About Coach Kel
“I always say, your story shapes your strength.
Mine just happened to start with chaos, curves, and a hell of a lot of lessons.”
The Early Years: Confusion, Chaos, and Control
As a kid and teenager, food was never something I thought about much. I’d skip lunches, eat random things after school, and maybe have half of dinner before doing it all again the next day. Weekends? I’d go to town, eating everything in sight after starving myself all week.
I didn’t realise it then, but that pattern of restriction and overindulgence would follow me for years.
At 18, I had my first baby. I was young, undernourished, and had no idea how to care for my body. A year later, baby number two. I was 19, exhausted, inflamed, barely moving, and living off drive-thru food. Then came heartbreak, my partner cheated. What followed was another dark spiral of starving myself, running on caffeine and adrenaline, and working 70-hour weeks just to survive.
By 21, I was divorced, unhealthy, and disconnected from myself.
My diet? Red Bull and McDonald’s. My reality? Exhaustion and emptiness.
The Turning Point: Falling Apart to Rise Again
Eventually, I met my now-husband, but my habits didn’t magically fix themselves.
We drank, we ate whatever we wanted, and I told myself, “I’m an adult, I can do what I want.” That turned into years of yo-yo dieting, trying every shake, cleanse, and “quick fix” I could find. I’d lose 8kg, gain 10kg, lose 7kg, gain 8kg. Round and round.
Then one day, a trip to the snow with my family changed everything.
It was supposed to be this magical, joy-filled holiday. Instead, I found myself sitting on the side of a mountain, crying because I couldn’t even stand up on my snowboard. My pants didn’t fit. My confidence was gone. And I realised, I was tired of watching life pass me by.
That was my breaking point… and my beginning.
The Gym Became My Therapy
When I got home, I joined a gym. I started the only way I knew, light weights, “toning” workouts, avoiding anything that might make me look “too bulky.” It worked… kind of. It stalled, and I was in the same “sticky place” I had always been.
I hired a personal trainer. My first real investment in myself.
It took months to find my rhythm, to realise that real effort doesn’t end when the session does. But when I did, everything changed. The stronger I got, the more I wanted to push. The more I pushed, the more I changed, physically, mentally, emotionally.
I was six kilos from my goal weight when I stalled. My coach suggested I enter a Transformation Show, a bodybuilding division that celebrates change and the story of what was achieved. I said yes. That, yes, lit a fire that still burns today.
The Stage That Changed My Life
In July 2019, I stepped on stage, 61kg, (16 kg down from my first check-in weight), confident, proud, and more alive than I’d ever been.
That day, I realised something: I didn’t just want to transform my body.
I wanted to help others transform theirs, and their lives, too.
I prepped for my first real bodybuilding show in 2020… until the world shut down three weeks out. I cried for days, but I didn’t quit. I used the time to learn, to study, to understand the science behind the body I’d spent years fighting.
Building My Purpose
I was working full-time in a law firm when I launched my first version of the business, UpYourself Training (because humour has always been my thing).
It was July 2020, possibly the worst time to start anything. But passion doesn’t care about timing. I coached clients before and after work, poured my energy into helping people feel strong and proud again.
Soon I left the law firm and went full-time as a coach inside World Gym.
From there, my business grew faster than I could have imagined, fully booked face-to-face, then expanding online as clients shared their results with friends, family, and beyond.
What started as one woman’s comeback story became a movement.
Refining Health and Strength
Over the years, I’ve evolved as an athlete, a coach, and a human.
I’ve competed multiple times (2022, 2024, 2025), and proudly placed 3rd in the World for Fitbody (WNBF 2024). But that’s not the full story.
Behind every show, every phase, I’ve learned what true health means.
That your body’s worth isn’t measured by a scale.
That food isn’t the enemy; it’s fuel, connection, and joy.
That discipline isn’t punishment; it’s self-respect.
Today, I’m a Sports Nutritionist, Competition Prep Coach, and Transformation Specialist, but most importantly, I’m an educator. My mission is to teach people how to reconnect with themselves, understand their bodies, and live a life where health isn’t an afterthought, it’s the foundation.
The Ripple Effect
My journey changed more than just my physique, it changed my family, my mindset, and my life.
I became a better wife, mum, coach, and person.
The ripple effect has been powerful, and I see that same ripple in every client I work with.
Because when one woman chooses to change, the world around her does too.
My Mission
To empower Everyone to take back control of their health, without restriction, guilt, or burnout.
To prove that strength is built, not born.
To educate you so deeply that you’ll never again feel lost about your body.
And to help you leave my coaching with the tools, confidence, and clarity to live your healthiest life, forever.