Throw me a challenge, and I will give it 200%, 200% of the time. I grew up not being particularly sporty at all, until in my teens I started Tai Kwondo and realised that it wasn’t being active I disliked – I just hadn’t found the sport that was right for me. I competed into my 20s, and took up kickboxing as well. In fact, it was my sport and my drive to stay healthy that got me through all of the
most difficult moments in my life, from managing anxiety, grade 4 endometriosis, losing a baby and an assortment of injuries. As a proud mum of a couple of preteens, I also love watching the way that fuelling my kids right for sport and adventure enables them to achieve their best, and often surprise themselves. You see, I believe, no I KNOW, that with the right mindset and the right fuel, anyone can achieve anything. PAOLO BELLINI
Paolo first discovered skiing on a family holiday when he was about 5 years old. Suffice to say, by the time he was a teenager he was sneaking out of school, and onto the bus just to head up the mountain and ski as much as he could. By 18 Paolo was working in the Victorian Alps as a lifty where he was discovered by a ski coach, Renee, as he weaved inbetween skiiers in the lift queues. And so began Paolo’s career as a racer. That same year the team had a training camp planned in San Bernadino, California and offered Paolo a sponsored place train with them. By the end of the season Paolo was winning most of his races and was invited to come back again the following year. Halfway through the second season Paolo, being the perfectionist he is, wanted to do one more practice run before the incoming storm set in. He was the last skier on the mountain after convincing the lift crew to let him up one more time. And as he was racing down he was hit by a whirlywind which tossed him through the air. Three months later Paolo awoke from a coma in hospital, his whole left side crushed. It was then he was told that he would never walk, let alone ski again. Fuelled by determination and a love of skiing, Paolo wasn’t interested in accepting a diagnosis. He would walk out of that hospital. And he did. Two months and 14 days later he left the hospital refusing to be pushed out the door in the wheelchair they insisted he use. Paolo continued his rehabilitation in Australia and returned to skiing 2 years later, becoming an instructor and a race coach in both Europe and Australia. From there Paolo developed a keen interest in mindset, sports psychology, nutrition and body mechanics. He has helped children through to adults find their way. From facing and understanding their fears through to learning to feel what their body is telling them, being present and in the moment, and tapping into their ability to bolster their weaknesses to become their strengths. He also owns Australia’s first indoor ski centre, which he singlehandedly built and coached in for 4 years, before deciding to take a step back from the day to day and focus on sharing his passion for mindset coaching and spending time with his family.
