SOPHIE’S CHOICE
How a former star gymnast with an eating disorder beat her demons
DARWINITE Sophie Budack has been announced as a finalist in the Miss Supercars Sport Model Search Contest on the Gold Coast.
Despite the negative stereotype of grid girls, Ms Budack said she felt she was bucking the trend.
“It’s normally looked at as being a tacky, bogan, skimpy kind of thing,” she said.
“But I’ve never put myself in that frame. I think it’s a job that you can bring a lot of class to. It’s not tacky, it’s not gross, you can hold yourself with class and dignity and come away with a great experience.”
However, Ms Budack has not always had the confidence she now strives to portray as a role model for younger girls.
Having trained most of her life, she qualified for the Australian Olympic gymnastics team in 2012, only to have to retire from a hurt back two months before the competition.
“I was in an aggressive sport from a very young age and I was getting weighed every day — it’s really not surprising I ended up suffering from an eating disorder. I think a lot of the girls do,” she said.
“That’s one of the reasons I moved back to Darwin so I could have that support net- work of family, and it’s really helped me become so much more confident in myself because up here you feel relevant. There are always friends around and you’re constantly running into people who know you.” After faking it until she truly felt more confident in n herself, Ms Budack is now trying to promote positive body images in girls.
“The advice I’d really y give to anyone is if you want to do something, just do it,” she said. “If you don’t put 100 per cent effort in, the only person you’re jeopardising is yourself. There’s nothing g holding you back.”
As one of the 24 finalists in the competition, Ms Budack is competing for a share in a $20,000 prize pool including a photoshoot on track, and other Supercar experiences.
She said she was really happy that part of the compet-
“..I ended up suffering from an eating disorder” SOPHIE BUDACK
ition had been changed thishi year. “They’ve scrapped the Supercar bikini and changed it to a fullpiece which I think will make a lot of the girls a bit more comfortable than walking around in a bikini and stilettos,” she said.