THE LIVING EDGE NEWS: DECEMBER 2023

AN ODE TO TLE/OBC 2023 - A MASSIVE YEAR FOR OUR COMMUNITY

Recruits united, fuelled with might,

2023 dawned, a promising light.

Consistent training, a spirited start,

Wellness pursued, each playing a part.

Foam Fest and bike rides, challenges embraced,

Consistent training, a rhythm traced.

Friday nights, a shred session’s delight,

A social outlet, easing week’s fight.

In March we awarded the Amy Su’s shield,

Thierry Morin, virtues revealed.

Grit and fun, his trail event won,

42km conquered, under the sun.

Run for the Kids, a collective stride,

Nathan promoted, Sarge with pride.

Boris, a veteran of a decade’s span,

Jono, into the police force began.

Midyear chills, recruits stand unfazed,

Trail events conquered, bonds ablaze.

Gloves and hoodies, warmth embraced,

In unity wrapped, strength interlaced.

Pedro leads, 23 in unity,

Push-ups for mental health, a community’s plea.

Wattle Park’s challenge, ropes and more,

Chef Stu’s breakfast, Kwokie’s pour.

Comedy fest’s laughter, Jordan in the air,

Friday night drinks, a culture to share.

Post-training coffees, mornings bright,

Mentors’ commitment, a shared delight.

Fundraising fervor for Mad Jax’s knee,

Supporting each another, a community decree.

Achievement awards, mental health’s acclaim,

Finalists named, in Living Edge’s name.

A loss felt deep, David Peake’s name,

Quarters’ medals bear his cherished flame.

September, October, no momentum lost,

Coaches step up, a dedicated lot!

Congratulations to all, achievements bright,

Perseverance and trust, in the Living Edge light.

A tapestry woven, vibrant and true,

In 2023’s finale, health and happiness to you!

…Dave and Katrina

THE LIVING EDGE – END OF YEAR CELEBRATION

We hope you are free to join us for a celebration of all we have collectively achieved in 2023… family and friends welcome!

Bring a picnic rug, a deck chair, some snacks and an esky, as we share stories from the year and get to see Wattle Park in a different light!

Things will kick off from 11am onwards, so feel free to drop-in even if only for a moment – whenever suits.

CONGRATULATIONS NICK AND SARAH GREEN!

Congratulations to past instructor and recruit, Nick and Sarah Green who welcomed their son, Oliver Charlie Green into the world recently.

Such a great way to wrap up 2023 for you and your family and on behalf of the wider Living Edge Family we wish you all the best on this amazing chapter!

P.S. There are plenty of babysitters within the TLE family – don’t hesitate to ask for help.

THE EDGE BUSINESS CONNECT | SETTING UP SHOP, GOING FAST AND IN BUSINESS FOR 40 YEARS - CITY EDGE MOTORCYCLES & CITY JET SKI

A new feature within our monthly newsletter, ‘The Edge Business Connect’ will enable recruits to learn about a business connected with our community through one of our recruits. The aim of this feature is to connect our community on and off the field be it to obtain their services, share vacant positions and learn a little more about the untapped network.

To kick us off, Living Edge legend Sandy Ellul tells us a little about his journey in business – from riding bikes from the age of 10 , meeting his two loves Ducati’s and Ange back is the 90’s, setting up shop in Huntingdale to setting up his purpose built shop in Williamstown.

Where did the passion for bikes begin?

I jumped on bikes from about the age of 10, riding mini bikes and eventually racing MotoX. At 17, I started riding on the road, jumping on a couple of Japanese bikes, before jumping on Triumphs until 1990 where I decided to buy my first Ducati. From my first Duc, I fell in love – becoming a nut, racing them for 20 years and switching from servicing motor vehicles to specialising in motorcycles. Being part of the Ducati Owners Club, I was able to meet other Ducati tragics – in comes Ange!

Tell us about your journey in business?

I started my own business in 1982, becoming one of the largest independent vehicle repair and service workshops in the Huntingdale area. Fast forward to 2023, I decided to sell the workshop in Huntingdale and purchased a Kawasaki watercraft dealership City Jet Ski. This business quickly expanded: adding motorcycle sales and service, adding additional brands such as Husqvarna and selling a range of scooters – moving the business to larger premises in Geelong Road, Footscray. Ten years passed and I decided it was time to gets out of retail sales, no longer wanting the responsibility of employees and wanted to take City Jet Ski back to it’s home in Williamstown closing down the store.

