Episode Transcript
[00:00:13] Speaker A: You're listening to the Brand Alchemy Podcast with your hosts Jared Asher and Jarrod Brake, where we uncover the stories and truths of real entrepreneurs and their journeys of growth and brand transformation. For more information, go to www.timelesscreative.com.au/boardroom
Hi guys, how you going? Welcome to the Brand Alchemy Podcast where we uncover the stories of entrepreneurs who transformed their vision into reality. I'm Jared and this is my co host, Jared Brake.
[00:00:50] Speaker B: Jared here.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: Thanks for joining us. I just want to welcome you also here to the Brand Alchemy Podcast. Each week we share breakthrough moments, hard won victories and strategic insights that turn ambitious founders into market leaders. Okay, let's get into the podcast. We have a very special guest. This is our first guest for the show. We'll welcome her and we're excited that she's the first. We've had a little introduction here before and got to know each other a little bit. But Kelly, great to have you here.
[00:01:17] Speaker B: Good to be here. Thanks for having me.
[00:01:20] Speaker A: It's so good that we finally get the chance to launch this even though we're still in pre production. It's great to have you here and thanks for, for joining us today.
[00:01:29] Speaker B: Absolutely. It's my absolute pleasure.
[00:01:32] Speaker A: So for you guys that are listening right now, just a little bit of an introduction to who Kelly is and what her background is and where she's been. So Kelly is a certified pt. She's a sports nutritionist and her whole objective is to help women achieve sustainable transformations in their health and wellness and fitness. She specialises in creating master plans, workout plans, balance nutrition strategies that fit into modern day real life.
With a focus on empowerment, strength and progress over perfection. Kelly has built a community where women can thrive at every stage of their journey. And she's known from what I've also seen as well, she's compassionate as a coach and she's very practical, which makes her, I think, unique in the market today. So she's committed to helping women feel strong and confident, healthy. So, Kelly, without further ado, welcome to. Welcome to this podcast. Thank you for being here.
[00:02:26] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:02:28] Speaker A: Awesome. So a bit about yourself, Kelly, Tell us a little bit about your journey. Like how did this all begin? Give us a bit of backdrop.
[00:02:36] Speaker B: Yeah, so it's been a big journey.
So I like to preface it with the fact that it's not an overnight situation.
It did happen over a period of time because I think that a lot of people see like my before and afters and think that, you know, it's like a quick success situation and, and the Reality is, is it's never, never like that. Even overnight successes weren't really overnight.
And so I started, like, I had my kids really young. My first two, I had ten and a half months apart. So I was eighteen and nineteen when I had those. My first two kids, so boy and a girl. And I guess because I had them so young, I kind of never really knew my own identity and things like that. And when you're a mom, you kind of lose yourself to having kids and being a mom. And like, they're, I guess, you know, you're trying to keep human beings alive, right? So they're your primary focus. And. And that's what I did. So for a majority of my life, when I was, I guess, trying to discover who. Like that. Your discovery is, right? As an adult, is trying to work out who you are as a person. I didn't really have those. I went through two really bad relationships. And then my now husband and I also have a child. So that was. I had him at 26. So I've got three kids in total.
And basically through my early years, from the age of 18 of having my first kid to the age of about 34, I. Yo, yo dieted. I did all of the fun diets. I did Atkins. I tried intermittent fasting. I tried the Mediterranean diet. I've done every diet you can possibly think of. I did shakes there for a while.
And each time, you know, I committed to a diet, I'd lose a heap of weight, and then I'd put it all back on afterwards, plus some. And this continued throughout those years. So that's kind of where my story starts, is we went on a holiday and I was sitting at this on the side of a hill trying to. Trying to snowboard. So I'd never seen the snow before. So I'm like, you know, 33, seeing snow for the first time. It's supposed to be this magical experience for me. And I'm on the side of the hill and I'm breaking out because I can't grab the bottom of the board. I can't, you know, sit up properly or do anything because I was overweight and too heavy. And so for that, for me, that was that turning point for me where I realized that I. I need to do something better. And so I came home and I joined the gym myself and I started doing my own exercise programs, and I started eating well in inverted commas.
And I say that because I feel like a lot of people fall in this category.
