GYM GIRLS LOCKER ROOM - Sandhya Sivakanthan (@sandsxfitness) on Successfully Becoming a Morning Person, Balancing Student Life and Confronting Cultural Resistance

Episode Date: January 14, 2025

S2EP6 - Welcoming SANDHYA SIVAKANTHAN (@sandsxfitness) to the Gym Girls Locker Room! Sandhya is the QUEEN of the 5AM slay and shared all about what she has learnt about balancing fitness, content creation and being a full-time student, from meal prep to the importance of structure, she knows what it takes to find discipline and balance. We also discussed how she has dealt with her changing relationship with her body, navigating unwanted family expectations and overcoming fear in her self-discovery journey. We hope you enjoy and remember to tune in every Tuesday for a new episode. 💘 join the GGLR community: INSTA - https://www.instagram.com/gymgirlslockerroom/ FACEBOOK COMMUNITY PAGE - https://bit.ly/3TqhxDG TIKTOK - https://www.tiktok.com/@gymgirlslockerroom/ 📲 find Syd on socials: INSTA - https://www.instagram.com/sydgrows/ TIKTOK - https://www.tiktok.com/@sydgrows/ Want to work with Gym Girls Locker Room? Email us: [e-mail] GYMSHARK - 10% off code: SYDNEY10 ESN - 10% off code: SYDNEY

Hello and welcome back to the Gym Girls Locker Room Podcast hosted by me, Sydney Cassidy. I hope you girls are well and enjoying your week. What are we? Halfway through January, how are we doing? How are we feeling? How are those New Year's resolutions coming up? I don't know about you guys but mine hasn't gone so well. She's not gone bad but she's just not gone super disciplined so um yeah but you know what we're feeling our way through it it's fine hoping that your new year's has gone a little bit more uh structured than mine has so far I don't know I've just been well first of all I know I mentioned to you guys I was on well and then I don't know I think I've just been just listening to my body

which maybe in itself is a new year's resolution anyway okay before we get into the episode I just want to say thank you so much for all of the love and support that we've received so so far on season two so lovely to see that you guys are like downloading the episodes for your flights and we're here with you on your dog walks and your car long car drives so yeah I just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing um we have an Instagram so a lot of the stories get reposted and shared over there so do let us know where you're listening so lovely to keep you guys company and lovely to see that you're enjoying who we're having as guests and what we're talking about um yeah and if you are enjoying the episodes please do give us a follow and it will make sure that you never miss one out and then also um remember to give us a review this is honestly like the best thing you guys can do to support us in terms of just like pushing the podcast out there and meaning that for season three we have even bigger even

more wonderful fantastic guests right I think I've done enough yapping I'm gonna introduce the episode because honestly I'm just like waffling at this point but um today we have on Sandhya who is one of the biggest UK female creators right now. She kind of, I don't know, I feel like she kind of just like exploded onto the scene. Also known as Sans X Fitness. If you don't know her, get to know, honestly. Her content shows the highs and lows of balancing the gym with being a full-time dental student

and how she has nailed the 5 a.m. slay. In this episode, we talk all about how she sets herself up for success every day from managing burnout to meal prepping to the importance of structure. Something I honestly feel like maybe I should listen to again and take note given what I've just spoken about. We also dive into the surreal experience of being a content creator and representing people that see themselves in her, overcoming cultural clashes and how she dealt with her own body image struggles throughout the years. This is such a great conversation for

anyone navigating real life and their love for fitness simultaneously. Sandhya is an incredible role model for those on their journey of self-discovery and finding balance. I hope you guys enjoy the episode. She's just so, what you see is what you get the episode she's just so what you see is what you get like she's just a really really lovely incredible woman and there's genuinely nothing that brings me more joy than seeing her win and so yeah I'm just really excited for you guys to listen to this episode I think that's enough from me have a lovely listen have a lovely week and on with the episode the question we love to ask the girls at the top of the episode is what is your split oh okay so mine's just a pretty generic

split it's glutes and hams then it's a full upper then it's quads then it's full upper again and then it's glutes so the main focus really is just glutes. And that's it. Wait, say it again. I just need to like process what you actually just said. So you do glutes and hands. That's the one day. Then it's upper, just a full upper body session. Then it's quads, demolish the quads.

Then it's upper again. And then it's glutes, just glutes. Wow. Okay. And then, so that's five days. Is that five days? days yeah and then if I randomly want to go on the weekend I'll just do some core cardio or something like that wow and are you doing specifically like weight lifting what does your workout usually contain is it it's just it is just weight lifting like for glutes and hams i do like hip thrusts rdls the classic hamstring curls good mornings love a good morning and upper it's like i've been doing

weighted push-ups recently that has been really getting me going and then pull-ups it's just some body weight stuff and then it's like a shoulder press latch raises the classics so yeah beautiful love that okay so I wanna I wanna I feel like for me the bit that like fascinates me the most about you is like the present and like where you are at in time right now um and how much like you offer to the world as a creator but I yeah so I wanna like speak I wanna dive into like the present day and like talk about that and then we'll go backwards because I think it's like to me that makes sense and cool and so I find it so fascinating and I've said this before so people definitely have heard me say about you that like you know you really take like maximizing your time to like the nth degree like this girl does it all like truly but you you also like you

give you give this like oh like oh I'm so chaotic like I don't know what I'm doing but really I feel like you do and you I feel like you run a tight ship that's like the vibe I get so um can you just explain to everyone what your week looks like okay Okay, so I'll say what a day looks like. Is I wake up at five. I'll go to the gym at six. It ends at like seven, 7.15. And then my mum will pick me up from the gym. She drops me to the station.

I go from that station to uni. And at that time, I edit a video. And then I get to uni. I have a nine to five clinic day and then I go to library I do my lectures which I am behind on by the way but that's not the point and then um I tube back home and on the tube I edit again usually just like to add the captions a little last bit and my mum picks me up from the station and then yeah I get home eat sleep and then we start the day again and that's honestly every day insane and so I guess are you going are you training that Monday to Friday as well

yeah and you're in university those you're studying full-time Monday to Friday yeah yeah wild so I probably said in that covered in the intro but yeah so you're a dental student which is like I feel like you know when I think back to being a student like that was that was like a full-time thing for me like I was going around telling everybody like guys you don't understand how intense my degree is let alone being like this like insane content creator and also trying to keep up with like training like I just I can't even fathom it um you have like a a phrase that you've kind of coined like the 5am slay can you explain to anyone that doesn't know what that is okay so the 5am slay so when

clinic started for us was in third year of university so now I'm in fourth year and I was like I don't know how the hell I'm gonna go to the gym because I used to go at like 10 in the morning and then just like the rest of my day was lectures whatever um and so September last year I started waking up at five and I just wore a different fit every day I stuck my phone on the table I took a picture I was like guys I'm up at 5am it's kind of my accountability thing and then I started calling it my 5am slays and now I post this on my Instagram stories every day it's quite wild how does um how does getting up early like how how is that for you is it is it tough or are you so used to it now that so when I started absolute horror horror like actual horror like to put the alarm on I would just snooze that like completely every single time

