Tough Girl Podcast

Jeannette McGill is a seasoned mountaineer and executive leader who, at 52, became the oldest South African woman to summit Everest in May 2025. With more than 30 years of global climbing experience—including leading expeditions across four continents—she knows deeply that the summit is never just about standing on top. 
Jeannette's journey is a testament to patience, resilience, and the quiet power of backing yourself, no matter how many setbacks you face. Beyond her personal achievements, she is passionate about demystifying the modern-day myths of Everest and advocates instead for the very real challenges mountain terrains face through climate change globally. Having been there herself, she brings an informed, honest perspective on what is truly happening above 8,000m. 
Today, Jeannette combines her love for high-altitude adventure with leadership on Boards and helping others explore their own limits. She also supports future generations through leading snow camps in the Victorian Alps and mountaineering scholarships, believing that mountains are powerful teachers of courage and humility. Her story is not just about conquering peaks but about becoming the kind of person who dares to try.
We first spoke with Jeannette on 7th January 2021 - Jeannette McGill - 1st South African woman to summit Manaslu, the 8th highest mountain in the world
***
 New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
 Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.
 Your support makes a difference.  Thank you x
***
Show notes
Who is Jeanette
Corporate executive, board director and most importantly a mountaineer
South African by origin,  located in Melbourne and spending up to 5 months in Nepal
TGP Episode - January 7th 2021 - - 1st South African woman to summit Manaslu, the 8th highest mountain in the world
Her Mt. Everest dream 
A one day - someday project…
How climbing Mt. Everest came to the forefront of her mind
To be a real mountaineer you needed to tick Mt. Everest off the list
Deciding to go in a different direction in 1995 
The pivotal moment - university and having a career or entering the climbing competition 
Pursuing her career 
Was Mt. Everest a realistic goal?
Growing into the project
Adding Mt. Everest to the bucket list after covid
Going through a back surgery and perimenopause and deciding that 2023 would be her Mt. Everest year
Using Mera Peak as an acclimatisation strategy 
Getting sick and not recovering well, getting to camp 2 and not being able to continue.
Heading back to Australia and deciding to go back in 2024
Deciding to gift herself the power of a mid-life sabbatical 
Exciting her role in December 2023 and starting to train properly for Mt. Everest in 2024
Joining a small team
Mechanical failure on the mountain - her jumar not working and getting word that her house in Australia had burnt down. 
Getting to the South Col and not being in the right head space. 
Knowing she was making the right decision to turn around and head back down the mountain 
Dealing with the frustration and disappointment and why it was difficult 
Not being in a good head space. Needing to pivot and become nomadic during the winter 
Floundering and not knowing what was next
Deciding that she would regret it if she didn't back herself one final time. 
Pivoting and making the best of the situation 
Having flexibility and deciding to do Mt. Everest one last time 
Figuring out where to do the winter work - in either Scotland or New Zealand 
Packing up and heading over to New Zealand to do training 
Doing more mountain work, on the NZ Alps in the South Island 
How it became a more personal/internal  objective/goal 
What training looked like 
Working with a mental and physical coach
Using Training Peaks 
Evoke Endurance Coach 
Returning to Manaslu in the fall of 2024
Muscle endurance - steep hills in NZ out of Queenstown carrying 20kgs 
Following a structured gym program 
Her 'A' Team 
Figuring out through processes and what could derail her
Having cheat sheets e.g. a mopey list to keep her focused on her goal and what she needed to do
Heading back to Mt Everest in 2025 and wanting to do the Everest - Lhotse Double (having 2 permits) 
Acclimatising on Mt. Mera Peak 
Being an older climber and the changes she made
Sleeping at camp 3 on her rotation 
Heading up to the balcony 
The challenge of the 2025 season 
Dealing with extreme winds and not being able to stand up
Having to turn around - returning to her tent on the South Col and being hit with disappointment. 
Maybe climbing Mt. Everest just isn't going to happen again - shedding a tear 
Having her main sherpa needing to head back down to camp 2
Having the opportunity to go for the summit of Mt. Everest the following night 
Now or never!!!!!
Starting to prepare, getting herself together and heading back to the balcony before reaching the summit
Reaching the summit - A surreal, glorious moment. 
Crying on the summit and why she will never forget it
The descent back to base camp - dealing with fatigue 
Being able to look after herself on the descent 
The afterwards - Relief? Adventure blues?
