Reclaimed the 18th of November by becoming the Open 84kg Oceania bench press champion.
95kg 🥇
If I ever think about this date again, this is the memory that’s staying.
@_mattbartholomew@assiduous.tp
📸 @thirds.co
The last seven months have been some of the hardest of my life. I came back from the worst comp I’ve ever had in South Africa only to have my life as I knew it fall apart. I didn’t just lose my confidence. I lost the love I had for the sport. And somewhere in the middle of it all, I lost myself too. There were days I couldn’t get out of bed, couldn’t face the gym, and couldn’t remember why I ever cared about lifting in the first place.
There were voices.
Some came from others.
Some were in my own head.
They echoed the same message:
That I had already peaked.
That my performance at Worlds proved I wasn’t capable of more.
That I couldn’t bounce back from rock bottom just five months later.
That there was no way I could run Australia’s biggest powerlifting meet and compete in it.
That I wasn’t strong enough. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally.
And honestly, under the weight of all that pressure, I started to believe them.
But @_mattbartholomew told me to have a little faith. He believed in me when I didn’t. And right when it counted, I found just enough belief in myself to get my ass on that platform.
My goals for this comp were simple:
Make lifts. Nail that bloody squat. Hit some PRs.
It wasn’t about placings. It was about putting together a performance I could be proud of. Something that showed me, and anyone watching, that the comeback is always stronger than the setback.
I went 8 for 9. Hit four PRs. Improved my Worlds total by 37kg. And walked away with an all-time 22kg total PR.
Even better, I had my favourite battle to date with the incredible @aussielex
This comp means more to me than any medal or title. This one reminded me who I am.
To my support crew - thank you.
For pushing me when I had nothing left.
For telling me to eat when I forgot how.
For dragging me back to the gym when I was spiralling.
For showing me love when I was doing the opposite for myself.
This community picked me up and reminded me of something important.
I’m a boss bitch. And I’m just getting started.
I’ve remembered why I love this sport. And I’m back.
Coach: @_mattbartholomew
Dietician: @thestrengthdietitian
Gyms: @genfitau and @breakthroughfitness_
📷 @thirds.co
Tomorrow is the 15th birthday of my first born.
We started this crazy adventure together. Just you and me. Single mum and her crazy son. You always had my back and we loved each other no matter what.
15 years later, I am a single mom again. Despite the shit that we both went through, you still have my back and we still love each other unconditionally - even when we piss each other off 😂
It's no easy feat parenting the teenage version of yourself. But I consider myself very lucky that my version of karma is incredibly intelligent and growing into a young man that I am very proud of. Even if sometimes you are still Dunning Kruger personified 😂
It seems crazy that in three years you'll be an adult. I'm not sure I'm ready for that but when the time comes, I'll have your back 100% just like you've always had mine xx
I put so much fucking shit on people making terrible Italian and yet I'm doing this tonight 😂😂
sorry to my Mexican friends.
But also @skankyjoe and @sydneyliving2264 your Italian is still shit 😘
I knew we were getting by up to crazy hours in that venue last week. Then I did the math and 🤯
@skankyjoe and @mrs_skankyjoe love this sport big time. They took annnual leave from their jobs and flew to Sydney on their own dime to spend the entire week helping make MegaNats happen.
Appreciate you both big time 🫶🏻
Also..
Musical theatre and powerlifting
Name a better combo
Meganats 2026
2 years ago next week I remember suggesting MegaNats to someone. They told me it would never work. I knew they were wrong.
Two years later, and we've done it twice!
It takes a lot of effort to bring everything together but we are getting more efficient every year thank you to my dream team meet directors @johnfullnametran and @kelvintrains_ and the rewards are well worth it.
My highlights:
Special Olympics by far. It is always my favourite session I am so excited to see this sentiment echoed across the board by so many who were there to see these phenomenal humans being so proud and grateful for the opportunity to lift on the national platform.
Our Volunteers: I know a lot of people were VERY pissed off with me when we made the call to enforce volunteering. But you cannot run events at this scale and level of professionalism by burning out the same small subset of people. We needed help to keep growing.
This week some of those same previously cranky people came and thanked me because it's given them an insight into just how much it takes to put on large competitions. I genuinely appreciate those who took the time to let me know they understand and respect why this decision was made and it warms my heart to see you promoting a culture of volunteering by being amazing role models. So many of you went above and beyond your required sessions and you did it with a smile because you were having fun.
I still make no apologies for forcefully changing our culture and I thank every single one of you for leaning in and helping me to make it happen. You are the reason that Meganats is so successful and why the APA will continue beyond me and my crazy ideas.
Finally... the lifters: There was a lot of passion, a few swears (no more c bombs please!), lots of PRs and a few tears. You guys showed up and gave it your all!
What I loved the most was the sense of pride in our community that is so different to where we all were before we set out on this @australianpowerliftingalliance journey. There is so much love and genuine camaraderie across age groups and states.
I'm so proud of all of us and I can't wait to see where we head next. 🫶🏻🫶🏻
