massive role in your overall
01:00:31
well-being mental health especially
01:00:33
mental health oh sorry I get so
01:00:36
aggravated about this in a positive F no
01:00:40
no it's true it's true because everyone
01:00:41
has um good days and bad days and when
01:00:43
I'm having a bad day I think [ __ ] if if
01:00:45
I wasn't um physically fit and doing all
01:00:48
the things that I know are good for my
01:00:50
own personal mental health imagine how
01:00:52
much worse I'd feel oh yeah and yeah so
01:00:56
I one thing I noticed about you um so
01:00:59
you flew up from W for this podcast
01:01:01
today and on the plan you're reading a
01:01:03
book about resilience now it's hard to
01:01:06
imagine a more resilient person than
01:01:09
than you I mean you've won the coast to
01:01:10
coast so many times you do these insane
01:01:12
God Zone races um you've done all this
01:01:14
work that we talked about in your
01:01:15
teenage years what um what are you
01:01:17
reading a resilience book for what do
01:01:19
you still need to work on I guess you
01:01:21
know I I feel like we we probably going
01:01:24
to learn like a human like for me I
01:01:26
thought when I gra was like oh the
01:01:28
adults they know it all and you've
01:01:29
finished learning now I I guess I'm an
01:01:32
adult I'm 43 and I feel like oh my God
01:01:35
there's so much to learn you know and
01:01:37
that's what I want I want to you know
01:01:39
even for the coast or for anything in
01:01:41
life maybe there's one key element in
01:01:43
there that just gives me that other not
01:01:46
resilience but the other little key to
01:01:49
to to keep my thoughts more in control
01:01:51
or keep me more in the moment or
01:01:53
motivate me more or to bring out
01:01:55
something else what I want to do after
01:01:57
my my my Coast or racing or you know
01:02:01
like so you know it's it's it's good
01:02:04
it's like I want to evolve and I'm I'm
01:02:06
kind of searching for what else is there
01:02:08
you know how we listen you know um
01:02:11
probably a good example like my partner
01:02:13
tells me something I should do and then
01:02:15
I go someone else tells me the same
01:02:16
thing I was like oh that's a great idea
01:02:18
and he's like I just told you the same
01:02:20
thing you know but I heard it somehow
01:02:23
it's a different voice or so a different
01:02:24
lens and and and yeah it's like when you
01:02:28
PES say what do you
01:02:30
know yeah yeah and I just listened to to
01:02:34
him or her and he's like I just told you
01:02:36
the same thing you could have saved your
01:02:38
money or you know like yeah oh we we'll
01:02:42
get to you we'll get to your partner and
01:02:43
we'll zoom in on him in a second this is
01:02:45
Marcel right yes marel he he he was like
01:02:47
a male version of you he's retired now
01:02:49
but he's on all your support Crews and
01:02:51
stuff um but he was a Savage as well
01:02:53
when he was a competitor oh he's still a
01:02:56
Savage okay but what would your what
01:02:58
would your message be to anyone who is
01:03:01
listening to the this podcast and is
01:03:03
that their version of rock bottom right
01:03:08
now Rock Bottom yeah I mean everyone's
01:03:10
Rock Bottom's like it's hard to imagine
01:03:12
like a a rock bottom that is uh that is
01:03:14
deeper than what yours was but um you
01:03:16
know everyone everyone has it at some
01:03:18
point so someone might be hearing this
01:03:19
at um at that moment for them what
01:03:22
probably lots of messages I just like I
01:03:24
know it sounds awful like just have to
01:03:26
keep hanging there and I guess what I
01:03:27
said before like sometimes you can't see
01:03:29
the light but you just have to break it
01:03:31
down and you don't look at the weeks or
01:03:32
the months you look at every day
01:03:34
sometimes you take it down in hours
01:03:36
break it down down I just have to
01:03:37
survive to lunch not that you say after
01:03:40
after lunch you're going to kill
01:03:41
yourself no no that's not I don't mean
01:03:42
that but just
01:03:45
um I would definitely reach out try and
01:03:49
your best friends if they if it's too
01:03:51
much for them my you to make you know
01:03:54
like there's defin there's so many
01:03:56
Health lines now these days um
01:03:58
definitely I think what helped me is
01:04:00
talking like even in my earlier years
01:04:02
even you know with my eating disorder or
01:04:05
in between I I found this amazing lady
01:04:07
which was sort of a coach athletic coach
01:04:09
and she was sort of My Talking Point too
01:04:12
again I got punished for talking to her
01:04:14
but you know I just needed to talk and
01:04:16
that was good you know I just needed to
01:04:18
get this off my chest um and it doesn't
01:04:21
matter yeah I guess I wouldn't talk to
01:04:23
anybody my problems but yeah it's like I
01:04:27
know it can be hard and horrible and I I
01:04:30
probably had severe depressions or not
01:04:32
long ago I had a few weeks where I was
01:04:34
pretty low and even my partner was a bit
01:04:36
worried and I was like man what's going
01:04:37
on I think it had a hormonal there's a
01:04:40
hormonal imbalance which we try and work
01:04:42
out right now um maybe actually I can
01:04:45
