Barefoot Stories

A love for anything health and fitness brought Tristan Forbes into an industry he absolutely loves.  Recently starting both Witness the Fitness and Breathing Space, read what brought Tristan on this adventure into keeping people healthy and fit. What brought you into the health industry in the first place? As most health professionals, I had a love for anything health and fitness. Mainly sports but I did get into the 'aesthetic gym scene' during high-school due to being a rather ...
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Dan Ludgater recently moved to Medellin, Colombia to pursue the Digital Nomad lifestyle. His Colombian Adventure so far is something most of us would love to do. So you’ve been living in Medillin, Colombia for the last 2 months. How does it compare to life in Brisbane? Well, everyone speaks Spanish... except for me lol. It's actually been fun learning a new language and doing our best to navigate situations. My "food ordering Espanol" is pretty good now, and as ...
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You competed at your first strongman competition in February this year, how was the experience for you? It was my first strength event – so I was quite nervous leading up to it and unsure of what to expect – it’s a big change moving from Ironman triathlons where you’re on your own for hours versus having a coach right beside you all day. It was really fun! Much tougher on my body than I had anticipated – I was ...
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It won't surprise you that Barefooters love getting out and about, moving everyday in a way they enjoy. Women's soccer has really taken off in the past decade, with teams sprouting up all over Brisbane with quite a competitive Brisbane Premier League as a result. If you've ever watched a game, you'll see how competitive and skilful these ladies are.  Our Physio Kirsten recently sat down with Charlotte to find out why she has such a passion for soccer. How ...
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Putting her diving ability to good use while she studies for a Masters Degree in the Environment, Kirsten recently landed her Dream Job studying and caring for Turtles in Malaysia.  Turtle Conservation is her passion and her journey is amazing. We're excited to share her story: You have just scored your dream job, working in turtle conservation in Malaysia for 8 months. Tell us more about what the job entails and why you are so passionate about this work I ...
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This Barefooter story takes a different setting to some of our previous stories . . . as it's set underwater!! Alida is a passionate scuba diver with impressive qualifications and experience doing Open Water Diving, Rescue Diving and a Divemaster and Instructor course! How did you get into scuba diving and what is it about scuba diving that you love? As a little girl I cannot remember ever throwing a tantrum for not getting a chocolate or a toy.  I ...
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Barefooter Maria is as passionate and vivacious as it gets. She is a mum of 3 and Pilates instructor who is always on the move! We sat down with her to learn more about the things she loves most in life! You are a Pilates guru – what makes you so passionate about it and how did you first get started with Pilates? I found Pilates 14 years ago in a Fitness centre in Denver, Colorado USA. It was a big ...
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It comes as no surprise that our incredible Barefooters are constantly out doing what they love & helping others. Maggie ( or as we like to call her 'lil mags') is no exception, her year is filled up with incredible volunteering, fundraising and organising to help others. She is off on an incredible adventure next year to Ethiopia to help those in need . . so Sal recently sat down with Maggie to hear all about it, and to share ...
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For those of you that haven’t heard (and I admit that would be pretty difficult as I haven’t stopped talking about it!) I ‘MC’d’ the Brothers Reid homecoming party last Friday on the roof top at Brisbane State High. We chose this incredible  location with views over the city as it was our high school and an appropriate landing place for the boys after 2 and half years on dirt. That’s right, 2.5 years overlanding round the world on DR650s ...
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Barefooter Sarah has a love for all things musical theatre related and travel! She's performed in over 12 different musicals and travelled overseas to many different cities and countries including New York and England. Physio Kirsten sat down with Sarah to hear all about her incredible performance in Wicked, and to chat about what is next for her travels! You have been involved in musical theatre! How did you get involved in this? I always had a love of performing ...
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Barefooter David has seen and done some incredible things throughout his life. Sal recently sat down with David to hear his incredible stories and how David continues to live his Barefoot Lifestyle. David we understand you’re an avid believer and advocate for lifelong learning and you have 3 (almost 4) degrees. Can you tell me first of all what studies you have done over the years? Well I started up doing my biology degree in the UK, in the late ...
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to walk the Camino de Santiage trail? We sat down with Barefooter Catherine to hear all about her incredible travels and adventures, and where she would like to hike next! You walked the Camino Trail last year. Can you tell us a little about what this was like, what inspired you to do it, and why you want to do it again?  The Camino de Santiago (route Frances) was an epic journey! ...
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Caitlin has just returned from running at the IAAF World Championships in the Bahamas, after coming 5th in the 4x400m relays. It's no surprise that there is a lot of training required to compete at the level Caitlin does, especially with the 2018 Commonwealth games around the corner. 1. How do you prepare for a run when you will be racing overseas? Preparation is much the same as in Australia – ensuring I am eating well, getting enough rest/recovery, appropriate treatment ...
