Hey team, Hattie/Hats here

I’m super excited to be joining Valesco!

I absolutely love training to see what my body is capable of. Whether that’s simply getting stronger, or developing new skills, functional fitness makes so much sense to me. Practical, fun training that we can apply beyond the gym to our everyday lives. For me, this means being robust enough to tackle mountain adventures in my spare time, whether that’s trail running, climbing or wild swimming.

A little backstory…

I’ve always loved sport, and although I’ve never been the best at it, the enthusiasm has always been there. Cross-country, athletics, netball, rowing and triathlon at uni… I was, and still am, the ultimate keen bean.

In 2015, a friend lured me to my local CrossFit gym in Shropshire, promising it would help build my strength for trail running. Two weeks later, that same friend had signed me up for a six-person team competition. (For the record, we’re still friends to this day!)

What followed was several years of competing in CrossFit alongside triathlons, long-distance cycling and running events, and a growing love of mountaineering. I loved how all these different elements of fitness complemented each other, and being able to see and measure my progress as I got stronger.

In 2021, I ruptured my Achilles tendon twice, eventually needing a full reconstruction. It forced me to rethink how I wanted to live my life and gave me a new appreciation for strength training, which became a huge part of my rehab: all that upper-body and core work came in very handy during nine months on crutches! Once I was able to walk and run again, my focus shifted towards training that would allow me to explore wild places and seeing more of the world.

That journey led me to start my coaching career, and I now work as a Mountain Leader and Open Water Swimming Coach, alongside my L2 Gym Instructor, L3 Personal Training and L4 Nutrition qualifications. I love to help people build the strength, skills and confidence to take on challenges they might once have thought were beyond their reach.

Having recently moved to Bristol, I was looking for an inclusive community with the same values and work ethic as me. I’ve found exactly that in the team at Valesco, and I can’t wait to get stuck in!