So I'd lost a couple of kilos by myself. And then I kind of plateaued, which, again, I feel like a lot of people can relate to.
So I've kind of plateaued. And I said to my husband, look, I don't, obviously don't know what I'm doing. I've done this so many times. I've lost weight. I keep putting it back on.
I obviously don't know what I'm doing. I think I want to hire a pt. So I've never had a PT before. So I did a good stalk at the gym.
You know how they have the plaques up at the gym and they've got, you know, all the pts on there? Yeah, I had a good stalking. And my PT in particular that I ended up going with, I saw that a lot of his people who he trained would lose weight, but they kept it off. And for me, that was like, that was. That key piece for me is I really, really wanted to not have to keep dieting for the rest of my life. I didn't want to have to keep going up and down. I didn't want to have to keep, you know, cutting all the foods out and all of the things like that. So I.
I reached out to him and I said, hey, look, I'm interested in.
I'm interested in doing some PT sessions.
I don't care so much about my weight anymore. I just want to look like I go to the gym four days a week.
And he said to me, okay, we can do that.
So, long story short, from here, I basically lost. I lost it my first, like, you know, 10 kilos with him. And I plateaued again. And I said to him, I'm like, I just feel like I'm not, like, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm just kind of floating about. I'm not really aiming for anything anymore. Like, I feel pretty fit, but I feel like I've got more in me. And he said to me, why don't you try and do the Transformation show?
So the Transformation show is connected to a bodybuilding federation.
And I said to him, I'm like, oh, I don't know about bodybuilding. He's like, no, no, the transformation show, it just is a chance for you to, you know, have something to aim for, jump up on the stage, show off what you've. What you've achieved and, and help potentially attract other people, or let everyone know your story so that you can help other people. And I said, oh, I like the idea of that. Let's do that.
So I spent some time and I Did the transformation show and from there that's how I accidentally became a bodybuilder.
[00:08:11] Speaker A: Wow. Wow.
[00:08:13] Speaker B: Yeah. So I did the transformation show and I got off the stage. That was 2019. I did the transformation show and I hit my weight. My goal weight was 60 kilos for that and I hit 61 kilos. So I didn't quite make it, but like I was there, right?
[00:08:31] Speaker A: Absolutely, yeah.
[00:08:32] Speaker B: I got off the stage. So I've gone from 80, 61 kilos. So I mean that's, you know, not, you know, 19 kilo loss is pretty significant.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: Absolutely, absolutely.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: I got up on the stage and I loved it so much. I got off the stage and I said to him, right, let's do this. I want to actually do a bodybuilding show.
[00:08:51] Speaker A: Oh, wow.
[00:08:52] Speaker B: Yeah. So he's like, okay, I think that's a great idea, let's do it.
I went straight into what they would call like an off season or a building season or a bulk season, I guess most people call it.
And I aimed, was aiming for season A, which for those of you who don't know, bodybuilding is the start of the year. So around March, April of 2020. So we all know what happened in 2020.
[00:09:19] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:20] Speaker B: So three weeks out from me supposing to stand on the stage for the very first time. So dieted down, I'd done all the things that associated with bodybu. Three weeks out from stage, they say, sorry, guys, we're not holding the show, we can't. So we got pulled.
I cried for a really long time because that was, that was a lot of hard work that I guess at the time felt wasteful.
[00:09:42] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:09:44] Speaker B: And then I put my big girl pants back on and went, okay, well, that's out of my control. I can't do anything about it. We'll go for the next season. So we reverse dieted me out is what we call it. So we've got my calories nice and high without kind of gaining too much, much fat.
And we went in for season B of 2020, which is the September shows.
So the very first time I competed was in September 2020 as a proper bodybuilder. And I entered a division called the sports division.
I took away quite a few, like, trophies and stuff from that.
Anyway, in this time of doing this bodybuilding, I also went, you know what? Because my lot, I'm not making my life hard being a bodybuilder. I think I'm also going to quit my job and become a personal trainer and a sports nutritionist.
[00:10:38] Speaker A: Fantastic.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: So I launched My business right smack bang in the middle of 2020 whilst I was in prep, because there's no other way to do things than the hard way for me.