The pressure on herself to achieve the goal
Being at peace with herself 
Needing to rest this calendar year and savour her summit
Wallowing in the peace and knowledge of achievement 
How to connect with Jeannette 
Final words of advice for other women who want to take on their own mountains and challenges
Keep stretching your fear muscle 
 
Social Media
Website: www.mcgillsmountains.com
Instagram: @mcgills_mountains

Lauren Burnison is the founder of We Love Lucid, the UK's first alcohol-free travel company, and a trailblazer in the sober travel movement. From couch-surfing with nomads on the Mongolian steppe to snorkelling with sharks in Oman, Lauren has spent her life seeking off-the-beaten-path adventures—and this year, she took a two-month road trip through Spain and Portugal in a micro camper with her four-year-old daughter to celebrate ten years of sobriety.
In this candid conversation, Lauren shares her journey from self-destructive habits to sobriety, how travel became her school of life, and the joys and challenges of being a single parent exploring the world. She talks about starting We Love Lucid, the lessons learned while traveling solo and with her daughter, and how adventure can transform the way we see ourselves.
Explicit content: We touch on drugs, drinking, and addiction.
***
 New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
 Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.
 Your support makes a difference.  Thank you x
***
Show notes
Who is Lauren
Coming from Northern Ireland Originally
41 years old
Founder of We Love Lucid - The UK's First Alcohol-free Travel Company
Being a single mum to a very energetic 4 year old girl 
Being an aspiring writer
Reflecting back on her early years 
Being very creative, loving animals, and growing up in the countryside 
Where her love of travel came from 
Starting to learn Spanish in school and how her teacher inspired her
Having a knack for learning languages 
Finding a diary entry from when she was 15 years old
Having an ambition to learn Spanish and French and wanting to live in Spain 
Getting to visit Spain at 16 on a sports camp 
Having her eyes opened and feeling invigorated while travelling on the road 
Why A'Levels were such a slog and hated being told what to do 
Being confident about travelling 
Deciding to travel around South America 
Getting into drugs and going down a self destructive path 
Heading back home to go to university 
Spending 6 months in Barcelona - working in a pizza restaurant and living in a tent
Getting her degree
Being taken further down the path and still being self destructive 
Making changes at 32 
Wanting to explore and see more of the world - spending time in South Africa
Getting in more and more trouble 
Turning 30 and heading to South Korea to work as an English Teacher 
Having the best and worst moments of her life
Hitting rock bottom and deciding not to drink ever since
Getting in trouble, and having the fear of losing her life
Partying with Chinese Dwarfs 
Seeing how bad her behaviour had gotten
Feeling and being alone on this part of the journey 
Drinking 4 nights a week
The hardest part - being faced with this situation of not knowing who she was 
Who is Lauren? Having to deal with difficult emotions.
Feeing so vulnerable 
The night she decided to quit drinking 
Creating 'We Love Lucid' and how it helped her stay connected with the sober community 
Visiting the vast empty spaces in Mongolia 
Growing up with horses and riding horses 
Wanting to ride horses in Mongolia and how it turned in to a trip of self discovery 
Trying to figure out the next steps
Why life is not just good or bad - it's a mixture of everything 
Heading to the South of Spain and doing a workaday experience over there
How the idea for - We Love Lucid came about 
Not having a positive view of sobriety 
Thinking about her experiences as a sober person travelling 
Starting to run the trips 
Why the trips are all about connecting with sober people 
Cycling from Beer to Soberton….
Why not all projects turn out how you want them to 
Not wanting to be a quitter
Getting to 70 miles…..
Why it was a bit of a failure, but also a valuable lesson at the same time 
Riding up the East Coast of Korea on a bike to North Korea
The goodness of people 
How travel and adventure changed after having her daughter
Feeling as though her world has been shrinking
How it affected her mentally - with not being able to travel 
The realities of being a single mum in Scotland
How her life seems so normal
Starting to go away with her daughter 
Being on a road trip in Portugal for 1/2 months 
Trying to escape the winter in the UK
Needing to stay in the UK and going with that 
Starting to accept the reality 
Wanting to start her blog - "Adventures of a single, sober mum" 
Being able to afford a micro camper 
Why trips are a condensed school of life 
The beauty and joy of the quiet moments
Walking with 12 women on the Santiago de Compostela 
Mandy Manners - Sober Coach 
She Recovers Foundation 
How to connect with Lauren
The stigma around being a single parent 
Wanting to feel more empowered
Final words of advice for other women
Change is possible 
Being inspired by Terence McKenna 
Try something hard, push yourself out of your comfort zone. 
