Latest / Tom's Hirschsprung's Podcast / Episode 30 - with Laura O'Reilly and AAO coach Dan

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Episode 30 - with Laura O'Reilly and AAO coach Dan · Tom's Hirschsprung's Podcast

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: You are listening to Tom's Hirshprung's Podcast, where I provide
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: a look into the remarkable experiences of the most inspiring
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: people around Hirshprung's disease and sports.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to episode thirty of Tom's Hirshprung's podcast,
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Very Special Double for You. Today, I am joined by
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: two people. I'm joined by DANDL and the first ever
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  Speaker 2: two time Tom's Hirshprung's podcast guest, Laura of Welcome to
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: both on you.
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: I later every noon.
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  Speaker 2: Again, Well, you're the first person I haven't run off yet, so.
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  Speaker 3: Well, I mean, if you've accepted me back. I didn't
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  Speaker 3: do too well? Are too bad today?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely? But welcome to both of you. Now we are
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  Speaker 2: going to talk about the Laura. Obviously we talked about
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  Speaker 2: your story before. We will talk about Dan's story. But
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  Speaker 2: the first thing I want to talk about with both
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  Speaker 2: of you is something that you've recently completed, an incredibly
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  Speaker 2: tough challenge, a challenge called the Tough Mother. I don't
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  Speaker 2: know if anyone listening to this will have heard of
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  Speaker 2: it before, but I'd just like to talk to you
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  Speaker 2: briefly about how you prepared for the tough mother. So
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  Speaker 2: we'll go as I'm a gentleman, we'll go ladies first. So, Laura,
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  Speaker 2: how did you prepare for the tough mother?
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  Speaker 3: I didn't, but know this they do and prepare for
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  Speaker 3: it at all.
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  Speaker 4: I think I did a bit of running on one
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  Speaker 4: of my plans, and I was saying to Dan, maybe
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  Speaker 4: I should do running now for the next two weeks, you.
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  Speaker 3: Know, And I didn't.
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  Speaker 4: I wasn't physically prepared, but I guess because I'm in
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  Speaker 4: the gym somewhat. And go back to a year and
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  Speaker 4: a half of ball. I couldn't have, Like my stamina
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  Speaker 4: would have been absolutely shite.
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  Speaker 3: I had none.
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  Speaker 4: Like I couldn't do an incline treadmill, Like I was
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  Speaker 4: cough for bread constantly, and I don't get caught for
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  Speaker 4: bread much anymore. So I think all those little things
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  Speaker 4: over the last year would be how I prepared for it,
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  Speaker 4: I guess. And yeah, but do you know what, I'd
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  Speaker 4: no clue what to expect. I thought I would crocus
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  Speaker 4: and I was like, I need to put on like
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  Speaker 4: this big front now and.
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  Speaker 3: Don't be a baby. Just can do us.
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  Speaker 4: But yeah, I know, always everything and more. I was
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  Speaker 4: shipping at all, kind of like an hour before. But
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  Speaker 4: I think everyone kind of was, even Dan was.
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  Speaker 5: I thought. I thought I knew everyone was somewhat capable,
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  Speaker 5: that that was a good thing. I knew everyone could
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  Speaker 5: have done it, But then I'd never done it before either,
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  Speaker 5: so I actually didn't know what to expect, right, So
• 3:33
  Speaker 5: it was it was actually I think I think it
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  Speaker 5: was easier than I thought, and the obstacles were so
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  Speaker 5: spread out that it gave me such a break and
• 3:50
  Speaker 5: like we're walking at some points or just chatting, which
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  Speaker 5: was cool. It broke it up.
• 4:00
  Speaker 4: Would have.
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  Speaker 5: Obstacles after obstacles after obstacles, it was more intense, I
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  Speaker 5: think I would more pretty cool. But the fact that
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: just the fact that we're all in one place, all
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  Speaker 5: doing the same thing, all had a chronic illness and
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  Speaker 5: completed it.
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  Speaker 2: Is just mental fantastic. How many were there of you
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  Speaker 2: in total?
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  Speaker 5: So there's seven of us. It was meant there was
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  Speaker 5: meant to be ten as some people backed out, which
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  Speaker 5: is always going to happen. So there's seven of us,
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  Speaker 5: which was good. It was it was I don't think
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  Speaker 5: anyone quite realized how much of a day or weekend
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  Speaker 5: it was for me, Like it was just it was
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  Speaker 5: just extra special. The but it became cool that everyone
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  Speaker 5: was wearing the T shirt that I made an an
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  Speaker 5: AA T shirt that just was the cherry on top
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  Speaker 5: of the cake. But to actually bring people that I've
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  Speaker 5: helped progress altogether, it's just yeah, it's pretty special, really.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, really special feeling I can imagine. And I've said
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  Speaker 2: to Laura, how did you prepare? And she said, no,
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  Speaker 2: I didn't. Did you did you prepare at all? Was
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  Speaker 2: there anything in sort of special that you did? Or
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  Speaker 2: did you just carry on in sort of normal fitness routine.
