Sparta Chicks Radio: Mindset | Confidence | Sport | Women

A 2x Ironman finisher, Ashley Wiles’ struggles with mental health and body image over the years inspired her to launch Sole Girls, an innovative empowerment program that shares, with girls aged 5 to 12, the tools they need for a confident, happy and healthy life.

And she joins me on Sparta Chicks Radio this week.

In this conversation, we dive into Ashley’s story including:

- the ‘kilometre club’ at her elementary / primary school that laid the foundation for her love of being running,

- how she manages her mental state if she can’t run due to injury,

- how she discovered triathlons (and more recently, boxing and parkour), and

- why she says running saved her life.

Plus we dive into broader issues, including:

- the importance of role models,

- the impact a lack of role models has on the number of girls who drop out of sport,

- the role of sports as “playtime” for kids and adults alike,

- why running (and the body awareness it creates) is fantastic for dealing with anxiety or an overactive brain (how do you get out of your head?), and

- why her focus is now on finding her ‘happy pace’.

Nicole Bradley joined the Australian Army at 20 and served for 22 years. And admits she ‘lost’ herself in the process.

However after leaving the Army, and at the age of 42, Nicole discovered the sport of powerlifting - and life hasn’t been the same since.

Nicole progressed quickly and set her 1st Australian Masters Record for the bench press (she now has 3 records) in her first competition!

Injuries acquired during her service in the Army meant Nicole was eligible to compete (and was selected) to represent Australia at the Warrior Games in the United States and in the 2018 Invictus Games held in Sydney.

And the honour didn’t stop there; much to her surprise, Nicole was appointed the co-captain of the 2018 Australian Invictus Games team! 

In this conversation, Nicole and I discuss:

- why children need to see adults participating in sport,

- why she turned down the first invitation she received to attend an Invictus Games training and selection camp,

- the challenge associated with shifting identity from ‘Army Officer’ to ‘civilian’,

- what prompted her to take up powerlifting at 42,

- how the application process for the Invictus Games caused her to doubt whether her service was significant enough, her injuries were “bad enough” or if she was the right ‘fit’ for the team,

- the lack of appreciation for non-visible injuries,

- the importance of being happy with doing your best on the day, even if it’s not your best performance of all time.

Meredith Quinlan and Jess Baker are two of Australia’s best ultramarathon runners with a string of victories and records to their name.

In recent years, they have begun exploring what lies beyond organised races.

In 2018, their love of travel and running took them to Iceland where they ran the length of Iceland - from the northern tip to the southern tip - and set a Fastest Known Time (FKT) in the process.

The ‘Iceland Traverse’ was a self-supported journey of around 580km which took them 7 days and 13 hours to complete.

In this (laughter-filled) conversation, we discuss:

- how they each discovered running,

- whether there was any sense of rivalry between them,

- why Meredith doesn’t fear failure,

- Jess’ experience with the Imposter Complex and why she says it can be helpful at times,

- where the idea to traverse Iceland came from,

- how Iceland’s rich history of strong women inspired them, and

- the logistics involved in a self-supported crossing of Iceland, which included being powered by chocolate biscuits and slabs of chocolate for a 100km stretch and a 300km section where there were no resupply options.

An elite athlete in two sports and with a PhD in athlete wellbeing, Dr Hannah MacDougall has a unique perspective on emotional, mental and physical performance and wellbeing - so I knew she’d be the perfect guest for Sparta Chicks Radio.

Hannah was 9 when she set the goal to become a Paralympian.

She’s now a dual Paralympian, having competed in swimming at the 2004 Athens and the 2008 Beijng Paralympics.

Unfortunately, Hannah suffered from burnout, fell out of love with swimming and eventually quit the sport.

And that’s when she discovered cycling!

Since then, she’s won multiple medals including Gold at both the Australian Para Cycling Championships and, more recently, World Cup events in Europe.

She was also the first female amputee to compete in the “able bodied” women’s time trial race at the Cycling Australia National Championships.

And her next goal is to represent Australia at her 3rd Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020, this time in cycling.

On top of all that, she has a PhD in Athlete Well-Being and has studied, amongst other things, the use of meditation and mindfulness, in sport and life.

“93% Harry Potter and 7% Bear Grylls”. That’s how Paul Watkins’ website describes him.

There are lots of other labels that could be applied too; Pharmacist, mountaineer, full-time dad, ultramarathon runner, motivational speaker and property developer.

However, the one label that doesn’t sit comfortably with Paul is “athlete”, which is difficult to appreciate when you consider his list of achievements.

Paul has climbed major peaks on all 7 continents and competed in some of toughest ultramarathon runners in Australia and the world.

Most recently, Paul competed in the 6633 Arctic Ultra; a 614km/380mi self-supported race in the Arctic Circle in temperatures ranging from -20˚ to -40˚ celsius (-4˚ to -4˚F) with an 80% drop-out rate.

And not only did he finish the race, he won!

There’s an interesting theme reoccurring through much of Paul’s story; he’s often “failed” on the first go.

He ‘failed’ on his first attempt to summit Denali (the highest mountain in North America).

I first met Paul in Argentina when we were on the same expedition to climb Aconcagua, the highest mountain in South America - and also his second attempt to do so.

And his victorious race at the 6633 Arctic Ultra in 2019 was his second attempt after he DNF’d 250km into this first attempt in 2017.

And we discuss how on earth a self-confessed nerd won one of the toughest, longest, windiest and coldest ultramarathons in the world.

Paul is a great storyteller and someone who has thought deeply about what it takes to bring the best out of yourself, and others.