 
Social Media
Website: www.welovelucid.com - The UK's First Alcohol-free Travel Company 
Instagram: @welovelucid 
Substack: adventuresofasobersinglemum.substack.com

In this Tough Girl Podcast EXTRA episode, we catch up with Helen Dainty — solo female cyclist, self-described "full-time global hobo," and one of the most committed long-distance bike travellers you'll ever meet.
For the past decade, Helen has spent nine years on the road, travelling exclusively by bicycle and living on around £50 a week. She's cycled across Australia, ridden from London to Nordkapp and back, travelled extensively through the Middle East and North Africa — and in 2025 became the first woman to cycle across Libya.
When war in Sudan forced her to abandon an overland route into East Africa, Helen adapted and rerouted — because that's what life on the road demands: flexibility, resilience, and the ability to trust the process.
In this episode, we dive into what's happened since we last spoke in January 2022. From navigating complex visa systems (including Algeria and Libya), to travelling with police security details, being detained in Libya, and accepting incredible hospitality through the Warm Showers community — Helen shares the raw, practical realities of long-term cycle touring.
We also talk about:
The logistics of visas with a British passport
Working with visa agents and last-minute plan changes
Cycling in Algeria and Libya
Budget travel (sticking to AUD $100 per week)
Her bike setup — switching from chain to belt drive
Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres and long-distance reliability
Not collecting souvenirs and living with less
Documenting her journey on YouTube (and the time spent editing!)
Saying yes to unexpected opportunities
Helen also opens up about going through perimenopause and menopause while cycling through deserts — dealing with extreme sadness, brain fog, hot sweats in the middle of the night, and coming out the other side feeling stronger and more balanced. At 47, she believes she has another strong decade of adventure ahead — and she's not slowing down.
Looking forward, Helen plans to spend the next two years cycling down the west coast of Africa in an attempt to circle the continent, before eventually heading back towards Australia through Asia.
Her advice for women wanting to do something different?
Say yes to the opportunity — you can work out the details on the way.
Accept without hesitation.
Raw, honest, practical and deeply inspiring — this is a powerful catch-up with a woman who has built her entire life around two wheels.
***
 New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
 Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.
 Your support makes a difference.  Thank you x
***
Show notes
Who is Helen
Catching up since we last spoke
Cycling through the Middle East and Africa 
TGP Episode - January 2022 - 
TGP Extra Episode - 
What's changed?!
Going back to the start of 2022 
Taking the ferry from Turkey to Lebanon 
Flying home to surprise her family for Christmas 
Setting off toward Iran in 2022 
The practical side of travel - visa's, entering and leaving countries (with a British Passport)
Saudi Arabia and Oman using a E-visa system 
Getting a visa for Algeria - paperwork, needing to be in your home country while applying for the visa, face to face visit to the Embassy in London 
Visa's for Libya - not being issues and needing to work with a contact to get a visa 
Using a visa agent - Tap Persia 
Last minute change of plans and trying to extend a 2 week visa while in the country - which proved impossible 
Booking accommodation to get the visa 
Cycle touring being a little stressful at times
Cycling in Algeria for a few days and what the experience was like
Warmshowers hosts 
Accepting hospitality 
Having an Algerian security detail (police) and what that entails 
Needing to trust the process 
Having her passport taken off her…
Arrested/detained in Libya by the police 
Finding affordable accommodation 
Tourist sites in Algeria and Libya 
Not meeting other bike packers in Libya 
How it all happened….
Saying yes to opportunities as they present themselves 
Libyan Cycling Centre 
Starting to share videos on Youtube and documenting her trips 
Working on improving the sound quality 
Aiming for 8 min vlogs
The time spend editing….
Sticking to her budget of AUD $100 a week
The bike, the bike set up and new gear
Changing from a chain to a belt drive 
Getting a new saddle - Repente 
What is a belt drive and needing a specific frame for it and how it works 
Why it's popular with long distance tourers 
Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires 
Not collecting souvenirs 
Day to day emotions and loving life on the road
Not having any plans to stop cycling 
Heading into Western Africa - and taking 2 years to cycle down the coast 
Planning to cycle back to Australia through Asia
47 years old - another good decade ahead of her
Going through menopause 3/4 years ago
Not knowing what was happening in 2021/2022 and not undertaking that she was going through perimenopause 
Experiencing extreme sadness and brain fog 
Feeling more balanced and having less brain fog, and less depression bouts
Having hot sweats in the desert, in the middle of the night 
Feeling glad to be on the other side of it
Starting to think about bone density 
Cycling down the West Coast of Africa 
Using this downtime over winter to plan out her route and sort out visa's.
