Ashley was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, when she was 26, she has endured chronic pain which has affected both her professional and personal life. She went from being super fit and healthy to not being able to cut her own food up, or get dressed.
Ashley talks about the power of meditation and how her daily practice has been essential to her recovery. She’s passionate about promoting meditation to reduce stress, lower the risk of anxiety and depression. During this podcast you will get to hear top tips and advice on how you can make small changes to your daily routine which will make a massive difference!
Show notes
- Who is Ashley Hunt?
- Being lazy growing up
- Eventually finding fitness through pole dancing
- Developing Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Finding empowerment through exercise and building strength
- Becoming a pole dancing instructor
- Taking control of your body and building self confidence and body confidence
- Why your confidence builds by doing pole dancing
- The development of her Rheumatoid Arthritis and how it spread throughout her body
- Going from being a strong, fit, healthy women in January and by April not being able to dress or feed herself
- How she coped with the challenge and how it impacted on her mental health
- Suffering through the dark times and using meditation to get through it.
- Why being in pain is exhausting
- Why the struggles you go through make you stronger
- How she started with meditation & why you need to practice it
- Her top tips for meditation and why you need to start with breathing
- Her self care routine & why the best thing you can do is to take care of yourself
- Taking control of your addiction to technology
- Her sleep routine before bed and why there is no technology allowed
- Advice for dealing with negative thoughts
- Why being selfish is the most selfless thing you can do
- Her fitness & training routine now
- Why nothing is more important than her health
- What she’s learnt from all the struggles
- Her final words of advice - Put yourself first, stop, take a breath and make sure it’s in your best interest - put yourself first!!!
Get in contact with Ashley - Via her website and say hi to her on twitter @ashleyhuntwelln
Feeling inspired week after week?
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- If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
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Hannah knows what it takes to follow her dreams, and has always lived by her Uncle’s motto “never give up”.
At 13 years old, she became the youngest ever winner of the BT Young Sailor of the Year award for her achievements at the Mirror World Championships.
Aged 15 she received a phone call that changed the direction of her life. Andy Cassell, the Atlanta Gold medalist in the Sonar class opened her eyes to disability sailing, which she had previously thought of as the weaker option.
After winning the bronze medal at the World Championships, her team was selected above her childhood hero and mentor, Andy Cassell which sent her to her first Paralympic Games - Athens 2004!
During this podcast we learn more about the setbacks she’s had to face, how she has dealt with failure and crushing disappointments. Throughout it all she has kept moving forward with pure grit and determination.
After listening to Hannah you will be inspired to take on your own personal challenge.
Show notes
- Going back to her childhood and understanding what it was like for her growing up
- What she loved about sailing & how sailing changed her perception of herself.
- Going off to military school at young age & what she’s learned from that experience
- Growing up with her disability and dealing with bullies
- Making the Youth Squad in sailing
- Winning the Young Sailor of the Year Award when she was 13 years old!
- Knowing that sailing was going to be in her future
- Dealing with the pressure of coming from a sailing family
- Thinking that Paralympian sailing was the weaker option and how her mind got changed.
- Deciding to leave university after 2 years and focus on the Athens campaign
- Beating her childhood hero & mentor at the 2003 World Championships
- The mental preparation while competing at an elite level
- The Chimp Paradox and exercising the chimp!
- Racing & competing in China
- Race tactics & why it’s a balancing act
- Losing a medal at the London Olympics 2012
- 16 years of sailing and the reason she sails
- Her preparation for Rio
- What she does to get ready before a race
- 2 bad days on the water at Rio and having to fight back to Bronze position, before losing out to a disqualification
- Dealing with the loss
- What’s the extra one percent and why you have to fight to the end - no matter what
- The closing party in Rio!
- What sailing has taught her
- Sailing has been dropped from the Paralympics in Tokyo 2020
- The Vendee Globe 2020 Challenge!
- Final words of advice to motivate & inspire you!
Learn more about Hannah by visiting her website - & say hi to her on twitter @SailingHannah. I’m also on twitter @_TOUGH_GIRL
Feeling inspired week after week?
You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!
- Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
- If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
- Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love.
Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!
Want to do more?
Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs.
