How QKB Became My Second Home

I was a fat kid. Largely due to asthma medication and preferring to play music and sing than exercise; I sang in choirs and lived to play the lead in the annual high-school musical. Needless to say, apart from dancing up a storm after a few drinks, I’ve never seen myself as a particularly ‘mobile’ human. That was always the case until I was asked to jump into a beginner workshop at QKB back in 2014. I think we all go through a phase of being sucked into the mentality of ‘if your workout doesn’t hurt, you’re not training hard enough, and you won’t get results’ or something similar. I’m glad that only lasted for about 12 months after I stumbled into a commercial boxing gym while I was 21 before I found QKB.

'I think something must have clicked and at that point, I was like ‘damn, I want to be quietly capable enough to move heavy s#&% if I need to’.'

I believe my sister and I had just purchased a giant day bed and once it arrived home, we had absolutely no idea how we were going to get this thing onto our small front deck – enter the Kwan’s. Piers and Rach showed up (they lived next door) and I remember Piers confidently saying something along the lines of, ‘she’s pretty strong, we’ll be fine’  regarding Rach. They then proceeded to lift this awkward object like a piece of cotton wool and place it gently down in the pokey corner of our deck. I think something must have clicked and at that point, I was like ‘damn, I want to be quietly capable enough to move heavy s#&% if I need to’.

'What it does incredibly well is provide consistent results (for me, in the form of strength gains) with the smallest amount of work possible.'

I’m an impatient person; I’m half Italian, I’ve worked as a Pastry Chef in a high-end kitchen, I like to start four projects at once and complain about not having enough time. Ironically, our Modolo family motto is ‘patience, tolerance, and understanding’. I am the epitome of the target market that ‘quick fixes’ appeal to because I want things yesterday. So, how does QKB fit this mould? Well, it doesn’t. Instead, what it does incredibly well is provide consistent results (for me, in the form of strength gains) with the smallest amount of work possible. This is a big plus for me, given that time is incredibly valuable, I know I can go into the gym or class, train for 30 minutes and just get stronger.

There’s the right mix of inspiration and wanting to be stronger without it being competitive and there’s a certain type of (dark) humour that’s shared by most of the members that makes training a hell of a lot more fun. I’ve also never been a particularly social human and it turns out probably 80% of our members are with me and the expectation to put on a happy face and talk about the weather is pretty low. This is my cup of tea.

'Every day, I hear people talk about their back discomfort, or that annoying shoulder niggle or neck tightness, and every day I have to try my best to calmly tell them about QKB'

You know how you feel when you discover an addictive new show, a new song or an amazing new restaurant and you try your best to encourage your friends and family to watch/listen/visit without sounding like an absolute lunatic or Instagram influencer? That’s exactly how I feel about this gym. Every day, I hear people talk about their back discomfort, or that annoying shoulder niggle or neck tightness, and every day I have to try my best to calmly tell them about QKB and how it could genuinely change their life for the better without it sounding like a cult.

I can safely say my commitment to being stronger and maintaining some level of consistency has been thanks to the incredible people who I see on a semi-regular basis at QKB. I’m lucky enough to have had the opportunity to become a StrongFirst level 2 kettlebell instructor (the highest level of the best regarded kettlebell certification in the world) and can now honestly say, this gym has become my second home.

If QLD Kettlebells sound like something you want to be a part of, check out when our next Beginner Kettlebell Workshop is or pop in for a coffee and a chat †o find out how you can start building sustainable, healthy habits.