but I would get myself up and then rush out um and then over time it got easier but I will say every time I take a break from my 5am stays like during the holidays or whatever getting back into it is so difficult and especially during winter when it's dark outside you're telling me at 5am it's pitch black outside the last thing I'm going to do is want to wake up I'm like this is still night time um so it literally is just knowing in my head this is the only time I'm going to go to the gym because I hate going in the evening I absolutely hate it I don't like packed gyms it's just not for me I know it's safe I know it's fine to work in but it's just not for me and also I'm so tired after a nine to five clinic day the last thing I'm going to do is go oh my god yeah let's go hit some weights like the first thing I want to do is just eat and sleep um

so I think for me it's just like knowing this is one the only time I'm gonna want to go and two it's just like a discipline thing you just just gonna get up and go and that's like really routine that I don't really need the motivation it's just like it's a thing that's set into me yeah it's like a hard wired like part of your routine now what um that something you said that like I definitely like feel so much is like that transition from summertime where I feel unstoppable and like I'm just on my shit to winter time like we're not even really in oh are we in winter yet no right it's what is it now it's awesome we're getting to winter I still think I think it's winter yeah so. So we're definitely, I mean, like the nights are longer, darker, you know, there's barely

any daylight and like getting up feels torturous. Yeah. Do you notice that difference between the seasons a lot and like what really sets you up for like being able to like hit that 5am slay? I notice it a lot, but not in the morning I feel like even in summer it was still wasn't that bright in the morning so in the morning it was easier for me to get up but it's just more frustrating like I'm not as excited to go to the gym I'm not excited because it's just so dark outside and I hate the cold it makes me like so miserable I'm definitely someone that doesn't like the winter I can't stand it so when it's just so dark outside and I hate the cold it makes me like so miserable I'm definitely

someone that doesn't like the winter I can't stand it so when it's cold when it's dark when it's wet like my mood is just so low so the last thing I want to do is go but again like I said it's such a disciplined thing where I'm like the only time I'm gonna want to go is now and when I get there I genuinely do feel so much better and I love the people at the gym at that time um and so I think that's just the things I know I'm gonna like it when I'm there it's just this really gross hour that I have where I'm getting ready and going that is the hard part and do you have some things that like are the key to making that morning that gets up a little bit easier for example I know people talk about like laying out their clothes or do you have a bedtime that you know

like I have to be in bed by this time otherwise it's going to be even worse than it is yeah so always meal prep like always have my food ready for the day the night before and I always have my clothes ready the clothes is actually such a before, and I always have my clothes ready. The clothes is actually such a big thing because if you make your morning easier for yourself, you don't really have to switch your brain on at five. You just get up and everything's done for you. I think that is just the key, is having everything laid out. My keys are already in my bag.

My stuff's already in my bag. My laptop, everything I need for university. Everything is packed. My shoes are there ready for when I need to get downstairs, put them on and go, and it's just that, it's just having everything ready, so that you don't even need to think at five, everything is set up for you, and then the night before, I always try to get in bed by 10, sometimes I can't sleep, I'll be so real, but like most of the time, it's's 10 p.m let's just get into bed and then I turn on my do not disturb at like nine so that my friends like they can wait they can wait

for me to reply frankly um they can wait a day um because I need to just wind down but yeah that wind down is so important like I think people who really struggle with sleep as well it's like okay well are you on your phone before you go to bed do you have a good routine are you just allowing yourself to kind of really like kind of tone things down from the day like I definitely agree with you there um I remember hearing that like or maybe actually I was the one that thought of this I don't know can't claim it. But like, you know how you get that like rush hour in the evening? I feel like I've heard that kind of the morning is also the same, like you do get that morning rush.

What is it like at 5am? I have never really, or what time do you arrive there usually? Yeah, so I wake up at five and I get there for six. That's when my gym opens. I'm quite lucky because I go to a leisure centre for my gym. So it's actually not that busy at six. But I know when I've gone to pure gym at eight um it is packed it's like horrendous but the thing is everyone is so respectful like you just have to I think at those times just get a dumbbell do your own workout and then go but it is so busy and for me I just don't work

well in busy environments and that doesn't just go for the gym that goes for everywhere like I can't deal with it so for me going to my gym at 6am was a good idea because I knew it would be quiet because not as many people go early there I do I do remember like for that I honestly could count on my hands the amount of times I've gone in the morning. But I do remember that when I have gone, you know, very early, it is a really different energy. I remember saying this before to you that like, there really are two kinds of people that go to the gym, like there's the people that go to set them up for the day and they go before it's the first thing like conquered with the day and then there's the other person who's like I just need to shake off the day I need to

go and I need to just like de-stress and I feel like I'm definitely the latter um but I will say that like that morning that morning energy is really nice and I think it must feel so nice to have the endorphins flowing and also to feel like you've actually just like conquered something with your day before it's even really started like no yeah I literally feel like I've achieved everything before 7am it's great yeah I understand why those people that walk around you know that do that 5am grind do it because honestly I would be that I mean I'm already feeling inspired from this conversation to like start because I'm like damn I really would be unstoppable like we can twin we can twin the 5am stays I'll try I'll try oh god um I'd love to know do you do them fasted because that's something that really honestly puts me off like as somebody who has who has PCOS, a really important thing is to not really fast, certainly not to do exercise fasted and to make sure you have a really good like breakfast with like healthy fats in and that sort of thing.

So I think not that it's really the leading reason. I think I'm just using it as an excuse. But it is something that I think about of like, I'd love to train in the mornings, but I know for me personally, like I would have to eat something. Yeah. Can you do them fasted or do you eat something? I mean, you can do them fasted.

I remember when I first started, I did them fasted, but I didn't like it. So for me, like I need, the thing is I'm not hungry. I can't like at 5.30 in the morning, the last thing I want to do is eat. But I always have like something like, the thing is I'm not hungry. At 5.30 in the morning, the last thing I want to do is eat. But I always have like something like,

I don't know, three rice cakes with either Biscoff jam or something with some fruit and then go. And so it's not like a lot, but it's just enough. It's something, right? Yeah. Just so I can have like an hour and then I actually have a proper breakfast in the car

on my way to uni. Yeah. Insane. Wonderful. So in terms of like um this whole kind of I'm a dental student but I'm also like a gym rat and I'm also a creator like where did the content creation like come into place that's only been a recent thing right yeah so I started in February 2023 so that's February last year that I started um I can't lie when I started content creation I definitely was in more of a I don't know what I'm doing with my life energy um because I love dentistry i.e practicing it but the degree was getting to me if anyone does

like a dentistry degree a health category or any degree to be honest like there are points where the degree just gets to you um and the things I loved working out but I wanted something artistic something that I could like express myself in. So I just did content creation literally just for giggles. I was like, let's just do this for fun, for vibes. And then it just turned into something so much bigger than I thought it would be. And so now I really take it as, you know, part of what I do. Whereas before it was just like a side thing. Now it's like part of me. So did you set out to, to like was your process kind of thinking like oh I'm going to start content creating did you see it like that no I just thought it was