talk to rics about this regarding Foods
01:04:47
later on it's actually a good point but
01:04:49
you know it was quite a a hard time
01:04:52
where I'm like this is so not me you
01:04:54
know where you're really down and you're
01:04:55
not happy you do your training you go to
01:04:57
work and nothing satisfies you and you
01:04:59
just can't see the the light of the
01:05:01
tunnel everything is just St and you
01:05:03
feel you don't belong you feel no
01:05:06
purpose and people telling you and
01:05:07
you're like but I don't feel it it's
01:05:09
awful I can totally relate to this and
01:05:12
it feels awful and I just want to go and
01:05:14
take it off them I'll give them a hack
01:05:16
you know someone even sing someone there
01:05:18
to listen and give you a hack or just
01:05:20
some love I think we need more love um
01:05:24
but okay that I'm getting off topic
01:05:26
what's my message um that's a good one
01:05:30
don't give up that's one thing yeah yeah
01:05:32
and I know it's hard but I guess that's
01:05:36
what what I'm stand here for too like if
01:05:38
it I it was hard but if it you know um
01:05:42
if it was easy everyone would do it
01:05:44
everyone would do it but it's not easy
01:05:45
that's why even me with competing or
01:05:47
anything in life lots of people don't do
01:05:50
it because it's hard even if the people
01:05:52
who successful they didn't become
01:05:54
successful because they they did nothing
01:05:57
usually you know they put their time
01:05:59
they put their whole life on hold too
01:06:01
you know they so obsessed you know any
01:06:03
oh go going I'm going going off off
01:06:05
topic
01:06:06
again you're right you're right you're
01:06:08
good that's good stuff but yeah just
01:06:11
just hanging in there and keep breathing
01:06:14
I think that's another thing sleep lots
01:06:17
and just yeah just don't give up and um
01:06:20
surround with surround yourself with
01:06:22
good people and if you put it out there
01:06:24
if you got hope if you want to be alive
01:06:26
and live then you're going to make it
01:06:28
happen but it's hard work it's not going
01:06:30
to be easy and it's not going to come to
01:06:31
you flying like absolutely not like
01:06:33
that's not what I thought but what I've
01:06:36
been through like in the clinic it was
01:06:39
years of you know like that was just the
01:06:41
beginning but it was really hard work
01:06:43
and it's sometimes you go you feel like
01:06:45
you're walking through much but you know
01:06:46
you have 10 good steps and then you have
01:06:49
a 100 step they go boom it beams you
01:06:51
back but it's to keep on going like
01:06:53
that's sry my empathy I trying to to put
01:06:55
on is like you just have to I know it's
01:06:57
not pretty and it's not easy but you
01:06:59
just have to keep going and you have to
01:07:01
do it yourself as well don't you yeah
01:07:03
yeah that's the thing is like as I said
01:07:05
I love to come and give you a hug and
01:07:07
you can anytime reach out to me I'm
01:07:08
always there to listen um but it's no
01:07:11
one can take this burden off you that's
01:07:13
the thing like even if you're depressed
01:07:14
like even my partner he's there he's
01:07:16
caring for me he's showing me so much
01:07:18
love but you know all he wants is like
01:07:19
getting my bloody head is like take it
01:07:22
and I'm going to run with it I big a
01:07:24
hole and throw it away oh you know just
01:07:26
help me it's like I know I I have to go
01:07:29
through this myself
01:07:30
and yeah it's okay but yeah it's like
01:07:34
you really want a good good good friends
01:07:35
and teams around and just talking about
01:07:37
I think opening up and just getting it
01:07:39
off your chest and because even that's
01:07:41
hard for me to say hey I'm actually I'm
01:07:44
not well like you know you've ched so
01:07:46
much and just not not long ago a few
01:07:48
weeks ago I'm like I feel like this is
01:07:51
not good like I might have to see
01:07:53
someone else so you know I need some
01:07:55
bloody help I mean I got out of it but I
01:07:57
was like this is quite spooky you know
01:07:59
like yeah it's ongoing it never never
01:08:01
properly goes away it's it's like but
01:08:03
even the system here is a bit it's a bit
01:08:06
sad it's like it's not as easy as not I
01:08:08
mean nothing is easy anyway but it was
01:08:10
made much easier in Germany to get some
01:08:13
professional help and have access to
01:08:15
psychologists than here it's also a
01:08:17
major money thing it's like how do
01:08:19
people how can people forward this yeah
01:08:21
here I don't understand I don't know
01:08:23
because it's and and then if you go
01:08:25
through the system like I've been when
01:08:28
did I get here in
01:08:29
2027 and then maybe early 2010 11 or 12
01:08:34
I had another little dip where I'm like
01:08:36
far out I think I have to see you know I
01:08:38
need some professional help and it's
01:08:40
like I see you once in a month and it's
01:08:41
like once in a month you're kidding me I
01:08:44
would be dead in a month okay I won't be
01:08:46
dead but you know was like man I guess
01:08:49
just anyway I don't know how we solve
01:08:51
this problem but yeah it is a bit um
01:08:53
