Sparta Chicks Radio: Mindset | Confidence | Sport | Women

A few weeks before recording this conversation in 2022, Sparta Chicks Radio celebrated its 5th birthday.  And there is no one I’d rather share that celebration with than this week’s return guest, Lucy Barnard!  Lucy is attempting to become the 1st woman to walk the length of the world. She set off in February 2017 from Tierra Del Fuego in Argentina to walk to Barrow, Alaska; a journey of 30,000km...

Today you’re going to meet the awesome Gill Castle (you’ll understand the significance of the ‘awesome’ once you listen to this conversation! Gill describes herself as a very ordinary person and Police Officer before the birth of her son in 2011 changed her life.  His premature birth left her with traumatic injuries, the full extent of which weren’t identified by doctors for 5 days. Those injuries...

Kate Bevilaqua returns to Sparta Chicks Radio this week! Kate is an endurance coach, triathlete, an Ultraman Triathlon World Champion and the first woman in history to win an Ultraman triathlon event overall. She shared her story in episode 3 of the podcast. However one topic we didn’t explore in that conversation is that Kate is also a coach.  In fact, the idea for this conversation came from one...

This week on the podcast I’m delighted to welcome Bonnie Hancock. This episode is very timely because today - December 19 - Bonnie sets out on an epic quest: to paddle her surf ski around Australia.  Her goal: to become the fastest and youngest person to do it. It’s a journey of 16,000km that will take her around 6 months, along some of the most remote parts of Australia and not to mention through...

Jo Lum is a Sydney-based triathlete and busy mum who has been a regular on the triathlon scene in Sydney for years. Jo and her friend Katie were originally training for Ironman Australia in 2020. That race was postponed 4 times - twice in 2020 and then twice in 2021 - before it was eventually cancelled. So Jo and Katie decided not to let their fitness go to waste and designed and completed a DIY I...

I’m delighted to welcome Dr Anita Heiss to Sparta Chicks Radio this week Anita is a proud member of the Wiradjuri Nation of central New South Wales and one of Australia’s most prolific and well-known authors.  She has written 18 books including her latest novel, an epic tale called Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray (or River of Dreams). It’s also the first time in Australia, a commercially published boo...

I’m delighted to welcome Dr Erin Ayala to the podcast this week. Erin is a Licensed Psychologist, a certified Mental Performance Consultant and is listed as a licensed mental health provider on the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s Mental Health Register.  What I love about Erin’s perspective is that it’s holistic: she recognises that daily life, health and athletic performance are intertwined...

You’ll meet Lauren Tischendorf on Sparta Chicks Radio this week. In 2021, Lauren because the first woman to swim around Lord Howe Island - a distance of 32.2km that she completed in 13 hours and 50 minutes. Lauren’s story is captured in an award-winning documentary called "I Just Went For a Swim”. Lauren is a school teacher by day and an endurance athlete outside school hours. An ultra-marath...

Lucy Bloom is an award-winning leader, international keynote speaker, consultant and author.  Her website says that “she uses her superpowers for writing and speaking about courage, trust, failure, change, maverick thinking, generosity and fun” -- all of which makes her the perfect guest for Sparta Chicks Radio! Lucy went from being a volunteer to the CEO and founding director of Hamlin Fistula Et...

This week on Sparta Chicks Radio, I’m delighted to welcome data scientist, athlete and the Founder and CEO of Wild.ai, Helene Guillaume. Helene has combined her vast experience to found Wild.ai, an organisation dedicated to supporting active women through every phase of life. There are two things I love and admire about Helene’s work.  First, the brilliant  Wild.ai app  gives you personalised trai...

Sarah Davis is a professional risk manager with a passion for risk-taking. And she’s back for her 4th visit to Sparta Chicks Radio! In 2019, Sarah became the first woman to lead an expedition along the length of the Nile (and joined me on episodes 34 and 134 to share that story). Then in February, 2021 (episode 155) she returned to share details of her next epic adventure, in which she planned to...

This week on the podcast I am joined by Strongwoman competitor, Leigh Holland-Keen.  As the name suggests, Leigh competes in what traditionally would be called Strongman competitions.  How strong is Leigh?  Well, in 2018 Leigh became the first woman in history to be awarded a clean lift of the Dinnie Stones. They are two legendary stones located in Scotland that less than 100 men have lifted in hi...

Kelli Jackson was first on the podcast in 2019. In that conversation, she shared how she transformed herself from (and I quote) an “ unassuming middle age, overweight, unfit accountant who smoked ” and who couldn’t ride a unicycle into an athlete and adventurer who planned to ride a unicycle around the world!  This time, Kelli returned to share her most recent adventure - becoming the first Wester...