Justine lives in Wales, is 35 years old and started kayaking 12 years ago with a local canoe club. When she was at university Justine loved team sports and represented England in hockey, only discovering walking, mountain biking and kayaking when she left university. She started a career in television at about the same time she discovered kayaking, and she soon gave up her job to pursue sea kayaking adventures and film them to make a living.
Following her passion, was challenging and difficult for the first four years - people refused to believe that sea kayaking could be exciting! Justine soon changed their minds once they saw her movies. Justine is an avid and accomplished sea kayaker and has explored many of the world’s best paddling spots - New Zealand, Newfoundland, Norway, Tasmania, the Queen Charlotte Islands, Alaska, California...the list goes on!
Show notes
- How she discovered the outdoors and fell in love with the mountain
- The challenges she faced of wanting to follow her passion
- Why it did come down to luck and her determination
- How she came to make her first sea kayaking video
- Remembering the important first steps and why she learnt to ask for what she wanted
- Why its important to share your goals and why you need to give 100% to your goals
- The expeditions that have stood out for Justine and why she kept upping the challenge after every adventure.
- Taking on the Aleutian Islands, “the birth place of the winds” with Sarah Outen
- Why she decided to say yes the adventure and why for her attitude is more important than skill
- Being told the crossings they wanted to do were impossible! (It wasn’t!)
- Being prepared to give it a go and being prepared to work hard and to wait for the weather
- 5 months for the planning and training
- Dealing with the long crossings and how she keeps on going
- The addictive feeling from from being on an adventure
- Dealing with the fear and worry in your head
- Mental tricks she uses while out Kayaking
- What she’s learnt from making mistakes
- Dealing with fear and how she turns it into action
- Future challenges!
- Focusing more on - Fun, Family & Friends!
- Why she named her company - Cackle TV!
- Advice for women who want to get into Sea Kayaking
Connect with Justine - Visit her website & Say hi to Justine on Twitter @cackletv
Sponsor the Tough Girl Podcast!! Become a Patron!
Part 2
7 Women - 7 Challenges 2017
We catch up with; Rae Red, Gemma Smith, Georgie Akin-Smith, Jo Jo Rogers, Jen Dykxhoorn, Laura Try, & Rachel Wise as they continue their 2017 journey to go after their goals and dreams.
Learn more about the 7 women! Click HERE!
Order & Timings
- Jo Jo Rogers - 5 mins
- Georgie Akin-Smith - 45 mins
- Rae Red - 1 hr 06
- Gemma Smith - 1 hr 53
- Rachel Wise - 2 hr 34
- Laura Try - 3 hr 21
- Jen Dykxhoorn - 3 hr 57
You can listen to Part 1 HERE!
Schedule of future episodes
Part 3 - 2nd April
Part 4 - 28th May
Part 5 - 1st October
Part 6 - 19th November
Feeling inspired ?
You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!
- Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
- If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
- Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love.
Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!
Want to do more?
Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs.
We first had Sophie on the Tough Girl Podcast in August 2015 and it is awesome to catch up with her at the start of 2017 to see what she’s been up to!
Sophie has cycled from London to Paris in 24 hours nine times, she’s a two-times Ironman Wales finisher, completed the 3 Peaks Cycle Challenge, run ultra marathons, climbed Mont Blanc and achieved a world-first expedition with the Alpine Coast to Coast by climbing the highest mountains in the eight alpine countries and cycling between them in 32 days. To achieve this she cycled 150kms a day, climbed eight mountains and covered 45,500 metres of ascent - nine times the height of Mount Everest!
To listen to her first episode of the Tough Girl Podcast - Click Here
Show notes
- What has been most challenging for Sophie in 2016
- Dealing with her most challenging year yet.
- Why she wants to be “strong” not just in the physical sense.
- Turning the corner in 2017 and she feels so happy
- How she copes with being in the public eye
- Why she now knows who she really is
- ‘Who is Sophie’
- Heading over to South America with LAN
- Taking a job with Epic TV and feeling as though she was taking a step backwards
- Mountain biking through Bolivia, heading down to Patagonia in Chile to do the W trek!
- Trying to create something which is marketable
- Why you have to create a name for yourself in the industry and no one else is going to do it for you
- Why e-mail are the biggest waste of her time
- Why the smaller challenges are some of her favourite ones!
