Meet Mish
Writer. Educator. Speaker.
No one would have ever guessed that I would end up in the fitness industry, as I have never really enjoyed playing or watching sports.
However, without sounding too dramatic – exercise saved my life.
I moved from London to Melbourne, Australia, when my daughter was 2. Within a year of arriving, my husband and I bought a derelict house that we renovated, and I got pregnant with my son Max. When I was 7. 5 months pregnant, my husband informed me that he had met the love of his life 6 weeks prior and then moved out and moved in with her. I had no family here, very few friends and support systems.
Even now, it is hard to believe that I lived through this. To survive, I had to reach deep to find reserves I was not sure I had and rely on the kindness and support that friends (and sometimes strangers) and family gave me. One dear friend came and lived with me for 6 weeks when Max was just a few months old. Every day, she asked, “Mish – what are we going to do for exercise?”
I was barely eating, sleeping or functioning. However, together we gardened, cooked healthy food, walked in nature, went swimming (each taking turns juggling the baby and toddler in the pool) and eventually joined group fitness classes at my local gym.
The daily exercise allowed me to come off anti-depressant medication, which to this day, I believe was wrongly prescribed for me. I was suffering from post-traumatic stress, not depression. Replacing anti-depressants with exercise allowed me to feel joy again. The joy of movement, the joy of breathing deep, the joy of feeling strong, and the joy of living.
I tried returning to my original teaching profession when Max was a year old. But I knew to preserve my mental health, I had no choice but to change my career to incorporate everything that gave me joy.
So as an adult student, I gained qualifications in fitness. My first jobs were as a group fitness instructor/personal trainer. However, as a mother juggling kids and recovering from pelvic floor dysfunction (induced by following the fitness industry prescription of how to get fit and strong) – I wanted to teach other women how to get fit, but not at the expense of prolapse.
The mum and bub pelvic floor-friendly education fitness classes developed into the award-winning fitness franchise mishfit®.
In 2014 I created the Women’s Health & Fitness Summit and grew it into a two-day event held at beautiful venues such as Crown, RACV and The Grand Hyatt. This event hosted the most revered and respected women’s health and fitness presenters and trainers worldwide. It was attended by hundreds of women, with many returning every year. This conference aimed to improve relationships between physiotherapy and fitness professionals. Both have an integral role to play in women’s health. I am proud to say that the effects of this conference are still resonating today.
As part of the Women’s Health and Fitness Summit, I created The Platform. The Platform is a mentoring program that allowed new and aspiring presenters to present on the main stage. An opportunity all too often denied to female presenters. I am beyond proud of these Platform presenters who are shining today. It is so hard to get a leg up when no one gives you a chance.
In 2017, I became the business development manager for Curves (a female-only gym) in Australia and New Zealand. Outside my role, I wrote their women’s health education because I had a manager who allowed me to shine. Then, I travelled across Australia and New Zealand to teach it to the Curves franchisees and employees. Even in strict pre-designed fitness business models, there is always space to improve things. Education is also an excellent opportunity for fitness businesses to include other revenue streams that do not trade time for money.
After my time at Curves, I switched to Non-Profit work. I was the Living Longer Living Stronger Coordinator for COTA Victoria. This is a strength and balance training program developed for older adults. I have redeveloped all the Instructor training for Living Longer Living Stronger and, due to the CORONA virus pandemic, converted the instructor training to an online platform.
I am continually learning new skills and currently working for Synapse – Australia’s Brain Injury, developing content. With post-covid complications, I am again learning how amazing our brains and bodies are.
For over 15 years, I have been creating education for fitness professionals, presenting at conferences, and teaching live and virtually across Asia, New Zealand and Australia. My education has been published on partner platforms – such as Fitness Education Online, Central Queensland University and EAT fitness NZ. You can see all the education available here.
However, my most significant educational achievement has been in the creation of EVEolution™. This is my signature online course that originated from teaching the concepts that all women need to know to understand how to exercise, no matter what age or stage they are out. Unfortunately, these concepts are missing in the education to become a fitness professional because this education is based on research on fit young men. I think we are all becoming more aware of medical and research bias. However, still, today, fitness professionals, without additional education, will be training you like a fit young man. And you will be made to feel the blame if you get injured.
EVEolution™ is the course I wish I had to share with my clients when I was a Personal Trainer. When my clients attended our sessions, they wanted to work out. They were always in the mindset or could (thanks to juggling kids) concentrate on the “extra” education they needed to understand how they needed to train differently than fit young men. You can find out more about that here.
EVEolution™ is for both women who want to exercise (or start to exercise) effectively for their bodies, their hormones and their cycles and for the personal trainers who work with them. For fitness professionals, dieticians and health coaches, EVEolution™ can be included in your product offering via our Partner program. You can find out more about that here.
One day I will write a book about the funny twists and turns my life has taken. But I want you to know I totally upgraded on the husband front. We live between a beautiful eco-apartment in Brunswick and a small beach cottage at Barwon Heads with our two cats Olive and Sugar. My two children (and another 2 stepsons) have grown and are making their own way in the world. I love travelling and spending time each year in the far North of New Zealand, where my whanau live.
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