We had a chat with Kirstie Gannaway, half-Australian and half-Singaporean Boxing and MMA pro fighter on what she does outside the ring and her love of food, travel and animals.
OUTSIDE THE RING.
I’m a music, food, art and travel enthusiast. On a weekly basis, I would play the guitar and cook healthy meals and snacks. I love finding inspirations for healthy meals and snacks to replace foods that I’d otherwise want to binge. I also work on personal art works which are often drawings or small paintings. When I have more time, exploring new countries and experiencing other cultures is one of my most favourite things to do.
HER TOP 3 TRAVEL DESTINATIONS.
BALI, INDONESIA
A couple free days free or a long weekend, Bali is great for a quick getaway. There are so many parts of it to explore such as the beach and the terraces, depending on what you want to do. It caters to anyone whether it’s a party getaway, beach holiday or relaxation retreat.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Awesome beaches, great weather and the food is awesome! The people in Australia are easy going and are fun to be around. Being half Australian, it’s nice to go explore more of the country and know the place a little better.
HOKKAIDO, JAPAN
Hokkaido have great food produce including some of the freshest and best seafood and their dairy produce is amazing! In the winter there are snow sports available and for me its one of the best places to go snowboarding. In the summer, the nature there is really beautiful.
THINGS NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT YOU.
I was a fat kid growing up! When I was 12 years old I weighed 65kg and hated sports. I loved horse riding but living in Singapore made it hard to keep up with because it is a really expensive activity here. It was when I started boxing when I was 15 years old my entire life turned around. The day I started, I never stopped!
I love animals. Since I was young my Brother and I would take in and nurture animals we found on the street that were either wild or pets that had been abandoned. We have taken in and saved tons of animals including turtles, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs and then mostly cats. Because of work and travelling, I didn’t commit to having a pet, so the last 3 years I’ve been a part of a cat fostering program where I will take care of cats that were from abusive homes or from the street. One of my dreams is to have an animal sanctuary where I can take in any animals of the street and foster them.
KIRSTIE’S TRAINING TIP:
If it’s difficult to train consistently because of work or school and can’t make it into the gym,
try squeezing in a run, skipping intervals and incorporate some core exercises. When I was younger and couldn’t find time to train at the gym I would sometimes do skipping intervals in the stairwell of
my apartment or even my bedroom (my neighbours hated me!) and then would do some repetitions of simple core exercises – because core work will always come in handy.
It’s just a simple way to stay conditioned so that when you do have the time to come back to the gym, you’ll be able to keep up.
