Speaker 1: If I have one bad race, people are commenting on
Speaker 1: my body if I have one good race, and they're like, oh,
Speaker 1: you know, she could lose a little bit of weight,
Speaker 1: but she still ran fast, which she doesn't make sense.
Speaker 1: And it got to the point and I'm not even
Speaker 1: joking where oh my gosh, I'm actually like Jesus, I'm
Speaker 1: like kind of cheering up. But it got to the
Speaker 1: point where I would have to go in for a
Speaker 1: being my test once every four weeks because of certain
Speaker 1: people that I had to deal with within athletics in
Speaker 1: OZ And it just got to the point I get
Speaker 1: in there, the biomech dude would be in there and
Speaker 1: I'd just start crying in front of him, like shaking,
Speaker 1: too scared to go onto their scales because more people
Speaker 1: were concerned with my image than my performance.
Speaker 2: Was gone something finally make hello and welcome back to
Speaker 2: the Rise and Conquered Podcasts. This is a podcast for
Speaker 2: women who want to take control of their lives, gain
Speaker 2: the confidence to live unapologetically, and who are ready to
Speaker 2: turn their biggest dreams into their reality. I'm your host
Speaker 2: Georgie Stevenson, former lawyer turned entrepreneur and personal development junkie
Speaker 2: In today's conversation, I'm sitting down with Olympian runner Morgan Mitchell.
Speaker 2: Morgan is a plant based Olympian runner who has achieved
Speaker 2: so much at just the age of twenty five. In
Speaker 2: today's chat, we dive deep into body image, her plant
Speaker 2: based diet, being an athlete, and Morgan tells us about
Speaker 2: her experience being featured on the well known documentary Game Changes.
Speaker 2: If you've ever wondered what a day on an athlete's
Speaker 2: play looks like or what their crazy training regime is,
Speaker 2: then this is the episode for you. I just love
Speaker 2: getting to know Morgan. She truly was a delight to
Speaker 2: chat to. And just before we get into the episode,
Speaker 2: I did want to note that Morgan is currently in
Speaker 2: the US, so there was a little bit of lag
Speaker 2: time and we did have some internet issues. Hopefully we
Speaker 2: can kind of edit those out, but just be conscious
Speaker 2: of that and apologies if the audio isn't perfect. But
Speaker 2: I hope you love this interview. I really enjoyed it.
Speaker 2: Hello Morgan, and welcome to the show.
Speaker 1: Hey, thanks for having me. I'm super excited.
Speaker 2: We are so excited to have you on the Rise
Speaker 2: and Conquer podcast and you're currently in Chicago, aren't you.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's eight fifteen here and it's like quite
Speaker 1: funny at this time. It's usually freezing, but it's been
Speaker 1: twenty five and sunny all week, so I'm not complaining amazing.
Speaker 2: I am such a person like the weather very much
Speaker 2: controls my mood. So if it's like a sunny, hot week,
Speaker 2: I'm in a good.
Speaker 1: Mood, oh for sure. And I guess like coming from
Speaker 1: the Gold Coast, right, that's all you know, was your son.
Speaker 1: You guys are so lucky out there in Melbourne.
Speaker 2: Oh, my cousins live in Melbourne. And then I remember
Speaker 2: like going down there when I was younger for the
Speaker 2: first time, and like it being like sunny and rainy
Speaker 2: and windy all one day, and I was just like,
Speaker 2: how can people live here?
Speaker 1: Honestly, you just don't know what you're going to get.
Speaker 1: It is.
Speaker 2: It's a beautiful city though, so I definitely attained that.
Speaker 2: But before we get into the show and chat things
Speaker 2: all and chat all things, Morgan, I want to ask you,
Speaker 2: and this is a question I asked all my guests
Speaker 2: in season three, and it is, what is something you're practicing,
Speaker 2: a non negotiable that you do daily that really helps
Speaker 2: you step into your power.
Speaker 1: Ooh ooh, that's a good one. I have a few.
Speaker 1: That's a funny thing. I'm a bit of a nerd
Speaker 1: when it comes to that in like my career. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so one for me, especially like I guess my power
Speaker 1: being tracked and training at the moment, it would definitely
Speaker 1: be to write down my goals for that day, Like
Speaker 1: I have to do it because I'm heavily into visualization
Speaker 1: as well, and like positive affirmations and manifesting for sure.
Speaker 1: And for me, it's just like I need to sort
Speaker 1: out what i have to do for the day because
Speaker 1: I'm so busy, and if it's actually written down, I
Speaker 1: don't know what it is. It's like I'm committed. It's
Speaker 1: kind of like looking at, you know, a program from
Speaker 1: my coach, but it's just for me. And one thing
Speaker 1: for me as well, just to cap off the night,
Speaker 1: is to meditate for at least five minutes, just to
Speaker 1: kind of like, I think the thing that I've found
Speaker 1: important over the course of my career is just being
Speaker 1: able to ground myself at the end of the day
Speaker 1: for sure, because I don't know, I just get lost sometimes,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like whether it be with
Speaker 1: meeting high profile people and or you know, I'm just
Speaker 1: getting a little bit, you know, I'm falling out of
Speaker 1: my zone and being true to myself. So I think
Speaker 1: the meditation has helped me a lot for sure in
Speaker 1: the past like three to four years.
Speaker 2: Oh, I love those daily non negotiaals when you're or
Speaker 2: like I'm into visualization and manifesting. I was like, yeah,
Speaker 2: have a goal.
Speaker 1: Oh are you the same? Yes? Like how good is it? Yes?
Speaker 2: And every single day, Like I love writing down my
Speaker 2: goals and I have like three of my big goals
Speaker 2: and then not even stuff like I'm achieving that day,
Speaker 2: but just to have them there and I think is
Speaker 2: so important, oh.
Speaker 1: One hundred pc. And just not to lose sight of
Speaker 1: what you want. That's like huge, right.
Speaker 2: So I cannot wait to get into that later in
Speaker 2: the interview. But before we do that, could you let
Speaker 2: the audience know who you are and what you do.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So my name is Morgan. I just turned twenty six.
Speaker 1: I'm an Aussie track athlete, an Olympian and that's pretty
Speaker 1: much it really. I run track and I'm a bit
Speaker 1: of a note in my spare time, I like to
Speaker 1: you know, teach myself piano, learn Spanish, so knit in design,
Speaker 1: like I don't know if it's like undiagnosed add but
Speaker 1: I always just have to be doing something.
Speaker 2: Oh my god. And like when you teach yourself those skills,
Speaker 2: are you quite good at them? Are you someone who's
Speaker 2: very like naturally you catch on things?
Speaker 1: I guess with that being arrogant, I would say yes only,
Speaker 1: but I mean I also I took Italian and French
Speaker 1: and Spanish when I was younger, so you know, I
Speaker 1: have a little bit of knowledge around that. I had
Speaker 1: piano lessons when I was like six, so I guess
Speaker 1: I've got like the skill for most of it. But yeah,
Speaker 1: YouTube's a wonderful thing. Anyone on YouTube can teach you
Speaker 1: something and you end up being a master at it.
Speaker 1: Although I think I am, but so yeah, definitely, And
Speaker 1: I love to do.
Speaker 2: My TWN absolutely, yes, I absolutely love that. And I
Speaker 2: really love that you know your hobbies and what you're
Speaker 2: doing in your spare time is so different to your career.
Speaker 1: Interesting, it's so funny. No one expects it like I
Speaker 1: used to just doing it.
Speaker 2: So tell us more about your running career and tell
Speaker 2: us about what a day in the life would look
Speaker 2: like when you were training, you know, for an important event.
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I guess my running career actually started when
Speaker 1: I was six and up until about twelve, thirteen years old,
Speaker 1: I was running and then I quit until so it's
Speaker 1: at for six years, I just didn't even look at
Speaker 1: a track. And it wasn't until in twenty twelve, you know,
Speaker 1: my last year of high school. And I think any
Speaker 1: Aussie knows. You know, you go from fifteen to eighteen
Speaker 1: pretty much just going out with a fake ID and drinking.