Taking her dad to Ethiopia 
How to connect with Helen on social media and follow along with her journey 
9,570 subscribers on YouTube - wanting to reach 10k! 
Final words of advice for women who want to do something different and take on new challenges 
Say yes to an opportunity -you can work out the details on the way
Accept without hesitation! 
 
Social Media
All links: helsonwheels.bio.link  
Instagram: @hels.on.wheels 
Facebook:  @Helsonwheelswithmlt 
Youtube: @helsonwheels

In this episode of the Tough Girl Podcast, we meet Chloe Stead — 42 years old and currently living in a rustic tiny shack in the bush in Tasmania with her husband — but her journey to this simple life has been anything but ordinary.
Since 2008, Chloe has been living a travelling, nomadic lifestyle. After leaving school at 18 to join the Navy and later working in health and safety in Perth, Australia, she reached a quiet breaking point while staying at the Whim Creek Hotel in 2006. A simple but powerful thought surfaced: There has to be more to life than this.
Within a week, she sold her house, packed up a shipping container, took her dog, and began driving solo around Australia with just $500 AUD — despite being petrified of sleeping in a tent. That leap of faith set the course for the next chapter of her life.
But Chloe's story is not just about adventure — it's about grief, reinvention, and learning to live on her own terms.
After the sudden death of her partner Willy in 2013, everything stopped. In the depths of grief, Chloe stepped away from social media, let go of her old life, and slowly began again. Meditation, yoga retreats, and eventually walking the Camino de Santiago in 2014 became turning points. Carrying everything on her back, she discovered a deep love for minimalism, simplicity, and self-reliance.
Over the years, Chloe has:
Walked multiple Caminos including the Camino del Norte, Camino Primitivo and Via de la Plata
Hitchhiked and walked along the beaches of Uruguay
Taken a 10,000km road trip with her dog Dexter
Lived off less than $100 AUD per week
Worked seasonally to fund months of adventure
Cycled from Alaska to San Francisco (86 nights in a tent!)
Walked the Wales Coast Path and the Portuguese Camino
Chosen to stay off social media to be fully present on trail
Now married, Chloe continues to design a life built around freedom, movement, and intentional simplicity. With big adventures planned for 2026 — including walking the South West Coast Path and the GR10 — she shares honestly about navigating partnership on trail, managing knee issues, strength training gains, and why getting to the start line is often the hardest part.
This conversation is about:
Letting go of possessions and expectations
Living with uncertainty
Processing grief through movement
Creating "trail life" off-trail
Why you don't need technology to experience adventure
Trusting that the universe conspires to keep you going
And why you should "give it a crack and get to the start line."
Chloe's message is simple but powerful:
Life is uncertain. Don't put things off. If there's something you want to do — take the plunge.
***
 New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
 Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.
 Your support makes a difference.  Thank you x
***
Show notes
Who is Chloe
42 years old, currently living in Tasmania in a rustic tiny shack in the bush with her husband 
Living a travelling lifestyle since 2008
What was the lead up to making changes in her life
Leaving school at 18 and joining the Navy
2006 living in Perth, Australia  and having a job in health and safety
Starting to feel different when staying at the Whim Creek Hotel
Thinking that there has to be more to life
100 things to see and do in Australia before you die 
Selling her house within a week, filling up a shipping container
Taking her dog and starting to drive solo around Australia 
Being encouraged by a friend - to just do it! 
Not being in tune with herself 
Highlights from spending time on the road, driving around Australia 
Starting off with $500 AUD and getting a job 
Spending the trip just driving around 
Being petrified of staying in a tent
Pitching her tent and staying in it for the first time
Meeting a boy, Willy (which wasn't part of the plan!) 
