I’m Dani and I believe that in this short, little life we get on earth, we might as well go all in; we’re here to have fun, do the things we love and should challenge ourselves to achieve the things we dream of.

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Mastering hard things and pushing myself to new heights genuinely fills me with excitement and energy. It’s what drives me forward in life.​ As a sporty, energetic kid, I delved into all sorts, from athletics, tennis and horse riding to rollerblading, cycling and dance. Movement made me happy, and I eventually went on to pursue a successful career as a dancer for over 15 years.

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Fast forward to 2020 when covid hit and I realised I was a shadow of my former self. Dance no longer brought me joy; I was overworked, drained, in a pretty unhappy place and I knew this was my opportunity for change. I got qualified as a personal trainer and “Awesome Bodies” was born.

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I’d been training since the age of 16 and loved it, so the shift to working in the fitness industry was a very natural progression for me. Saying that, my fitness journey hasn’t been a smooth one. As a teenager, I suddenly became very aware of my body and how I didn’t look like the skinny girls in all the magazines that I used to buy. Back then, having a thigh gap was glorified; 1200 kcal diets to help you lose weight fast were constantly advertised; celebrities with cellulite or belly rolls were publicly shamed in newspapers. It was an environment that triggered an extremely toxic and dangerous relationship I was to have with my body.

I tried every fad diet out there in an attempt to get smaller. I constantly over-exercised as I feared that if I didn’t do enough, I’d get fat. I’d restrict my food portions but then eat crazy amounts in secret when my will power would inevitably run out, leading me to develop full blown binge eating disorder. In my late 20’s, I was over-exercising and restricting calories so much, that my periods stopped for a while. I was miserable, tired, unwell and all because of the idea that I had to have the “perfect body” otherwise I would never be good enough.
 

Finally, I got to breaking point where I realised I just couldn’t keep going on like this. Why the hell was I putting myself through this misery just to look like some Instagram fitness influencer or magazine model, who I knew had probably been photoshopped anyway?!

I started reading various books, took some courses on mindful nutrition and intuitive eating and I got some professional help to deal with binge eating. I discovered calisthenics and started trying to learn some basic bodyweight skills like pull ups and dips rather than simply lifting dumbbells in a gym to look good. I started setting myself new challenges like running a half marathon and completing the Spartan Trifecta (obstacle course races). I tried skateboarding. I bought a jump rope and started skipping. I started hiking more. Slowly but surely, something in me started to shift.
 

Fast forward to today and this is why I created Awesome Bodies – Because I know there are so many of you out there going through what I did, who have distorted ideas about what a “healthy body” should look like and who are torturing yourselves because you feel you should be smaller & skinnier. No more of this. We need to change this narrative.
 

These days, I’m fully engrossed in my calisthenics journey. I no longer train because I want to look a certain way and instead, I’m focused on building strength and unlocking new skills. I have far more interesting goals like perfecting my muscle ups or achieving a tuck planche rather than perfecting the shape of my butt 🙄. I feel motivated & excited again, and I genuinely look at my body and feel appreciation for what it can do.

Have I achieved my “perfect body” image? Of course not. Do I care? Nope. I’m healthy, I’m strong, I’m fit and I’m now able to do things that at one time seemed impossible for me! In my opinion, I’m winning.  
 

If you choose to train with me, I hope to help you get to the point where you feel like you’re winning too. Your body is awesome, YOU are awesome and there are so many exciting and wonderful things waiting for you to experience, enjoy and achieve. Let’s go!