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  Speaker 3: The best he did. Then he's pulling a fast roll.
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  Speaker 3: They called none of us were prepared.
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  Speaker 4: I didn't.
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  Speaker 5: I didn't. I didn't.
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  Speaker 4: Imagine he did actually imagine. It was not trained for himself,
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  Speaker 4: and just like left or speechif then.
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  Speaker 5: I think Miami Days prepared me for that. So that's fine.
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  Speaker 2: I want to talk about that. Actually, it's a good
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  Speaker 2: segue to move on to your story because I've been
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  Speaker 2: sort of reading about it and heard it on another
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  Speaker 2: podcast as well. But you you joined the army at
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  Speaker 2: sixteen YEP, around sort of twenty fifteen ish. We're going
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  Speaker 2: back back around them twenty thirteen, sorry, twenty thirteen. So
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  Speaker 2: in terms, was that something you always wanted to do.
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  Speaker 5: No, none of my none of my family members have
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  Speaker 5: been in both. My older brothers were always like really
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  Speaker 5: smart in school, went to sixth form, went to UNI,
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  Speaker 5: A levels, blah blah blah, got these big engineering jobs.
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  Speaker 5: And I was sort of the naughty boy at school,
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  Speaker 5: always intertention, always just misbehaving. I didn't get back graded.
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  Speaker 5: I still still pass my maths and English and what
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  Speaker 5: have you. But I don't know. I never fancied olage,
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  Speaker 5: I never fancied sixth form, never fancied UNI. But and
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  Speaker 5: then I just I don't know why it came to mind,
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  Speaker 5: to be honest. So I started the joining process when
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  Speaker 5: I was actually fifteen and a half, so you have
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  Speaker 5: to start a bit early. And I didn't just want
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  Speaker 5: to be. I sort of took inspiration from my brothers
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  Speaker 5: and I got a trade. I was actually I joined
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  Speaker 5: the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers. So I didn't just want
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  Speaker 5: to be, you know, carrying a gun and that's it,
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  Speaker 5: no sort of education as such. So I did join
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  Speaker 5: and joined and got a job you see inside inside
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  Speaker 5: the army.
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  Speaker 4: Wow.
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  Speaker 2: So I wanted to take you forward a little bit,
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  Speaker 2: so join the army. So sort of around about twenty sixteen,
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  Speaker 2: you're in France, you drink some tap water then, so
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  Speaker 2: something is sort of as innocent as that really, and
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  Speaker 2: then sort of what what happened from there?
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  Speaker 5: I was just sort of it just sort of carried.
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  Speaker 5: It just didn't stop the diarrhea from say, anyone probably
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  Speaker 5: would have got diarrhea from doing that. And then it, boy,
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  Speaker 5: it just didn't It didn't just didn't stop, and it
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  Speaker 5: just progressed. I don't know, I can't remember the time
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  Speaker 5: the first time I went to the med center. I
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: can't remember that, but I imagine I went to the
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  Speaker 5: med center, said what's going on? Day after liaise with Hoss?
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  Speaker 5: What you see? So it takes extra takes that extra person,
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  Speaker 5: and it's take actual a while, you see. So and
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  Speaker 5: then she progressed. But I had to carry on with
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  Speaker 5: my duties. That was the problem. That's what sort of well,
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  Speaker 5: I'm glad and away because it kept me saying, it
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  Speaker 5: kept me working out, It kept me fit. Yes, I
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  Speaker 5: did look dead and I've lost like two stone and
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  Speaker 5: I was ill, but what was you pray?
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  Speaker 4: Then?
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  Speaker 5: And I got down to sixty one kilogram.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, I thought, now it would have been later.
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  Speaker 5: Nah, sixty one kilogram, So I'm yes, so about fifteen
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  Speaker 5: kilogram lighter than I am now, wow.
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  Speaker 2: And you said as well. It kept you saying, And
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  Speaker 2: if we just some sort of exercise for a while, how,
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  Speaker 2: how have you seen, either in yourself or in other people,
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  Speaker 2: how have you seen exercise benefit them mentally?
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  Speaker 5: I think I've seen it more through my clients, not
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  Speaker 5: so much, obviously, it has helped me matterly. I never stopped,
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  Speaker 5: you see, so I never had a period where I stopped.
