Come Back Stronger!

By Charlotte Burns

“Let’s not get physical!” Jacinda Ardern metaphorically says as she shuts all of New Zealand
down for ten weeks in March.

COVID-19 has thrown the whole world into chaos and now is hugely impacting people’s
health.

Fitness, once a way to stay motivated and keep a positive mindset, now put to the back
burner with lock-in memberships and personal trainers forgotten about.

But Ella Hayes is determined not to let that happen.

Ella is a Masterton based personal trainer and student nutritionist, who started her own
business two weeks into New Zealand's hard lockdown after losing her job and despite the
odds - is thriving.

“I just wanted to come back stronger from being let go due to COVID-19 and be able to
continue to help people with their health journeys,” Ella says.

It hasn’t been an easy journey for Ella to become the trainer she is today.

Ella was forced to moved ‘home’ to NZ after completing six years of high school in Australia
but being ineligible for a university student loan.
After looking at her options and considering her motivation, she chose a personal training
diploma with the view to completing a four-year degree in Exercise Science and Nutrition at
Universal College of Learning.

But this was quite a pivot.

Throughout her studies in high school, Ella was commended and rewarded for her
musicality and stage presence, her best performance and last semi-professional
performance was performing Hey Ya in the Victorian School State Spectacular in 2017.

With a following of dedicated fans and connections to the industry, Ella had a bright future
to look forward to.

“(Moving to NZ) I lost all of my connections with the music industry, and I have always loved
learning about health, so I felt like it was the good option to go into,” Ella says.

Ella’s motivation is to always come back better and stronger from the challenges and
roadblocks, and while her music career is on hold, it has not dimmed her light on being a
successful nutritionist and trainer.

Having previously struggled with her body image, she was highly motivated to head into the
health-based industry.

“I want to help people like me, and I would love someone to have helped me at 15/16 with
my fitness and nutrition,” Ella says.

Ella was an initial success showing her passion and expertise as a group trainer at a local
gym but 18 months on from getting her first qualification a worldwide health pandemic
meant she lost her job.

Instead of grieving the loss of that job, Ella jumped on Instagram and started promoting
herself, leading her to running her business today.

“I started Lift with Ella because I wanted to direct (fitness and healthy living) in my own
direction. People come to me because they like my style of training and passion for fitness,”
Ella says.

During hard lockdown, Ella offered her followers zoom calls, Instagram lives, home workouts
using everyday items and healthy budget meals using ingredients most New Zealand
households had in their pantry already.

"I do a daily check-in with my followers on Instagram because I love Instagram and I wanted
to hold myself accountable for my goals,” Ella says “These stories continue to show people
that I love my job.”

Behind the scenes, she was securing gym space, casual office space, training in how to run a
business and continuing her studies in nutrition.
Her following appreciated her honest opinion, knowledge and willingness to try new
products to ensure she delivers the right information.

Nemeshia Blundell, a friend and one of Ella’s clients, recalls Ella providing her with real
advice on fat burners and using protein powders in her diet.

“It was interesting to find out about what was inside a fat burner and how it might not
impact my body much if I wasn’t exercising a lot,” Nemeshia says.

“During lockdown, Ella provided insightful videos for me to follow along and learn about
what I was putting in my body.”

Nemeshia wasn’t the only person to notice Ella’s dedication to fitness and nutrition, LUXE
Fitness, a New Zealand owned protein powder brand, quickly noticed her Instagram
following and passion for health and set her up as a brand ambassador.

LUXE Fitness relies on their ambassadors to promote their products with honest reviews,
recipes and exercises and has utilised Ella’s connections to promote their brand within the
Masterton region.

Throughout her brand endorsements, particularly in COVID-19, Ella has remained true to
her values and open about products she has received as gifts.

“I am the face of my business, so I have to fact check everything I say, and I have to be good
at what I do otherwise people don't follow," Ella says.

“I have found it challenging to get off the ground, and I have had to say goodbye to friends
because they haven’t supported me, but I have come back stronger.”