I want to make videos I I used to love making like birthday videos my family my mom my dad my sister I always made like birthday videos and I always used to make like compilations of things and when I was younger I used to see like iMovie and me and my friends would pretend to be news presenters and I'd edit videos like that and so I knew I loved that so I just wanted to do that again um but just like a bit more about like the gym and my just how fun it can be and it never was intended to be something professional be something you know where I was a content creator yeah you're just doing it for the love of it like yeah that was exactly the same as me mine was like mine wasn't so much about like creating well maybe it was actually I don't know mine started out kind of the same like I just really was into gym and I was exactly

the same I really I know what you're like because I don't know if side note are you a YouTube kid because like I I've grown up on YouTube like I love it that's like part of the reason for me wanting to really like dedicate myself to the YouTube more recently because I'm just like 11 year old me would love that like that would be so unreal but um what I was going to say about it is that like I always used to do the like filming on like photo booth in my room like hi guys this is my hall and like you know and it's so funny I'd love to be able to find the archives of that but I think it's so nice to be able to like pursue something that like actually younger you would have like dreamt of.

And it comes from like a really authentic place. I feel like people think content creation is really kind of like a facade and that it's all like a load of fakeness. Whereas I feel that's something that's actually really pure and like special is that actually you, even when you were younger, used to love creating videos and that sort of thing. Something that I'm really interested in finding out from you just kind of even for myself is like I only like found the courage to actually put myself out there online and like really commit to it um because I had left like school and university and I decided I'm not doing anything for anybody else

now I'm doing it for me and I feel like there's probably a lot of people that are listening that like would really be interested in doing anything right it doesn't have to be content creation but pursuing something that like seems embarrassing or cringe at first to do or whatever how have you how have you like what was your thought process around doing it whilst you're a student and you have like all these people that are like looking and there's fear of failure like you don't know if it's gonna work out um I'll be so real when I first started I blocked the whole of northwest London that's where I live I blocked all of them every single person you could name I blocked them um

but I think I just started it because I really was in a place where I was like I was in my what I call my I don't care era um whereas she like I just don't care I just want to do what I want and I think it's because I knew that I wasn't finding happiness from doing what I was supposed to do I don't know if that makes sense because I was doing uni and I was getting to do. I don't know if that makes sense. Because I was doing uni, and I was getting the grades I needed. And I was clubbing because everyone was clubbing. And I was doing everything everyone wanted me to. But I was just like, I don't feel fulfilled. Like, personally, for me, like, I love a dance, you know, but I also love being at home by 10pm in bed, watching TV, I don't know what like I just like being

just relaxed and calm and clubbing isn't my vibe and so when I was doing it like I had fun but I just I knew I wasn't doing it for me I was doing it for other people and then my grades like I love I do love dentistry but studying the way I was studying I was doing it for other people at that point I was doing it for validation from my tutors or just for my family and I was like I don't feel content so I kind of had to just think what is going to make me happy and it was literally just forgetting about what other people think and do what I want to do and that is what I wanted to do that was like what was that third year for you at university when I started when you started creation it was second year but it was like the second half of second year yeah I do I do remember that kind of transition like yeah everybody kind of you get swept along in first year kind of just

like trying to fit in make friends it's all a new environment you're open to trying new things and then actually yeah by like definitely by third year you kind of settle into yourself and you're like um yeah I think I'm gonna go with go my own way that's yeah um okay amazing fantastic I want to like jump back now into like your origin story with fitness and how you started out and that sort of thing um were you super active as a child what was that like for you so maybe when I was like five I was super active definitely in primary school like before year three I loved running skipping whatever and then I don't know what hit me but maybe like year four year five oh it was actually 11 plus time so this is like when we're applying for secondary schools I suddenly was just like I don't want to do any sports I just want to eat and I just want to do work and the thing is everyone was like that's okay because she needs

to get the grades to get into school so no one really cared that I wasn't active anymore and so I hated sports I don't want to do it if you asked me to go for a walk god forbid I wouldn't even step out the house and that just continued so the whole giving up my health and whatever for education became such a recurrent theme throughout the entirety of secondary school um and so again sports was just not my thing at all apart from trampolining because it was just such a separate sport it's such a random thing that I did but it was such a separate sport and it wasn't it didn't require so much like cardiovascular fitness I can't lie for the things that I was doing um so I really wasn't into sports that much after that age because I was so focused on my education and getting

good grades and whatever um and it really was only at university that I started to love fitness and you like in terms of like eating habits and stuff like that were you doing that just because was it was it like a comfort thing or was it because you were getting older and you're just like oh I have a little bit more independence I can kind of have autonomy I think it was I think it was a comfort thing and I think it was also just like I like I do love food and I like I still do I loved food then I love food now but I loved it I didn't really have control over it because it was just my comfort it's kind of like all I had um in my mind and anytime I ate anytime I did work anytime I was stressed it was food that's all I went to and you know I did become

overweight I didn't love who I was becoming but I was getting the grades so I didn't care I was like okay let's just keep going we'll just do what we have to do quote unquote um to get the grades and that was basically the whole secondary school where are you actually from like what's your ethnicity as well so my parents are from Sri Lanka um and I was born here um so I am Tamil a lot of people think I'm Indian but I'm Sri Lankan love gorgeous yeah and so like what's the kind of what's kind of what's the relationship with like with food from either your parents or just from like your within your culture like yeah so when I think a lot of my body image issues came from my external family I think when I was really young like when maybe year seven year eight when I started putting on weight my parents did make comments I will say that but it's because that is how they grew up and I'm never ever gonna blame them for that they grew up with families that well

with families that made it so normal to comment on people's weight and so they did the same thing I like as we would if we were conditioned to do something like that um and I remember I told them I was like this makes me upset and they never did it since but my external family I don't have that kind of control over them so throughout my childhood from probably the age of 12 I got comments like you're never going to get married you know you're like you look pregnant you look a bit big like you should go to the gym and I went through cycles of weight gain and weight loss so I think it was like maybe when I was 13 that I went to a wedding and before he even said hello um he was just like oh you look a bit big and I was like sir I don't even know who you are I literally didn't even know he was my cousin

so I really thought this was a random stranger telling me I was big um and then my mum told me he was my cousin and I was like that still doesn't excuse it but now I get it um and so I lost weight and this is how I lost weight bear in mind I was 13 12 maybe at this time I did blogilates but I did blogilates for six hours of the day and I'm so sorry what is it I don't even know what blogilates okay so I do actually know her name I think she still does it but she literally is just like one of those people that does like 30 minute leg workout or 45 minute ab burners maybe it wasn't 45 minutes but something along those lines and so I did that for six hours a day every single day and bear in