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  Speaker 5: But seeing the seeing clients come from where they were,
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  Speaker 5: it's quite hard to it's quite hard to understand another
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  Speaker 5: person's mental state obviously, but seeing where they are now
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  Speaker 5: and how positive they are, and how confident they are,
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  Speaker 5: and how mental strength they've got, now, it's just.
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  Speaker 4: It's it.
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  Speaker 5: And the fitness and the exercise it literally it just
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  Speaker 5: transforms the mind somehow, and it's incredible really. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: And and the same question for you, Laura, as well
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  Speaker 2: aspart from like physically, how has exercised helped you.
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  Speaker 4: Like thankfully I never suffered with my mental health. What
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  Speaker 4: I can see how it would completely enhance somebody that
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  Speaker 4: suffers with mental health. Like, yeah, obviously it's great for
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  Speaker 4: the body and all the rest of it, but I
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  Speaker 4: do think a higher percentage is better for the mind.
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  Speaker 3: And your mental health. So I guess.
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  Speaker 4: I think it's a combination for myself really with getting
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  Speaker 4: ABD having so many setbacks, being literally like slatterut sick,
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  Speaker 4: and like when I had a flare up before I
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  Speaker 4: suppose to look.
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  Speaker 3: A good example is how I would have.
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  Speaker 4: Dealt with things versus how I deal with them now.
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  Speaker 4: Is two years ago, if I when I was really
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  Speaker 4: probably at my worst, I would have made no effort
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  Speaker 4: to do anything other than take my medication and like
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  Speaker 4: sit there and do absolutely nothing for myself. Whereas now,
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  Speaker 4: like even yesterday, it was just like horrendous for me.
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  Speaker 4: I'm just like no, no, I'll take my medication, but
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  Speaker 4: I need to get out. I need to do something.
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  Speaker 4: Obviously it can go to the gym because my head
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  Speaker 4: is ready to like explode out my ear drums. But
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: just little changes like that, I'm not just sitting there
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  Speaker 4: waiting for medication to work. Like there's so much more
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  Speaker 4: to making yourself better than just sitting there, especially for
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  Speaker 4: the head. Like Jesus Christ, if you're sat in a
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  Speaker 4: one room for hours of days on end sugar flare,
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  Speaker 4: which I know some people do, and that's where their
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  Speaker 4: current mental state of it's just trying to break that
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  Speaker 4: cycle and just encourage a little bit of exercise or
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  Speaker 4: go sit out your back urging, or go for a
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  Speaker 4: little walk, you know. And I just think it all
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  Speaker 4: adds up. So I can't imagine myself ever just being
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  Speaker 4: like that again, even in a really bad situation, you know,
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  Speaker 4: just sitting there and wallowing and waiting for something to pass. No.
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  Speaker 4: So I think exercise as a whole, And we said
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  Speaker 4: this before Tom, like, it doesn't have to be the gym,
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  Speaker 4: like it can be so much more. It just changes
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  Speaker 4: your entire day, which changes your mood, which encourages you
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  Speaker 4: to are like you know, even changing things you eat
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  Speaker 4: and not going for the crap huge just because you
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  Speaker 4: feel sorry for yourself.
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  Speaker 3: And it's just a circle.
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  Speaker 4: So I think once you get into that circle of
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  Speaker 4: making positive changes, it just continues, you know, and then
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  Speaker 4: obviously surrounding yourself with this like minded people. You know,
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  Speaker 4: I can't be your own negativity for too long, Like
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  Speaker 4: I can't I.
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  Speaker 3: Leave like I have to.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, and That's why I wanted both of you
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  Speaker 2: on the podcast really, because you're both such positive people.
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  Speaker 2: If anybody has seen you know, either of your Instagram pages,
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: it's all it's all positive vibes, it's all positive stuff.
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  Speaker 2: And that's why I thought you're both perfect for the podcast,
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  Speaker 2: because this is all about positivity, raising awareness and you know,
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  Speaker 2: not doom and gloom.
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  Speaker 4: So yeah, I'm pushing on and like I've been on
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  Speaker 4: a podcast before where I was questioned on my own
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  Speaker 4: positivity and how I deal with things like what does
• 14:42
  Speaker 4: it come across as toxic positivity? And yeah, like I
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: won't say I was offended because if people like to
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  Speaker 4: think that, that's fine, they'ing at my type of people,
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  Speaker 4: you know, But I think if you have a chat
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  Speaker 4: with me or look at what they do poster, you know,
• 15:02
  Speaker 4: what anyone does last night for example, are the post
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: open up this morning? Just explain why I was in
• 15:09
  Speaker 4: hostin yesterday. I'm not want to come on and cray
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: and Winge and morn and so I'm not being It's
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: not toxic positivity. It's just so I deal with stuff,
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: you know, and I don't see anything wrong with that.
