THE POWER OF EXERCISE
Kasey Evans was in a dark place before session. her dad took her along to a gym Now she helps run a fitness studio.
KASEY Evans was in a dark place when she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression at age 14.
It wasn’t until her dad dragged her along to one of his gym sessions that she discovered a way out.
Now 18, the former Elanora High student has teamed up with her personal trainer mum,
Tracey Hembrow, to open a fitness studio with a twist.
After training, studying and working hard to create a place where support and advice went hand-in-hand with physical fitness, Sole 2 Soul Fitness was born.
Located in Robina, the fitness studio focuses not just on physical health, but on the mental, according to Ms Evans.
“I said to Dad one day, ‘I want to help people like me’,” she said, noting the business offered things other places did not.
“I think the goal is just to get the word out there, because mental illness isn’t spoken about much. It’s almost like a swear word.”
Regular exercise can help with stress and anxiety, as well as improving the quality of life for those already suffering from mental illness, according to the Mental Health Foundation.
Sole 2 Soul has taken this on board for its training programs, and Ms Evans said the aim was to inspire and empower clients from within. The studio offers yoga alongside its normal fitness routines, and also works with local physiotherapists to provide rehabilitation services.
With privacy and a welcoming experience as one of its major concerns, she said she’d already seen the response among her clients.
“Once people start to get to know you, they’ll start opening up,” she said.
“One of my clients couldn’t look in the mirror, and now she can. She looks in the mirror at her form.
“I always had the dream, but I didn’t know I could do it.”
And the young entrepreneur offered some advice for those going through the same things she did.
“Believe in yourself, and take it one day at a time,” she said.
“If you take a step back, no matter how many steps, you can always keep going.”