mind I was 13 and I would go for like loads of walks I'd only have salads like what like what 13 year old should be doing that like none no one and no one should even be made to feel like that at any age to be honest um so I did that and then I remember I went to a party probably like three months later and there's this auntie that was like you look a bit too skinny and I was like you've got you've got to be joking there's no way I can please you and so I was like okay okay whatever it's fine um and then people were like oh like yeah you're looking a bit starved like you look like no one's gonna want to marry you and I was like sir I was like the

reason I'm not gonna get married is not because of how I look it is because of my inability to speak to men like that is literally it um and so then I put on weight again and then I got the same comments back and forth like people have something to say and I remember I came back home from holiday and I was tan and people were like oh you look too dark no one's gonna marry you and I was like you've got to be kidding best of all can we let go of this whole no one's gonna marry you thing because frankly I already know that second of all why are we commenting on every single thing these are things that well they're in my control but they're also not for you to tell me what's good and what's not and so when I got to uni I started weightlifting and then the two muscular comments came and I was like no I'm joking um I was like you've got to be kidding me like it's I think at

that point when it was like muscular and when I finally got into like the shape that I wanted and people made common comments I was like do you want I don't care because you guys always have something to say and I've never made a comment about any of their bodies because I don't feel like that's right I've just taken the shit and I'm not giving it back to you because I'm somewhat of a good person but at the same time I need to just be able to own who I am and be like do you know what this is what I want and I'm not living for you I don't even know your name okay so I'm gonna live for myself and yeah so the whole culture in Asian I'm really rambling I'm so sorry but no it's your space go do it the whole culture in my society at least in my like external family whilst i do love the ones

that i know um i do think it's so toxic and i see kids that were the age that i was when people started like first making comments and I feel sorry for them because there are people making those comments and I cannot do anything like I'm like all I say I'm just like you're beautiful you're stunning but they hear it from an elder that you know they're a bit big or they should do something and they think that they're correct and I do think it's a horrible culture that we need to start getting out of and they can't and people can't say oh you know this is how we grew up you know people can't change the way they grew up because my mom and dad did like I told them I was like these comments are really upsetting to me

like it's really getting like to my heart and they literally were okay we're not going to make those comments anymore and since that day neither of them have made a comment on my weight and that's it you can change you can't tell me oh I grew comment on my weight and that's it you can change you can't tell me oh I grew up a certain way and that's why our culture is the way our culture is no you can change the facts that's it period um no no no so far like I think also I always just find it so interesting I'm like do what like what would happen if I if after you just told me I'm looking bigger I say yeah you are too you've been pecking on the pounds like do you know what would happen if i if after you just told me i'm looking bigger i say yeah you are too you've been pecking on the pounds like do you know what i mean like it's crazy let's let's hit

the you know reverse like it's like the audacity honestly if people think they can comment on you like that um i think also it's it it it's really sad because it's like that age like 11 12 13 is a time is a really confusing time and I feel like it probably has such a big impact on like the way we kind of go about the rest of our life based on like those early sort of like interactions or things that happen that have so much like significance for us and it's like you're so impressionable and you kind of latch on to wanting the world to kind of accept you and to find your place and how you fit into the world as you transition into teenage life like you kind of will hold on to anything anybody says so I think it's just like yeah completely understandable that like you kind of will hold on to anything anybody says so I think it's just like yeah

completely understandable that like you kind of will sway with what anybody else says yeah and I think it's also tough because something I really notice about kind of being relating to what you're saying being of that age and thinking I'm too fat I'm like whatever um is like a lack of education and I feel like they really don't teach it in like the education like systems that like even understanding like macros and understanding exercise and like the simple equation of how you do lose weight and what is healthy and what is not like I was exactly the same like had no understanding of like protein and carbohydrates and like building meals so I

reached this age in secondary school where like I was in charge of buying my own and picking my own meals and I would be like literally eating salad leaves and nothing else and then I'd go home and then I'd like you know be like so hungry that I'd like loads of food you know and so I think it's like a very real very common experience that like a lot of people probably go through um how did you like start to I don't know because like I'm seeing like a big jump between there and that was that just like a slow thing you kind of worked your way through yourself or were there some things that you can reflect on that really helped you on this journey of just kind of doing things for you knowing that like the only person that's really gonna make you happy with yourself is is you yeah so I think it was I think going to uni was genuinely the best and I

mean like living out and going to uni was the best thing that happened to me because having my own space where I wasn't constantly bombarded with opinions was exactly what I needed I got to university and I remember at first I can't lie it was horrible because I still was living the way that I usually lived um you know I was eating out of comfort I found it super stressful the first few months of university and I actually was diagnosed with depression and anxiety after term one um and I was like I just feel absolutely miserable and there must be something I can do and so I went to the wellness advisor at my university um her name is Nikki Ball I don't know

she probably won't listen to this but just so she knows she's like Nikki um but I went to her and I was like I feel horrible and one of the things basically she came up with was we our university has this thing called the active wellness scheme where a personal trainer will come and give you six free personal training sessions just to get you moving and to help you feel better and just talk to you as well um and so I had a personal trainer called Josh and he took me through six personal training sessions and he told me about eating more and actually fueling myself um and I was like okay and over time over those six sessions I was like oh I really like this and I hadn't told anyone I think that was the best thing is that I didn't tell a single soul so it really felt like my thing that I actually liked and I wasn't being pressured to

like almost and so I was like okay I want to get into this and I think I just started joining the gym by myself like I went to the gym by myself and then I just got a coach and I was like I want to take this seriously I want to actually know what I'm doing because this makes me feel really cool um and with her like we I just flourished in my own space and when I realized I could flourish without someone telling me what to do that was like the key to me being like I need to start doing what I want to do because this is the happiest I felt in a really long time yeah unreal so yeah it all came from there and then did you with like touching on like your depression and anxiety like how did you kind of move through that because like looking at you now you wouldn't even think that at all and like it's a very real

thing that like a lot of people you know go through so I think when someone is going through that they can feel like they can't remember life before or after and they don't see a way to get through it like how did that sort of come around for you yeah I can't lie during during the depths of my depression like it was rough I barely went out like I would rot in my bed my clothes were all over the floor like my hair was falling out my nails like it was just horrible and I don't wish that upon anyone and I was just so I'm very lucky in the sense that when I got home my mum could tell instantly that something was wrong she was like are you okay like is everything okay and over time like I just had to tell her I just I told her I was like I'm not feeling good um and my friends could notice as well

and I spoke to someone one of my friends and she knew about the act, like the, um, Nikki, who was the wellness advisor. Um, and she was like, look, just speak to her. You don't even have to tell her anything. Just be like, I'm having a bit of a rough time. And for me, when I trust someone, I tell them everything. And so with Nikki, I almost immediately trusted her. And so I just told her and she was kind of like the turning point for me getting better and my mum was there for me every my mum and my dad were both there for me every single step of the way um because they knew they were like this is not the daughter that we had you know a year ago um and I think having the support system was everything to me but also

knowing that I even went to the advisor and knowing that I went to my parents to tell them, part of it just told me that I did care about myself. Like to do that, you have to care about yourself, even just a smidge. And I think knowing that I was like, OK, let's just act on this because I know I don't like where I am. And I know like younger me would not like where I am right now and I was like okay so what would younger me want me to do because I whatever I do in life right now all I want to think about is what would make younger me proud and that is literally how I act so even though it was so rough just pushing myself to do things that I didn't want to do like even just cleaning my room

cleared my mind tenfold but doing that actually getting myself to do that was hard and I think it's doing things you don't want to do to make yourself feel better is one of the things that helped me get out of my depression yeah no definitely was that was that was there a particular thing that was like making you feel that depression and anxiety? Or was it just kind of where you kind of just a feeling that you couldn't really like escape? Were you able to chase that back? Or was kind of that was improvement and like getting back on track, not really actually about that. And it was more about just like putting in things in place that kind of bring back your joy yeah so when I came to uni it was really the first time that no one took care of me I'll be real I'm such a princess like my mum and dad just do everything for me and I just do my work call it a day so when I got to uni I had to wash my own clothes like do I like make my own food I really struggle with trust just in general.

