Body & Fitness

Mai FM’s Lily, Raven, K’Lee and Dani talk fitness secrets

These radio divas are pumping up the volume on body positivity.
Loading the player...

When Mai FM beauties Lily Taurau and Kaleena “K’Lee” McNabb arrive at our fitness-themed Woman’s Day photo shoot clutching healthy green smoothies, they look like they mean business.

But the girls are quick to assure us this isn’t their usual morning meal choice. “Don’t be fooled – our office is always stocked with cake and cookies!” laughs K’Lee.

For exercise enthusiasts Lily, K’Lee and their fellow radio stars Dani Fennessy and Raven Addei, life is about balance, with the four women enjoying pizza parties, social netball games and joint workout sessions. Keeping fitness fun is essential, they say, and it gives their body confidence a boost – something that hasn’t always come easy for these girls.

Mother-of-three K’Lee is no stranger to the public eye after a successful singing career in the early 2000s, but life in the spotlight had its downsides.

The Mai FM babes are on a fitness kick to improve their health and boost their body confidence.

“When my first single came out, I felt very self-conscious about my body,” she recalls. “I was still in high school and it got to the point where I started to worry about my size a lot and was confused when my butt didn’t fit into the clothes I was given.”

But as she got older, the “Broken Wings” singer, 33, started to embrace her curves and after having her daughter Illiana, it became even more important to her. She explains, “My daughter’s nine and if I walk around saying, ‘I’m fat – I can’t fit into this,’ then she’s going to think that’s OK to think things like that about herself. I make a conscious effort to show her to be proud of her body.”

K’Lee isn’t alone in her struggles. Curly-haired beauty Raven has recently lost 24kg after struggling with her weight since she was a teen.

“I just got to a point where I needed to start self-loving,” explains the 22-year-old, who now starts every morning with an hour of cardio work. “It’s not nice getting sore knees walking upstairs or worrying if you’re going to fit into an airplane chair. I was so self-conscious all the time, so I decided to do something about it and make

it last.”

Sharing Raven’s newfound fitness passion is Dani, who joined a gym a year ago and lost over 15kg. For her, it wasn’t just a lifestyle change she wanted to make – it was something she needed to do after a brush with death.

Dani, 25, was on a routine visit to the optometrist when she was rushed to hospital and found to have severe swelling on the brain. The condition is no longer life-threatening, but it’s something she will have to manage for the rest of her life.

“Part of the reason was not being healthy,” she tells. “I realised I was lucky to still be alive and after that, I started to exercise and eat well. You can’t take any day for granted.”

Lily, who fought The Bachelor New Zealand runner-up Nazanin Khanjani in a charity boxing match last year, loves keeping fit and says her Mai FM girls keep her motivated.

“All the girls look amazing and are so inspirational with their fitness journeys, so it’s cool to do this all together,” the 24-year-old says as she throws her arms around K’Lee, Dani and Raven.

“Body confidence is something every woman, at whatever age, is affected by. But these girls definitely make fitness fun!”

Related stories