Tils (as she is generally known) grew up in country New South Wales chasing 3 older brothers around the paddock. So it’s hardly surprising her first foray into sport was on the rugby league field.

Sadly, she had to give up the sport in her early teens because once girls reached a certain age, they were no longer allowed to play against boys - and, of course - there was no girl’s league at the time.

Fast forward a few years and Tils discovered triathlons. And just 4 years later, she made the jump to the professional ranks - which, in hindsight, she now admits was too early.

These days, Tils is an “amateur professional” cyclist who rides at a National level here in Australia with the #1 ranked women’s cycling team in Australia - Specialised Women’s Racing - including at the Tour Down Under in January, 2019.

In this conversation, she shares:

- growing up with male athletes as her role models (because there weren’t any women with a profile in the sport),

- why she says she became a professional triathlete too quickly,

- how she 'hated' swimming yet deliberately set out to change her mindset,

- her struggle with body image, burnout and the Imposter Complex in her triathlon career,

- how she navigates her own "internal bullshit" these days,

- her experience of 'Everesting' on the road to Everest Base Camp in Tibet as well as riding parts of the Silk Road through Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and

- whether she's always been the type to 'say yes and figure it out later' (or whether that confidence has developed over time).

Shelly Horton’s High School career guidance counsellor told her she was too opinionated and warned her to tone it down. Instead, she ignored him and turned it into a career!

Shelly is a journalist, TV presenter and producer and her opinions can be heard multiple times each week on Channel 9 in Australia.

Shelly is also not afraid of open and honest conversations about difficult topics. So I knew she’d be the perfect guest for Sparta Chicks Radio.

In this conversation, Shelly and I discuss:

- the early days of her career (which started in radio) including the very personal reason she didn’t explore a career in TV,

- the “soul-destroying” conversation with her boss about her weight that destroyed Shelly’s confidence and derailed her TV career for almost 2 years,

- the goal-setting course (and the exercise she learnt at that course) that fundamentally changed her life,

- the biggest myths around confidence,

- her experience with the Imposter Complex,

- how she deals with online trolling and public criticism, and

- her experience with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and how she manages it

In 2007, Bonnie Tu was the CFO of Giant Bicycles and decided to join the former Chairman who was riding the Tour of Taiwan, a 900km ride that circumnavigates Taiwan.

At the time Bonnie was in her late 50s and had not ridden a bicycle since High School (and never a bike with gears!).

But when Bonnie walked into a Giant Bicycles retail outlet, she was shocked to realise she couldn’t find a bike or any apparel to suit her needs.

The ride proved to be a "very painful experience". 

And 12 months later, Liv Cycling - the first comprehensive cycling brand dedicated to female cyclists - was born.

Fast forward to 2019 and Bonnie is now the Chairperson of Giant Bicycles and is still incredibly driven to ensure women are empowered to participate in the sport of cycling, via everything from cutting edge components on Liv bikes through to exploring cycling clothes for Muslim women.

Bonnie is a joyous, passionate woman and I am excited to welcome her to Sparta Chicks Radio this week to discuss:

- her childhood growing up in Taiwan,

- her earliest memory of learning to ride a bike,

- how she became involved in the cycling industry in the 70s, yet only got back on the bike for herself in her late 50s (and learning to shift gears in the process),

- the origins of Liv Cycling and it’s commitment to build bicycles “for and by” women, and

- her first triathlon at the age of 68.

The Body Image Movement can only be described as a revolution.

And it began in 2013 when Taryn Brumfitt posted a ‘non-traditional’ Before + After photo one night on Facebook.

On the left, the ‘before’ photo showed ‘ripped’ Taryn on stage at a bodybuilding competition.

On the right, the ‘after’ photo showed a ‘softer’ Taryn with visible rolls around her tummy looking content and happy.

The switching of the photos (not to mention Taryn’s obviously content and happy nature in the ‘after’ photo) clearly resonated.

Overnight the image went viral and within 12 months, it had been viewed by 100 million people!

That led Taryn to produce the ‘Embrace’ documentary which explored why so many people (and women in particular) hate their bodies.

She’s also founded the Body Image Movement (BMI) which is on a mission to help people love and embrace their body, regardless of shape, size, ethnicity or ability.

Muay Thai may, on the surface, appear to have nothing in common with endurance sports, but you might be surprised…

I was certainly was when I spoke with Sylvie von Duuglas-Ittu for this week’s episode of Sparta Chicks Radio.

Sylvie is an American born woman living in Thailand who currently holds the record for the most number of Muay Thai fights by any Westerner - male or female - which (at the time of writing) stands at 242.

And, much to my surprise, she’s been a long-time listener of Sparta Chicks Radio too!

Since taking up what she describes as a “beautiful sport” in New York, Sylvie and Kevin have since moved to Thailand so Sylvie can pursue the sport on a full-time basis, and chase her next goal; the World Record for the most number of professional fights. This record of 471 fights has stood since the 1920s!

In the conversation, we discuss:

- what she gains from listening to the podcast (given she doesn't participate in any of the sports we traditionally cover),

- why she thinks Muay Thai and endurance sports have more in common than you might think,

- how she discovered Muay Thai and why she describes it as a 'beautiful sport’,

- why she (as a woman and feminist) struggles with some of the traditions of the sport (eg, men may enter the ring by climbing over the top rope, but women must go under the bottom rope),

- why it's important to "reduce the space" you give your self-doubt and focus instead on the process,

- how to reframe competition (even in the context of sport) as a collaboration that brings out the best in everyone and an opportunity to practice in gratitude, and

- the biggest life lesson she's learnt from her sport.