So making new friends was a lot for me. And then the workload in first year of dentistry was ridiculous. We had six lectures a day and I was already behind from day dot. And I just felt, because the only thing I had at that point was academic success. That was the thing that was driving me. That was the thing that made driving me that was the thing that made me feel whole in first year so when I lost that I was like I feel like I am nothing I literally feel like I am nothing and then I was doing clubbing and anyone knows that clubbing

alcohol it is not good for your mind like it's obviously really fun like I'm sure for lots of people and people definitely can handle it I just cannot um and everything was just causing me to spiral and I'm really bad in crowded settings and freshers and meeting new people in crowded settings it was too much for me and doing that all by myself when I had none of my family there I'm not very good at just telling people how I feel that people have to kind of come to me and then I open up so even when I called my mum I told her I was fine but I was not I I literally just felt like I was alone um so coming out of that I had to really push myself to be more open with other people because I needed to feel less

alone because I knew that that was the thing that was causing me to spiral so badly yeah it's such a it can be like such a culture shock or like not a culture shock but like a shock to the system going from like especially if you are someone that's had like everything done for you and you just had like very comfortable kind of existence yeah like yeah it must be it it can feel like really overwhelming you kind of get everything thrown at you at once and yeah trying to balance as well like studies it's just like a lot so in terms of like career and and things like that like where does it leave you with obviously when are you graduating um next no 2026 summer okay nice where do you like do you have a sort of like plan in mind for

the future or this question I actually don't even know where to begin with this question because okay the thing is I love I genuinely love treating patients and people find that so wild when I say that but like recently and you'll know this I gave a patient who's been in pain for a year I gave him complete dentures which is dentures for the whole mouth um and the amount of gratitude and the amount of happiness he got just from having a denture that fit properly that gave him zero pain was just like everything to me and he was so grateful he was so happy and he just like emanated like just pure joy I can't like I love like I do love content creation but there's nothing nothing that can replicate a moment like that and that is something that I take in my heart like forever because I

will never forget that um and having that direct impact and building those relationships in person and knowing that I'm making that direct impact is crazy and so I do love it and then there's content creation where I'm having that impact just from a really large distance and that's something that's also crazy to me and that's something that's also crazy to me and that's something I also want to continue doing um recently like um a woman messaged me and she was like she had cancer treatment um and she was finding it really difficult to get back into it and she said watching my videos really helped her just to get the confidence to go back and I was like I don't even know how I can make an impact like that. That is wild to me. And so I want to continue doing that.

But obviously, doing full-time dentistry and full-time content creation is actually not even, it's actually not possible. I'll be real. Like, I tried to do a YouTube channel during dentistry. I've done one video. I don't think I'm doing another one until I graduate. It's hard. It's hard to do everything and so I think I think my plan in my mind right now is I'm gonna do dentistry but maybe like two three times a week maybe not

full-time and then do content creation for the other four or five days whatever it is but if opportunities arise in content creation where I can't really let that go I will probably have to let dentistry go but we'll see I think we'll just see I want to take it as it comes and see where day by day life takes me yeah you drew like a sort of like um I don't know you drew like a similarity that I was actually going to point out to you about this kind of thing of like it's interesting how at first they don't really seem too like related or connected they seem like pretty rogue like oh dental student and also content creator but actually like they both on very very very different like scales offer the same like support to people yeah um making people feel better about themselves and I think it's like yeah just really interesting to see um they both kind of like

have the same sort of thing going for them but just very different sort of scales I know people that's one thing that like keeps people within fitness um like pts like a lot of people made me think of that like a lot of pts yeah they maybe try yeah they maybe like try online coaching and then they're like actually I really just enjoyed working and helping the individual on a one-to-one basis and like that like personal contact time like I definitely feel like as someone who does do it full-time like there is a lot of alone time and I am really like so grateful for this job honestly honestly like feel so fulfilled but but it you know there are points in which I really like do crave that like social interaction that like I imagine you you would get from your workplace um how do you avoid burnout and is that a real problem for you or yeah so yeah I've definitely been burned out before I'm not even

gonna lie I hate I don't want to be like oh my god yeah I've got my life together because when I tell you I don't have my life together I truly mean it um but I think for me it's knowing what to prioritize and what to not first of all if people are draining my energy and it's gonna sound so brutal but there are people using me or draining my energy I do just have to let them go it's it's I'm now at the point where I can't even be too nice and oh I can keep them in my life I think no if you're draining my energy and if you're being mean to me or whatever whatever, bye, like, get out, like, you're not part of my circle anymore, my circle's really small at uni, and it's not because I hate people, it's just because I really have to trust my friends, and they have to be part of my close

circle, and they have to lift my energy the same way that I lift theirs, you know, because I don't know what that saying is about the whole, like, whatever but there's something like you don't want to be drained basically completely of your energy and then not them not give anything back to you so that's one thing that's like burnout in the sense of like a mental burnout and then with lectures I always just cut the cap like of studying at 7 30 or 8 maximum maximum and then I get home and I don't work at home at all because I need one safe space and that's my house um and then if I'm ever genuinely like I don't don't want to go to gym at all I don't want to do anything that day I give myself the rest day like I have to really listen to my body and I think that's the key to preventing burnout is really just listening to your body and understanding it

and then adjusting your routine to make it easier and that's it do you are you like quite rigid with like working hours or like I'm definitely something that I'm really trying to work on is like being a kind of chronic overworker and I can see how I think it's I honestly think it's really wrapped up in like me having ADHD it's like a masking technique to just be like I'm so busy and I'll keep myself busy and then no one will notice that I'm like actually really struggling in my head but um but like yeah do you so for me like I really find it hard to kind of like put the phone or the laptop down and just be like look I didn't get it done with you balancing so much like do you kind of where where's the line that you draw for yourself yeah so uni work wise if it's not exam season, I'm really good.

But last exam season, I was terrible. Like, I'll be so real. I was awful. Like, any of my friends can attest to this. I would be in the library at 8am and I'd stay there till 9pm. I would stop going to the gym at that point. I barely went on walks. I honestly didn't even have proper meals.