never goes away J your um your your
01:08:55
teenage self though if she was sitting
01:08:57
in that rehab facility and someone said
01:08:59
to her when you're 43 you're going to be
01:09:01
living in New Zealand you're going to be
01:09:03
winning this event year after year after
01:09:05
year you're going to be an amazing
01:09:06
person you're going to have an amazing
01:09:07
partner [ __ ] I mean it's it's a pretty
01:09:11
good a pretty good ending or it's a
01:09:13
pretty good development rather in life
01:09:15
like it would be hard to see at that
01:09:17
point when you're at your Rock Bottom to
01:09:19
see how your life is now and how it's
01:09:20
evolved or largely through work that
01:09:23
you've done on your own but it's um it's
01:09:24
been incredible thank you yeah it's cool
01:09:27
you should be proud of yourself thanks I
01:09:29
think that's I don't know if that's a
01:09:31
bad thing I from with P like when are
01:09:33
you ever proud of yourself you know like
01:09:34
I am I have these moments and I'm very
01:09:36
grateful and I guess that's what I want
01:09:39
to pass on to others as well and you can
01:09:41
you know even now with the message like
01:09:43
I obviously didn't had the perfect
01:09:44
sentence here for the message I want to
01:09:46
give to people who have the lows of the
01:09:48
low but um I guess the experience I had
01:09:51
and me showing up and fighting on it or
01:09:54
even with events coming back even if you
01:09:55
get knocked down and even things don't
01:09:57
fall out with my dnf and yeah yeah so
01:10:00
it's it's a good hopefully it inspires
01:10:03
other men woman Trends whatever human to
01:10:09
if they have a low and thing or life is
01:10:10
not worth it to it's like no everyone
01:10:12
has worth it like you supposed to be
01:10:15
here on this planet so so it's sad when
01:10:17
you hear that people had no other option
01:10:19
you know and yeah absolutely absolutely
01:10:22
um tell us about so you guys met in
01:10:25
China like 20 years ago oh not 20 years
01:10:28
ago probably in 200 I think 11 or 12 but
01:10:32
10 years ago yeah yeah and what was it
01:10:35
more than 10 years ago because we've I
01:10:36
just counted last night we've been
01:10:37
together for nine years what was what
01:10:39
was the event in China there was like a
01:10:41
it was one of these multisport events uh
01:10:44
a stage race over four days and he was
01:10:47
racing in a different team winning team
01:10:50
uh you
01:10:51
know and I just came in
01:10:54
um got one of these wild cards and I was
01:10:56
just happy to be there and it was
01:10:58
actually quite funny because I I heard
01:11:00
about him before I actually saw him in
01:11:02
person and met him um cuz he he was like
01:11:05
a rock star right he was really really
01:11:07
good yeah yeah yeah yeah and he he
01:11:10
looked pretty good he still looks good
01:11:12
but he had this long blonde could you
01:11:14
believe it he's I probably shouldn't say
01:11:16
his age but he's his 50s and he's still
01:11:18
got kind of blonde he's got no gray hair
01:11:20
he's got a Gray beard sometimes when he
01:11:22
grows it but he's got still blonde hair
01:11:24
you know like it's unbelievable back in
01:11:26
the days he had these blond long Angel
01:11:28
hairs like
01:11:30
just not that I anything about outfits
01:11:33
but you
01:11:35
know anyway he was a stand out and he's
01:11:38
quite musly you know not that I worry
01:11:41
about muscles at all but you know just a
01:11:43
overall good good human and U sorry my
01:11:46
point was at the time I was working just
01:11:48
started working as a lifeguard at the
01:11:50
one pool and my uh workmate d which you
01:11:54
might oh yeah yeah another Coast to
01:11:56
Coast yeah yeah back in the days who
01:11:57
worked at Theo life
01:12:00
go um he said oh my God you need to meet
01:12:03
my teammate he's German I was like I
01:12:06
don't want a bloody German gu I don't
01:12:08
want to would be nice maybe meet him but
01:12:10
I don't you know he's like you guys
01:12:11
could be boyfriend girlfriend my I was
01:12:14
like absolutely no way like I don't want
01:12:16
a German boyfriend like he's like you
01:12:18
guys are just so like each other like
01:12:21
absolutely and um before before I went
01:12:24
to become a lifeguard I was um working
01:12:27
which is quite funny you would laugh
01:12:28
about that or maybe not I was working in
01:12:30
Organic Bakery or GIC shop in Monica
01:12:34
which was called soul food and I was the
01:12:35
baker there making specialized
01:12:38
gluten-free baking and I always made um
01:12:41
a lot of sourdough Loaves and D was like
01:12:45
I'm going to he started actually before
01:12:47
I met Marcel he took a loaf of him to to
01:12:50
bring it to China for marel because
01:12:52
marel loved home growing sour or bread
01:12:55
is how we kind of met but not in person
01:12:58
the bread was sort of the the the
01:13:00
message in
01:13:01
between pretty good bread he's like oh
01:13:03
she's she's she's making pretty good
01:13:06
bread but yeah quite hilarious um yeah
01:13:11
but funny that you know I didn't
01:13:13
apprenti ship with the bakery b b with
01:13:14
my eating disorder didn't finish it and
01:13:16