[00:10:50] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:10:51] Speaker B: And yeah, I opened up my personal training business which went absolutely crazy because I had been sharing my journey the whole time. My, my transformation, my, like my exercise, my routine, all of those bits and pieces. I had so many people who actually wanted to train with me but obviously I wasn't a trainer at the time so they kind of were just, you know, picking my brain for bits and pieces.
And then when I did become a trainer, I became a, I became quite popular quite fast. And so because of that it allowed me to kind of, yeah, quit my, my full time job and become a full time trainer and nutritionist.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Fantastic.
[00:11:34] Speaker B: Yeah. So. And the rest they might say is history. So I've done a few different seasons since then. I've competed a few different times. I do quite well. I am now quite a few divisions above that sports division because I just kept getting told I didn't quite fit where I was in the divisions that I was going in. And so 2024 rocks around and I say to my coach, right, this is it. We're in the highest division that I want to ever get to as a female bodybuilder. I don't want to, I don't want to be a bodybuilder, but figures the closest I want to get to that.
And I said I'm going all out, let's go to the world titles. So I got to travel over to Boston in the USA.
[00:12:18] Speaker A: Fantastic.
[00:12:19] Speaker B: At the end of 2024 and I stepped out on the world stage and came number three in the world for F. So geez. Yeah, so I went from being some average 34 year old mum to now a number three in the world bodybuilder.
[00:12:39] Speaker A: That's fantastic.
[00:12:40] Speaker B: That's, that's so good.
[00:12:41] Speaker A: Kelly, I'm wondering, so what would you say, what strategy have actually kind of moved the needle for you, like within growing your like business and growth, would you say?
[00:12:51] Speaker B: Yeah, so I think that obviously my passion is what drives me and what makes me relatable and I live the way that I train people. So I like, I always say to my clients, I'll never give you burpees because I'd never do them myself. So I think my authenticity and the fact that I've been there, done that kind of really helps my brand and I'm a really big believer in being authentically myself. So I show up as myself on social media and in person they're the same person, which I've had comments about. So I think that's kind of a big brand building situation as well.
[00:13:38] Speaker A: Yeah, it's fascinating. You've got a really good story, Kelly. And what I really took away from just hearing that firsthand because I obviously have read your bio and read a bit about you and so is Jared, obviously. The thing I really took around, away from what you were talking about today is what you went through, you know, as a mother. Because I, I can relate to that. I mean, I've seen mothers and I've been with an ex wife and I can see the pain and everything that they go through and I just hats off to you in, in regards to that.
And you know, for you to, in 2020, start that journey during probably the toughest time in history, you know, like, that's, that's a, that's a testament, that's a real testament. So, yeah, first I just want to acknowledge you for that because I think it's very valuable for, for, for yourself, but also the people listening to this and even myself and others I'm sure would get a lot of, you know, you know, support to you and I think that's a hugely valuable thing. So well done.
I have a question for you in regards to, you know, going back to that challenging time. Like, I know it was a challenging time, but what was the, the stuff that was keeping up at night, all that really hard, tough stuff. What, how did you deal with that? Like, what was going through your head? What was some of the, the thoughts, the feelings and you're like, all right, what did you do to get through that?
[00:14:55] Speaker B: Yeah, so I guess, like, I guess my job and my passion or and my sport kind of all go hand in hand. So for me, I'm really passionate as well. Like my mums is my biggest thing because I am a mum and I've experienced that. And my secondary kind of passion is I feel like business owners, entrepreneurs, if you look at all the really highly successful entrepreneurs in the world, they're all quite fit and healthy. And so I think that one of the biggest things that helped me get through all those hard times, all the times where I was doubting myself, I was doubting my abilities, I didn't know if it was the right thing I should be doing or not. I guess that it was always grounding me because I, I was in that phase of going to the gym all the time. So the gym for me is like this safe space, the, you know, the mental dump, the Like, I have that time for myself to process things properly. It gives me time to really analyze things in my own head because I'm spending the time with myself by myself. So, yes, I'm obviously lifting weights, but lifting weights creates all of those, you know, endorphins and things like that, and that the flow of that comes with all of those. I can have a lot of my really good entrepreneurial ideas through those weight sessions.