Ella hoped coming out of lockdown her bootcamps were going to be a big hit, but it is her
consultation and personal training sessions that have been a success and her hope is to
continue supporting people through their fitness journeys.

“ I struggled mentally before with my health and I want to work with people on their mental
and physical gains they achieve through my programs” Ella exclaims.

Amber Graham is one of Ella’s super happy clients.

“I have felt super comfortable with Ella and she lets me bring William to our sessions and
continues to motivate me outside of these sessions,” Amber says.

“It's pretty stressful as a mum to stay fit and Ella has gone above and beyond to make sure I
achieve my goals.”

Ella exclaims her point of difference is not that she is a young thriving professional, but
instead, her clients have come to her because they love her direction and flexibility.
"I offer mums and bubs, home services and I work with clinical population, people with type
1 diabetes, chronic pain and invisible diseases," she says.

“ I have a love to learn how the body works for everyone and it what drives me to get up in
the morning and for me motivation is a lifestyle, not a choice.”

As New Zealand opens back up, Ella continues to run her business and study full-time, but
she believes it is time to add more to her busy lifestyle.

“ For the last month and a half, I have put my business first, but I still have a lot to learn and
I want the best for my clients," Ella says.

Ella says she accepted a position at The Hubb NZ.

"It's more of a health club rather than a gym, so it's focused on nutrition, with chiropractors
and physiotherapy,” Ella says.

“I’m excited about this opportunity. I want to be in a position where I am an expert in my

field, and I won’t get that without learning the ropes,” Ella says.

Ella’s final piece of advice is to: “Come back (from COVID-19) stronger, and don’t let
anything get in your way.”
Reflection

Initially, I found this assignment quite difficult to complete due to my lack of inspiration and
connections while in lockdown in Victoria. I had heard of Ella through a mutual friend of
mine and found her on Instagram. I chose to interview her because I found it interesting
how quickly she set up her at home programs and how positive she was throughout the
entire lockdown in New Zealand. I was able to secure a Zoom call with her after a direct
message to her Instagram, and she then provided me with clients I could contact following
our interview. For our Zoom call, I made sure to have a variety of questions as I knew the
basics of her career development, but I didn't know how I wanted to angle each stage of her
career yet. My research enabled me to ask open-ended questions and dig into why she
started a business. Through these questions, Ella not only answered them in detail but
provided advice for people that want to start a business in the future. Writing this piece
came with a bit more ease than finding the topic as I was confident in Ella's story and her
persona. In particular, I latched on to the phrase "come back stronger" as this was Ella's
motivation for all of the challenges she had faced and I could connect to it. In my first draft,
I was writing a narrative and not a profile. I needed to review the zoom calls multiple times
to be able to inject quotes seamlessly from Ella and her clients. In hindsight, I wish I had
pushed for more detail from her clients to add more perspective to Ella's training technique
and provide the audience with more confidence in her abilities. Additionally, I found it
challenging to wrap up and edit this piece as I felt there was so much to tell in so little word
space. In future, I hope to be able to perfect my writing to be able to tell a clear yet
convincing story of an interesting person.

Accountability Document
All interviews were conducted via Zoom due to COVID-19 restrictions. Sources were
contacted through Instagram direct messages.

Ella Hayes
Email: liftwithella@gmail.com
Instagram Handle: @liftwithella
Facebook Pages: Lift With Ella and Ella Hayes Music
https://www.facebook.com/liftwithella
https://www.facebook.com/Ella-Hayes-Music-967665166656914/

Nemeshia Blundell, @meeshnb

Amber Graham, @ambay.and_chris

Luxe Fitness, 2020. Ambassadors. [Online]

Available at: https://www.luxefitness.com.au/pages/lux-ambassador
[Accessed 1 August 2020].

New Zealand Government, 2020. New Zealand moves to COVID-19 Alert Level 3, then Level
4 in 48 hours. [Online]
Available at: https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-zealand-moves-covid-19-alert-level-
3-then-level-4-48-hours
[Accessed 1 August 2020].