I would just eat, like, whatever snacks there was, Tesco's. And that, ever since that, I'm'm like I'm never doing that again so my cap is I work till maximum 7.30 8 the one thing I'm still trying to work on is if I haven't finished a video I do just have to let it go and continue the next day because that video can wait but I'm always like oh my god I need to finish this video I need to finish this video and then it ends up being like an hour into editing I'm like what am I doing I need to let it video. And then it ends up being like an hour into editing. And I'm like, what am I doing? I need to let it go. So there's definitely work to be done,

but there's improvements. Because last year, during exam season, I don't think it can get worse than that. And I think knowing how that made me feel, I felt so sluggish. I felt miserable. I was so mean to some people. One of my friends, Sarah,

who basically spent every library day with me, she saw the worst of me I was the absolute devil I snapped her a few times I'm so sorry um and yeah so ever since that period of my life I've just told myself I'm never going to value anything over my health and well-being that much again yeah it seems like I was going to say earlier as well like when you're talking about like having to trust like you really need to trust your circles what I'm getting like over everything is that it seems like you really have like trust in yourself like you know that ultimately like you're at the center of your own world and like your

your priorities and your needs come before everything else and like that sounds so simple but I think that's something that like a lot of people really struggle yeah yeah of course and to like even what you're saying about like if someone's like not serving you well in terms of like them draining your energy or not kind of like I always love to say sorry guys you heard it so many times but like there's two kinds of people in life like radios radiators or drains and like if they're not radiating like good energy for you you're just like all right see ya like that in and of itself is so hard to do um yeah very I I love it I think it's so inspiring um can I ask you just because you mentioned meals we I

want to like circle back onto meal prepping because that's something that I imagine probably helps save like a lot of time for you what does that look like for you um okay so we'll choose a day on the weekend it's Saturday or Sunday my mum helps me um but I always looked up recipes online there are good people like Zach Chug is a good one and so is Raz Aziz I'm gonna look that up and send it to you because I didn't have to say that we'll link it yeah thank you um but basically there's a super quick meal so things like overnight oats or even just like um the Weetabix cheesecakes um you just mash up some weetabix protein powder a bit of milk smush smush smush then greek yogurt mixes some protein powder and then whatever toppings you want that's a weetabix cheesecake done that's breakfast um or like overnight oats

just like yogurt milks you know the whole shebang um with lunch it pasta is really easy. Just a pasta, a protein and some veg. You can do rice, typical bro meal, rice, chicken, broccoli, which I obviously hate, so I don't have that. I love a tuna wrap, like parcel. So basically, any of my meal prep is just carbs, protein, veg, a bit of fats and maybe a fruit for a snack after uni. And then dinner, I just make at home and so how long can you get your foods to like last for you like will you be able to yes so I can usually push it to four days as long as it's not rice I have a really big thing about

rice um I'm like I just can't push it past like no no yeah for sure like I actually this is something that like honestly is like low-key a trigger point I need to work through but like my dad once got like food poisoning so bad from rice but like literally anytime I leave rice in the fridge he's like don't leave it in the fridge and I'm like dude it's okay like it's fine but yeah you do have to be careful with meats and rices and fish and that sort of thing. But yeah, that's really helpful. And then you just take that with you then. And I guess it's like such a time saver, isn't it really?

Yeah. Are you quite like, obviously, you're doing like quite an academic subject. Do you have quite a linear brain? Like, is your day, even if it feels chaotic in your mind like is your day quite structured like do you does routine help you quite a lot yeah the schedule helps like I always do gym uni library home it's just my mind in itself has about 50 things running through it and that's something I definitely need to work on because I'm always like oh I have this thing on the weekend I need to do oh I have the submission that's due this time I need to do this I'm six

days behind that is something that I really need to work on but the structure of the actual day helps me just navigate the day like day by day yeah and like mindfulness is that something you practice or I I need to so I think that is the one thing that I do really need to work on in my mindfulness like I think I'm definitely more of like a self-motivator like at 5am I literally be like you got this like we've got this it's gonna be a good day and then literally it hits like 8am I'm like do you want this horrendous day um so this is just something I need to work on I think it's like because my life feels so, I always tell myself I didn't have time. But literally, and I was talking to my therapist about this, a four second breathe in and a four second breathe out is all you really need.

And so she was like, how do you not have eight seconds to spare? And I was like, I do. But it just doesn't come to my mind because I'm so stressed. And so in those times of stress, you literally seem to be like four seconds in seconds in four seconds out and that can literally be your mindfulness for the day for now I was like okay fair I still haven't done it but yeah that's something that I I've certainly been trying to like implement like definitely the breathing like when you do I hadn't I didn't have the awareness until like my own therapist had said like maybe just take note of your breathing because when you are feeling anxious you're so up here your shoulders are

raised your breathing goes like really light and shallow and quick and like there's even like little things I mean it depends how like woo-woo you want to get with it but like you can even like you know hug yourself and that sends a message to the brain to if you wrap your arms around your body that sends a message to your brain that you're safe and that you're like okay um my boyfriend also I was like getting really worked up the other day and my boyfriend told me to like hold my thumb he was like oh he was like hold your thumb and you'll stop being stressed and I don't know if he was just saying that to shut me up or but I mean it worked so maybe it's just in the mind um do you do you find like switching off hard or yeah I think my life became chaotic so quickly like content creation I started last February and it really just accelerated at a pace that I didn't expect and then uni accelerated third year hits you like a storm so third year on top of social

media on top of I really want to spend time with my friends and my family and as I want to be perfect quote unquote and for me like doing things wrong is really difficult for me to accept so my whole like switching off thing is not present at the moment it's really something I struggle with um because I want to make because as much as I want to be like oh I need to do everything for myself I'm very aware that I have friends and family that I also should be there for um and I should spend time with and that you know I want to do content creation to the best of my ability I want to do my course to the best of my ability I want to treat my patients the best of my ability and I'm just in this constant thought like spiral of everything that I just can't switch that off and so if anyone has any tips that'd be great

yeah same here send them over please message us no I will say like because how old are you 21 21 oh so you're just a baby why oh my gosh what is so Like, I feel like a little grandma now. Like, I'm 27 now. And I... Grandma? I don't know. Like, I... It's so weird. Like, I wouldn't have thought... In my head, I'm like, damn, there's six years between us.