Speaker 1: And I can promise you that's all I did in
Speaker 1: high school. And I see on the news that Rio
Speaker 1: will be the host city for the twenty sixteen Olympic Games,
Speaker 1: and I literally just dropped everything then and there, and
Speaker 1: I was like, okay, I'm going to those Olympic Games.
Speaker 1: And I called my old coach and just said, hey,
Speaker 1: what do you think about twenty sixteen Olympics And he
Speaker 1: was like, well, you better get to the track first.
Speaker 1: I mean, I haven't seen you in six years. And
Speaker 1: sure enough, it was kind of crazy because we, you know,
Speaker 1: we started in twenty twelve, made the World Junior's team
Speaker 1: off of like two months training and like the rest
Speaker 1: is just kind of history, right, But I guess the
Speaker 1: day in the life of Morgan, it's pretty intense. When
Speaker 1: I'm full, like in full training mode, it's like wake
Speaker 1: up at six, get your green tea, and write down
Speaker 1: your goals, eat brecky, hopefully have enough time to like
Speaker 1: take the dog for a walk or whatever, and then
Speaker 1: I'm out the door ready for training at eight eight
Speaker 1: thirty and that's straight onto the track, and then straight
Speaker 1: after that at eleven, I'll be into the gym. After
Speaker 1: that I'm trying to you know, tee up with a
Speaker 1: friend for coffee or answer emails for that day that
Speaker 1: I've gotten from my manager. And then at night it's
Speaker 1: just like a nice long eight to ten k job,
Speaker 1: depending on how I'm feeling. And that's kind of almost
Speaker 1: day in, day out, depending on what my coach wants
Speaker 1: for training. But it's quite funny, like I'm so used
Speaker 1: to it, even though I sit back and think, fuck,
Speaker 1: I'm actually pretty busy. It kind of it's it just
Speaker 1: becomes your whole life, right. So yeah, that's pretty much
Speaker 1: mean in a.
Speaker 2: Nutshew imagine wow, And so talk to us a little
Speaker 2: bit more sorry about your training because I find it
Speaker 2: super interesting in regards to obviously, you know, you do
Speaker 2: that for conditioning and whatnot. So you go on the
Speaker 2: track and then you're in the gym and then you
Speaker 2: go for a run every single day. I can imagine
Speaker 2: that being super difficult, super difficult and quite hard on
Speaker 2: your body. So in regards to that, do you have
Speaker 2: a lot of like recovery that you do also?
Speaker 1: Oh, to be honest, I hope you agree with me
Speaker 1: on this. It's quite funny because I do do a
Speaker 1: lot of recovery, like I try to anyway, in terms
Speaker 1: of ice baths and stretching. But as soon as I discovered,
Speaker 1: you know, I've got one of the best, best, best
Speaker 1: hseos in the world, and like he's just such a legend.
Speaker 1: And same with my massage therapist, I was kind of
Speaker 1: like me being lazy and just wanting some downtime. I thought,
Speaker 1: you know what, I'm just going to pay someone to
Speaker 1: do all that recovery stuff for me, which probably isn't
Speaker 1: a good message to send to most people, like you
Speaker 1: should have your own routine. But I just think, because
Speaker 1: I'm always doing something, I just want to be able
Speaker 1: to lie down on a table and someone else is
Speaker 1: putting in the work for me. So I'm going I
Speaker 1: love that. Yeah, like three two to three days a week.
Speaker 1: I'm just like, yeah. I mean people are usually like,
Speaker 1: are you even a professional athlete? But I'm saying, someone
Speaker 1: out there wants to earn money, Well there's your money.
Speaker 2: No. I absolutely love that, and I love that you
Speaker 2: touched on that and you're just very like upfront about it,
Speaker 2: and I think it it is important too, because like
Speaker 2: you said, and I don't like, I don't even think
Speaker 2: it's a lazy thing. I think it's the You're clearly
Speaker 2: someone who is very like switched on and join and
Speaker 2: very very lots of things happening all the time, and
Speaker 2: so you probably need that, like you probably need some
Speaker 2: to go, Okay, stop, Morgan, just lay on the table.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna do some bodywork. And I feel much the
Speaker 2: same like I do that with acupuncture and massage and whatnot,
Speaker 2: Like I almost like need someone to tell me to stop.
Speaker 1: Oh for sure. And how good is acupuncture you know
Speaker 1: what I mean?
Speaker 2: Like, oh yeah, amazing.
Speaker 1: Oh insane. And for me it's just at the end
Speaker 1: of the day, it's like another hour, hour and a
Speaker 1: half of just being able to sleep or meditate or
Speaker 1: just completely zone out, Like I just feel like I'm
Speaker 1: being closed dressed for so long, week in week out.
Speaker 1: I like switch off my phone. No one effing talked
Speaker 1: to me, Let me just do my thing with my guy,
Speaker 1: and yeah, off we go. So that's how Colly you
Speaker 1: do accupunct I love that.
Speaker 2: Yeah, No, I actually found I used to do acupuncture
Speaker 2: because I used to live in Brisbane and I had
Speaker 2: an amazing acupunctress and then I moved and I stopped
Speaker 2: doing it for a while because I couldn't find one,
Speaker 2: and then recently I found one and she's amazing. She
Speaker 2: like does that acupuncture and then she also gives you
Speaker 2: a massage. And I'm someone who loves to be touched,
Speaker 2: so I'm.
Speaker 1: Like, ye ye, heaven feel.
Speaker 2: So tell us more about I guess the motivational part
Speaker 2: about what you do, because I guarantee there's a lot
Speaker 2: of people listening thinking, holy crap, this girl is insane.
Speaker 2: And obviously a lot has to do with discipline and
Speaker 2: you wanting the thing you want. But talk to us
Speaker 2: a little bit. Have you ever struggled with motivation to
Speaker 2: continue this routine?
Speaker 1: Yeah, so I I definitely do. I'd be lying if
Speaker 1: I said I didn't. And I think every athlete struggles
Speaker 1: with motivation, right, But for me, it's kind of like,
Speaker 1: I'm such a grateful person because growing up, you know,
Speaker 1: when you're younger, you just kind of don't think about
Speaker 1: the things that are given to you can't. Well, I
Speaker 1: used to just expect them, which is quite a horrible
Speaker 1: thing to do, and quite you know, they're just actions
Speaker 1: that shouldn't be a thing in my life. And it's
Speaker 1: not until there's someone out there that will humble you
Speaker 1: that I realized, Wow, I should be grateful that I
Speaker 1: can travel the world to run, and I should be
Speaker 1: grateful that we do get put up in really nice hotels,
Speaker 1: and I've been to countries that some people wouldn't be
Speaker 1: it would never even think about going to or even
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to go to. So for me, I
Speaker 1: think that's where my motivation comes from, is just all
Speaker 1: the opportunities that come from athletics and the fact that
Speaker 1: I can run and represent my country. There's just so
Speaker 1: much to be grateful for. It's like, how can you
Speaker 1: not be motivated? Right? But then at the same time,
Speaker 1: I definitely have days where I'm just like, what the
Speaker 1: air am I doing? Like why am I even here?
Speaker 1: But I've actually built up quite a good team around
Speaker 1: me where you know, they'll just tell me, like get
Speaker 1: your ass out of bed training or whatever, and I
Speaker 1: just need that. I sometimes I just need people to
Speaker 1: be real and raw and just say, come on, I'm here,
Speaker 1: you're paying me, or I'm here ready for you. Don't
Speaker 1: be late, like show up on time. We've got a
Speaker 1: goal to, you know, get through, and that's obviously going
Speaker 1: to the Olympics and running well. So for me, yeah,
Speaker 1: it definitely comes down to just being grateful of having
Speaker 1: a really good, strong team around you, which I had
Speaker 1: to restart and kind of refresh my team back in
Speaker 1: what was it mid twenty eighteen on my Europe trip
Speaker 1: that was probably my all time low, and I just thought,
Speaker 1: screw it, I'm going to change events. I'm going to
Speaker 1: get a new coach. She's going to be a female.
