Meet Dune

 

 

Tell us a little bit about you and what you do.

I am a health nut, lover of life and a mama to 4 crazy fur monsters. I am absolutely obsessed with this magical world and everything in it. I try my hardest to spend the majority of my time outdoors where I believe we all belong. When I am not out exploring or training I enjoy helping others find health and happiness through my services as a wellness and lifestyle coach. I believe nutrition, fitness and mindset are all vital to live a full life. For more details you can view my website at www.wellnesswithdune.com I also enjoy working as a photographer. Initially I started out as a fashion photographer/stylist but latey I have found myself more drawn toward food photography. It’s my creative outlet of sorts and I have been lucky enough to have worked on some incredible campaings with great brands.

 

What was the inspiration behind becoming a Fitness Specialist, Nutrition Advisor, Yoga Instructor and Lifestyle coach?

Growing up I was very sporty and ‘health’ concious but I was focused solely on body image ‘superficial health’ as I like to call it, struggling to accept my body let alone love it. It wasn’t until my early twenties that I realised I needed to change my mindset of what health actually is and so my true health and self love journey began. Although I started out doing it for myself I couldn’t help but want to help others find selflove and happiness as well – a gift this great has to be shared! So off I went to learn all that I could and got qualified… it’s the greatest thing I could have done, the learning never ends. I am always doing new and exciting courses to expand my knowledge.

 

What are some of your daily inspirations, challenges and rewards as a wellness coach/instagram influencer?

My daily inspiriation is this world we live in. There is so much beauty in every breathing moment of life, how can I not be inspired. My rewards are so many! One of my favorite is the moment I start seeing the shift in my clients, when they truly begin to start loving themselves. They actually start looking like different people, they get this light in their eyes, I know it sounds cheesy but its incredible to witness. I also love doing the kitchen clean out for my clients [they usually hate it as I remove most of their favorite foods] but I find it really fun teaching people about health and well being. My challenge as a wellness coach and influencer is trying to get people and brands to understand that this is actually my career. I do this for a living and although smiles and freebies are beautiful they don’t pay my bills at the end of each month.

 

What do you find is the hardest challenge balancing your work and personal life?

I like to think I am good at keeping my personal and work life seperated and balanced. The only thing that I usually have to explain to people is that my work hours are almost completely opposite to your normal week day 9-5 job. Weekends for example are usually my busiest, and many of my appointments are after office hours because that is when my clients are finished with work and available, but luckily my friends and family are very understanding and supportive.

 

What inspires you to stay fit and healthy?

Life. I want to actually live, to explore the world, every single bit of it from depths of the ocean to the highest peaks of the tallest mountains, and for that you need your health and fitness.

 

What does self-care mean to you? What do you do to keep sane?

Self care is everything, you can’t help others if you don’t help yourself first. And as I always tell my clients it’s not something you can do for 1 hour every second week. Self care is embedded in our daily decisions, it’s making sure you get quality sleep every night, the nutrients you feed your body, making time to get out in nature and be with your loved ones, your alone time, learning to say no to something because your body, mind, heart and or soul need you to stand up for yourself. Self care is putting your well being first.

 

What types of exercises bring out the best in your body shape?

This is a tricky question because I don’t train for a certain body shape. I train according to my interests and goals which are never based on my physical image. For example I’m currently doing triathlon training, which is quite intense so I have gained quite a lot of muscle in comparison to when I was focusing on lowering inflammation in my body by doing regular light running and yoga. Different exercise at different intensities will bring you different results, it just depends on what you want to achieve and everyone is different.

 

What 3 tips would you give on how to be in the best shape of your life in your twenties/thirties?

Drop dairy: no this is not me trying to push veganism on you. The fastest way to drop a few unwanted centimeters is to drop dairy. Eat more whole foods. Fruits and vegtables are vital for your health regardless of the eating program you follow. Make sweating fun! find a sport or outdoor activity you ACTUALLY enjoy doing. People always think they need to go to gym to get sweaty but there are other ways of getting fit and burning calories. With Rock climbing for example, you can burn up to 850 calories in just 45 minutes.

 

Take us through an average day in the life, the first thing you do in the morning through to the last thing you do at night.

Haha, nothing about my days are routine! I literally don’t have a single day in a week that is the same to any other, at least not time wise. But I can share my usual activities in a day although the order of these change all the time depending on the meetings, photoshoots and deadlines I have scheduled.

I usually start my day with puppy cuddles, then it’s responding to emails and DM’s [usually still in bed] until the pups want breakfast which is normally around 8am. This is when I also have my first dose of vitamins and superfoods. I then do 1 hour of yoga followed by breakfast.Get ready for meetings/ calls with clients/ work on my pc. Afterwards I head off to the gym for my training or head out with the dogs for a trail run [if I workout at the gym I make time to still walk the lil creatures either on the beach or in the forest. If I don’t have a photoshoot or editing deadlines and have extra time in a day, I am either out enjoying life in nature or visiting cafes/ back on my pc responding to more emails and or getting a sport massage. In the evenings, I either make myself dinner and enjoy a quiet evening at home or go out with friends for dinner and a catch up. Then it is lights out for at least 8 wonderful hours of sleep.

Some days I have photoshoots at sunrise or sunset and other days I’m up cycling at 3am. It really depends on what is required from me on that day.

 

What does your perfect day in Cape Town look like?

Oh wow that’s easy. It would be a hot summer’s day and start with early morning cuddles followed by yoga and training. Then a day of exploring, beaching, hiking or whatever else with loved ones and the pups [taking loads of photos of course] ending off the afternoon holding a health and wellness workshop, followed by a delicious dinner and a spontaneous skinny dip on my way home!

 

Where are your three favorite destinations to travel to alone/with family/friends? Do you have any trips planned?

My favorite destinations are probably all the place I have yet to travel to! As much as I love all the places I have been to, I love the new, the unknown more than anything else. I don’t really plan adventures too far in advance. I kind of just get thirst for adventure and then I know its time to explore again.

 

What is your philosophy when it comes to food?

Live a life that gives you the freedom to eat what you want when you want it. You like carbs, that’s awesome[honestly who doesn’t] so just take up running or swimming so that you balance it out. Why live less when you can live more.

 

Must have beauty products?

The sun and the sea is my first and foremost beauty must! Beyond that I use TERRES D’AFRIQUE Skincare range and then make up wise it’s a water proof mascara (still on the hunt for the perfect cruelty free one) and a brow pen.

 

Biggest vice(s)?

At the moment it’s sugar coated macadamia nuts.It’s probably my equivilent of chocolate bars and candy.

Something you can’t live without?

My loved ones [family,friends and pups] and adventures. Oh and superfoods! I need my health to enjoy exploring the world with the ones I love.

 

What is next for you?

Fitness wise I have set some pretty awesome goals; I am currently training for a few triathlons and running adventures. However I’m not competitive in nature (like not at all actually) so I am not entering to compete but rather to just have fun and experience what it’s all about. Why not right? Career wise, I want to start getting more involved in workshops and retreats. It’s such a great way of connecting and sharing knowledge – it’s definitely on my horizon.I also try to remain as open as possible so that when new/unexpected opportunities present themselves I can embrace them with open arms because after all some of the most magical journeys in life are the unplanned ones.

 

Is there anything we have not asked that you would like to talk about?

I think you covered most of it.

 

Quick Fire:

Sweet or Savory? Savory
Hot or cold? Hot
Lips or Eyes? Both
Smoothie or Juice? Smoothies
Yoga or Pilates? Yoga
Coffee or Tea? Tea

Curated by Ségo Elliott