Deciding to move to New Zealand (2009 - 2010)
Backpacking around Europe for 3 months
Planning every day and having a very tight schedule 
Feeling disheartened with her experience 
Needing to do something spontaneous 
Backpacking around Cambodia for 3 weeks with no plan 
Seeing a flyer about yoga and meditation
Struggling with mental health and things in life 
Doing a yoga retreat in Australia and doing a deep dive into meditation 
Starting to work in farming around Australia 
2013 and the year of her 30th birthday
Deciding to go to South America to visit Machu Picchu 
Willys death and how it stopped everything 
Not knowing how to cope
The funeral and not wanting to live where she was living or work where she was working 
Getting rid of her phone and getting off social media
Starting again and wanting to forget 
Needing to deal with the grief 
Going back to mediation and doing a workshop which helped 
Learning about the Caminos in Spain 
Walking the camino in April 2014 (The way of st James)
Not knowing what she was doing and carrying far too much stuff
Learning a lot on the way 
Not being very open on the French Camino 
Learning a lot from Willys death and making a promise to him 
Doing what she wanted to do with her life - no excuses 
Falling in love with a minimalistic, simple way of life
Waling with everything on her back and how it agreed with her
Finding her passion and purpose 
Living this simple life
Needing to create trail life, while off trail 
2016 - waling the Camino del Norte and the Camino Primitivo
2017 - hitchhiked and walked along the beaches in Uruguay
Feeling safe and not feeling alone 
2018 - ten years since starting her nomadic journey and taking a 10,000km road trip with her dog - Dexter
Needing to sort out her stuff in the shipping container 
Feeling so much lighter without all of her possessions 
Losing Dexter in 2019 
Doing a silent retreat in Bali 
Wanting to do a 5 year walk around the world
Not having any more responsibility and having ultimate freedom 
Working in Tasmania in 2020 and dealing with Covid and why it was so difficult 
Buying a block of land and a 1976 Volkswagen Kombi Van
Self reliance and simplicity 
2022 and the world starting to open up again 
Starting to work again to make money and giving up on the idea of the 5 yr walk around the world
Her 40th birthday and wanting to walk 2,000km to celebrate it 
Meeting Will 
2023 - Walking the Wales Coast Path and the Portuguese Camino
Discovery the Tough Girl Youtube Channel! 
Buying the Cicerone - Wales Coast Path Guidebook
Trying to plan the first few days
Wild camping on her first night 
How things just kept working out 
Heading to Bali in 2024
Doing some backpacking in 2025, throughout Vietnam, Laos and Thailand
Needing to thru hike these caminos by herself 
Finishing the Camino Via de la Plata.
Getting married! 
Being the planner in the relationship 
Deciding to do a bike trip in America - cycling from Alaska to San Fransisco (86 nights in the tent)
The challenges of adventures with a partner and navigating them together 
Needing to focus more on recovery and needing to put more effort into training before adventures 
Adventures booked for 2026 - Walking the SWCP and the GR10! Starting 1st June!
Thinking this is crazy and how am I going to do this! 
Why you just need to start and the rest will unfold 
Why getting to the start line is always tricky - mentally 
Noticing her improvements in running at park run after strength training
Having some knee problems 
Starting on the creatine and having more energy during the summer
The South West Coast Path 
Not being on social media and being in the moment.
Final words of advice for other women who want to live life differently and live life on their own terms 
Life is pretty uncertain, and definitely our time here is uncertain. 
Don't put things off to the future. If there's something that you want to do, take the plunge.
The universe conspires to keep you going 
Learning to live with less over the years and how money has become more abundant 
Working for 6/7 months of the year, and 1 month of earnings goes towards her future 
Living off less than $100 AUD a week 
Stopping working after earning $20,000 dollars and coming back to a $3,000 dollar tax cheque
Give it a crack - get to the start line.
Keep that dream at the front of your mind 
Don't be afraid NOT to use technology on trails - walking the trails with just a guidebook or map 
 
Social Media
None.

In this episode of the Tough Girl Podcast, we're joined by Aisyah Rafaee – a two-time Olympic rower from Singapore who competed at the Rio 2016 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the single scull.
After taking an eight-year break from the sport, Aisyah made the bold decision to return—qualifying for Paris 2024 as one of the oldest athletes in the field and redefining what it means to be a high-performing athlete in your 30s.
Originally from Singapore and now based in Boston, USA, Aisyah grew up with four brothers and discovered rowing after being scouted during an indoor competition at school. With limited rowing culture and opportunities in Singapore, she carved her own path—training overseas in Sydney, qualifying through a fiercely competitive Asian selection process, and representing Singapore on the world stage.