Speaker 1: My manager is now a female as well. My sports
Speaker 1: likes a female. And it's kind of cool. It's like
Speaker 1: we've got this really good group of women that are
Speaker 1: just so supportive of one another, and we're all on
Speaker 1: the same page and stuff with what I want to
Speaker 1: do and where I want to go.
Speaker 2: That is, so I absolutely love that statement so much.
Speaker 2: I like this podcast is clearly mostly women, So I
Speaker 2: think that is super insightful for you to say, you know,
Speaker 2: you change your team, you looked at the people around you,
Speaker 2: and I think that I think that's a great point
Speaker 2: to touch on in regards to motivation, is having that
Speaker 2: support system around you that really kind of like when
Speaker 2: you can't motivate yourself, you have a team that really
Speaker 2: supports and motivates you.
Speaker 1: Oh for sure. I just it's something everyone needs, and
Speaker 1: especially being in an individual sport. But it doesn't even
Speaker 1: have to be sport, right, Like, it could be any
Speaker 1: aspect of life, Like I think business, it's so important
Speaker 1: to have a mentor there that's been through it and
Speaker 1: done at all, because there's so much you can learn
Speaker 1: from other people. Right But yeah, that's just what it's.
Speaker 2: Important and tell us more, tell us more about the
Speaker 2: concept of you having a team with mostly women around you.
Speaker 2: So that's a very kind of, you know, important thing
Speaker 2: for you.
Speaker 1: Or Yeah, I think, to be honest, I like, growing up,
Speaker 1: I've always been such a tomboy, right, Like, I don't
Speaker 1: think I wore dress until I was about oh god,
Speaker 1: seventeen or something crazy like that. So I've just always
Speaker 1: been like, you know, one of the boys, like let's
Speaker 1: just get dirty, let's get down into it, and you know,
Speaker 1: real kind of masculine, and even in the lead up
Speaker 1: to the Olympics, like my whole team was full of males.
Speaker 1: And I think the thing I finally realized was, Wow,
Speaker 1: sometimes I feel like I can't have a voice, or
Speaker 1: I'd be silenced just because I'm a female, or I'd
Speaker 1: be called too emotional, She's too this, she's too that.
Speaker 1: And then I'm like, you know what, whenever I talk
Speaker 1: to a woman about my issues, they get it. They
Speaker 1: know what to say, they know how to talk about
Speaker 1: my body, they know how to talk about periods and
Speaker 1: how I'm feeling and why I'm feeling this way. And
Speaker 1: so yeah, I hit like I said, after the Calm Games,
Speaker 1: I was just like, get me the f out of here,
Speaker 1: let me just go and be a kid again. And
Speaker 1: then it was like a light bulb moment where I
Speaker 1: was like, Okay, I've talked to so many women that
Speaker 1: have been so supportive. Fuck it, let's just go with
Speaker 1: it and just you know, build this team of strong
Speaker 1: women and to be honest, it's the happiest I've been
Speaker 1: since I started athletics, which is it's quite sad when
Speaker 1: I think about it, like I've done so much in
Speaker 1: my life, but it's not until now where I've actually
Speaker 1: been truly, truly happy to go out there and run.
Speaker 1: So yeah, I'm actually very thankful for them all. And
Speaker 1: I just think it's so important because, to be honest,
Speaker 1: women get women and sometimes I don't know if you've
Speaker 1: been through it, but men just don't really want to
Speaker 1: understand women and you're always butting heads, so I don't
Speaker 1: have any time to waste screw itt.
Speaker 2: Wow, I absolutely love that, and like, I know, I
Speaker 2: completely get you. Like even in my own business at
Speaker 2: Naked Harvest, our team is mostly females, and my brother,
Speaker 2: who co owns a company, he's like, can we stop
Speaker 2: just and I'm like, females do it better. And I
Speaker 2: think I also think that's quite important for you to
Speaker 2: touch on that because you know, I think sport is
Speaker 2: such a male dominant industry and oh, like you said,
Speaker 2: like your whole team was full of males, and I
Speaker 2: think that's also quite important for you in regards to
Speaker 2: having a team of women and you know, supporting them
Speaker 2: and that way, and obviously you know it works for
Speaker 2: you and your team and that sort of side of things.
Speaker 2: But yeah, thanks for touching on that. It's super insiteful.
Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 2: Well, before we move on and switch gears, i'd love
Speaker 2: to just get a little a little insight. So obviously
Speaker 2: you're an amazing inspirational athlete, and like you said, there
Speaker 2: are so many amazing things to it, but I'm sure
Speaker 2: there's also some hard parts. So what is kind of
Speaker 2: your favorite thing about being an athlete? And then what
Speaker 2: is the hardest part about being an athlete?
Speaker 1: Oh, I think my favorite part definitely obviously like running
Speaker 1: PBS and making teams that have to be my favorite
Speaker 1: part is just like, oh god, it's a whole thing
Speaker 1: from yeh, running fast. Then you because you've run fast,
Speaker 1: you get to make a team. Because you made a team,
Speaker 1: you get to go, you know, to the Bahamas or
Speaker 1: China or Germany or wherever that major championship is. And
Speaker 1: then you get to like experience different cultures, which is
Speaker 1: so important to learn how other people think and feel
Speaker 1: and speak and act. So that's probably a pretty broad answer.
Speaker 1: There's not just one thing I love, but I would
Speaker 1: definitely say the hardest part is just the criticism you
Speaker 1: receive just even from stepping out there. You don't even
Speaker 1: have to begin running and someone will already be commenting
Speaker 1: on your body, you know what I mean. So for me,
Speaker 1: it's just like the hardest part is dealing with the
Speaker 1: armchair critics that know nothing about track unless it's the
Speaker 1: Olympics and everyone's an expert. So yeah, I think that's
Speaker 1: something I've struggled with. But I think I'm getting better
Speaker 1: at as I get older. I just know how to
Speaker 1: manage it and how to manage my emotions and not
Speaker 1: let everything get to me. But yeah, I've had some
Speaker 1: completely heartbreaking moments where people just take like they suck
Speaker 1: the fun out of it, right, and then it's kind
Speaker 1: of like, well, shit, why do I represent Australia If
Speaker 1: Australia doesn't even want to get around me or other
Speaker 1: athletes because of the way I look in at Crop
Speaker 1: Top and Undies. It's just wild.
Speaker 2: Yeah, almost it's ridiculous, isn't it.
Speaker 1: It can be heartbreaking for sure, Yeah, just like it
Speaker 1: just doesn't make sense in my mind.
Speaker 2: And so let's talk about that, because, like you said, like,
Speaker 2: you know, you're out there, you're ready to race, you're
Speaker 2: ready to run, you know, and you're an athlete, like
Speaker 2: that is your job. And then for someone to criticize
Speaker 2: you and talk about your body, it almost seems like
Speaker 2: so left field. But also I feel like we're very
Speaker 2: used to that in our culture and in the media.
Speaker 2: Can you kind of chat about this aspect of you know,
Speaker 2: body criticism and how you feel about it and how
Speaker 2: you deal about it. I remember reading an article where
Speaker 2: you did speak about this, and you did speak so
Speaker 2: beautifully about it.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, So I think I'd have to be start
Speaker 1: off by being honest. And I think growing up we've
Speaker 1: all experienced we've all bullied, and we've all been bullied.
Speaker 1: And I'll admit, like when I was younger, I you know,
Speaker 1: I kind of still want big boobs, but you know,
Speaker 1: i'd be really jealous of girls that had bigger rest
Speaker 1: of me, or you know, a smaller waist or longer hair.