Operating from Williamstown, I felt was worth investing in and in 2021 set up a brand new purpose built Motorcycle and Jet Ski workshop – which has been described by enthusiast as one of the best in Melbourne.

What does City Edge Motorcycles and City Jet Ski do?

We performs service and repairs on most brands of Motorcycles and Jet Skis, however specialise in Ducati’s (naturally!). I am also a licensed roadworthy tester – if you are selling or purchasing.

I generally service 1-2 ski’s a week, however as we move into the warmer months this can increase – but really bikes are my thing!

What have you taken away from being in business?

At the age of 63, I’m very lucky to do what I love, it’s never a chore. As long as I have health and fitness, I can see myself doing what I do for a long time yet -retirement isn’t in my vocabulary!

SPIRIT OF BOOTCAMP AWARDS

The Spirit of Bootcamp nominations this month were incredibly powerful recognising a range of individuals.

Overwhelmingly, recruits nominated the coaches who have changed things up over the past two months – keeping you all challenged, testing out some different levels of fitness and showing their dedication to helping others achieve their health and wellbeing goals. Anthony Giuliani (Anth) and Joe Lumicisi (Joey) you are superstars in the eyes of all within the Living Edge community!

Off the field, Stuart de Kretser (Stuey) kept an eye on enrolments – ensuring recruits were ready to go each month and also became the newsletter editor. He is going to continue keeping you engaged in 2024, with different content and helping the TLE community in different ways.

Demonstrating some incredible behaviours as a leader on and off the field, Thomas Shevlin is showing maturity well beyond his age. Training in the Wattle Park PM sessions, Thomas trains hard and supports recruits throughout – sometimes the subtle words of encouragement are louder than anything else!

Remember, it takes a few moments to brighten another persons day by sharing something you have seen or identified!

ISAAC, SOREN AND NICK TEAR UP THE ‘RAPID ASCENT GREAT SOUTHERN STAGE RUN

Amazing effort by the crew to smash out a whopping 219.05km over three days in Western Australia as part of the ‘Rapid Ascent – Great Southern Stage Run’.

It’s great to see the results of your hard work, dedication and rehab to be able to smash out the numbers you did and we are sure that from the pictures below, you may just convince the OBC trail tragics to join you next year!

RESULTS:

Isaac

Day 1 – 31.16km elevation 794m
Day 2 – 22.63km elevation 327m
Day 3 – 16.3km elevation 239m

Total 70.1km and 1,360m elevation

Soren (Isaacs brother)

Day 1 – 21.76km elevation 474m
Day 2 – 23.99km elevation 596m
Day 3 – 29.49km elevation 523m

Total 75.25km 1,593 elevation

Nick Stoneham

Day 1 – 18.4km elevation 410m
Day 2 – 31.2km elevation 580m
Day 3 – 23.1km elevation 318m

Total 72.7km and 1,308m elevation

Grand total

219.05km and 4,261m

RECRUIT SPOTLIGHT - DAPHNE TAN

Wattle Park AM sessions have consistently being attended by Daphne over the last few years. Rain, hail or shine she comes prepared (even with gloves) putting in 100% effort and supporting her fellow recruits throughout. Daphne hasn’t mentioned it in her answers, but she is also knows plenty of great restaurants in Melbourne to consume Malaysian food!

Learn a little more about Daphne below and don’t forget to ask her for a restaurant recommendation!

My guilty pleasure…

Stay up late and binge-watching reality shows or TV drama series. Best Song?

Alicia Key – Girl on fire Best Piece of advice you ever received?

Forgive and let go This year – 2nd half of the 2023 I am most looking forward to…

Knocking down and rebuilding our home One thing people don’t know about you – what is your hidden talent?

I am good at solving puzzles First car?

Proton Saga – Malaysia national car

Current car?

Mercedes Benz GLA45

Dream car?

A car that doesn’t need cost to run !!!

First Music Concert

Sammi Cheng – Hong Kong Artist

If you have a superpower what would it be?

A mind reader – that will save lots of guessing work

If you could live anywhere in the world, where it would be?

Granada in Spain, the place is beautiful with friendly local.

A movie to watch?

What Dreams May Come – by Robin Williams, a beautiful and incredible moving movie.

Most Inspirational Living person?

My mom, always able to get through tough situation with smile.

What advice would you give your 18-year-old self ?

Take every opportunity to get to know and love yourself.

If you could invite any 5 people to a dinner party, who would they be?

