I started running in 2008 and found it really motivating but I lived a really unhealthy lifestyle at the time. I was smoking and eating very badly, lots of heavy drinking and late nights. When I gave up smoking and started working out I noticed my mood improved and I started feeling healthier.

During my year in Australia I spent about six months living on the Gold Coast. This is where the quicksilver pro surfing competition is held and I got hooked up with a personal trainer who really encouraged me to improve on my motivation my fitness level, strength level and body fat etc. I really started learning about nutrition for the first time and as soon as I was eating more healthily I noticed a real change.

I've gotten back into working out again since about 2012 relapsing into general bad habits. I gave up smoking completely in 2010 and this time I'm making much better improvement all round.

I have learned so much about nutrition in the last year, along with how the body works, the names and functions of so many muscles and the building blocks of life that it is like a learning curve that keeps going. I'm sure there will come a point when I feel progress slows down but for now I'm enjoying the fact that I've been working out for the longest uninterrupted period so far - 2 and a half years - and I've managed to slowly build up this time. I'm ready to push through into a new phase of growth and break a new personal best!