But her journey hasn't been linear.
From struggling with pressure at her first Olympics to working with mental skills coach Hansen Bay, from stepping away from elite sport to rediscovering her love for movement, from fracturing her ribs a month before Paris to qualifying with just six months to go—this is a powerful conversation about identity, resilience, vulnerability, and growth.
Now working as a HYDROW Athlete and Mental Performance Coach with 3HP Athlete Coaching, Aisyah shares insights on:
Building confidence and resilience
Letting go of expectations
Separating identity from performance
The realities of returning to elite sport after time away
Training and mindset during pregnancy
Why rowing is a lifelong sport
Her philosophy of the 3Hs: Happy, Healthy & High Performing
This episode is about trusting your timing, embracing new chapters, and asking yourself: Is this smart for me?
Aisyah's story is proof that it's never "too late" to chase a dream — and that high performance can evolve with you.
***
 New episodes of the Tough Girl Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM (UK time)! Make sure to subscribe so you never miss the inspiring journeys and incredible stories of tough women pushing boundaries.
 Do you want to support the Tough Girl Mission to increase the amount of female role models in the media in the world of adventure and physical challenges? Support via Patreon! Join me in making a difference by signing up here: www.patreon.com/toughgirlpodcast.
 Your support makes a difference.  Thank you x
***
Show notes
Who is Aisyah
Being based in Boston, USA
Originally from Singapore 
Working as a HYDROW Athlete 
Working as a Mental Performance Coach
3HP Athlete Coaching 
2x Olympic rower in the single sculll
Competing at the 2016 and 2024 Olympics 
Learning to live a normal life outside of sports 
Growing up in Singapore with 4 brothers
3 older brothers and 1 younger brother
Being sporty and learning to be competitive 
Living a simple life and being raised by her mum after her parents got divorced
Not knowing where her mindset comes from
Wanting to be the best version of herself 
Not being surrounded by high performance individuals 
Starting rowing, Singapore not having much of a rowing culture 
Getting scouted at her secondary school during an indoor rowing competition 
Singapore Rowing Association
The importance of hight in rowing 
5'8 (173cm)and being tall for an Asian Woman 
Learning how to row on land with the ergo 
The challenges and continuing to show u to training 
Not enjoying it at first
Getting out on the water and spending more time in the water than on the water
The lack of opportunities in Singapore
Why the Olympics was not on her radar 
Wanting to be the best at it and wanting to represent Singapore 
Team sport  (Netball) V individual endeavours (Rower)
The South East Asia Games
Rowing in a single scull
Winning gold in 2013 and beating a 2x Olympian 
Quitting her job and training full time in Australian 
When the seed got planted about going to the Olympics
Deciding to go and train over in Sydney, Australia 
Building confidence and winning competitions 
Qualifying for the 2016 Olympics - the Asian Qualification Criteria for that cycle 
16 countries competing for 7 spots
Dealing with the pressure of going to the Olympics and being able to perform at the highest level 
The weight of expectation and not being able to perform 
Working with the mental skills coach Hansen Bay
The power of letting go of expectations, facing the fear, how losing can tie into identity, building confidence and resilience
The practical side of mental preparation 
Communication and trust 
Learning how to be vulnerable 
Why it took more than 1 session 
Taking an 8 year gap and what happened 
Trying to retire from sports and wanting to focus on her career
2018 and deciding to do some soul searching and heading to the USA to work as a rowing coach in Boston
Meeting her current husband
Getting into marathon running and thinking about trying out for the Paris Olympics
2023 - visiting Paris
Thinking she was too old to row in the Olympics in her 30s
Having 6 months to qualify for the Paris Olympics 
Qualifying in April 2024 and getting the last spot available 
The Paris Olympics and what it was like
Fracturing her ribs a month before the games
Having her family there to support her 
Handing the pressure the 2nd time around
Motivation during training
Keeping her eye on the prize
Moving her body
Being in a different chapter in her life
Being a HYROW Athlete and how it works
Advice for women who want to get into rowing
Why it's a lifelong sport
How to connect and follow along with Ariesyah
3Hs - Happy, Healthy and High Performing 
Training for a marathon in 2026 and finding out she's pregnant!
Fitness and health during pregnancy
Top tips and advice to listen to your body
Is this smart for me?
Think of the bigger picture 
 
Social Media
Website: 3hpathlete.com 
Instagram: 
@ariesyah
@3hpathlete