As a golden sunrise shines over the sandstone headlands and dapples on to the untouched morning sand of Sydney’s Tamarama Beach, model and mumma Rachael Finch floats effortlessly across the shoreline. Her contagious energy and aura like some oceanic goddess make us forget we have been up shooting since 5am, and we bask in the morning light, enamoured as we watch two of nature’s beauties effortlessly at work; one being the sunrise, the other Rachael, of course.
The 28-year-old former Miss Universe Australia needs no introduction. She’s graced our screens as a presenter on reality Channel 7 series Beauty and the Geek, has tangoed her way into our hearts as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars and now she’s dancing her way into our living rooms with the launch of her new fitness program, B.O.D.
She’s also one of Australia’s most loved media personalities, capturing the hearts of the nation with her down-to-earth personality, natural beauty and enthusiasm for life. With an infectious smile and a heart full of gold, this hard working mum-of-two is a true poster girl for leading a wholesome and holistic lifestyle. Rachael’s passion for health and wellness is nothing new. She has always embraced an active lifestyle and, even from a young age, loved being outside. As a toddler, she says with a laugh, she used to run down the athletics track in nappies.
Whilst her goal to compete in the Olympics for 200-metre sprint and long jump was put on hold after she entered and won a modelling competition at the tender age of 15, her outlook on health and the importance of movement never changed.
“Health has always been a priority,” she says. “I’ve always been interested in what makes me feel incredible. I love waking up feeling phenomenal; I hate that groggy and tired feeling. I want to be that 100 per cent version of myself. I don’t want to be that 10 per cent, 20 per cent, tired, angry, cranky person.”
It was this thirst for knowledge and her passion for always striving to be and feel better that inspired her to start sharing her wisdom with those around her.
“I’ve always been interested in what makes me feel incredible. I love waking up feeling phenomenal; I hate that groggy and tired feeling. I want to be that 100 per cent version of myself.
I don’t want to be that 10 per cent, 20 per cent, tired, angry, cranky person.
Rachael – who has a loyal following of more than 297,000 people on Instagram – utilises her reach to help educate and inspire women around the globe, sharing insights, workouts and healthy recipes though her books, website and, of course, her latest project; BOD.
An acronym for Body Of Dance, the online wellness program – which she co-created with Dancing with the Stars hubby Michael Miziner – aims to make it easier for women of all ages and fitness levels to embrace movement every day.
“(BOD) was pretty much born from Dancing with the Stars,” she says. “We love staying active and fit and wanted to combine everything that we are passionate about in terms of health and wellness; what we eat, how we meditate, how we stretch, what we do for exercise and how we use dance-inspired workouts throughout our week.”
And the best bit? You can do it from the comfort of your own living room.Those who join the online program are not left alone to fend for themselves, either.
Instead of images that are difficut to decipher, a BOD point of difference is that Rachel and Michael take you through the daily dance routines with video tutorials, making it easy, exciting and fun to follow along at home.
“We are not one of those programs that you sign up to and just get an e-book where you have to follow some diagrams and are kind of left on your own,” she explains. “We want to support each and every person as much as we can.”
Team ACC signed up to the program straight away and we now have an extensive repertoire of dance moves we can tick off as exercise. Shaking our booties in the office to some Latin-American music pre meetings is now totally a thing.#justcallusbeyonce.
With two beautiful children – Violet (three) and Dominique (eight weeks) – a household to run, a successful career and a new business, the 28-year-old has become a master as juggling. And though she might be sleep deprived and running on exhaustion fumes most of the time, motherhood is always her number one priotity, and it’s no secret how much Rachel loves her kids.
“When you become a mother, all your priorities shift,” she says, her face lighting up as she talks about her beautiful children. “As long as they’re happy, healthy and enjoying themselves in life, then that’s my job done.”
“When you become a mother, all your priorities shift.As long as they’re happy, healthy and enjoying themselves in life, then that’s my job done”
No matter how busy life gets, Rachael’s bubbly personality, glowing skin and positive outlook on life never falter. Poised against the sandstone headlands, she holds her hands to her heart as if life is complete. A beautiful moment indeed.
“I want my kids to see the best of me. I want to be my best, for me,” she says.
If there was ever a sentence to sum up what wellness means to someone and what it feels like to be “well” it sure as hell would be that!
Thanks Rach, that one is going into our wellness dictionary!
Images: David Higgs
Styling: Jess Pecoraro
Hair and makeup: Diana Djurdjevski
Video: Tommy Devy