Five Minutes with Ashy Bines
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Ask any Australian woman to think of a fitness personality and Ashy Bines is bound to be at the top of her list.
Ashy has gained a massive following from her Bikini Body Challenge and spreading her love of health and fitness over social media. While her Instagram features what you’d expect from a fitness star: gorgeous active wear, chiselled abs, bikinis, Ashy is careful to show not just her highlight reel, most notably on her Snapchat account and reality show, Ashy Bines Raw. It’s here you’ll find Ashy fresh-faced and makeup free, talking about the struggle of eating healthy, dishing out helpful workout tips and spending time with her gorgeous baby Taj.
Ashy’s latest venture, the Ashy Bines Booty Tour, brings her to Canberra this weekend courtesy of Damsel and Sprout. I caught up with her to find out what’s in store for Sunday’s workout.
What have been some of the highlights of the Booty Tour so far?
The highlights would definitely be just meeting the girls, because I speak with so many women online every single day and that’s incredible, but when I meet them face to face and they tell me about their journey or what my programs have done for them, or something I’ve said on Snapchat that’s inspired them, I really feel and see their emotion, and that to me is the best thing in the world.
I love connecting with them – I feel like we’re best friends and they feel like that with me as well. It’s really beautiful and something that I’ve been so grateful to experience.
I saw you had some massive numbers. Did I hear you set a Guinness World Record?
Yeah we did, for the most people doing squats at the same time in a minute. It was really cool, we smashed it.
What kind of experience can the girls expect to have at the Booty Tour?
They can expect to have lots of loud music, and just a big group of women who are all on the same journey. A lot of girls come alone and they’re really nervous and scared, but once they’re in there, they have so much fun. When you walk into that room, you can feel the love, you can feel the vibe, it’s like an electric feeling of excitement and happiness. I make them all give someone a hug that they don’t know, there’s no judgement and we have a really big workout and then a meet and greet afterwards, take lots of photos and just have so much fun. Even afterwards they all tag me in their photos and I like them and reply to them,
I make them all give someone a hug that they don’t know, there’s no judgement and we have a really big workout and then a meet and greet afterwards, take lots of photos and just have so much fun. Even afterwards they all tag me in their photos and I like them and reply to them, there’s so much connection and love and that’s what makes it really beautiful.
You’ve obviously got a huge audience. What’s your “why” – the reason why you do everything you do?
Growing up I was always really active but I felt like I never really had a strong support system around me when it came to my journey of fitness, or just even a solid group of friends, and I hated feeling alone. When I met my partner and he was running bootcamps, I found that that was the missing key to their success. He was a great trainer, he was super smart and knew how to teach people to exercise with correct form and about nutrition, but I felt like the girls needed something more and that was a backbone of support: someone who understands what they’re going through, someone to listen, and someone to be there for them when they feel like giving up – not just at the session but it’s when you come home – that’s the hardest time.
He was a great trainer, he was super smart and knew how to teach people to exercise with correct form and about nutrition, but I felt like the girls needed something more and that was a backbone of support: someone who understands what they’re going through, someone to listen, and someone to be there for them when they feel like giving up – not just at the session but it’s when you come home – that’s the hardest time.
We have online forums where they get to speak to their trainers or speak to me or speak to my A-Team, and just having that support. I never want any girl to feel like they’re going through it alone – that’s my biggest why.
I just want women to have a healthy relationship with themselves, enjoy exercise and also be a good example for our younger generation, I want to change the way that children look at food and treat their bodies, and the way they talk to themselves. So many young girls are so fixated on their bodies, and that honestly breaks my heart because when I was 11 and 12 I was playing with barbie dolls and climbing trees, whereas nowadays they’re on Instagram looking at celebrities thinking that’s how they should be. I really want to change that. I want to teach them a different way to think.
How do you manage to stay authentic on social media?
I think the world is screaming for more authenticity, so many people are putting out their highlight reels on social media and it puts a lot of pressure on other young women thinking that their lives aren’t as perfect as the girl they saw on Instagram.
If I go through a hard time where I’m feeling a bit unmotivated or if I had a bad night’s sleep, whatever it is I’ll always share it, but I also try to take a lesson from the hard times. I don’t just talk about my hard day, I’ll say ‘this is what I was doing, this is what happened, and this is what I’ve taken from it so that next time I don’t’ have to feel like that.’
Obviously being a mum has had a huge impact on your personal life, but has it taught you much about women’s bodies, or about coaching mums as opposed to young girls?
Yeah, it is different. So much happens when you have a baby, and so much that I didn’t realise until I had a baby. I looked at photos of these beautiful mums with their hair all done with their beautiful baby smiling and I just thought, ‘oh cute, the baby will just sit in the bouncer all day and you can just carry on your life as you like’. Oh god, it is so much more that. Your whole world is just flipped upside down and your body changes. It’s not what it used to be, your fitness isn’t where it used to be and it takes time.
At the same time, every mother is so different. I don’t get on Snapchat and say ‘you should be doing this workout by this many weeks’ because it depends on your pregnancy, it depends on your birth, on your lifestyle, on your situation, how much help you have… I don’t try and tell every mum what to do, I just kind of share my experience and tell them to listen to their own bodies, but also to reach out to your obstetrician, your midwife, your doctor, people that specialise in those areas and just make sure that you are looking after yourself the best way that you can, not just physically, but emotionally as well.
How do you keep yourself healthy and happy when you have what I imagine would be a hugely hectic schedule?
It can be tough sometimes, I won’t lie and say that it’s peachy all the time. I’m really good at balancing everything out, so there’s a lot of things in my life that I love, that make me happy, light me up and give me energy, and I plan and prepare how I can fit all of those things that make me happy into my week every single week. So that’ time with my son, time with my husband, seeing my friends, my work because I love what I do, but also taking some time out for me so whether that’s when Taj naps or when he goes to my mums for a couple of hours, I’ll always fit in those things that recharge my batteries. Taj is a really good sleeper – I got a coach in to help with that so I feel that making sure he gets enough rest makes him a really happy, relaxed baby so that helps a lot as well.
the essentials
What: The Ashy Bines Booty Tour Canberra
Where: Lennox Gardens in Yarralumla
When: Sunday October 16
How much: Tickets start from $28 and include the full 28-Day Booty Challenge (valued at $69.95), a goodie bag, and access to a private online forum
Tickets: www.ashybinesbootytour.com
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