Like, that's crazy. That's crazy. But what I was going to say is that, like, I feel like the whole of your 20s feels like you're just trying to hold on for dear life and I think you grow up with this like narrative that like the 20s is gonna be like the coolest years of your life and like they are also like the hardest and I just um actually read a book that was talking it's called The Defining Decade I think it's called that yeah The Defining Decade and it's talking the defining decade I think it's called that yeah the defining decade and it's talking about how like the 20s is actually like the hardest years of your life and like give yourself grace like there's a lot that goes on within your brain and a lot that goes on within

your life and like you know this whole narrative that we kind of try to like live up to isn't actually the reality and I think for me certainly and I don't know about for you because you're just at the start of your 20s but like kind of adjusting to like oh wait the reality of my 20s is really not what I thought it was going to be and kind of like trying to just yeah adjust to that you know and feeling like you're being pulled from so many different places yeah it's tough it's tough yeah I'm 21 but yeah no sorry what were you gonna say I said I'm only 21 so maybe I actually lived one year in my 20s but I find it tough already I think you're doing honestly sensationally um how has the whole content creation thing gone for you in terms of do you get recognized how's that been for like your psyche and you know all the yeah all the other side to it beyond just like the impact

it is wild first of all my sister has gotten recognized for my tiktoks and she's like sally this is so weird i'm like yeah i know and my mum has gotten recognized she loves it though literally she's a teacher and anytime a child's like I saw you on TikTok she's like oh did you know and then she comes I love these kids knew me from TikTok I'm like okay she's so cool now and then honestly honestly yeah she really she really does and she we made her own account to follow like to follow me and then she unfollowed me because she doesn't understand social media and so she just accidentally unfollowed um so we're never doing that again um but anyways in terms of being recognized honestly

it is so surreal and this is not even to sound cocky I think it's because my algorithm sends it to uni students but I've been recognized every day recently and it's so crazy to me first of all the demographic that I'm hitting is wild like mainly brown girls which I love but then there's also just like loads of like there's older women that's like you're in such an inspiration and we love you even just like a relationship with my mum and it feels so surreal because I see this number on my screen and I'm at uni so I don't even feel like a real content creator and then when people come up to me I'm like oh my god I'm literally making a difference in these people's lives and I don't

even know it like it's it's so surreal it just doesn't feel like my life it's weird like when people know my name oh my god sandy I'm like sorry sorry like I'm scared we've met before um so yeah it's wild I don't think I don't think I'll ever wrap my head around the fact that there are people that know who I am yeah I I kind of had a similar like journey um not as insane as you but I had a similar journey in the same of like um you know really kind of like exploding onto the scene and then like kind of being like oh I guess I'm here now and I'm a creator um so mine mine was quite quick as well and I remember that being really surreal and my parents to begin with when I told them like guys I'm like really making money like I'm making money

from this like I think this could be a thing um that was like such a foreign sort of concept to them and so kind of what's the word what's the word for I can't think what the word is you've got this when it's like not like stable it has like a lack of stability um and I remember them being like yeah okay well give it a go if you think it's doing good kind of but maybe also keep doing that PT course you're doing like you know um and I remember like my dad having the same like like saying, he remembers like coming up to me and saying, Sydney, you'll never guess what. But like this girl came up to me and was like completely fangirling. Couldn't get over that I'm your dad and how she loves me. And like my mum has her work colleagues and stuff like that.

But I tell you what the most surreal thing is going to like a random, like going to like the most remote island in like Asia and people coming up to you, like that's wild. Crazy. You know, and I think it's because we can't, you're so right about like that kind of disconnect online with like not being able to fully fathom. I mean, how many combined followers do you have do you know um so I know on Instagram it's 757,000 and I think on TikTok it's like 772,000

so okay let's just like let's just say 1. So, like, to actually fathom how many people fit into, like, a room with 1.4 million people in it. Like, a big, like, Wembley Arena, like, a really big stadium, you know, that's, like, I don't know how much that is. But, I don't know. It would scare the life out of me. Even doing the panel talk for GGLR in front of 600 people i was like i'm going to shit to myself exactly um for example like um no not brilliant well anyway i'm not gonna like go off on some whole researching but like yeah like when people say like oh yeah you have more followers than like the entire country of like monaco or whatever like you know it's like oh damn it's hard to fathom it's really hard to fathom have you dealt with like um bad comments

or has it been quite positive oh oh that's it too okay so when I first had like a video that went super viral one of the comments was like um oh some oh kill yourself you curry muncher that would be the exact comment it was first of all I need to just pause this by saying I don't know when curry muncher became such a an insult because curry is great um so munching yeah so munching curry I just don't see how that is an insult, because curry is great, so munching curry, I just didn't see how that is an insult, but anyways, the kill yourself thing, I remember I bawled my eyes out, I was like, I'm so sorry that I even exist on this planet, I told my mum, and she was like, Sandy, we can call the police, I was like, you can't call the police on online haters, but I love the energy, and then you know I did I can't I filter my comments I filter

them every single bad word you can think of it's filtered because I don't need to see it I just don't need to see it I don't want to see it I don't need to see it if people get but then there's also part of me that sees comments that I hate now and I'm like I really just don't care because I don't know your name I don't know who you are. You're miserable enough to comment on my post. You've taken time out of your day to comment on my post on someone you don't know. People that make comments on my personality, I'm like, you don't even know me, frankly. And I already don't like you.

So we can agree with each other. I'm not going to please everyone. You know, I don't like anyone. And not everyone's going to like me. So I think now if I see a hate comment, I'm like, please everyone you know I don't like anyone and they didn't not everyone's gonna like me so I think now if I see a hate comment I'm like okay whatever um it is what it is and honestly the majority of mine now is pretty positive because I've just built like a really good family with me and like my followers and my community are just so loyal and is so supportive of everything that I've done that I just don't care I don't even care if I get 50 hate comments my community is my community

yeah definitely I think it's like so it's so easy to just like focus on the negative like humans have evolved to have like that negativity bias in us in us so I'm glad that it's been an easier process for you I did find it really tough like I think thinking back to like certain parts of my journey like when I did used to read all the comments like I did find that really really tough when videos I think the threshold I always say to like you know friends of ours maybe McKenna I seem to tell him a lot but like you know friends of us when I kind of offer them advice like we when videos go over like a million I would say is when it starts to tap into like people outside of your community and they're the people that don't even know you they're the

people that don't care they are literally just like mindlessly like scrolling and it's like yeah I think it's really important to just like not also give any oxygen to it like don't give it any I just don't I don't read them yeah and Debbie don't reply no no no I read first day because I know that's my community and then beyond that I just think it's not worth it because it does it does chip away you know yeah 100% you can say it doesn't but we've not evolved to have so many people's opinions you know and I wondered how you found that because you also are juggling so many things alongside that like in terms of responding to dms and stuff like that like it just gets to a point where it's not actually possible you know yeah I think yeah I remember when I first started I think maybe for the first year anytime I saw one hate comment I really deeped it I was like oh they don't like

the fact that I'm brown can't say anything about it but okay let me just I'm really deeped it and then they were like oh she's so cringy and I was like oh my god maybe I am cringy I thought yeah you're valid maybe I am cringy but so be it that's just who I am and I think I think just having to instill in my mind that I know who I am and that I'm not I know myself that I'm not creating a facade I know in my mind that what I'm putting out is very authentically me so yeah people are going to have an opinion but also the likeliness that I'm going to even the likelihood that I'm going to even like any of those people that made those comments is just so low because I don't like people that emanate that energy especially online like I'm fine with you bitching behind my back to your friends cool I

feel like we all need a moment where like someone's irritated us we talk to our friends cool but you don't know me and you've taken the time out of your day to comment online on my page on someone you don't know. And some of them are overrated, like old men. I mean, you're talking about a 21-year-old girl. Why are you trying to beef a 21-year-old girl? You're a loser. You're a loser.

