You must be the fittest woman in New Zealand!
God no. I don’t know, I’ve never worried about it. I am what I’m like. This is me, so I just roll with it.
Did you struggle with having so much muscle from such a young age?
Yeah, I look at photos from back then and think, “Man, I was a bit of a weed.” Now, I’m quite muscly, but I have to be for my job. I have to look like this for me to do what I do. It does the job, it gets me from A to B.
Growing up, what did you think of yourself?
I used to give my mum a lot of stick for not letting us have any junk food but, seriously, the key was learning good food habits early on. This is coupled with the fact I was an active kid and got into sport early – they go hand in hand. I’m not a gold-class eater, I still have my daily treats, but learning good habits meant I wasn’t that worried about my body. In high school it was a bit different. Your body changes and it takes you by surprise. I think I was quite fortunate that sport picked up for me then. You always have that fifth-form fat phase!
What do you love most about your body?
I love my lungs. They must be massive! I don’t have a specific feature that I love. Sometimes I get self-conscious when people comment on how muscly my arms are. I love running, being active. I’m just glad that everything still functions and I don’t have netballer’s knee yet.
How much training do you do?
I cherish Sunday; it’s usually my day off. I do social sports, too – touch and tennis. Your body is your tool, everything I do is geared towards playing great netball.
Do you think Kiwi women are an active bunch?
We’ve always been an active nation, but we’ve got a whole lot more active. It’s starting to filter down now. The younger kids are becoming more active. It’s ingrained in your lifestyle – 30 minutes a day. Girls want to be strong, not skinny. Muscle tone isn’t a bad thing these days, whereas in the past girls hated it. It has kind of evolved, which is great, and everyone’s into CrossFit, the boot camps – there’s something for everyone out there.
How would you describe the real Kiwi woman?
Active and attractive. Everyone is different, but everyone is beautiful in their own way. Look at the team – we all look completely different. I love how Kiwi women just get in there and give it a go!