then here I am in New Zealand going back
01:13:18
to Bakery and I got residency with that
01:13:21
job becoming you know being a
01:13:24
specialized vle right right oh and you
01:13:27
mentioned you worked at the um the
01:13:28
Monica pool as well um tell me as
01:13:30
someone that's been a lifeguard at a
01:13:31
pool what happens when there's a Code
01:13:34
Brown do they shut down the whole pool
01:13:36
you you scoop it out and carry on what
01:13:38
goes on I guess there's a procedure But
01:13:41
first you get all the people out and
01:13:43
usually they just look at you and it's
01:13:44
like well I'm not blowing the whistle
01:13:45
for no reason
01:13:49
usually get up get and ideally you don't
01:13:53
want to scream into the Hall like
01:13:54
there's a cold BR you don't is it what
01:13:57
is it the official name by the way yes
01:14:00
yes we've got all these code names like
01:14:03
yeah what else is there give us some
01:14:05
intel only three code red and code
01:14:08
yellow and Code Brown what code yellow
01:14:10
just we um no it has more to do if a
01:14:14
lifeguard is down okay and if if a
01:14:17
patient sorry not patient if there's a
01:14:19
real accident like someone has a um a
01:14:22
customer then it's a code r oh okay oh
01:14:24
right right wow so we calling ding we
01:14:27
not like you know we've got these colde
01:14:29
names and then people have radios
01:14:32
everywhere at the front desk and then
01:14:34
they kind of know what's going on you
01:14:36
know like sort of yeah cuz are you are
01:14:40
you actually sort of saving anyone in
01:14:41
that job or are you mainly just telling
01:14:42
people off like don't run no bombs It's
01:14:45
a combination it's actually I know I
01:14:48
sometimes take the piss of bit with I'm
01:14:49
just a lifu but it is I guess you've got
01:14:53
got a pretty big role because we are
01:14:55
responsible to keeping people you know
01:14:58
um safe and risk the minimize the risk
01:15:01
and the hazards and I guess heart
01:15:04
attacks do happen occasionally and I
01:15:06
guess therefore that's when we jump in
01:15:08
sort or we are there anyway to minimize
01:15:10
risk but also if someone has a heart
01:15:13
attack or stroke or whatever that we are
01:15:14
basically you know we see this thing you
01:15:16
know getting as quick as possible and
01:15:20
yeah um yeah more to you know minimize
01:15:24
the risk and harm in the Cod BR yeah oh
01:15:27
yes do you still want to hear the
01:15:29
procedure about the cob BR
01:15:32
yes we get the people out and then we
01:15:35
scoop the as much as we can of the poop
01:15:38
out and then depends on the size
01:15:40
whatever we definitely have to clear the
01:15:41
pool 100% that you have to get out of
01:15:43
the whole pool and we shut it all down
01:15:45
chlorinated depends on the size and how
01:15:48
bad and then put the vacuum in and shut
01:15:51
it for the day or yeah it depends
01:15:53
depends on size for the what size of the
01:15:56
pool no yeah so um we have two pools now
01:15:59
we have a new sports facility in Mona
01:16:02
and um which is an upgrade from the old
01:16:04
pool we have now a 50 meter oh sorry I
01:16:07
wish we had a 50 no we have a 25 meter
01:16:09
lane pool La pool and we have a Learners
01:16:11
pool so mainly these thing happen in the
01:16:13
Learners pool when we had swimming
01:16:14
lessons or even or any you know it it's
01:16:17
hard to and I get it it's sometimes hard
01:16:19
when they're so excited you know like it
01:16:21
just happens but um only close the
01:16:23
little pool because they all have
01:16:26
separate tanks so they don't mingle with
01:16:28
each other and we also have a spa so all
01:16:30
these other two pools they stay open and
01:16:31
usually what we do we move the lessons
01:16:33
from the learner pool which is much
01:16:35
warmer water into the cold lab pool so
01:16:38
they can carry on and if they don't want
01:16:41
they get their lesson usually re you
01:16:43
know reur yeah um and then yeah depends
01:16:47
on the size and how yeah that's that's
01:16:49
quite you know quick fix kind of thanks
01:16:52
I was always curious It's like do they
01:16:54
drain the whole pool is it shut for the
01:16:55
day or it did wonder like I grew up in
01:16:58
Germany and you know every summer we
01:17:00
went to the outdoors pools or even
01:17:02
indoor pools and I can't remember a
01:17:05
single day that the pool was ever shut
01:17:06
for cold Brown I was like what happened
01:17:08
back like did they just ignore it or did
01:17:13
they not had the tools or the just scoop
01:17:15
it out and move on yeah I don't know but
01:17:19
we have it seems like sometimes a
01:17:21
seasonal thing or period where there's
01:17:23
month and month nothing funny that we
01:17:25
talk about Cole Browns now but you know
01:17:27
and then you have one every week or one
01:17:29
every day and it's like um a few years
01:17:32
ago we had this weekly pooper I'm not
01:17:35
kidding every week on a Thursday
01:17:36
afternoon we had a poop sort of
01:17:38
different same Lane different spots so I
01:17:41
got quite um intrigued in figuring out
01:17:44
who the poopa was and I found the poopa
01:17:46
oh my god really was it intentional or
01:17:48
accidental um I think he thought it was