Speaker 1: And you just attack people for things that you don't have,
Speaker 1: and it's not until it actually happens to you that
Speaker 1: you know. As I got older, I'm like, wow, I
Speaker 1: just can't talk about women the way that other people
Speaker 1: talk about me because it's just horrible, right. And I
Speaker 1: battled so much throughout my career with body weight and
Speaker 1: all the issues around that, because when I'm in the
Speaker 1: off season, I'd allow myself to gain eight kilos literally
Speaker 1: in two weeks because I'm in off season, like I
Speaker 1: don't have to work, and then I'd get back into
Speaker 1: season and if I have one bad race, people are
Speaker 1: commenting on my body. If I have one good race,
Speaker 1: they're like, oh, you know, she could lose a little
Speaker 1: bit of weight, but she still ran fast, which she
Speaker 1: doesn't make sense. And it got to the point and
Speaker 1: I'm not even joking where oh my gosh, I'm actually
Speaker 1: like Jesus, I'm like kind of cheering up. But it
Speaker 1: got to the point where I would have to go
Speaker 1: in for being my test once every four weeks because
Speaker 1: of certain people that I had to deal with within
Speaker 1: athletics in OZ and it just got to the point
Speaker 1: I get in there, the biomech dude would be in
Speaker 1: there and I'd just start crying in front of him,
Speaker 1: like shaking, too scared to go onto their scales because
Speaker 1: more people were concerned with my image than my performance.
Speaker 1: And I just thought, you know, once I started my
Speaker 1: new team. My new coach has been so amazing. She's like,
Speaker 1: I couldn't care what you look like. All I need
Speaker 1: you to do is rock up to the track and
Speaker 1: hit the times I give you. And so it's kind
Speaker 1: of nice when they actually give you back a little
Speaker 1: bit of you know, they hold you accountable and like,
Speaker 1: just hit my times, nothing else matters. Then you do
Speaker 1: start to think, okay, cool, I can eat healthy, I
Speaker 1: can do this. I'm not gonna want to stress it
Speaker 1: or whatever, and you kind of just get back to
Speaker 1: athletics because you want to run fast, not because it's
Speaker 1: the Victoria's Secret fashion show. And that was just huge
Speaker 1: for me. I'm like, yeah, I don't care what I
Speaker 1: look like as long as I'm running fast. I mean,
Speaker 1: is anyone going to worry if I do? When the
Speaker 1: Olympics and I have cell You're like, no, they're gonna
Speaker 1: be like, damn, you want a gold medal. Who gives
Speaker 1: a shit what she looks like. But you know, I
Speaker 1: feel like we struggle so much because, especially being a woman,
Speaker 1: it's just like, I don't know, it's like you're always
Speaker 1: in it. I'm always in a crop top and undies.
Speaker 1: It's always a summer sport, so you always see me
Speaker 1: in a bikini, which just opens a floodgate for people
Speaker 1: to say what they want. It's really tough.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I could only imagine. And I think I think also,
Speaker 2: like like you said about feeling like, you know, this
Speaker 2: is your sport, this is what you love to do,
Speaker 2: and then having to come at it with looking a
Speaker 2: certain ways just like that. Yeah, like I can't I
Speaker 2: can't even fathom that, especially already having the pressure, yeah,
Speaker 2: of making the times and then to look good. It's
Speaker 2: just it's ridiculous. It's ridiculous, the pressure.
Speaker 1: It's just insane. Like, but now I like, because I've
Speaker 1: always had, you know, like one of my flaws, I
Speaker 1: guess I would say it's just to sell. You're like,
Speaker 1: I get under my bum right, But now I'm kind
Speaker 1: of like mad who cares. Like it's kind of.
Speaker 2: Just yeah, we all have we all have that, And
Speaker 2: I think that's a huge testament to you having that
Speaker 2: transformation in the way you think, because I you know,
Speaker 2: I think we can all agree as young women going
Speaker 2: through that sort of stage in your life where you're
Speaker 2: so conscious about how you look and how other people
Speaker 2: perceive you, and then just getting to the point where
Speaker 2: you're just like, what am I doing? And why do
Speaker 2: I care so much? And especially it's so it's so disappointing,
Speaker 2: especially because it's not like it's a health thing for you,
Speaker 2: because you know, you're clearly running fast and like you said,
Speaker 2: like winning gold medals, like it shouldn't matter what its
Speaker 2: like you look like. But it's such like it's such
Speaker 2: like a testament to the not a testament, but it's
Speaker 2: the typical sort of patriarch thing that oh no, she
Speaker 2: also has to look good, like yeah, outrageous.
Speaker 1: It just yeah, and it like I used to be
Speaker 1: obsessed with it, honestly, it was just so unhealthy. But
Speaker 1: now I just think, Okay, I have both young male
Speaker 1: and female training partners who are going through that hormonal change,
Speaker 1: you know, with their bodies, girls getting their periods, boys
Speaker 1: are growing really quick and they're always injured or whatever,
Speaker 1: and I just think I can't let them see me
Speaker 1: worry about my body and what I look like. I
Speaker 1: have to be really open and honest with Okay, this
Speaker 1: is just what I'm going to look like today. Okay,
Speaker 1: I've got my period, I bloat a lot, I gained
Speaker 1: two kilos I'm gonna be a little bit sluggish and
Speaker 1: just kind of rolling with it, because that's if I
Speaker 1: can just honestly overcome that. It's just one less thing
Speaker 1: I have to worry about. And I want, you know,
Speaker 1: the kids in my squad to look at me and
Speaker 1: be like, oh, Morgan doesn't care. Why should I care? Like, yeah,
Speaker 1: why should you care? Just be happy? No.
Speaker 2: I absolutely love that, and I love that you said that,
Speaker 2: like you need to be a good role model and
Speaker 2: kind of lead by example in that way, because it
Speaker 2: is so true. If we don't sort of take a stand,
Speaker 2: then nothing's going to change. And I really love you
Speaker 2: have a highlight on your Instagram with this amazing quote
Speaker 2: that says, I don't care if I'm aesthetically pleasing, I
Speaker 2: just want to run fast. And I just don't love
Speaker 2: that so much because it's just so true.
Speaker 1: And like so many people just need to understand that
Speaker 1: as well, you know what I mean, Because at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, we've all got flaws, So it's like,
Speaker 1: who am I to attack someone else when there are
Speaker 1: things that I wish I could change about my body,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like, not one person is perfect,
Speaker 1: and that's a beauty in it. So but yeah, it's
Speaker 1: kind of nice. It only took our ears out of
Speaker 1: my career to get to this point.
Speaker 2: Jesus No, I totally a feel you. I have like
Speaker 2: a kind of a very similar history with where I'm
Speaker 2: like looking back and thinking, holy shit, I wasted so
Speaker 2: much time and energy on what I look like and
Speaker 2: it was just such a bloody waste. But I think
Speaker 2: it's you know, it's a lesson we all need to learn,
Speaker 2: and how amazing that we've already learned it and we're
Speaker 2: you know, survering on.
Speaker 1: Okay.
Speaker 2: So, Morgan, we've chatted about you being an athlete and
Speaker 2: also body image. I would love to touch on your
Speaker 2: plant based diet, so I know that you eat a
Speaker 2: plant based and I also saw you in the Game
Speaker 2: Changes documentary. Congratulations, Thank you. Can you tell us a
Speaker 2: little bit about your journey with veganism.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I became vegan about five years ago, just before Christmas, right,
Speaker 1: like my mum was, yeah, the say it. And it
Speaker 1: was actually an ex at the time was he was
Speaker 1: just so into his health and wellness and one day
Speaker 1: he walks and he's like, we need to go vegan.
Speaker 1: I think I was just so sick of hearing all
Speaker 1: these different diets. I was like, Okay, cool, you know,
Speaker 1: I'll do it. But for me, like I've never really
Speaker 1: liked eggs, I don't. I don't think I really had
Speaker 1: a lot of dairy anyway, Like I'm not cheese ubceessed
Speaker 1: or anything. And I only really ate chicken and fish
Speaker 1: anyway in the occasional burger. So for me, it was
Speaker 1: kind of an easy transition, right. And again, it took
Speaker 1: me so long to get used to the vegan diet,
Speaker 1: but it wasn't until I found my first Dietitian Lucy,
Speaker 1: that she just completely changed my outlook. Like I didn't
Speaker 1: realize I never ate beans until becoming vegan, Like beans
Speaker 1: just weren't on the menu for me. Ever, obviously learned
Speaker 1: what tofu was, and you know, lentils and satan and
Speaker 1: all that stuff. So yeah, it was kind of it
Speaker 1: was a long journey, but you know, good things have
Speaker 1: come out of it, like the game changes, and to
Speaker 1: be honest, that was just I look back now and
Speaker 1: I'm like, WHOA, because we shot in twenty sixteen. I
Speaker 1: was twenty one when we shot, I know, So I
Speaker 1: watched the movie and I'm like what the fuck.
