I am a writer, podcast host, APPI Mat and Reformer Pilates instructor, crazy cat lady, travel fanatic and founder of lifestyle and wellness platform - ELEVEN in partnership with my best friend and mother.
My love of travel & movement has been a consistent theme throughout my life
Growing up in England and moving to Australia at the age of 8, I have been fortunate enough to experience and see lots of the world and meet so many incredible people along the way. Of which led me to complete a Bachelor of International Studies (basically politics but with a little more culture and class) in 2019 and simply loved learning about the interconnectedness of history, language, people, beliefs and culture on the world in which we live.
However, my eagerness to experience more and see the world was soon tainted by that little thing called COVID-19. Prior to lockdown I had dabbled in the intriguing practice of reformer Pilates and started attending my local yoga and Pilates studio.
I used to dance a lot as a child (more just on the furniture and to a forced family audience), but other than that, I was never the ‘sporty kid’.
But like most people during lockdown, I needed a distraction. Pilates it was.
I noticed how moving my body daily and in a way that aligned with rhythm and music, made me feel good and I wanted help others to experience this too! However, i’m sure many Gen Z’s can relate but the internet can be a toxic place. Combined with a global pandemic and a new found obsession with ‘fitness’ - things got a bit OTT..
My watch ‘move ring’ started to dictate my mood, my Instagram feed was flooded with ‘low calorie options’ and carbs became my worst enemy. I started to move for all the WRONG reasons. I was craving control in a world where everything was out of our hands. Things no longer felt good.
But enough was enough and I decided I needed to get the fk out of here, not only see the world but find the girl who used to dance on the furniture again.
Here I am today, having solo backpacked across Southeast Asia, travelled through Europe multiple times, moved back to the UK, taught Pilates around the world—from resorts in Greece to managing studios in London. I developed a lil idea and returned to Australia to establish my own feel-good platform to inspire and encourage others that there is so much more out there than you realise.
You just need to be brave enough to find it.
MOVEMENT. MADE GOOD. MADE GLOBAL.
In February of 2023, I quit my job, packed my things and booked a one way ticket to Thailand. This is what came next…
PART 1
Quit my job and moved back home
Battled the butterflies and set off to Asia
Bought a return ticket to Bangkok, hoping I wouldn't need it
Spent 6 weeks of a fever dream across South Thailand
Learnt to ride a scooter
Got a tattoo
Ate my body weight in noodles
Tried every beer under the sun
Endured long and chaotic buses crammed with chickens and cargo
Drank enough coffee to keep me awake for three months
Explored Malaysia
Missed 1 flight (on purpose)
Spontaneously flew to Vietnam
Quad Biked the sand dunes of Mui Ne for the second time
Ventured through Laos
Went back to Vietnam
Saw my Mum
Completed the Ha Giang Loop
Flew back to Thailand
Drove 726 turns to Pai
Worked in a hostel with the biggest legends ever
Became resident DJ and danced on way too many tables
PART 2
Endured a 32 hour journey via China and slept 12 hours on the airport floor just to save £200
Been sleep deprived and so far beyond exhausted
Arrived in England
Saw my parents and met 2 of my cousins for the first time
Reunited with family 16 years on
Moved to London and lived with the best group of Aussie gals
Saw one of my best friends get married
Worked in a fancy department store
Painfully adjusted to London's extortionate prices
Been asked over 100 times “why on earth would you leave Australia?”
PART 4
Ventured back to England to meet my lil bro
Set off on a 3 week trip across Europe
Entered my 27th country to date
Caught endless trains
Imagined a white Christmas and indulged in far too many waffles
PART 3
Continued my endless summer by…
Celebrating my 23rd birthday in Mallorca
Travelling to Tenerife and exploring the Canary Island
And working as a fitness instructor at a luxury resort in Greece.
PART 5
With the help of my Dad, I snuck home to Aus to surprise my Mum
Finally had a new selection of clothes to choose from
Slept in a bed for longer than 3 nights
Day drank with my best mates
Celebrated and smiled with my loved ones for Christmas.
PART 6 (2024)
Headed back to the freezing cold UK
Managed and co-opened Pilates Studio
Aprés’d my ass off in Val D'Isere
Tried my first Guinness in Dublin
Watched the F1 yacht side in Monaco harbour
Escaped to a Mediterranean Island in Croatia
Flew back to Australia to be in the arms of my loved ones
Started a podcast and launched ELEVEN
Ran my first half marathon
And brought in the new year pool side in Bali with team Gower.
It was the best thing I ever did.
If there's one thing solo travelling has taught me, it is that you have to put yourself out there.
You have to challenge yourself to step out of your comfort zone in a hundred different ways. Socially, physically and emotionally. You have no choice but to start a conversation, ask for help, smile at a stranger and make your own decisions. Your own decision to choose what version of yourself you want to present in your new environment and surroundings.
But as a backpacker on a budget, moving from country to city, changing hostels and organising transport literally every single day - you just have to do your best. Find what's good enough for you in your current situation and surroundings.
I started to realise after a few weeks of disjointed sleep, long and compact bus rides, days by the beach and a few too many Changs… that I needed movement to make me feel good. I craved that natural dose of dopamine that made me perk up and feel fresh, see clearer and be happier. It became less about wanting to maintain a certain shape, burn off the empty calories or punish myself for the night before and more about what kind of version of myself I wanted to present to the people around me. Who I wanted to be as a human.
I needed to rediscover what felt good. What made me a better version of me? What made me sparkle?
I am fortunate enough to be in the most unique and diverse locations of the world. A cultural combustion of colours and for those who haven't been a dirty backpacker, we all know that travelling is hard on the body. Long flights, dreaded jetlag, uncomfortable beds, sleepless nights, raging bellies, and violent hangovers is just the beginning. And for me, the added craziness of being crammed into a bus of at least 25 people, 30 cargo boxes of god knows what and the occasional dozen of chickens on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis - it’s no wonder my body craved more.
Movement had to come back to the basics..
Sometimes the sun was too much, sometimes it wasn't safe to walk the streets and sometimes I just couldn't be arsed getting changed. So I rediscovered my old friend… Pilates. Having trained as an instructor and growing up in and out of dance studios. My body likes to bend; it likes to flow; it likes to move and it likes to groove. A good 30 minute power stretch in a quiet corner of the hostel room or a wide open park gives me the pep of DOP to feel like me again.
Travel is movement.
And i's safe to say I was moving.
But as the speed of my geographical movement started to slow down, i started to realise that…
From dancing on the furniture, to pumping iron in the gym, to a soothing dip in the ocean. It's time to embrace the liberating truth that movement just has to feel good.
I'm striving to create a digital diary that keeps you moving and grooving from anywhere in the world. From exploring high-tech gyms, boutique pilates studios, feel good flows or destination explorations, this is your global guide to movement, made good, made global.
Whether you're a seasoned traveller, gym junkie or just keep telling yourself how you ‘really must stretch more’, I call on men and women around the world to discover their daily dose of dopamine from anywhere in the world.
What makes you puff your chest out a little more or give you that little extra skip in your step. What makes you feel a little taller? What makes you sing a little louder?
Together, we can turn any holiday escape, global adventure or daily routine into a feel good experience.
Let’s get grooving!
Eve x
Let’s Collaborate!
eve@lifestyleleven.com
+61 430 673 804
Geelong, VIC
Australia, 3216
movement.made good.made global.
movement.made good.made global.