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: I'd rather watch people push on.
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: I think Instagram is Instagram is a hard place to
• 15:31
  Speaker 5: hard place to show everything, and yeah, I think I
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  Speaker 5: think it's just very difficult and there's a lot of
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  Speaker 5: people that are showing different things, and it's quite easy
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  Speaker 5: to just get sucked in. Yeah I would. I don't
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  Speaker 5: even know if i'd suggest, you know, I don't know.
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  Speaker 5: Like the community is really good, obviously, and I wouldn't
• 16:00
  Speaker 5: have created what I've created without the community. But obviously
• 16:04
  Speaker 5: when I was ill, when I was going through it,
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: I didn't actually have Instagram and I didn't see anything
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  Speaker 5: about crow disease, didn't hear anything about it. So I
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: sort of think that actually helps me, m hm, get
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  Speaker 5: to where I am as such. And I think the
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  Speaker 5: body images, body image and mental health with your body
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  Speaker 5: is massive, and I think Instagram doesn't help with that.
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  Speaker 5: So everyone compares to each other and hard to get
• 16:45
  Speaker 5: out of that system. So when I was, when I
• 16:52
  Speaker 5: was when I got discharged from the armory and when
• 16:56
  Speaker 5: I was really ill, my mental health was absolutely I
• 16:59
  Speaker 5: was rock bottom, like but it was all to do
• 17:03
  Speaker 5: with my body image. I was so depressed on my
• 17:07
  Speaker 5: body image. Yeah, but mind because I've been diagnosed with courtesies,
• 17:13
  Speaker 5: but it was just losing the weight and just looking
• 17:17
  Speaker 5: at myself and it just depressed me every day. So
• 17:23
  Speaker 5: then obviously continuing the gym and gaining that weight and
• 17:31
  Speaker 5: improved that and getting some help on how to deal
• 17:34
  Speaker 5: with it. But I think body image, body image and
• 17:41
  Speaker 5: the mental health side of artist mental.
• 17:44
  Speaker 4: Especially with ib DO as well, because some people do
• 17:48
  Speaker 4: lose so much weight that I get they're like, how
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: can I get myself back? And I suppose, like Dan,
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: you of people like we're all different weights, we're all
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: different problems, blah blah blah.
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  Speaker 3: But it's just from you being there is a huge.
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  Speaker 4: Plus for people like I never had that issue of
• 18:12
  Speaker 4: where I was pinned, but for if I had, it's
• 18:19
  Speaker 4: good to have someone that has been exactly that with
• 18:22
  Speaker 4: the exact same disease. I knows how to almost build
• 18:26
  Speaker 4: the body back up, you know. But while respecting flare
• 18:29
  Speaker 4: ups and all the restaurants.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, so when I see someone or when someone comes
• 18:36
  Speaker 5: to me and the sort of in the place where
• 18:38
  Speaker 5: that's where I was, where they've lost a lot of weight,
• 18:44
  Speaker 5: the ment of health dropped because of the body and
• 18:47
  Speaker 5: they're not comfort with the bodies, like crazy because it's
• 18:51
  Speaker 5: exactly where I was.
• 18:53
  Speaker 4: You're almost like screaming at them, going come like I
• 18:56
  Speaker 4: can help you.
• 18:57
  Speaker 5: I can help Yeah, but almost almost Well, it's almost
• 19:02
  Speaker 5: like doing my journey all over again.
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  Speaker 3: Mm hmm true other people.
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, which is actually kind of amazing really when you can,
• 19:13
  Speaker 4: you know, give back from what you've been through.
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  Speaker 5: Yeah, but then I'm still improving. I've still got goals
• 19:22
  Speaker 5: to here, do you know what I mean? I'm not
• 19:24
  Speaker 5: I'm not stopping just because whereat wall, just because where
• 19:30
  Speaker 5: I am now doesn't mean and where I want to be.
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: There's no fish if there's no finish lane is there
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: for any goal that was eighty There's always going to
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: be another one, and another one and another one. Never
• 19:44
  Speaker 4: going to be happy with your body, you think, no
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: matter what you.
• 19:46
  Speaker 5: Look gay, No, definitely not, definitely not. People preople probably
• 19:52
  Speaker 5: think of that now. If you know, if someone came
• 19:56
  Speaker 5: on to me instagram my physique, the probably you know
• 20:00
  Speaker 5: he's made it, he's he looks amazing. But then they
• 20:06
  Speaker 5: don't see me at home looking in the mirror all
• 20:08
  Speaker 5: the time thinking fucking how I need to lose some
• 20:10
  Speaker 5: weight or I hate that part of my body, or
• 20:14
  Speaker 5: do you know what I mean.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think sometimes as well, it's looking back on
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: the journey and going, actually, I'm really proud of what
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: I've done. I know we all we all sort of
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: we all chase constant perfection, which can have its own issues.