Speaker 2: I think come about?
Speaker 1: So it was actually piece. It was like a lake
Speaker 1: and she I remember I was in Germany at the
Speaker 1: airport and I get this call from her and she
Speaker 1: was telling me about this new documentary. You know, this
Speaker 1: is twenty sixteen, it's about vegans. Would you like to
Speaker 1: be a part of it? I'm like okay, like whatever,
Speaker 1: and then she dropped James Cameron's name, and he's obviously
Speaker 1: done Titanic and Avatar and you know, he's like a
Speaker 1: guru of movies. And I was like, yeah, bloody Oak,
Speaker 1: like I'll come home right now. Screwed the Olympics. And
Speaker 1: then yeah, so we shot straight after the Olympics on
Speaker 1: my holiday in So I was on a holiday in Hawaii,
Speaker 1: but we had to shoot in la And for so
Speaker 1: long I didn't really hear a lot about it since then,
Speaker 1: and then it kind of gained a little bit of
Speaker 1: you know, traction. And the guy was like, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's coming together, it's coming together. And I was like, well,
Speaker 1: kind of sound like a myth I haven't heard too much.
Speaker 1: And next minute it's like Arnold Schwartzenegger, Serena Williams, Jackie Chan,
Speaker 1: Chris Paul like all of these huge names Lewis Hamilton,
Speaker 1: and I'm thinking, have you got the right person? Like
Speaker 1: should I am? I still even going to be in
Speaker 1: there's like what the hell I saw? I said so much?
Speaker 1: And yeah, so I went to the one of the
Speaker 1: smaller premieres in Canada in twenty eighteen and I was
Speaker 1: blown away by the docco and sure enough, like after
Speaker 1: World Champs last year where my boyfriend and I are
Speaker 1: at the premiere in Hollywood, and that, to me, it
Speaker 1: was just insane, Like that was just one of the
Speaker 1: coolest experiences of my life. It was just huge to think,
Speaker 1: like a girl from Werribee is like, you know, in Hollywood,
Speaker 1: meeting all these cool people watching herself on the movie
Speaker 1: screen and yeah, it's just it's honestly been awesome And
Speaker 1: it was so well put together and the cast was awesome,
Speaker 1: the crew was awesome. So yeah, definitely a cool experience.
Speaker 2: How bloody cool is that?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Thank you?
Speaker 2: Now I watched the documentary and it was really good.
Speaker 2: So yeah, I would also love to know, So what
Speaker 2: sort of benefits did you notice from the coming plant based.
Speaker 1: That's good, that's a good question. I would say for me,
Speaker 1: the number one thing was a recovery like I couldn't believe,
Speaker 1: you know, I was waking up. I wasn't sore right,
Speaker 1: like I wouldn't need to ice, but I wouldn't need massages.
Speaker 1: I could just keep going all day. And another one
Speaker 1: like another one. I like try to tell people about
Speaker 1: is I used to get tonsualidis. Oh I glandular fever
Speaker 1: in twenty twelve. I got tonsilides probably twice a year
Speaker 1: from twenty ten up until about up until going vegan.
Speaker 1: And I'm not even joking when I say I haven't
Speaker 1: been six since, like no word of a lie. I
Speaker 1: have not been six since. I haven't had tonsliders since.
Speaker 1: So I think there was obviously something in either like
Speaker 1: the meat or whatever I was eating that was just
Speaker 1: screwing up my system and just the immune system. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and so yeah, they're probably the two things. Is like
Speaker 1: I'm never sick, my recovery is insane, and my skin
Speaker 1: is just so clear. I think that's honestly one of
Speaker 1: my favorite parts. Like I just I don't really break
Speaker 1: out unless it's my period. Sometimes I get that blind pimple,
Speaker 1: you know, when you get one on your chin you
Speaker 1: can't see it. But having hurts that woman. Yeah, if
Speaker 1: someone has a secret to get rid of that once
Speaker 1: a month, great send it my way.
Speaker 2: I totally have one of those on my cheek right now.
Speaker 2: I either get my chin.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so painful. I hate them. What the hell like,
Speaker 1: at least come through if.
Speaker 2: You're I know, don't just and then it's like sitting
Speaker 2: there for like days and like what are you doing
Speaker 2: that now? So amazing amazing, And I think also I'd
Speaker 2: love to know, and this is like more of like
Speaker 2: a selfish thing, just because I would love to know
Speaker 2: what does a day on the plate look like for you?
Speaker 2: Like tell us about what the sort of vegan meals
Speaker 2: look like?
Speaker 1: Oh my god, you want in season or out of season?
Speaker 1: Because I am.
Speaker 2: Oh, I guess could you give us both?
Speaker 1: Is that I'm died? Yeah, I think I'll actually I'm
Speaker 1: going to start a YouTube channel show people because I
Speaker 1: think they'd be horrified. Really. Oh, Like, I just I
Speaker 1: love food. I can seriously eat. It's kind of disgusting,
Speaker 1: but I mean it's also a hobby and it's a
Speaker 1: bit of a talent. So in season I can't. I'm
Speaker 1: pretty simple, like I just do it because I really
Speaker 1: don't like cooking, and I can't even like because my
Speaker 1: friends would actually pull me up if I said I
Speaker 1: love it. But if I'm not getting a Salara meal,
Speaker 1: which is just those ready homemade ones, I'd probably just
Speaker 1: do two blueberry bagels or two pieces of rye toast
Speaker 1: with peanut butter, banana and maple syrup and blueberries. I'm
Speaker 1: such a smoothie person, but I'm also so boring, like
Speaker 1: I have the exact same smoothie because I get everything
Speaker 1: I need and then I do so bananas, blueberries, spinach, chear, seeds,
Speaker 1: water and dates. I don't really like to do plant
Speaker 1: based milks, just because I'm trying to keep it a
Speaker 1: little bit more lighter. For lunch, I'm my dietician is
Speaker 1: going to be like, I love your honesty, but we
Speaker 1: need to I usually because I'm always training or going
Speaker 1: in between sessions and I'm in the city, I'd probably
Speaker 1: just stop somewhere and get lunch. So I probably just
Speaker 1: go for like a tofu salad or usually a burrita
Speaker 1: or a heavy sandwich if I'm actually lifting in the
Speaker 1: gym at in the afternoon, because I just get so
Speaker 1: so hungry. I'm always with a coffee or like I
Speaker 1: will try and find you know, vegan cross on or
Speaker 1: cookie just because I'm feeling sorry for myself and I
Speaker 1: need a treat. And then dinner I'm obsessed with, like
Speaker 1: you know, Pastors Berger night, They're probably two of my favorites,
Speaker 1: or just like a homemade fried rice and vegan dumplings.
Speaker 1: I love, love, love dumplings. So yeah, like I try
Speaker 1: to keep it flexible, but I'm also pretty boring. Like
Speaker 1: once I'm in season, I just try to keep everything
Speaker 1: the same because I know what works. And then when
Speaker 1: I'm oh my gosh, when I'm in off season, it's
Speaker 1: like glass of champagne for breakfast. I'm just kidding kind of, don't.
Speaker 1: It depends how deep into off season. I actually learned
Speaker 1: how good that was on my Europe trip two years ago.
Speaker 3: I love so I'm for this, yeah, but I would
Speaker 3: probably I do like a massive breakfast burrito with hash Browns.
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Speaker 2: But let's get back into the episode, right, we are
Speaker 2: back recording. Sorry guys, Me and Morgan just had a
Speaker 2: tech issue, but she was going to finish her what
Speaker 2: she eats. Oh yeah, part of about the champagne at breakfast.
