Rosa Marks

I always wanted to be a personal trainer, but mum warned me I wouldn’t make enough to survive. So, after a long university degree and a further 2 years living in London, the itch only got stronger. And now here we are again. Although, the journey between now and then hasn’t felt like time wasted, in fact it feels somewhat meant to be…

I moved to Dunedin for university, which meant I stopped training and competing in Surf Life Saving. Something I trained hard for most days for over 5 years. The accountability around fitness was now in my own hands, which started my individual training journey.

Along with my body naturally evolving, the uni lifestyle and lack of knowledge around training in a gym, caused my body to change. These changes led me down a path of negative self-image and an unhealthy relationship with food and exercise. My focus shifted from performance to physique, and the enjoyment of training was overshadowed by obsessive thoughts and behaviours around food and exercise, that I felt I would never escape.

However, that wasn’t the case. Through a lot of work on challenging my mindset and adopting a performance-driven approach to training, I was able to rebuild a very positive relationship with myself, unlearn the toxic behaviours and create a confident and secure version of myself. I’m now friends with the once-nasty voice in my head. I’m in tune with my body, I have a healthy balance and the only weight I focus on, is the one I’m lifting.

So, after a drawn out start to the Personal Training life, I now know my purpose is to help other people shift their focus and create a mindset that works with them and not against them, building confidence that will transfer to all other areas of their lives. I will help you reach whatever goal it is you have in mind, ensuring you have the same life changing experience I had through training. Ultimately, making you a stronger human inside and out.