01:17:51
just funny yeah intentional yeah but his
01:17:55
mom was very embarrassed like how how
01:17:56
old was the kid oh God he was quite old
01:18:00
like for the age he was actually not
01:18:02
just a toddler anymore but yeah um I
01:18:05
don't know why yeah but he admitted that
01:18:07
he did that yeah and I did say to M his
01:18:09
mom I looked her in the eyes I said I'm
01:18:11
not saying it's your son but you know
01:18:13
because they get so wired up and then
01:18:14
they're like who why is it Clos it's
01:18:16
like I'm not the parents sorry not that
01:18:19
I want you know but he's like isn't that
01:18:21
your job to educate the kids like the
01:18:23
poop in the pool and I just looked at
01:18:24
her like little not Johnny but you
01:18:27
know I didn't say Johnny I was like
01:18:30
isn't it your job to to you it's so
01:18:33
funny a serial pooper did he get a
01:18:35
lifetime ban no and it's actually not
01:18:38
the you know she did take him out which
01:18:40
is the wrong thing to do like he should
01:18:42
have just given him some consequences
01:18:44
that he can't come or that he can't play
01:18:47
after the lesson you know rather than
01:18:49
Tak him out of the lesson it's like no
01:18:51
he just just give him to the lesson so
01:18:53
he learns his purpose like the swimming
01:18:55
he obviously needs to learn how to swim
01:18:57
but then right now he got the
01:18:59
consequence because he've been pooping
01:19:00
every Thursday into the pool you can't
01:19:03
play after this we're going to go
01:19:05
straight you know that's how I would
01:19:07
have feel rather than you know of course
01:19:09
she was embarrassed but it was nice that
01:19:10
she actually emailed us and I'm so sorry
01:19:12
you know like it was yeah it so funny
01:19:15
wow hey this one other thing that you've
01:19:18
been involved with recently and um I I
01:19:20
completely missed this until I started
01:19:22
preparing for this chat but there's um a
01:19:24
TV show a reality TV show on TV3 called
01:19:27
track with Vinnie Jones and you were on
01:19:29
this yeah it's like a I don't know how
01:19:32
You' describe it maybe it's like um
01:19:34
Survivor versus like like Bear Grills
01:19:37
Man versus wild or something how would
01:19:39
you describe tracked yeah I've never
01:19:41
watched anything of Bear Grills I
01:19:43
obiously know about him or the name you
01:19:45
know um uh tracked so I guess it's um a
01:19:49
team of group of people like there were
01:19:50
eight teams in a pair to them like s two
01:19:54
in a pair they get released in the
01:19:56
beautiful bu you know Countryside of New
01:19:58
Zealand and you have a map and on the
01:20:01
map there's a evacuation um and sorry an
01:20:04
extraction point you need to get to
01:20:06
usually the episode like the shoot was
01:20:09
for two three days um so you had to make
01:20:13
your way from where they dropped you off
01:20:16
to the that extraction point in those
01:20:18
two three days but what they also is of
01:20:20
course it's where the name comes from
01:20:21
tracked they released the set of
01:20:24
trackers behind
01:20:26
you um yes yes I'm really highte you
01:20:31
know like well experienced um special
01:20:33
force um yeah pretty good guys to you
01:20:37
know to to find you track you track you
01:20:40
down yeah so you don't have like a 1
01:20:41
hour Head
01:20:42
Start yeah I don't know I think it was
01:20:45
roughly an hour but usually they release
01:20:47
you and then you could see the
01:20:48
helicopter coming in and I guess the
01:20:51
fear kick and it was like ah let's run
01:20:53
but I guess the whole thing was like you
01:20:55
can't just run the aim was not to run
01:20:58
from your um set of point to the
01:21:00
extraction point because also the
01:21:02
extraction point would only be open
01:21:05
let's say you get released on a Monday
01:21:06
and it would open on a Wednesday
01:21:08
afternoon at 3:00 till 3:30 so you had
01:21:11
to be you know you had to be I guess it
01:21:13
become it didn't become a race it was
01:21:15
like you had to be running away from the
01:21:18
tracker and leave no marks kind of you
01:21:20
know hardly any marks and how do you
01:21:22
move around this terrain which was um
01:21:26
like a little um hamst you know like you
01:21:28
only had you had boundaries so you were
01:21:30
only allowed to play in this area I
01:21:33
guess the main thing was to hover around
01:21:34
and try not to get tracked till you make
01:21:37
it to that evacuation point but what
01:21:39
they also did I guess to spy things up
01:21:41
and make it a bit more interesting they
01:21:42
gave us task like we had to collect some
01:21:46
try marks they very silver big try marks
01:21:49
and they had sort of an not an advantage
01:21:51
but they kind of played an advantage
01:21:53
when you made it into The Following
01:21:55
episode when you get didn't get tracked
01:21:58
anyhow um then they also had these
01:22:00
control boxes they are red and green
01:22:02
which they are like the size of you know
01:22:04
a little um what um these what is these
01:22:08
um lunch boxes you know for the kids
01:22:10
they take to
01:22:12
kindergarten yeah yeah yeah um and ever
01:22:15