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: But I think looking back, you know, I do know,
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: you know, you've both been through your own fitness journeys,
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: and I just wonder if if either of you look
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: back and go, actually, I've come ahead of a long
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: way here, you know, from from when you know, from
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: when you started. I'll start with you, with you, Laura,
• 20:53
  Speaker 2: do you ever sort of sit back and think I've
• 20:56
  Speaker 2: come a long way? Or is it always looked forward looking.
• 20:58
  Speaker 5: After in mind them after?
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  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's it's I'm very guilty of not appreciating the
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: work I've done.
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  Speaker 3: Always, like I am.
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: I am really really hard on myself. I'm I I'm
• 21:21
  Speaker 4: very self critical. So it's like, you know, want to
• 21:28
  Speaker 4: like people say to me all the time, you know, Jesus,
• 21:30
  Speaker 4: like you've completely changed everything, like how you look, what
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: you do, your lifestyle and everything, and I'm like, yeah, yeah,
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: you know, it's amazing. But I suppose I don't sit
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: there enough and appreciate what I have done, but I
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: definitely don't recognize the person that I was two years
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: ago at all.
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: Like blows my mind every time. I can't when I.
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: Look at those pictures, I'm just like, what in the
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: name of pries, what was I doing?
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: Where was I at? Yeah?
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: And like that, Jesus, I'm far from where I want
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: to be, you know what I mean, far from where I.
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  Speaker 2: Want to be.
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: I'm literally only just finished one party, I guess, and
• 22:19
  Speaker 4: there's so much more work to do. But that's what
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: excites me, you know, It's just always having something.
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: To do next.
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: And I think, like I said this to Janna as well,
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: Like when I started initially, as we all know, I
• 22:39
  Speaker 4: never ever exercise ever. I was obviously very lazy actually
• 22:46
  Speaker 4: and just priority like parity in and that kind of stuff.
• 22:51
  Speaker 5: Good question was, what did you do? What? What did
• 22:54
  Speaker 5: you do before before exercise?
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: Before exercise like you mean before or I've even got ill? Yeah,
• 23:02
  Speaker 4: like like I was probably out every weekend and I
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: lost its shit, didn't exercise. My family are quite fit,
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: and I used to be just looking at them and
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: going so fucking silly, are like oh my god, Like
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: is that literally all you do, like how boring blah
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: blah blah blah blah, and rolls were like, I was
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: always the black sheep in my family. I still am,
• 23:35
  Speaker 4: like I keep everyone on their toes and it's just
• 23:38
  Speaker 4: funny because I'm the youngest, so they think I'm you
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: know that the word rebottbs around me and that kind
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: of stuff.
• 23:46
  Speaker 3: But I know.
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: I was, yeah, I just I just lived a bit
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: of a wild time. My guests were going out a
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: lot and drinking a lot. Then I got sick and
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: ship hit the fan, and I wallowed for a year
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: and a half. I guessed true flare ups and stuff.
• 24:05
  Speaker 4: And then when I connected with Dan just through the
• 24:11
  Speaker 4: ibed community, you could say when I like because I
• 24:14
  Speaker 4: also didn't have my page for two years of my
• 24:16
  Speaker 4: owness and it was just a lot of googling, a
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: lot of figuring out what to do and how to
• 24:23
  Speaker 4: deal without it and stuff. And I can remember him saying,
• 24:28
  Speaker 4: you know, you will get into the best shape your life,
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: and I was like, nah, we're not.
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: Actually that me snapped me. And then I was like,
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: will I want day? Will I want day? Will I
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: want day?
• 24:41
  Speaker 4: And I started that home as we know, and then boom.
• 24:46
  Speaker 3: The rest is history. I guess.
• 24:50
  Speaker 2: So you've been working together for about a year and
• 24:52
  Speaker 2: a half now, is that right? And and Laura was
• 24:57
  Speaker 2: one of your one of your first clients, I guess
• 25:02
  Speaker 2: is that.
• 25:02
  Speaker 4: Right as well?
• 25:05
  Speaker 5: Yeah? So on was that OI was the first.
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: So both your first two clients had had ib D
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: and before so before you started a O prones, did
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: you think, right, I want to go in to help
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: people with crones, politers, ib D or was it just
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: I want to help everyone and as as many people
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: as I can.