Speaker 1: Yeah that is so good. But yeah, like I'm such
Speaker 1: a big, big breakfast burrito girl. Sometimes I'll have to
Speaker 1: at my favorite place in Phoenix It's called Nami. But yeah,
Speaker 1: so after that, I love like biscuits and gravy donut
Speaker 1: and coffee for dinner. Like I'm not a huge pizza person,
Speaker 1: so I probably go back to like burgers or you know,
Speaker 1: like Mexican Night with the girls. But for me, it's
Speaker 1: just like when I'm in off season, I just love
Speaker 1: eating out with friends and then just like ordering every
Speaker 1: single appetizer and then like four main meals and just
Speaker 1: going to town. So yeah, like, but that's a thing.
Speaker 1: Like my favorite Mexican play is Village canteena where I'm
Speaker 1: in Melbourne, Like in Meraville, I'd literally get because I
Speaker 1: have a vegan menu. I do like the burrito, two
Speaker 1: of their tacos and a cassadia right, and people are like,
Speaker 1: are you seriously going to eat that? Don't look at me,
Speaker 1: don't judge me. I've only got two yeah, two to
Speaker 1: four weeks to be who I am. Let me live.
Speaker 2: And so with the whole eating with your off season
Speaker 2: and on season, why does the diet have to be
Speaker 2: so considerably different. Is it just because you are running
Speaker 2: every single day?
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's that. And it's definitely like just trying to
Speaker 1: get the right fuel in and making sure I'm eating
Speaker 1: my veggies and getting enough of the right calves and
Speaker 1: all of that, because it really does show on the
Speaker 1: track if I'm you know, if I do have a
Speaker 1: night out. I mean, obviously alcohol's a little different, but
Speaker 1: if I have just been eating fries for that week,
Speaker 1: I just I'm living off of oils and carbs, like
Speaker 1: fats and carbs and it's just so totally never going
Speaker 1: to work out for me, especially the older I get.
Speaker 1: So I do try to keep things a little bit
Speaker 1: more you know, organic, a bit more fresh and all
Speaker 1: of that stuff. And I think for me, it's like, yes,
Speaker 1: I love to eat healthy, but when it is a
Speaker 1: part of your job and you've been doing it for
Speaker 1: so long, as soon as I get a sniff of
Speaker 1: off season, I'm just like, see.
Speaker 2: Yah, ready for the good food.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and especially you know what Australia is like in summer,
Speaker 1: Oh my god, and we have night noodle markets and
Speaker 1: food and wine festivals. It's, oh my gosh, just so easy,
Speaker 1: so good. No.
Speaker 2: I love that you're a foodie. I'm a total FRUITI Yeah.
Speaker 2: So let's talk about your goals and what you do. Obviously,
Speaker 2: you have achieved so much at such a young age,
Speaker 2: and obviously it's not by coincidence or chance. You work
Speaker 2: very hard. But at the start you did mention about
Speaker 2: visualizing your goals and you have a whole goals process.
Speaker 2: I would love to hear more about that. I'm a
Speaker 2: bit of a like a nerd, but that sort of
Speaker 2: side of things.
Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, about my like my future goals or
Speaker 1: how I go about it.
Speaker 2: So when you're you know, preparing for a race, or
Speaker 2: you do have quite a big goal, like going to
Speaker 2: the Olympics, I know you spoke about like visualization, what
Speaker 2: does that look like for you?
Speaker 1: So for me, it's probably more so drawing. I love
Speaker 1: like pictures, and like I like to actually be visual
Speaker 1: and to see what I want. So yeah, I've got
Speaker 1: like this little dream book that I have. Well it's
Speaker 1: kind of just it's like an art scrap book, but
Speaker 1: I call it a little dream book, and I'll like
Speaker 1: I'll stick photos in there of things that I want
Speaker 1: to achieve and want to do. But especially in the
Speaker 1: Olympic here, it's just honestly like meditation every single night
Speaker 1: of me playing over playing the race over and over
Speaker 1: in my head, and that just seems to work because
Speaker 1: it's like your mind starts to trick itself into thinking, Okay,
Speaker 1: this is exactly what she wants. She wants to go
Speaker 1: out decently hard, like quite hard, and then she wants
Speaker 1: to relax down the back straight and come home strong.
Speaker 1: When I was running in the four hundred, and honestly
Speaker 1: every race it was just like clockwork because I'd been
Speaker 1: dreaming it for what was it, maybe twelve to sixteen
Speaker 1: weeks straight. But for me, it's just like it's definitely
Speaker 1: that dream book. Oh my gosh, the things that are
Speaker 1: in it and the things that I've done. It's like,
Speaker 1: in twenty sixteen, I had fourteen different things that I
Speaker 1: wanted to tick off, and I literally did twelve out
Speaker 1: of the fourteen. So yeah, that's why I just think
Speaker 1: it's so important to visualize it. Insane. Yeah, it scared
Speaker 1: me though, to be honest, I was like, whoa, Oh
Speaker 1: my god, Like, what is this?
Speaker 2: No, I think that's insane, And that's such like obviously
Speaker 2: in a testament to the hard work. But having that
Speaker 2: vision and I'm like, I'm throffing right now because I'm
Speaker 2: here on my computer and I've got a vision board
Speaker 2: behind it, and I'm someone who I love to sit
Speaker 2: and meditate and really hold that. And I call them
Speaker 2: like desires or the things. Yeah, really gender what would
Speaker 2: it feel like? And you know, what how would I feel?
Speaker 2: What would I be wearing? Where would I be laying out? Yeah,
Speaker 2: And it sounds like when you say it out loud
Speaker 2: and explainage people like it sounds almost a bit silly,
Speaker 2: but like you said, you're really like training your brain
Speaker 2: and you're saying, look like this is what I want,
Speaker 2: this is the future, this is what's going to happen,
Speaker 2: and it's almost like you're attracting it so much faster
Speaker 2: and quicker.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Like honestly, the things like you know obviously because
Speaker 1: you have a vision board and you've kicked girls. It's
Speaker 1: just like when it happens, I'm honestly like just amazed,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean. I just kind of think, yeah,
Speaker 1: like surely not, this cannot be real, this cannot this
Speaker 1: is not meant to work. But then it does, and
Speaker 1: you just kind of like become addicted, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean.
Speaker 2: When it works, you're like, holy crap, it works, and yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: of course you're like, yes, I want to do this more.
Speaker 2: And it's really funny you say that. Just the other day,
Speaker 2: I redid my vision ball because I had one from
Speaker 2: I think it was like twenty eighteen or twenty nineteen,
Speaker 2: and it was an older one. And it's funny because
Speaker 2: I was taking all the pins off and I had
Speaker 2: just like printed new I'm a Pinterest goal so yeah,
Speaker 2: trust girth. And it's really funny because when I was
Speaker 2: taking off the pins basically much like you, eighty to
Speaker 2: ninety percent of the pins and the things I wanted
Speaker 2: to achieve are like are in my reality down to
Speaker 2: like weird, yeah, like down to like weirdly like Pinterest
Speaker 2: photos are obviously, you know, such like there's someone else's
Speaker 2: reality reality, and I can think specifically of like the
Speaker 2: house I was trying to manifest and like my house
Speaker 2: looks so weirdly the same. I'm like, oh my god,
Speaker 2: this is like bizarre. So I really love that you're
Speaker 2: into it, and I really love that you use that,
Speaker 2: you know, for like winning I was about to say
Speaker 2: winning a sport, but that sounds that's.
Speaker 1: What you can tell.
Speaker 2: I don't watch much sport for me to say that line.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, too funny.
Speaker 2: No, that that's amazing, And I love that you do.
Speaker 2: I love that you do that. I've actually heard that
Speaker 2: about athletes is like really envisioning, like, you know, winning
Speaker 2: the event and doing that side of things, but I've
Speaker 2: never actually spoken to them someone about it. That is
Speaker 2: very cool. Yeah, definitely, And so Morgan, one last thing
Speaker 2: I want to chat about, and then I'm going to
Speaker 2: let you go because I know it is late at
Speaker 2: night there, but I would love to chat about racism,
Speaker 2: and so I know this is a super tender topic
Speaker 2: and it's something that in twenty twenty people are a
Speaker 2: lot more conscious of, and it's you know, coming about
Speaker 2: on social media and huge waves, and I think it's amazing.