But I obviously don't do that to them. I keep my mouth shut, and I'm like, do you want to let them get on with their day? They're not going to affect me because I'm never going to be like that and that's my biggest way period love no I think it's like so far what you're saying because also it's like it goes for like the like the wider sort of like interactions in life and I guess it's applicable to like all the girls listening that like when you have when you have people kind of talking about you or giving their opinions or even if you're like seeking advice from someone just understanding that like everything anybody says is kind of

a reflection on them where they're at their experiences good or bad you know like everything they kind of like project onto you is as a result and a reflection on themselves so I think when you kind of have a little bit more kind of mental resilience in understanding that um it's really really helpful uh you said earlier that you your therapist had said so do you do you have regular therapy sessions yeah I've actually only I started about two months ago with therapy and I think is because you know you've already touched on this but I have such a busy life that I really need to take moments for myself and that is it's almost like not a forced moment of taking a time for myself but it is literally like scheduled time where I have to literally just dig into my thoughts um and I've only to be fair it's been about like six sessions but those six

sessions have really already helped me and I think it is just looking into yourself and I always just discover something new about myself and I think that's what I like so much about therapy is like even though I feel like I'm self-aware about my behaviors it helps me discover where those behaviors came from and it makes me understand myself more so that I don't feel like I'm actually like psychotic it's just also just like such an invaluable like kind of chunk of your day that's like absolutely for you it's like completely like you can just strip everything back and if you cry the whole time you can if you want to sit in silence you can like that time is yours and like that person is there for you and how you choose to use it like

is completely up to you like I think it is a really special thing and I like I know everyone's sick of me saying but I really do advocate like for people to get therapy if you can afford it like it is expensive but if you can afford it like I definitely think it's worth it and there are also um charities out there like that's how I started my therapy journey is like through the NHS so if you're in the UK you can um do that um I just want to like final points really I just want to like talk about kind of I guess what you what you offer for like the girls that do like follow you especially as like a brown woman in like fitness could you like talk a little bit about that and kind of role models that sort of space in between okay so in terms of what I offer

I don't know um I think I just want to normalize the normal life and what I mean by that is I can't like when you look at me I'm not a bodybuilder I don't have like one muscles I don't have a six pack I don't have my hoos of quads I just go to the gym because it lifts up the rest of my routine it uplifts my routine basically um and I want to show people that with a nine to five job with a busy schedule you can still fit in fitness and you can still take care of your health and like it's possible because I think what a lot of people see is you know content creators that you know like this is their job and I think for them it's hard for them to fathom how with a nine-to-five job or with how those kind of routines like how you fit in taking care of yourself and I want to show students I want to show people with jobs I want to show people

just who are busy that you can fit it in um but also for the brown girls I want to show them that you don't need to fit the bubble that everyone's telling you to fit because oh my god I don't even know what that bubble is I really don't because it's probably about 50,000 bubbles that people want you to be in I couldn't even fit in one. So I just want to show brown girls, all girls, to be honest, that you don't need to fit a certain stereotype. You know, you don't need to go to the gym to be an absolute bodybuilder, hench, whatever, even though they're absolutely gorgeous.

That's not what you need to be. Sometimes the gym is just for your mental health. Sometimes it is just for, you know, part of your routine that you just like to have a moment to yourself. Like everyone goes to the gym for different reasons um so yeah I just want to show that it can just be fun vibes I want to show the gym is a good vibe fun vibes and everything can just be chill not everything has to be so intense and I think that is what my page is for yeah no definitely did you have like uh are there many like muscular or like fitness focused like brown girls out there like really okay there isn't that I know of but my sister um she got into fitness before I did and she also was overweight when she was younger and she also took the brunt of skin because she's darker she has a darker complexion

than me um and she took the brunt of the whole skin color comments and she still did what she wanted to do so now she's on high rocks some marathons weightlifting the whole shebang I look at her and I think oh my god this woman is beyond an inspiration and even though she didn't get me into working out I still look at her and bear in mind she did medicine at Cambridge wow let's just take a moment please she did She did medicine at Cambridge. She did marathons. She just did a high rocks. Now she's working as an F1 doctor. She's done this voluntary exam, God knows why, in January.

And she just does all these things. And I'm just in constant awe of her. And so I think she's almost the inspiration for me that other people online see me as because I see her work it's like full-time job and do everything she wants to do doesn't really care about you know being whatever everyone else wants her to be and then I see that and I'm like I want to be that and then because I'm doing that I'm helping other people see that they can do that too so in a way she's actually the top inspo for me no I love that I think like so often when people kind of ask like oh who's your role model

they'll either sort of say someone like very notorious or like well known or they'll be like oh sorry it's cringe or a cop out but my mom but like I think it is really special to be like actually I surround myself I have such a good support system I also make sure to surround myself by such like inspiring women um there's a term called like expanders and it's like basically seeing to be like it's somebody you have in your life it could be someone you know someone you don't know it could literally just be a family member but it's basically someone that like you you're able to like see to believe that something is possible so like for you if you wanted to believe that like if you wanted to like start your fitness journey you your sister was your expander in seeing that

like actually I've got a real life example of somebody who has done what I would like to do and therefore you believe that like you're able to see that that is possible and so it's like role models don't have to necessarily be that I think that's so beautiful that like yeah your sister was one for you I love that term expander yeah it's um I don't know if it's like oh I don't oh it's from the um to be magnetic expanded podcast um they're like a manifestation podcast but I don't know if it's like maybe a wider used term but that's where I know it's okay I'm gonna use it now yeah it's really special but it's so helpful like it's really like if you do want to achieve like anything in your life you're working towards something do you have an expander do you have an example a real life example of somebody that is like in your

was in your position has achieved what you wanted to do and look at how they did it look at what they did use them as inspiration and it kind of allows you to see that like what you want to achieve is actually very real and very possible yeah sometimes you feel like a bit disconnected from it but I love that yeah um fabulous well I just want to say thank you so much for coming on like I think you're incredible I've I certainly found this like so inspiring like there's so much like I took from it so I know the girls will really appreciate this you have like such a kind of gorgeous energy and I think you're going to continue to do so well.

Same to you. I'm just proud of you. Thank you. I'm proud of us. Absolutely. Where can people find you? Okay, so I'm on Instagram and TikTok as sansxfitness. I have one YouTube video if you want to watch that and that's sans x fitness

with three s's at the end because someone took the one with two and that is so fair yeah um okay well thank you so much for coming on really appreciate it and i'm sure i will see you soon thank you so much for listening if you got this far into the episode remember you guys can follow us at jimgirls.com on all platforms and um give us a follow give us a follow download have the episodes downloaded ready to go whenever we have a new upload and don't forget to give us a five-star review if you haven't already have a lovely lovely week and i will see you in the next one bye