• 25:34
  Speaker 5: I I didn't actually I got the money to do courses.
• 25:46
  Speaker 5: I just thought that's going to be the beste fit
• 25:49
  Speaker 5: for me, that's fully me. So I did that. And
• 25:55
  Speaker 5: then I initially actually just created the page, created the
• 26:00
  Speaker 5: name AO, and I actually put on Facebook. So technically
• 26:08
  Speaker 5: you are you are my first you were the first
• 26:10
  Speaker 5: two ib D clients. Technically you weren't actually my first clients.
• 26:14
  Speaker 5: I actually put on Facebook initially when I opened up
• 26:18
  Speaker 5: my page, saying like like I want I want them
• 26:24
  Speaker 5: three moms or something who want to lose some weight
• 26:28
  Speaker 5: after giving birth or small art. And I got someone
• 26:35
  Speaker 5: I think it was for three for four weeks, she
• 26:38
  Speaker 5: lost some weight and then that was it, and then
• 26:42
  Speaker 5: I've helped couple with my mate and then actually become
• 26:49
  Speaker 5: before I got all them my actual first client, I
• 26:53
  Speaker 5: was actually going to give up. I was actually gonna
• 26:57
  Speaker 5: delete the page and just not do it because I
• 27:01
  Speaker 5: just couldn't see. I just couldn't see how he was
• 27:04
  Speaker 5: going to progress, and I couldn't. I just didn't think
• 27:06
  Speaker 5: I was going to be able to do it, so
• 27:08
  Speaker 5: I just I was going to stack it off, and
• 27:12
  Speaker 5: then all it came along.
• 27:15
  Speaker 3: How did you how did you find Allie?
• 27:16
  Speaker 5: Actually I actually don't know, mm hmm, I can't remember
• 27:22
  Speaker 5: because it was in the it was in November. It
• 27:24
  Speaker 5: was in November now, so he's well, he's pushing on
• 27:28
  Speaker 5: two years this November.
• 27:30
  Speaker 4: I thought two years pledging Adam.
• 27:34
  Speaker 5: Yeah, this is why I asked everyone at Tough Mother.
• 27:37
  Speaker 5: Actually I sort of asked how how did you actually
• 27:42
  Speaker 5: find my page? I thought it was quite interesting, and
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: Indie said that he was just randomly searching Brown's fitness
• 27:53
  Speaker 5: in the search page in Instagram and then my page
• 27:56
  Speaker 5: came up, So don't I don't know how me and
• 28:02
  Speaker 5: Oliday connected actually initially because my memory is absolutely awful.
• 28:06
  Speaker 5: So yeah, but yeah, we we hit it off and
• 28:13
  Speaker 5: all is absolutely amazing, and it was it was amazing
• 28:21
  Speaker 5: because all he was do you know where I was
• 28:25
  Speaker 5: talking before about someone being in my exact position, all
• 28:28
  Speaker 5: he was that, or he was in my exact position
• 28:30
  Speaker 5: he was he lost an helble lot of weight and
• 28:33
  Speaker 5: he was unhappy with his body. So that was quite special.
• 28:40
  Speaker 5: And then he just kicked off from that, and then
• 28:42
  Speaker 5: obviously Laura came, and then it was actually just it
• 28:47
  Speaker 5: was actually just YouTube for quite a while actually.
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: And Vicky Rick came and then and then.
• 28:55
  Speaker 5: Vicky came next year. It took a while to sort
• 28:58
  Speaker 5: of kick off, which is normal. I get that. And
• 29:05
  Speaker 5: then it's just it's just snowballs from man, it's it's grown.
• 29:09
  Speaker 5: It's grown quite quite a nice team and quite a
• 29:13
  Speaker 5: nice community now within its own community, which is it's
• 29:22
  Speaker 5: mental when you think about it, from when you look
• 29:24
  Speaker 5: back from when you started, when you then I'm glad
• 29:32
  Speaker 5: I didn't.
• 29:34
  Speaker 2: That's fantastic. And and obviously I've had now three of
• 29:40
  Speaker 2: your of your clients on and now have you on,
• 29:44
  Speaker 2: so I feel like I'm doing most of your advertising
• 29:47
  Speaker 2: for you.
• 29:49
  Speaker 5: I sort of I don't want to see it as
• 29:54
  Speaker 5: all just a number of clients, you know what I mean.
• 29:58
  Speaker 5: And I think it's very important the people that I'm
• 30:04
  Speaker 5: getting and the connection I'm having with the people that
• 30:09
  Speaker 5: are joining and their own individual journeys. I don't just
• 30:17
  Speaker 5: want to create something that's just bringing in numbers and
• 30:22
  Speaker 5: they're not someone, They're just a number to my business.