have you ever done a Rogan or an
01:22:16
orienteering where you see those big
01:22:18
orange Flags yeah yeah yeah yeah so they
01:22:20
are big bright you know and imagine find
01:22:22
this little tiny lunch boox in the Tass
01:22:24
so you know your n had to be so spot you
01:22:28
know like quite good but I I was so
01:22:30
lucky to have my good friend and
01:22:32
teammate um Emily Wilson with me in that
01:22:34
show um oh yeah I don't know we were
01:22:36
both lucky to have each other but anyway
01:22:38
so in these control boxes they had a
01:22:40
snitch card in it and that became really
01:22:42
good fun because you when you collect
01:22:45
the contol when you found a control box
01:22:47
and it had a snitch card in it that
01:22:49
became um an advantage and you could use
01:22:52
them them either to give the location of
01:22:54
The Trackers away so you knew where they
01:22:56
you know depends on based on your
01:22:58
movement you were doing or you could
01:23:00
snitch uh put another team on a
01:23:02
handbrake to stand down or give their
01:23:04
location away so it was really cool just
01:23:07
another
01:23:09
unique um add on to the game if that
01:23:12
makes sense you know it wasn't just hide
01:23:13
and seek it was like yeah it was a game
01:23:15
between as all you know yeah yeah and
01:23:18
and it was hosted by uh Vinnie Vinnie
01:23:20
Jones did you have much to do with him
01:23:21
or was he just like dro off to send you
01:23:23
guys on your way and um we yeah we
01:23:29
didn't have too much Su with him I guess
01:23:31
he was the main the main actor you know
01:23:34
the main host here the main host and we
01:23:37
usually he was there right at the start
01:23:40
I don't think he was at the finish I
01:23:42
think he's only at the Finish when the
01:23:43
boys win oh I shouldn't
01:23:46
say as as I said I I watch a few bit of
01:23:49
reality TV and I think I know what's
01:23:50
going on but I I hadn't heard of the
01:23:52
show
01:23:53
when was it on TV was it early 2023 June
01:23:55
July you can still watch it you go on
01:23:57
ends um yeah this is how I watched it on
01:23:59
TV3 on Dem so did you did you have many
01:24:02
when it was broadcast did you have many
01:24:04
people come up to you on the street and
01:24:05
say oh I recognize you from not so much
01:24:09
in Monica more in Christ Church was F
01:24:11
funny I was running and they're like I
01:24:14
guess they recognize sort of the hairo
01:24:16
um yeah uh yeah not I don't know not too
01:24:21
overwhelming I think Emily quite a few
01:24:24
yeah but but um we didn't come so we
01:24:27
came in as to threat me and Emily so it
01:24:30
was actually quite funny because when we
01:24:31
applied for the show um we just applied
01:24:35
we were like reality TV show how funny
01:24:38
would that be I was like oh why not
01:24:41
let's just do that so we put the the
01:24:43
application in which we did on a Monday
01:24:45
night you know just like yeah you know
01:24:47
you have to film yourself and talk to
01:24:49
the camera which is not our greatest
01:24:51
thing but anyway we did and we're like
01:24:53
oh let's just you know like what could
01:24:54
possibly you know go wrong or what could
01:24:56
happen let we get in we had no hopes
01:24:59
really it's like just do it and then
01:25:02
within less than 12 hours on a mon on
01:25:04
Tuesday morning at 8 we got an email
01:25:06
from the lady that was selecting the
01:25:08
teams like right can you guys be on a
01:25:10
call in or with with some other you know
01:25:12
with the producer blah blah um so yeah
01:25:15
that was it and then the ball just keep
01:25:17
rolling and then they're like oh so we
01:25:19
were kind of we had all this tests with
01:25:21
the psychology and other things um and
01:25:24
health and blah blah and it seems to be
01:25:27
that we're in and they're like oh we do
01:25:28
the finalizing in January and then we
01:25:31
didn't hear from them and then you know
01:25:33
we were busy doing the coast and then
01:25:35
after the coast we're like okay we're
01:25:36
making new plans for this year like we
01:25:38
emailed them back and they're like oh
01:25:40
yeah sorry we didn't we dropped you guys
01:25:42
because we changed the agenda and we're
01:25:44
like okay nice good that you guys tell
01:25:46
us us something you know anyway and then
01:25:49
I said to Emily you know what I bet you
01:25:51
they're going to call us back last
01:25:53
minute because we are in the country we
01:25:56
can they knew how flexible we are with
01:25:58
work so we can literally drop the pin
01:26:00
and be there you know 24 hours if we
01:26:03
have to and we can have as much time of
01:26:05
it you know how it is actually quite
01:26:07
hard because you can't who can leave
01:26:09
work and say oh I might be back in six
01:26:12
weeks or if I get caught I'll be back
01:26:14
next week you know like it was really
01:26:16
hard to you need a very understanding
01:26:17
employer that's for sure yeah so anyway
01:26:20
I was like not filing but I was like H
01:26:22
kind of laughing he like I get I bet you
01:26:24
they're going to call us back because of
01:26:25
Co and then also because it's an
01:26:28
international thing so they had four
01:26:30
International Teams and four kiwi teams