Dr Mahathir Mohamad – former prime minister of Malaysia – I would like to know why he still want to involve in politic when he is close to 100 years-old.
Michael Bublé – loves his voice and can get him to warm up the party with some Christmas carol.
Tura Pitt – Bush marathon burns survivor, amazing how she pushes through the tragedy.
Hamish Blake – Australian comedian, he will be a great joy to have in the dinner party.
My healthy dad that hasn’t had gone through the stroke – my dad still alive but he never recovers from the stroke, he lost a huge part of memories and also ability to communicate, I missed talking and chatting with him.

What does the Living Edge OBC mean to you?

Living Edge OBC is a place where I get to be Daphne and focus on myself.

That’s it for 2023 – Keep an eye on the WhatsApp Group and your emails for some exciting things to kick off the new year. We look forward to helping you achieve your goals in 2024 and continuing to support our community.

All the best over the festive season, celebrating with your family and friends.

Stay safe and see you in 2024!

My involvement with Original Bootcamp and The Living Edge has been life changing. In 2012, I was seeking an outdoor fitness program that would challenge me and improve my fitness, but what I got from it is so much more. It's the best thing I've ever been part of! I've made lifelong friendships, it is a wonderful, supportive network, and I'd recommend it to anyone, no matter what their health and fitness goals are.

Training with The Living Edge has become an integral part of my life over the last few years. The instructors are inspirational, highly skilled and deliver a brilliant program that’s diverse, challenging, motivational and for me and, above all, so much fun! I absolutely love starting my day in the beautiful natural setting of Wattle Park. For me, it’s far more than just physical exercise, it’s had a huge positive effect on my mental and emotional well-being. I’ve made so many friends; it's a true community that encourages, supports and cares for one another. Rain, hail or shine I look forward to each session. It will always be part of my life.

Joining Original Bootcamp with the Living Edge has been the best decision I have ever made. I will admit I went into it somewhat reluctantly, expecting to be pushed well beyond my limits and told to suck it up. What I found however was the most encouraging and inclusive community of people, whose only intent is to see people succeed in whatever they set their mind to. The support, the uplift in spirit and the focus on mindset and improvement at MY pace, has not only increased my physical fitness beyond all of my expectations, it has also filtered into my family and work life, creating a balance that has made me a better father, husband and worker as well as happier more fulfilled individual. Only you can change your health and happiness. The Living Edge will give you the tools and support to put your plan into action.

Nowadays it is not easy to find a place where the sense of community is at the forefront. The Original Bootcamp, lead by Sarge Dave Murray from The Living Edge, ticks this important box. From the first day, one can feel the camaraderie, support and encouragement that uplift the spirit during the hardest part of training or the coldest day of winter. Knowing that I will share an hour with a group of people with the same mindset motivates me every morning. That is just half of the equation because Dave Murray and his team of trainers lead by example, and they are always attentive to how we perform the exercise and that we are doing it the right way.

It’s never too late! I started attending Original Bootcamp training with The Living Edge in early 2014, after a 9-year break from regular exercise. I was in my 50’s and unfit by every measure. From the first session I was welcomed and never judged. Every recruit had been through a similar journey and they only offered words of encouragement and advice. Within 6 months I was back to being fit and feeling good about myself. Dave and the other trainers at The Living Edge have created an amazing culture, inclusive of people from all walks of life and occupations. Everyone is equal no matter who you are, and the camaraderie is both infectious and humbling. 8 years of Original Bootcamp with The Living Edge has been life changing for me, it’s that simple!

I have been a long- term Bootcamp recruit with The Living Edge for over 12 years and couldn’t imagine my life without it. No two training sessions are the same, so you know your body and mind will always be challenged and never become bored. I love exercising in the early morning fresh air with a connected, like-minded community who encourage and support each other throughout the session. My Original Bootcamp training with The Living Edge sets me up for a positive day!

I started training with The Living Edge in 2014. A short break to have my daughter and then I was back to Bootcamp. This is a great outdoor program with a variety of cardio and weight training. The sessions are always varied and well researched which keeps things interesting as well as beneficial fitness wise. The trainers are superb and Sarge Dave Murray is very motivational and supportive of your goals and aspirations. He has created a culture that is more like a community where everyone helps each other out. One of his favourite sayings is ‘together, everyone achieves more’. The support, camaraderie and banter is what keeps me coming back again and again. The Living Edge is so much more than just fitness training for me. It is the medicine for my mental health. Cannot recommend it highly enough!