This week on Sparta Chicks Radio you’ll meet Ally Orr.  Ally brings a unique perspective to the podcast; she is both a competitive Jiu-Jitsu player and an Exercise and Sports Scientist. A talented musician growing up in regional NSW, Ally moved to Sydney at 16 to attend music school.  Not long after, her then-boyfriend introduced her to strength training and weight lifting - and the rest, as they...

Kathryn Bertine is an author, athlete, activist and filmmaker and you’ll meet her on Sparta Chicks Radio this week.  In 2006, Kathryn was a journalist who had been racing as a professional triathlete, when a journalism assignment with ESPN changed the trajectory of her life.  The task: to be a guinea pig and see if she could qualify for the Olympic Games in a sport within 18 months. And she chose...

Josie Askin is a New Zealand based runner and Holistic Wellness Coach who grew up watching her Dad compete in running events. As she tells the story in this conversation, she was a chubby kid who was teased about her weight so she started running during her teenage years to lose weight. Unfortunately, she soon found herself in a cycle of overtraining, under-recovery & under-eating for about 9...

Neanne Alnafta doesn’t like labels. But it is hard to introduce someone without them.  So for this moment, I will share that she is a proud Muslim woman, a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, an ocean swimmer and a volunteer surf lifesaver. She is also someone who is (and I quote) “freakishly scared” of the ocean. I came across Neanne’s story after reading an article about an organisation c...

Growing up exercise was a source of shame and embarrassment for Brooke Nolan.  It was only in her late 20s that she discovered a love of outdoor adventure. Fast forward a few years and in March 2020, Brooke found herself on the first all-female team to cross the Finnmark Plateau, which is an ice plateau in Arctic Norway. The crossing was a journey of 250km 14 days that required the team to drag sl...

Jamie Mittelman is the host of my new favourite podcast -  Flame Bearers: The Women Athletes Carrying Tokyo's Torch .  The podcast celebrates the journeys of unsung women Olympians & Paralympians. And she joins me on Sparta Chicks Radio this week! We discuss:  -  the role sport and outdoor activities played in her family growing up, - sport as a mental health tool,  - her struggle with Obs...

Based in Boulder, Colorado Erin is the head coach for  EC Fit . Her clients include the dynamic duo of Mirinda Carfrae (3 x Ironman World Champion) and  Tim O’Donnell (fastest American ever at Kona). Aside from the World Champions she coaches, Erin also coaches everyday people - like me!  She’s a visionary who is changing what it means to be a strong athlete and the best strength training for endu...

Selene is a professional health and fitness writer who is also the author or co-author of 6 books including the incredibly popular  ‘Roar’ with Dr Stacy Sims . Selene is also an extraordinary athlete in her own right. She’s been a semi-professional athlete since her late 30s and has competed in everything from Hawaii Ironman to 7 day mountain bike stage races and 200 mile (that’s 320km) gravel cla...

Leadership expert and outdoor adventurer, Ingrid Messner, joins me on Sparta Chicks Radio this week. An avid hiker, she has travelled to over 50 countries and most recently hiked Australia’s 10 highest peaks, carrying about 18kg of gear and equipment, over the space of a week. She’s come along way from the story she shares in this episode of twice having to learn to walk again.  The first time aft...

A few weeks before recording this episode, Sparta Chicks Radio celebrated its 4th birthday.  And there is no-one I’d rather share that celebration with than Lucy Barnard!  Lucy is attempting to become the 1st woman to walk the length of the world. She set off in February 2017 from Tierra Del Fuego in Argentina to walk to Barrow, Alaska; a journey of 30,000km /20,000mi across 15 countries she antic...

In 2019, Sarah Davis became the first woman to lead an expedition along the length of the Nile and joined me on the show in episodes 34 and 134 to discuss it. This time she returns to share her next epic adventure, in which she’s swapping her paddles for pedals and will ride 5,000 unsupported across Australia! In this conversation, we discuss: * why, just 8 months after finishing her Nile expediti...

Tara Diversi is a woman of many talents. A Sports Dietitian and an Accredited Practising Dietitian, Tara is also an accomplished athlete and marathon swimmer, having completed the English Channel, the Gibraltar Straight, the Rottnest Island swim and the Palm Beach to Manly swim here in Sydney (amongst many others). But the focus of today’s conversation is on her most recent, and coldest, challenge...