• 30:28
  Speaker 5: Don't wanted to ever be like that. I think it's
• 30:32
  Speaker 5: special the way that our coach, in the way that
• 30:35
  Speaker 5: I connect and grow my relationships.
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's why I really wanted you on as well,
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: because I think we share the same coaching philosophy. In
• 30:47
  Speaker 2: my sort of decade in coaching in professional cricket and
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: professional football, I had the same philosophy. You coach people,
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: you don't coach the sport, and everybody is an individual
• 30:59
  Speaker 2: one person that you you coach. I know, Laura, you
• 31:03
  Speaker 2: said that you're really sort of hard on yourself, so
• 31:07
  Speaker 2: you know someone you know potentially a Laura situation. We
• 31:10
  Speaker 2: need a lot more being picked up. Whereas you know,
• 31:13
  Speaker 2: some people might be a bit really overconfident and never
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: criticize themselves, so they might be potentially taking down a
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: peg or two. And I love I love the fact
• 31:25
  Speaker 2: that you that you see people as as individuals and
• 31:30
  Speaker 2: not just you know number one, number two, et cetera,
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: et cetera. But as we as we sort of round
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: towards the end here, I want to talk about this
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: future for both of you actually, and I'll start again.
• 31:45
  Speaker 2: I'll start with you again, Laura. Future wise, mm hmm,
• 31:51
  Speaker 2: what would you like to see sort of I know
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: you said you you think you've got You've come so
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: far and you think you've got a long way to guy,
• 32:01
  Speaker 2: And what do you think sort of future for you
• 32:04
  Speaker 2: looks like maybe next sort of eighteen months, two years
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: in your in your fitness journey and.
• 32:12
  Speaker 3: In my fitness journey.
• 32:13
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I would I would like to think I just
• 32:15
  Speaker 4: keep progressing. Really, I'd like to further my knowledge in
• 32:22
  Speaker 4: both nutrition and fitness.
• 32:27
  Speaker 3: I still have a hell of a lot to learn, Like.
• 32:31
  Speaker 4: Even you know, even with the simplest of things, I'll
• 32:35
  Speaker 4: have ten questions for that one thing. So I'd like
• 32:39
  Speaker 4: to just take its lown controlled and not rush anything,
• 32:42
  Speaker 4: not think I'm bigger than what I am. I'm very
• 32:48
  Speaker 4: I get humbled a lot by what I do in
• 32:51
  Speaker 4: the gym and stuff. So but I also know that
• 32:56
  Speaker 4: I am progressing, you know, and I'm conscious of that
• 32:59
  Speaker 4: and I make sure that I am. I don't sit back.
• 33:03
  Speaker 4: I do absolutely crucify myself till I have I get
• 33:07
  Speaker 4: veins popping out of my forehead.
• 33:09
  Speaker 3: They are new things.
• 33:10
  Speaker 4: For me, Like the last time, the last two times
• 33:14
  Speaker 4: I've got my bloodstaken, including last night, it's like.
• 33:17
  Speaker 3: Oh, they're visible.
• 33:19
  Speaker 4: Not saying that anything is, but I'm just wondering as
• 33:23
  Speaker 4: that helped.
• 33:23
  Speaker 5: You know, But no, I do. There you go, that's
• 33:28
  Speaker 5: a positive.
• 33:29
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's the positive.
• 33:32
  Speaker 4: But yeah, you know, I'm I'm a very realistic person.
• 33:36
  Speaker 3: I don't exaggerate.
• 33:37
  Speaker 4: I don't. Yeah, I daydream a lot, but that's all.
• 33:40
  Speaker 4: They're all things important to me that if I have
• 33:43
  Speaker 4: my heart and head set.
• 33:45
  Speaker 3: On something, I'll keep going.
• 33:48
  Speaker 4: So you know, I won't make any rash kind of
• 33:53
  Speaker 4: things like I'm going to do this and I'm.
• 33:55
  Speaker 3: Going to do that. But I also how of course
• 34:00
  Speaker 3: that I want to hit and I will let them.
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: Definitely. And same question, same question for you, Dan, Where
• 34:09
  Speaker 2: do you see you and the business going in the
• 34:11
  Speaker 2: next sort of eighteen months two years?
• 34:16
  Speaker 5: I think after the first the Tough Mudder was like
• 34:22
  Speaker 5: I said, that was a special day, and I think
• 34:24
  Speaker 5: that was a big sort of milestone. So I'm already
• 34:32
  Speaker 5: already planning in the net AO event, which is pretty cool.
• 34:43
  Speaker 5: I do obviously, I do have a job as well.