01:26:33
um and I said look those teams from
01:26:36
overseas they will be flabber like not
01:26:40
flabber they will be like mind blown and
01:26:42
they will actually have a hard time to
01:26:44
um to do this properly like and they
01:26:47
would have to do so much ad on work
01:26:48
whatever which US which is out there We
01:26:51
R in the element like they don't have to
01:26:52
worry about us like be like an easy
01:26:54
catch for them and anyway that's what
01:26:55
happened in may we got this lovely email
01:26:59
hello do you guys still want to be on
01:27:01
the
01:27:03
show and you did you did really well um
01:27:06
you finished in second place you seem
01:27:08
gutted by the way when you got caught um
01:27:10
so you didn't win the $100,000 prize
01:27:13
what what did you and Emily want the
01:27:14
$100,000 prize for you wanted to set up
01:27:15
a
01:27:16
business or you know any money is good
01:27:19
yeah yeah
01:27:21
absolutely
01:27:22
I know you can talk it high up or you
01:27:25
can talk it down as like oh it's only
01:27:26
100 grand 50 each then you pay tax oh
01:27:28
it's actually not that you know but then
01:27:30
it's like for me it would be you know
01:27:31
even for Emily it's like wow you could
01:27:33
do so much yeah we started the business
01:27:36
which is called level up um where we do
01:27:40
clinics for all sorts of not just women
01:27:43
like any human being to upskill their
01:27:46
not upskill but sort of um you know like
01:27:49
um teaching more life I call it I guess
01:27:51
life skills take take them out into
01:27:52
nature learning how to nve and be more
01:27:55
self-sufficient and trusting themsel and
01:27:58
you know like being brave doing certain
01:28:00
things they were probably scared to do
01:28:02
before or getting ready for a race or an
01:28:03
adventure race or like the coast or and
01:28:06
me you know mentoring them through them
01:28:08
and yeah passing on the skills we
01:28:10
learned because we had so much support
01:28:12
and input from other amazing humans and
01:28:15
we just want to kind of give back pass
01:28:17
on the knowledge have have you have you
01:28:18
launched this have you started this oh
01:28:20
yeah that's launched a few years ago all
01:28:22
right but we are bit um I guess still so
01:28:25
driven with our own little um goals and
01:28:28
you know so busy because we both both
01:28:31
have such a busy lifestyle um that I
01:28:34
just what I do now for currently I just
01:28:37
I um just started coaching so I don't
01:28:41
you know Emily can do her thing and when
01:28:42
we have time fit together then we can do
01:28:44
more clinics and then it's all right at
01:28:46
the time and for now what I offer myself
01:28:50
I I I started
01:28:52
coaching um and mentoring so yeah that's
01:28:56
and I can just do this myself so I don't
01:28:57
have to you know rely on any yeah I
01:28:59
think that would be a great business for
01:29:01
you guys to sink your teeth into when
01:29:02
your competitive years are over because
01:29:04
you're both fantastic Role Models so we
01:29:06
we've heard about your journey and Emily
01:29:08
she's type one diabetic yes yes she's
01:29:11
got a a lot
01:29:12
to give oh she's such an amazing human
01:29:16
and just inspiration I think there like
01:29:19
for diabetes like I don't even know why
01:29:21
diabetes New Zealand diabetes would I
01:29:23
use it as a you know in spons or help
01:29:26
her more with anything because she's
01:29:28
such a great role model for anybody you
01:29:31
know like kids especially with diabetes
01:29:33
or moms and dads and just even people
01:29:36
themselves with diabetes because she's
01:29:38
really she's living it there's no excuse
01:29:40
for
01:29:41
Emily she's she's like not that she's
01:29:44
like oh my my you know taking
01:29:47
like not running away you know not not
01:29:50
thinking like I'm going to die anytime
01:29:51
soon but but she's like she's really
01:29:52
like getting it all in as much as she
01:29:55
can and I think it's fantastic to
01:29:57
there's no excuse you know like she's
01:29:58
not just because I have diabetes and I'm
01:30:01
labeled it's like no I can't do this you
01:30:03
know like she not letting it stand in
01:30:05
the way yeah and it's probably I don't
01:30:07
know similar to people who have a tough
01:30:09
time or when they go through M it's like
01:30:10
f oh oops sorry but you know it's like
01:30:13
man some people they have a certain
01:30:15
condition or I was listening to podcast
01:30:17
last night about um what's the name
01:30:20
Sophie is it Pascal I so the swimmer
01:30:23
yeah yeah and then when you interview
01:30:26
CH incredible like you know like they
01:30:29
live with they live with this every day
01:30:31
you know and just how they overcome
01:30:33
these things like that's where I
01:30:35
sometimes like w man I know it's all I
01:30:38
shouldn't put these things together but
01:30:40
it does sometimes I know when you in
01:30:42
deepest hole sometimes I think they
01:30:44
don't matter and I get that because then
01:30:46
I don't I feel like oh yeah whatever it
01:30:48
doesn't touch me but now I'm like man
01:30:51
it's incredible so they do they they
01:30:53
