When heavily pregnant mum-of-four Raechelle Chase and her teenage daughter Annaliese go to the mall with Raechelle’s nine-month-old baby Kingston, they often get confused looks from shoppers.
“They usually think he’s Annaliese’s,” laughs the 36-year-old as her daughter, 17, grins and rolls her eyes. “Everyone always thinks we’re sisters! I love it. I’m like, ‘Thank you!’ Or they’ll look at my bump and ask if I’m expecting my first child. Sometimes I just smile and say, “Yes” because it’s easier than explaining I already have four.”
A bodybuilder, fitness model, solo mum and former gym owner, Raechelle is a poster girl for self-belief and positive thinking. While most bodybuilders retire from the scene when they start a family, incredibly, Raechelle only began competing after giving birth to her third child, Dior-Rose, now nine.
Now single, Raechelle is looking forward to her future with kids Carlos, Kingston, Annaliese and Dior-Rose.
“I did my first contest when Dior was just 10 months old, so it’s all she’s ever known,” says Raechelle, who’s also mum to 10-year-old Carlos.
Since splitting amicably from her ex-husband, bodybuilder Chris Chase (who ran a controversial party-pill business), in early 2015, Raechelle’s life has only got more hectic, but she insists, “I say to the kids that I’m like the sunshine. If I’m happy, I shine brightly, then that shines on the family and they all feel happy too.
“Some women get out of shape and hate their life because if you don’t feel good about yourself, everything else gets out of whack. It doesn’t have to be a two-hour workout every morning – just do something each day that makes you feel good.”
Raechelle in 2009.
As her busy brood laugh, leap and crawl around their home on Auckland’s North Shore during our photo shoot, Raechelle exudes positivity. It’s a remarkable feat for someone who only last February made the difficult decision to end what she claims was a psychologically abusive relationship with the father of her unborn child.
“I was just so unhappy that even though the idea of leaving was stressful, I had nothing to lose,” she tells. “I just couldn’t cope any more. I’d wake up in the night to see to Kingston and I would think, ‘My life is like a living nightmare right now.’ Since we split, it’s like a weight has been lifted.”
Despite being just weeks from giving birth, Raechelle juggles her school run with daily gym sessions. “My workouts aren’t that different to before,” she says. “I just make the weights lighter and the reps higher. I still do squats, leg extensions and lunges – everything apart from those exercises that involve my tummy getting in the way!”
Competing in 2010 starting her bodybuilding career as a mum-of-three.
One of Raechelle’s golden rules is to schedule in exercise no matter what. “You have to treat it like an appointment – a necessity rather than an option,” she advises. “If you can afford gym membership, find one with a crèche. If not, running or speed-walking with the baby in the pram is also good, or weights and cardio at home. Whatever you can do, do it. But make sure you make the time.”
Raechelle’s love of fitness is truly a family affair. The proud mum laughs, “Dior’s really into cheerleading, dancing and singing – she’s a triple threat. And Carlos is amazingly talented at free running. He can run up walls and do somersaults.”
Similarly, make-up artist Annaliese was a cheerleading champ who represented New Zealand in the US at the age of 11, while even baby Kingston’s speedy moves indicate a natural athlete in the making.
Born and raised in Whangarei, Raechelle says, “I definitely haven’t led a charmed life.” She moved out of home aged just 14, but by 17, she had enrolled herself in teacher’s college, before becoming a kindergarten teacher. At 20, she met her ex-husband while working at a gym.
Raechelle will soon welcome a new playmate for baby Kingston.
After getting seriously stuck into exercise, Raechelle became the first Kiwi woman to compete in the international Ms Olympia bodybuilding competition and she’s since spent much of her life jetting around the world to promote the sport.
In 2013, she was devastated to find her business partner had effectively dissolved the gym they co-owned and taken all the equipment with him. But her most recent relationship break-up was her lowest ebb.
Now, though, while still shaken by the split, Raechelle is enjoying being single for the first time in 20 years, and she will have plenty of support from friends and family when she gives birth later this month.
“Kingston was delivered by emergency Caesarean, but the others were all natural, so I’m hoping this one will be too!” she smiles. “Labour is really taxing, but if you manage to stay fit and healthy in your pregnancy, it’s a lot easier to bounce back. I’ve mastered the art of bouncing back in all areas of life – now I just have to master the art of not having to!”