And then secondary to that, obviously, my nutrition is on point as well. And I think that a big thing that people take for granted is the amount that your nutrition helps your mindset.
There's a reason why, you know, people get starved as a form of torture, because it literally is really bad for your brain and it's bad for your mental health and things like that. So that's why people break in those situations. And so I think that because I had both my training and my nutrition really nailed down because I was in that bodybuilding space and I. I didn't have a choice.
I. I kind of managed through those hard times quite easily because I had those coping mechanisms already in play accidentally.
[00:17:20] Speaker A: Yeah.
Awesome.
You're there, Kelly.
[00:17:25] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:17:26] Speaker A: Okay. Yeah, Cool. Cool. Yeah, absolutely. Pardon me. Yeah, some valuable insights, and I think, you know, as a. As a business owner and as an entrepreneur, I fully can relate. You know, being fit and healthy is definitely, definitely an essential thing, isn't it? Because it's not just about the physical, it's also about the mental and. And the mentality of running a business and taking care of your personal life while you're running a business or multiple businesses is not an easy feat for anyone, as we all know.
[00:17:57] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:17:58] Speaker A: Families to take care of. We've got mouths to feed. Like, there's a lot of hard work there. And so being mentally sound, how that actually works on a physical level, and that all ties in. It's all connected, isn't it, Kelly?
[00:18:11] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. 100%. I. I can't. I don't think I would be where I am today, in my business in particular, if I didn't do what I do as well.
And I think that for that reason, I. I also accidentally attract quite a few sole business traders, so I train quite a few people who own their own business or who are successful in, like, their positions within their businesses, because I think that I kind of. I am very passionate about that side of things, about putting yourself first, because if you're the best version of yourself, then that's what you get to give the world.
And I don't think that if you're not the best version of yourself at the moment, it's hard to put it into your business the way that you want to. And I think that that's why some people find it quite hard sometimes. It's because they haven't nailed down that personal side of it and that mental capacity side of it to be able to manage it in a really, really good manner.
[00:19:19] Speaker A: I fully can relate to everything you're saying before, before the call, you know, we were just. Before this interview, the show, we were talking to you, weren't we? We said that. Where myself and Jared are on a bit of a personal journey, health wise. Because I think, you know, we've been running a business for. For many years and we've had highs and lows like any business owner does. But like you, I've got three kids and, you know, managing and balancing, I think is the hardest thing for me. And I think, you know, knowing that you've got a lot of different things to take care of you sort of sometimes naturally and probably unconsciously let your health slip a little bit.
[00:19:55] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:19:55] Speaker A: And I think, you know, and I found myself going to myself, oh, geez. I really need to like, sort this side of my life out. And not that I'm like crazy overweight or anything like that, but I know that you can always twist and tweak how you operate physically and. And that's what I've been working on over the last month or so is really this year in 2025, just doubling down and getting super fit and healthy again. And even over the last three weeks, I've. I've been off the booze, I haven't had any alcohol whatsoever. Yeah, not to say that.
[00:20:25] Speaker B: How do you feel?
[00:20:26] Speaker A: Oh, amazing. Like, amazing. My head's clear. I feel a lot mentally able, emotionally sound, physically more energetic. So I think it all comes together, doesn't it?
[00:20:38] Speaker B: So it absolutely does.
[00:20:40] Speaker A: Very, very powerful. So. So, Kelly, when it comes to your business, do you want to. Do you want to tell us a little bit more about your business so the listeners here today can understand obviously where to find you, how they can connect with you and what it is you actually do?
[00:20:57] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. So I am. I've never really had to advertise face to face coaching. I don' do less of that now because it's a lot easier for me to do online coaching. I can get a lot, like, I can help a lot more people via online coaching than I can face to face.
So I do online coaching, which includes training programs, nutrition check Ins all of the things I am properly qualified. So there are definitely cowboy pts, as we like to call them out there, who give out nutrition plans who don't actually have qualifications to do so.
But one of my biggest passions, like I said to you, is obviously helping people understand their nutrition. And when I say understand their nutrition, what I mean is that I think that it's very, the Internet has a lot to answer for when it comes to this, but some of the things that are labeled healthy are not. So I've recently, I actually recently did a reel up about someone who posted a high protein meal and when I actually broke down the macronutrients in that meal, protein was the lowest macronutrient value in that meal. So I, I, I'm, I'm here to mess people up. When it comes to the health and fitness industry, there's a, there's a lot of lies out there because it gets likes, there's a lot of complex things that are made to feel complex that are not.