• 34:46
  Speaker 5: You see, I'm an engineer surveyor, so I would hoping
• 34:55
  Speaker 5: for this time, I would like to obviously take it
• 35:00
  Speaker 5: full time and just continue growing that client base and
• 35:10
  Speaker 5: constantly work with people. But myself, you know what, I
• 35:22
  Speaker 5: actually I actually don't know for myself at the minute.
• 35:28
  Speaker 5: I think because I'm so absorbed in it's it's I
• 35:33
  Speaker 5: think it's quite easy for a coach statued to lose
• 35:36
  Speaker 5: themselves because it comes so absorbed in other people's, your
• 35:42
  Speaker 5: client's journeys. So I definitely need to set myself some goals.
• 35:49
  Speaker 5: I initially was going to do a natural bodybuilding show
• 35:53
  Speaker 5: this year, well backed out because I just don't think
• 35:59
  Speaker 5: it's right for my body and my health push my
• 36:04
  Speaker 5: body to that sort of leanness. So yeah, I think
• 36:14
  Speaker 5: I think it's obviously, I just I want to get
• 36:17
  Speaker 5: to a point where AO is my everything, that's where
• 36:24
  Speaker 5: that's where my head is at the minute that I
• 36:27
  Speaker 5: just want that to be solely what I do, because
• 36:32
  Speaker 5: it's uh Yeah, it's my baby in a minute, and
• 36:35
  Speaker 5: it's quite special.
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: So fantastic.
• 36:39
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 36:40
  Speaker 2: I think that's a really important point you mate, Actually
• 36:42
  Speaker 2: that when you do coach, you focus on other people
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: a lot. And I know earlier on in my career
• 36:48
  Speaker 2: somebody told me you'd have to focus on yourself before
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: you can help other people. And I think that's something
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: that I think all coaches can can take from that.
• 36:58
  Speaker 2: They do they's been so often helping others and go right,
• 37:02
  Speaker 2: it's this person at this person, Okay, but you just
• 37:05
  Speaker 2: you just completely forget and completely forget to think, oh, actually,
• 37:08
  Speaker 2: what what do I want achieve? And am I looking
• 37:11
  Speaker 2: after myself? And am I doing this? And and and
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: and just lastly, where can people find the both of you?
• 37:21
  Speaker 2: I'll start with you again, Dad.
• 37:26
  Speaker 5: My page Ao dot crones and that's literally where I
• 37:32
  Speaker 5: don't really use Facebook anymore. I don't have a Facebook page,
• 37:35
  Speaker 5: but no bother just just the Instagram page. Give me
• 37:41
  Speaker 5: a message.
• 37:44
  Speaker 2: I stick And.
• 37:45
  Speaker 4: Laura, I actually changed my page name from the last
• 37:49
  Speaker 4: time I spoke to you, Jar, so it's just Laura
• 37:53
  Speaker 4: dar abd Dah Fitness.
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: And why you changed it was because I was just
• 37:59
  Speaker 3: looking at my page. Janet's kind of olive bass.
• 38:02
  Speaker 4: So it just went hand in hand and makes sense
• 38:06
  Speaker 4: and makes sense for my future, I guess. So yeah,
• 38:11
  Speaker 4: that's where I Matt, that's that's the bitch.
• 38:16
  Speaker 3: I don't have any other.
• 38:19
  Speaker 2: Fantastic I did. I did go back on your episode
• 38:22
  Speaker 2: episode seventeen and changed all of the handles again, just
• 38:26
  Speaker 2: so just just to make sure that all of that direct. Yes,
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: I did so, I went back changed that all. So
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: that's also if you wantified Laura, you can find see
• 38:36
  Speaker 2: Laura at ivyd do fit this but you can find
• 38:38
  Speaker 2: her episode episode seventeen that it all change to the
• 38:42
  Speaker 2: correct handles now and this episode will have the correct
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: handles as well. So that's all good. But just for me,
• 38:49
  Speaker 2: just want to say thank you so much to the
• 38:51
  Speaker 2: both of you. I don't do many two person interviews
• 38:54
  Speaker 2: and this has been fantastic, So best of luck with
• 38:57
  Speaker 2: your careers, your fitness journeys, and thank you so much
• 39:01
  Speaker 2: for coming on.
• 39:03
  Speaker 3: Thank you, Tom.
• 39:05
  Speaker 4: We're seeing what third one would have bring Willrie her
• 39:08
  Speaker 4: time lucky. Thank you, cheers, Tom, Bye, musing up.
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to the podcast. Find us on Instagram.
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: Tom's underscore Hirshbrun's Underscore podcast. Listen to previous episodes on
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: Spotify by searching Tom's Hirshbrun's podcast