Speaker 2: So I really wanted to have this conversation with you.
Speaker 2: And I saw on Instagram you are quite passionate about
Speaker 2: ending racism, from being involved to protests to amazing campaigns,
Speaker 2: and you really spoke about first hand the heartache people
Speaker 2: can face from horrible behavior. And I read on your
Speaker 2: Instagram you said staying silent means staying put, and I'm
Speaker 2: sick of staying put. I absolutely love this line, and
Speaker 2: I just wanted to ask you how you felt and
Speaker 2: sort of your journey with coming to terms with this.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, I think obviously earlier in the year, especially
Speaker 1: like the George Floyd thing just you know, ignited the
Speaker 1: whole world. And in terms of that quote, it was
Speaker 1: kind of just like, there are so many small, different
Speaker 1: things throughout my life that I've had to experience from
Speaker 1: being half black that are just so unfair. And it
Speaker 1: wasn't until you've got you know, you kind of you
Speaker 1: made it feel like you're the only one experiencing it
Speaker 1: and you can't really open up to anyone. And it
Speaker 1: wasn't until those protests where you do see hundreds of
Speaker 1: thousands of people coming out with their stories, and that
Speaker 1: was the thing I thought far out, like, now's the
Speaker 1: time to actually speak up, like I'm not scared anymore
Speaker 1: because there are others out there like me, but who
Speaker 1: are so supportive and just want to see, you know,
Speaker 1: change in the world for the better, and like it's
Speaker 1: honestly everywhere. And it's quite hard because people think, oh,
Speaker 1: but you're an Olympian, you've been in a movie, You've
Speaker 1: got nothing to worry about. I'm like, well, shit, I've
Speaker 1: still been called d M word. People still stare at
Speaker 1: me when I have to go to events where I'm
Speaker 1: actually the guest speaker, and honestly, it's not until I
Speaker 1: speak and I tell them about my background and where
Speaker 1: I've come from and what I've done that then they
Speaker 1: want to actually, you know, include me in their little
Speaker 1: circle or give me their business cards and ask for
Speaker 1: help to promote their business and stuff like that. And
Speaker 1: you just it's very hard to explain to people because
Speaker 1: a lot of people don't experience it, and then you
Speaker 1: talk to a black person about it and they're like, damn,
Speaker 1: that's like me as well, Like no one really wants
Speaker 1: to give you the time of day until like, oh shit,
Speaker 1: she's an Olympian, like we better, you know, let's shower
Speaker 1: her and everything, and it's like yeah, but I'm also
Speaker 1: a human first, And I mean it's quite tough because
Speaker 1: growing up, I went to a very good primary school
Speaker 1: that was actually very diverse, and my mom, she's white,
Speaker 1: but she always taught me like just love from the heart.
Speaker 1: You know, it doesn't matter what people look like. If
Speaker 1: they're nice, you'd be nice back. So it never I
Speaker 1: just never understood why people are so mean to people
Speaker 1: just because of their skin color, Like it literally blows
Speaker 1: my mind. Or they leave them out because of their
Speaker 1: skin color, or you know. I was having this discussion
Speaker 1: with one of the ladies from the Domor Project, who's
Speaker 1: the that's the charity that I've actually aligned myself with.
Speaker 1: Not so much of a charity, but it's like an
Speaker 1: education type platform for people to speak on and so
Speaker 1: other people can learn about. And I just said, like,
Speaker 1: it's hard being a woman, but honestly being a black woman.
Speaker 1: It's like people look at you like it's the worst
Speaker 1: thing ever. They're like, oh my gosh, she's a woman
Speaker 1: and she's black, like far out. And I've had that
Speaker 1: a lot in my life, and I'm kind of lucky
Speaker 1: because I have had such a good support system. But
Speaker 1: I'm also quite strong in the sense that I don't
Speaker 1: I just don't think or want to let anyone get
Speaker 1: in my way just because of how they see me,
Speaker 1: you know, versus how I see myself. But it's always
Speaker 1: a really tough topic to speak on because trying to
Speaker 1: get like through to people that necessarily don't want to
Speaker 1: understand or just simply don't get it and don't want
Speaker 1: to get it, it's quite heartbreaking because they don't really
Speaker 1: like like it's they just don't know, like the setbacks
Speaker 1: and the tears, and you know, so many events that
Speaker 1: I haven't wanted to go to because I'm scared I'd
Speaker 1: be looked at differently, or if I do go to
Speaker 1: an event, I get called the token black girl, and
Speaker 1: it's like, shit, can I win? Like can I just
Speaker 1: be here to be here? Am I allowed to just
Speaker 1: you know, be a person and not be judged from
Speaker 1: the based on the color of my skin or you
Speaker 1: know whatever it is. So yeah, I mean it's a
Speaker 1: long fight, but I just tell a lot of people,
Speaker 1: you know, look at the LGBTQ community and women's rights.
Speaker 1: Look how far they've come. I mean, obviously it took
Speaker 1: a long time, but you know they're making progress and
Speaker 1: they're getting somewhere. Why can't we So it is possible.
Speaker 1: You just need a bit of heart. I think for.
Speaker 2: Sure, one hundred percent. I love I love also that
Speaker 2: you spoke about kind of you know, the tokenism about
Speaker 2: showing up at an event. And I think also, I
Speaker 2: think in Australia I've noticed is it's also in the
Speaker 2: sense of not even acknowledging it in the first place.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh my gosh. That part just kills me.
Speaker 2: Like yeah, and it's like it's a really And then
Speaker 2: so it's a really hard conversation to have because people
Speaker 2: aren't even acknowledging in the first place, and it's it's
Speaker 2: like a bit how can you even say.
Speaker 1: That, yeah, yeah, and then just think it's okay, or
Speaker 1: like the classic one I even hear is oh no,
Speaker 1: I'm allowed to say it. I have a black friend.
Speaker 1: I'm like, what I like that's just like that seriously
Speaker 1: blows my mind. Like if you have a black friend,
Speaker 1: you should be standing up for them, not you know,
Speaker 1: checking around the end word because you have a black friend.
Speaker 1: Like that just makes no sense to me whatsoever. Actually
Speaker 1: use your platform to you know, make a change. And
Speaker 1: but yeah, like we have a long way to go.
Speaker 1: I think in Australia, especially with Aboriginal people and their
Speaker 1: culture that like, I've learned so much this year and
Speaker 1: it's just heartbreaking. Like my dad's black, he's from America,
Speaker 1: He's African American. But then I feel like, you know,
Speaker 1: I've got to you know, I've got family over here.
Speaker 1: But then I'm an Australian and I obviously need to
Speaker 1: give back to the Aboriginal culture and want to learn
Speaker 1: more and do better myself, just to be more inclusive
Speaker 1: and learn from them and just see, you know, the
Speaker 1: things that they've gone through. Like you know, don't don't
Speaker 1: hate them for being angry. You've got to ask why
Speaker 1: they're angry. They're not just angry for no reason. So
Speaker 1: Clothing the Gap are doing such an amazing thing with
Speaker 1: raising awareness about Aboriginal culture and you know the fact
Speaker 1: that someone actually owns the Aboriginal flag and the fact
Speaker 1: they want it free so they can actually use it
Speaker 1: on their clothing and whatever have you. It's just even
Speaker 1: that it's like, how does that owner in their heart
Speaker 1: keep the first flag of this country under wraps for
Speaker 1: no one to use? You have to pay, like Aboriginal
Speaker 1: people have to pay to use it? Are you serious?
Speaker 1: Like is this seriously what the world we live in?
Speaker 1: It just blows my mind that people are so selfish.
Speaker 2: So, yeah, there's just sutrageous, isn't it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's just so much that needs to be done.