And so I'm here to kind of educate people so that they know how to eat, they know how to exercise for their life. So I feel like there's a lot of challenges out there. And while I do run challenges, it's to get people in so I can educate them.
So education is my prime focus, is to educate people enough to be able to look after themselves for the rest of their lives. So I don't want you to come to me and lose 20 kilos and then rely on me to help you keep those 20 kilos off. It's a really crappy business plan. But I'm trying to set people up to not need me anymore. That's my biggest goal.
[00:23:14] Speaker A: That's good.
[00:23:15] Speaker B: That's really, I just, I just want, I, I want people to feel the way I do in my life. I want people to know that you can wake up in the morning like I'm 42 now and I wake up in the morning better than I ever have in my entire 20s or 30s.
I wake up a different kind of sore. It's gym sore. And I'd much rather be gym sore than old sore. Yeah. But also I want people to understand, like, exercise isn't there to diet. It's there because it's good for your body. There are so many internal benefits to your health and fitness than you see on the outside. And everyone's so obsessed with what they look like on the outside. And we should be more obsessed about what we look like on the inside because at the end of the day, you know, I want to be that 70 year old that can get up off the toilet by herself. I don't want. It freaks me out to think that someone's going to have to help me up off the toilet. And so I train to be that person who can, you know, get on and off the toilet by themselves and not, not be in nappies when I'm older.
[00:24:19] Speaker A: That's, that's fantastic. So what I'm hearing, and correct me if I'm wrong here, is you run online coaching programs for people. That's your, your area of expertise and it's a very educational process and you help them essentially in the end be able to not have you anymore.
[00:24:34] Speaker B: Yeah, correct. Terrible business structure. Terrible.
[00:24:37] Speaker A: I tell you, business model for, for a very short period of time, Kelly.
[00:24:44] Speaker B: No, honestly, I just, if I could do, did a job for free, I would.
[00:24:47] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's, that's, that's really, really amazing. And I mean, there's obviously a lot of PTs out there, isn't there? And for me, I think that's a good sort of USP for, for, for your customers to understand what makes you different is because you really are in it with them and you're in the trenches and you help them get out of the trenches. And I think that's the value as, as a, as a selling proposition to your, to your customers. So well done.
[00:25:11] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you.
[00:25:13] Speaker A: Great. All right, so have you got like a link you want to share with the people that we can give to them after we can share that out?
[00:25:21] Speaker B: Yeah, of course. So I've got, I guess the two best places to get me is my website, which is just Kelly greenslade.com and then my Instagram is probably where I post like quite a lot of my content. And that is at Kelly Underscore Greenslade.
[00:25:42] Speaker A: Fantastic. Well, we'll share that link with everyone. So everyone's got access to that and your Instagram feed there too. To Kelly.
So thank you so much for being here today again. It's been awesome to hear your story and for everyone that's out there listening right now, thank you for being here on our first show. This is a work in progress for us and we hope you're getting a lot of value out of hearing Kelly's story. And I'm sure by listening to where she's come from and where she is now, there's some magic there for, for you guys. And if you feel you can, she can benefit you and your health journey and help you become more fit and healthy for for retirement, then reach out to Kelly. I'm sure she'll be able to help you.
[00:26:20] Speaker B: Great. Thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure.
[00:26:23] Speaker A: Excellent. Thank you, Kelly.
And for the listeners here today. As a as a final note, if you feel that you would like to discuss your get more brand visibility and talk about how we can help you communicate your brand better and help you optimize your SEO and your website, then we're offering our exclusive boardroom strategy meetings. We do them weekly. If that's of insight to you and you would like to have a session with us, we're happy to help. All you got to do is go to timeless creative.com boardroom. Again, thank you for being here and we shall see you all next time. Thank you everyone.
You've been listening to the Brand Alchemy podcast with your hosts Jared Asher and Jarrod Brake. For more information or to request your spot as a guest speaker, go to www.timelesscreative.com.