inspire me you know like yeah they're
01:30:55
really inspiring like well and and
01:30:57
you're you're going to inspire people as
01:30:58
well like with this chat yeah one thing
01:31:00
one thing I've got from this podcast
01:31:01
another thing is that um everyone goes
01:31:03
through some sort of adversity
01:31:04
everyone's dealing with some sort of
01:31:06
[ __ ] in their life um and it's just
01:31:08
amazing what the human is capable of
01:31:10
doing um and getting past so we've got
01:31:14
um Coast to Coast 2024 coming up um [ __ ]
01:31:17
there's so much pressure on you for that
01:31:19
um I suppose expectation of other people
01:31:21
but also internal pressure um and then
01:31:25
what what after
01:31:27
that going to hang the hang the hang the
01:31:30
canoe up no what are you well ideally it
01:31:34
was the plane last year to to call this
01:31:36
my last one and I I think I mentioned
01:31:38
before because I feel like I ticked all
01:31:40
the bookes you know like and that was
01:31:41
really rewarding it's like it's nice
01:31:43
when you can kind can finish on a high
01:31:46
so and I guess it's where I put another
01:31:48
bit of pressure on myself which I don't
01:31:50
know how it's going to go I I I hope to
01:31:52
of course I want to win and I I know
01:31:54
there's is an amazing Deep Field out an
01:31:57
amazing women out there they could all
01:31:59
probably five win the co you know um
01:32:02
very capable winning the coast this year
01:32:05
it would be nice for me to do to send it
01:32:08
off but um yeah this year when I thought
01:32:12
that's it um I got pregnant but it
01:32:16
didn't have you know I missed I lost it
01:32:18
and then I thought ah damn and then I
01:32:22
thought oh let's try this again but then
01:32:24
because you so um how do you say
01:32:27
um oh it's such a mind [ __ ] it's awful
01:32:31
you know I can understand when people
01:32:33
say oh first I thought oh why is it so
01:32:35
hard was like I understand now why it's
01:32:36
so hard when they lose a you know like
01:32:39
um have miscarriage and it's like I
01:32:41
guess I just drown up my Sor jumping
01:32:43
back into what I know and what I'm good
01:32:45
at so I just jump back straight into
01:32:46
racing and then I was oh China came back
01:32:49
up and I just pushed it all aside and I
01:32:50
was like ah God another year so I know
01:32:55
I'm old too but who knows we're just
01:32:58
going to see what happened but ideally
01:33:00
if that not it's that not happen if
01:33:02
that's not happening and if it's not
01:33:03
Health you know like if it's not a
01:33:04
healthy normal process whatever um
01:33:07
that's fine I'm good terms of that but I
01:33:10
what I really like to do and that's what
01:33:12
I thought this year too even on the last
01:33:14
final Bike R like I can't wait to be and
01:33:17
support someone on this race or even do
01:33:20
it in a tandem you know and go together
01:33:22
where you have a lot more fun you can
01:33:24
chitchat or maybe not but you know you
01:33:27
share and you just help some you know
01:33:30
you Mentor someone through that would be
01:33:31
cool to do a school you know with
01:33:33
someone and Mentor them through it and
01:33:35
just give back you know and um invest a
01:33:37
bit more like yeah that would be cool
01:33:39
and regardless what happened with a
01:33:41
human or not um maybe you can cut this
01:33:44
out but you know there's a lot more
01:33:46
goals out there like yeah I just want to
01:33:48
do more other things and just have time
01:33:51
to be to the other things again going to
01:33:53
the hills because right now all I do all
01:33:55
I do is I I still work I just I work at
01:33:58
the campground in Mona which just opened
01:34:00
at the
01:34:01
weekend um so that's going to be quite
01:34:05
um a balancing act which I haven't done
01:34:08
last year but I'm sure we can all work
01:34:10
it out with my employer to get it you
01:34:12
know to get the balance right of yeah
01:34:14
they're pretty pretty cool which I did
01:34:17
think and S that oh my God what did I
01:34:19
sign up
01:34:20
for
01:34:22
oh my God but I had a lot of Play Time
01:34:24
beforehand so it's like it's okay and
01:34:26
I'm sure we just talking about it and
01:34:28
they are super supportive they they want
01:34:29
to see me doing well too you yeah
01:34:31
absolutely yeah yeah hey well good luck
01:34:33
with what the future brings um yeah
01:34:36
there's the coast to coast coming up
01:34:37
which um oh I'm I'm going to be eagerly
01:34:40
watching this and um hopefully you can
01:34:42
pull off the fifth Coast to Coast win um
01:34:47
but whatever happens in the future yeah
01:34:48
good luck with the family stuff as well
01:34:49
I hope that's um successful as well but
01:34:52
whatever you do I'm sure you're gonna do
01:34:53
Thrive and do well at because you're an
01:34:55
amazing person thank you yeah yeah yeah
01:34:57
and you you'll also be the person that
01:34:59
um that caught the the w pole Thursday
01:35:01
pooper so uh that's another thing for
01:35:04
your LinkedIn page back in the
01:35:06
days at the old
01:35:08
pool all right hey um s m thank you so
01:35:11
much for coming on the podcast thanks so
01:35:13
much for having me it was a pleasure