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Cheerleading, Training and level of difficulty. Cheerleading is a very physical sport and requires extreme amounts of commitment and training. One of our Barefooter's Milly is a passionate cheerleader and answers our questions on training and the moves: What do you see as the most difficult move? That is a complicated question! Cheer is divided into 6 levels of difficulty, 6 being the highest. In level 6 you can basically do any combination of skills and tricks as long as ...
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Milly took the plunge and moved from her hometown of Brisbane to 100km out of Mt Isa. Cherelle recently sat down with Barefooter Milly, to see what has changed & how life is in the country! What is it like living there? Every morning I walk outside and think of a line from a Dixie Chicks song that goes “I wanna look at the horizon and not see a building standing tall, I wanna be the only one, for miles and miles”. After ...
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Ever wondered what the training regime was like for an athlete? We recently sat down with Nick Fadden to hear about his training regime and what he does to ensure his body is able to perform at the highest level. Interview with Nick Fadden: Q: You have previously competed in 800m, 400m and 400m hurdles but have recently made the switch to the decathlon, competing in 10 events over 2 days. Tell us what your training schedule looks like and ...
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Aidan Jeffes is a true Barefooter. He leans in to all areas of his life; be it his passion for motorbike riding, perfecting latte art or becoming a paramedic. Not to mention he spends almost as much time at the Red Brick House as we do! He is always early to his appointments to allow lots of chill out time in the Lounge Room. Aidan is continually improving his bike, his life and the lives of those around him. We ...
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At Barefoot we see all types of Athletes, from 400m Olympic runners and Gridiron Quarterbacks to Yoga instructors and Powerlifters. When you think of an Athlete what often springs to mind is someone with specialised skills who does lots of training. And that training is aimed at a certain target and event. So let’s be real… Musicians are Athletes. They have a specific set of skills which they hone with hours and hours of practice for events. They train hard ...
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Lauren is a Barefooter from way back. Born and bred in America and now living the great Australian dream (she lives so close to the beach she waves to whales from the verandah) Lauren loves life... with such passion that sometimes you can't help adopting a bit of an American accent when you talk to her. Lauren thank you for helping us highlight the amazingness of our clients by answering these questions. As someone who lives a rich and fulfilling ...
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Our fastest physio, Caitlin, has just returned from the 2016 Rio Olympic Games! Caitlin and her team ran in the women's 4x400m relay and smashed their personal best in the heats to qualify for the finals. Woohoo, well done girls! This was an awesome effort as our girls were the first women's team to compete in the 4x400m finals since the 2000 Sydney Games with Cathy Freeman. And we could not have been more proud of our star athlete and ...
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Cathy Thomson is many things... fun, inspiring, wickedly smart and a bit of a nutter... just our kind of person! A true Barefooter. It's funny because when you're talking with Cathy (sometimes asking her to repeat herself because when she talks quickly her Scottish accent can get the better of you) you'll be discussing something like the awesome new local cafe, how it's so great to be able to catch up with friends there and how much you miss your ...
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We have the pleasure of being part of Powerlifter Col Webb's team that keep him on track lifting weights... big weights. Well known as the nice guy of powerlifting, the guy that has moved more fridges in his time than a removal company,  we thought we'd ask a few more questions to find out more about what it takes and why. What does it take to do what you do?  Currently, I'm training 5 days a week for about 2-3 ...
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Being pushed to your physical and mental limit is something that some of us have never experienced. One of our Barefooters Josh O'Grady spent seven and a half years in the Military and Private Security overseas which at times put him in situations that reached those limits. We all have something to learn from someone like that. Josh is now a Personal Trainer in Coorparoo who specialises in Strength... for all people. We wanted him to share with us what ...
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When we look at Marg we see a Barefooter... living a Barefoot Lifestyle - health, vocation, making the world a better place and surrounding herself with people she loves. She is a picture of health and has an amazing zest for life. We wanted Marg to share with us how she manages to stay healthy whilst training for rowing, writing a book, travelling the world and spending time with her family.  Hey Marg, earlier this year you competed in the Nationals ...
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Pete Joseph loves a challenge. Whether it be side stepping on the touch footy field, catching barramundi or saving lives.  At Barefoot, we love to look after the people who look after us. Being a paramedic is taxing on your body. You need to put yourself into difficult situations physically and mentally. It’s important to have your outlets and for Pete Joseph, it’s touch footy & barramundi fishing. We were keen to hear more about this lifestyle that sounds like ...
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