- Reconnecting with nature
- Only have 2.5 weeks to train for the 24 hour Tough Mudder Challenge!
- Wanting to be fit for life
- Doing 6 sessions of HIT in 1 day!
- Dealing with the 35ft cliff jump
- Why it never got easier..
- London to Paris Cycle in 24 hours and dealing with the emotions
- Building self belief and self confidence by doing challenges
- Struggling to balance, training, work and life
- How she funds her lifestyle
- Working with sponsors
- Getting to participate in ‘Race the World’ and being the captain of the team and how she dealt with the added pressure
- Being able to lean on her teammates for support
- Her plan for 2017 & why she’s taking herself off to Scotland
- Get in contact with Sophie!
Thank you for the amazing questions from Sophie Thomas, Emily Pitts, Adelaide Goodeve, Ruth Blanco, Evie Akiens, Rae Red, Hannah Marie Attenburrow, and Mandy Dicksee all awesome members of the Tough Girl Tribe!
Feeling inspired week after week?
You can do 3 easy things to help me continue to grow the podcast!
- Subscribe to the podcast in iTunes, so you won’t miss a single episode
- If you’re loving the podcast, please leave a 5-star review on iTunes! I read every single comment!
- Share the podcast with your friends, especially if you think it could help them, and spread the #ToughGirlPodcast love.
Your support helps me continue to grow the podcast and do inspiring things in this space! Already done all 3? You’re a rockstar! Thank you!
Want to do more?
Please become a Patron and donate a small fixed amount every month to help fund the runnings costs.
Jenny has travelled to six continents, solo. Cycled around Europe, paddled through the South American jungle, ran marathons on four continents, hiked throughout Asia, trekked in Patagonia, dived with sharks, surfed in the North Sea, competed in numerous adventure races, and lived in five countries. She believes everyone has the spirit of an explorer within them, and that adventures are constantly at our fingertips.
On September 18, 2016, Jenny ran through the city gates of Osh, in the southwest of Kyrgyzstan, having run just over 900 kilometres in 25 days from the northeast city of Karakol via the Tien Shan mountains, solo and self-supported. The expedition took her through both stunning and challenging landscapes, where she used ancient nomad trails to access mountain passes up to 4000m, while carrying all of her own supplies on her back!
“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.”
— T.S Eliot
Show notes
- Growing up in Calgary, which is close to the Rocky Mountains in Canada. Where she would spend time out in the mountains connecting with nature.
- Moving down to the Caribbean when she was 10 years old and spending a year a half living on a boat with her family!
- Taking a gap year when she was 18 and spending time trekking and exploring in South America
- After university she decided she was going to cycle to the Yukon. A ride of 3,000 km to the North of Canada!
- Having respect for planning, but also wanting to let the adventure un fold naturally!
- Having the time and making the money to go away cycle touring and why her first adventure didn’t cost her a lot of money.
- Dealing with the fears of her friends and having to deal with her un-supportive friends and how their fears wore her down mentally
- Cycling 100km on the first day of the adventure and how it motivated her to keep moving north.
- The challenges she faced being on the open road and what she did to keep herself motivated and entertained
- Finding endurance sports, meditative and getting into the zone.
- After finishing her first cycle journey and deciding to try and live a normal life. It lasted a year before she decided to pack it all in and get back on her bike and go on another adventure
- Deciding to move to Scotland and why she loves it!
- Getting into running, how running made her feel and how her relationship with running changed over the years.
- Running solo across Kyrgyzstan - 900k self supported! Why she wanted to do this challenge and how it came about
- Getting herself mentally and physically prepared for the challenge
- What it was like being in the country - meeting new people and dealing with their doubts about what she was doing.
- What Jenny has learned most from her Kyrgyzstan experience
- Why your friends really do matter and why you need to be careful of who you surround yourself with
- Her first book - “Keeping the sea to the right” - when she decided to cycle around the Baltic Sea
- Tips and tricks to help you get over challenges and why breaking it down can make a massive difference
- Dealing with a family death while being away from her family and how she dealt with her grief
- Future challenges & final words of advice!
Check out Jenny’s website - www.jennytough.com Jenny is on Twitter @JennyTough
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