Perfectly Flawed

In this episode, I am joined by Mubal Azzam Ibrahim. Mubal competed at his first Olympics in Tokyo 2021 representing his home country, the Maldives. Mubal was born and raised in the Maldives before moving to Australia at the age of 17, leaving school early to pursue his dream of swimming. Basing himself in Melbourne at Surrey Park and attending Swinburne University, was a big adjustment. He has been able to immerse himself in what he describes as an intense and fierce swimming culture and absolutely loves it! Mubal was able to provide an insight into what its like competing internationally and his lockdown lead into the Olympics. Mubal is a hardworking teammate of mine and it was awesome being able to chat with him on the podcast and provide a platform for him to share his journey so far. I hope you enjoy the episode!

You can follow her on Instagram @mubalazzam

To keep up with the podcast follow the Instagram page @perfectly_flawed_podcast

In this episode, I talk you through a mindfulness exercise.  In our modern-day world, as many find themselves ‘caught up in the mind,’ we often lack a full sense of being ‘grounded.’ When we are grounded, we are deeply present with the body, with the breath, and with the world around and within us. The mind is at greater ease and we move through our day with greater presence. The good news is that when we are feeling ungrounded, a simple grounding practice can bring us back into the earth and into our bodies. This simple exercise is an example of that. I hope you find this exercise helpful and you can play me over and over whenever you need it!

There is no intro or outro so you can just focus on the exercise!

Reflection questions:

1. How did it feel to ground yourself in this way? Which parts of it were the most settling for you (i.e. connecting with the earth, with the breath, or with your body)?

2. How did your sense of presence change from before the practice to the end of it? Reflect upon any shifts that occurred in both mind and body.

You can follow me on Instagram @reneeeeefox

To keep up to date with the podcast follow the Instagram page @perfectly_flawed_podcast

In this episode, I am joined by Hamish McDougall. Hamish has been swimming a long time and has been at Surrey Park Swim Club his whole life. Hamish is recently retired from competitive swimming, and it was a great opportunity to chat with him about his career. He talked about how he started out and then when it became more serious around his teenage years. He speaks to the lessons he’s learnt as well as the setbacks and highlights. Failure, risks, friendships, team trips, and defining success are just some of the insightful topics Hamish touches on. Hamish has had a great swimming career and is looking forward to his next chapter in life some of which involved sharing his wisdom with the next generation of swimmers. I could chat to Hamish for hours and a part 2 maybe something to keep your eye out for. I hope you enjoy this chat as much as I did!

You can follow him on Instagram @hamishmcdougall1

To keep up with the podcast follow the Instagram page @perfectly_flawed_podcast

In this episode, I am joined by Ryan Maskelyne. Ryan is originally from Papua New Guinea and represented his country in his first Olympics in Tokyo 2021. Ryan moved to Australia at the age of 14 to attend boarding school and went from training 3 times a week to 9 times a week in Brisbane. Ryan spoke about his transition to Australia and how his swimming career has grown and evolved. In 2018 after a passport wait his commonwealth games dream didn’t come to fruition. This then led him to quit swimming and getting caught up in the college lifestyle. After hitting what Ryan describes as undiagnosed depression, he made the decision that something needed to change and returned to swimming. Ryan had a mentally tough lead into Tokyo but worked tirelessly to ensure he could nail the perfect race. Ryan has many goals and aspirations to continue to make his country and himself proud. It was awesome to hear Ryan’s perspective on swimming and I hope you enjoy the episode!

You can follow him on Instagram @ryan_maskelyne

To keep up with the podcast follow the Instagram page @perfectly_flawed_podcast

Michael Phelps Under Armour ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDQDTPWNcQ0 

Rise and Grind video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tzm6TEManmQ&t=15s 

In this episode, I am joined by Kiah Melverton. Kiah is a swimmer who competed in her first Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. Kiah grew up with both lifesaving and swimming. Swimming didn’t become her first priority until she was around 15. Kiah has always loved being in the water and as she has learnt a lot along the way in her career so far. Kiah opens up about her experiences with body image, comparison, and confidence particularly around the pool deck and in the presence of other female swimmers. We also chat about the importance of rest and how much of a learning curve that is and how we are both still trying to navigate through its many challenges including guilt. Kiah speaks about her self-talk, doubt, and the pressure she puts on herself and gives an insight into how this presented itself in one of her races. Kiah was awesome to chat to and I was able to learn and relate to so many things we discussed. I hope you enjoy the episode!

You can follow her on Instagram @melvertonkiah

To keep up with the podcast follow the Instagram page @perfectly_flawed_podcast