Speaker 2: So much, And I would love to know you did
Speaker 2: speak about that education platform that you're now aligned to do.
Speaker 2: I'd love to know if you. Yeah, so i'd love
Speaker 2: to know. Do you have any actionable tips for the listeners.
Speaker 2: Do you recommend them just going to the website or Yeah, I.
Speaker 1: Definitely go to the website to find out more because
Speaker 1: they can point you in like a million different directions.
Speaker 1: And same with clothing.
Speaker 2: The gap amazing, Yeah, I just.
Speaker 1: Think Also it's like it's like, I mean, I have
Speaker 1: to do it every day, not so much in terms
Speaker 1: of racism, but other things. I really have to stop
Speaker 1: myself before I judge someone and correct my thinking, right, like,
Speaker 1: before you judge someone, just kind of think, why are
Speaker 1: you thinking that way? Why are you thinking that horrible
Speaker 1: thought just because of the color of their skin, or
Speaker 1: why do you feel uncomfortable? Like you have no reason,
Speaker 1: and they're just like it's kind of like you've got
Speaker 1: to rewire your own brain first to even just take
Speaker 1: the next few steps and then even bigger steps. It's
Speaker 1: like signing petitions and asking your friends and looking on
Speaker 1: the websites and just seeing how you can, you know,
Speaker 1: do more, how you can help free the flag and
Speaker 1: kind of just make it more of an inclusive place
Speaker 1: for everyone. And when I say like inclusive, and I
Speaker 1: mean safe and safe being that people don't feel awkward
Speaker 1: when they rock up to events or you know, younger
Speaker 1: black kids can actually go to parties and sporting events
Speaker 1: without being looked at weird or you know, told, oh,
Speaker 1: you're going to win this race because you're black. Like
Speaker 1: it just none of that should even come into the conversation.
Speaker 1: Just let them be kids, or you know, let them
Speaker 1: do their thing freely without being just by the color
Speaker 1: of their skin. That it's so important because it stays
Speaker 1: with you forever.
Speaker 2: Seriously, that is so important. I also I love what
Speaker 2: you said about sort of the first step of like
Speaker 2: reevaluating and shifting your own thoughts and being like, hang on,
Speaker 2: why am I judging that person? Or why am I
Speaker 2: thinking differently of that person and really starting there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, And like I think it's just also it
Speaker 1: comes down to vulnerability, Like you're allowed to say, Okay,
Speaker 1: I've made a few mistakes. You know. I applaud people
Speaker 1: that are like, wow, I used to be that way,
Speaker 1: but I'm trying so hard to be a better person
Speaker 1: because we all make mistakes. You can't hate people for
Speaker 1: making mistakes and doing the wrong thing when half the
Speaker 1: time they don't even know it. But if you're making
Speaker 1: the effort to change, for me, it's just like a
Speaker 1: huge tick. I just think it's awesome. And I love
Speaker 1: people that are honest with themselves and just want to
Speaker 1: move forward, Like I just find that so admirable.
Speaker 2: Yeah, one hundred percent. And I love that you touched
Speaker 2: on that. So Morgan, You've achieved so much already and
Speaker 2: you've done so much. What is next for you?
Speaker 1: Quite funny, I don't know. Well, obviously the Olympics, not time. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: it's like if they happen the Olympics and then I
Speaker 1: think I'm going to take like a good two month
Speaker 1: break after it and just try and explore other avenues.
Speaker 1: It's quite funny between you and I and like, oh,
Speaker 1: obviously all your readers are readers listeners, sorry, because I'm
Speaker 1: going to hear this. But it was a dream of mine.
Speaker 1: This is quite funny, Like always been a dream of
Speaker 1: a dream of mine to reenact, like do a revamp
Speaker 1: of cat Woman, you know, halle Berry back in the day.
Speaker 1: I want to like get into acting and just be
Speaker 1: like it's like seriously, that's like the next thing in
Speaker 1: my dream book. Like I am obsessed with halle Berry.
Speaker 1: I'm obsessed with that movie ever since I was little.
Speaker 1: I'm like, I'm going to be the next cat Woman. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and she looks so good for age, Oh my god.
Speaker 2: Yeah, ridiculous that it's yeah, I'm like featuring that movie
Speaker 2: right now, Like watch that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's so good, amazing, moving cool.
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh wow, we'll.
Speaker 1: Be watching Could you imagine? That would make my life?
Speaker 1: Like that's at the top of the bucket list, but
Speaker 1: I just can't act.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, keep putting, like keep putting that in
Speaker 2: your dream book.
Speaker 1: Keep going yeah, oh my god, you're getting tickets to
Speaker 1: the premiere because we've talked about it.
Speaker 2: Oh yes, okay, you have to do it now you
Speaker 2: heard it here first.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Actually, thank you so much for sharing that with us.
Speaker 2: That's super and I love.
Speaker 1: It so amazing. Yes, okay, we'll see. Well, we'll be watching.
Speaker 2: The waiting and cheering you on from the sideline, whether
Speaker 2: it's the Olympics or Catwoman.
Speaker 1: So funny.
Speaker 2: Okay, Well again, sorry to wrap up this interview, and
Speaker 2: I just want to say, firstly, thank you so much
Speaker 2: for your time. You have been an absolute delight. But
Speaker 2: to wrap up this interview, another question that I ask
Speaker 2: all my Season three guests, and I'm here, I'm looking
Speaker 2: for a bit of a pep talk and I'm sure
Speaker 2: you'll give us a good one.
Speaker 1: Oh my god.
Speaker 2: Basically, get ready for your inner coach to come out.
Speaker 2: But what do you tell yourself when you're stepping out
Speaker 2: of your comfort zone into the unknown and it feels
Speaker 2: very uncomfortable. How do you sort of push yourself to
Speaker 2: do it?
Speaker 1: Oh? See, the first thing that came to my mind
Speaker 1: was like, don't shoot yourself, but I would probably say, oh,
Speaker 1: that's such a good one. For me. The first thing
Speaker 1: I've always been told is breathe, breathe, and my mum
Speaker 1: drilled it into my head, like you just have to
Speaker 1: repeat if you don't know, if you don't try, you
Speaker 1: don't know, you know what I mean. So, yes, that's
Speaker 1: that's weird. Is perfect? Yeah for me, that's that's I mean.
Speaker 1: I guess I don't know if people want more, but
Speaker 1: it's just been so easy for me to be like,
Speaker 1: well shit, I mean, you don't know if you don't
Speaker 1: try it, so you might as well just get into it.
Speaker 1: But yet they're always going to start with breathing, for sure,
Speaker 1: because as soon as you tense up, everything falls to pieces.
Speaker 1: But if you're in the moment and breathing, I'm just
Speaker 1: going for it, you know, like life's too short. Especially
Speaker 1: this year, I think we've all learned just take risks.
Speaker 1: You've got nothing to lose. So yeah, that's probably what
Speaker 1: I would say, just plain and simple. I love it.
Speaker 2: I bloody love it. Well, Morgan, thank you so much.
Speaker 2: Like I said, I have enjoyed this conversation so much,
Speaker 2: and yeah, good luck with everything, and we cannot wait
Speaker 2: to watch you and see you do amazing things.
Speaker 1: Awesome. Thank you so much for having me Georgie. I
Speaker 1: appreciate it.
Speaker 2: And that is it for today's episode. Thank you so
Speaker 2: much for listening. I hope you enjoyed this chat. And guys,
Speaker 2: if you did love this episode, if you love the podcast,
Speaker 2: please give us a review or make sure you're subscribed.
Speaker 2: It really helps out the Rise and Conquer podcast. And
Speaker 2: if you do love the podcast and you love the
Speaker 2: conversations that we have, I think that you would love
Speaker 2: our Facebook group, So come and join us. It's just
Speaker 2: Rise and Conquer podcast community. And yeah, it's a private
Speaker 2: group where we chatted all things we do on the podcast.
Speaker 2: But thank you so much for listening. I'll chat to
Speaker 2: you in our next step. It was for me, there's
Speaker 2: no there's all the tough drinks, the