I initially wanted to become a psychologist as I had always had a strong interest in understanding myself, others and how the universe works. This has led me to a lifetime interest in metaphysics, eastern philosophy, western psychology, relationships and sexuality.

I qualified for honours in psychology, but postponed these studies to pursue my dream of representing Australia in Kayaking at the Olympic Games. Whilst I represented Australia twice in this sport, illness cut my ambitions short. I developed ‘chronic fatigue syndrome’ at a time when very little was known about this illness, so it took me several years, and enormous anguish, to actually determine what was wrong.

Fortunately, however, this led me on a life changing pathway, and eventually to a passion that has become my career. After the only treatment or advice medical practitioners could give me was to rest, I was fortunate to have been treated by a fantastic natural medicine practitioner (who was previously both a doctor of biochemistry and medicine in Russia). The treatment and recovery was so comprehensive that I have never experienced any of the symptoms again, despite a heavy exercise schedule.

This led me to change direction and study natural medicine. I developed a very strong affinity with nutrition and treating the whole body as an integrated system rather than viewing systems as separate entities. The intention being to understand and treat the illness at level of the ‘root cause’ of what led to pathology, rather than simply focusing on the symptoms that eventuate from the pathological functioning.

The obvious follow on from this lies in the area of performance; whether it be in sport, work, the arts or any other pursuit. A very large part of my professional practice involves working with performance, particularly with athletes.

I still have strong interactions with athletes of all levels as a coach of paddlers. I have been coaching kayaking for 10 years including beginners at school level to international athletes aiming for Australian Olympic selection.