Interview with Louise Hazel

LH: It was simple really. I remember feeling 3 things after the London 2012 Olympic Games

• I’d fallen out of love with the sport and I understood the politics behind competing  for your country are never in the interests of the athlete.
• I felt like I’d reached my potential, sure I could have put down a better score but that wouldn’t have been life changing. I’d already won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games and the chances of me winning a gold, silver or bronze in Rio 2016 were slim. 
• London was calling. I grew tired of Birmingham and longed to be amidst the bright lights and energy that came from London. I wanted to meet new people and have new conversations, above all else I wanted to grow on a personal level.

LH; Never, it was quite remarkable actually. I handed in notice on my two bedroom apartment, moved most of my stuff in to a storage unit and within a month I started leasing a room from Jeanette Kwakye in London (one of my Team GB teammates).

LH: They say “once an Olympian always an Olympian” and yes I’m still extremely competitive. Often to a fault. I like deadlines, challenges, progress and environments that push me to perform. Even with simple things like going bowling, I struggle to switch of the “winner” mentality. It’s a blessing and a curse!

LH: When I first arrived in Los Angeles in 2017, my days were filled with castings, meeting producers and television networks. And it still is to some extent but this time I am much more in the driving seat as a female gym owner I created SLAY as a safe space for personal training Hollywood’s rich and famous but it’s also a purpose built content studio allowing me to create, pitch and sell content and TV ideas to networks. It’s an exciting place to be!

LH: My purpose with Slay is to ignite and elevate sustainable training for women worldwide. This is done in a multitude of ways;

• Personal Training

• Online Training

• Equipment and merchandise 

• Television show (in development)

My vision is to create the largest female owned fitness community in the world.

LH: Nowadays my focus is general maintenance, which typically means I’ll weight train 2-3 times weekly and I try to get out and run or hike twice weekly. Weekends are strictly for me, no exercise unless it’s for my mental wellbeing.

LH: Here is an example of a perfect week of training for me. I rarely get the opportunity to do this as other responsibilities normally reduce the amount of time I spend training. At a minimum at least 2 days a week will get done.

Monday - Resistance training (60 mins)

Exercises include; Back Squats, Bench Press, Weighted Flutterkicks

Tuesday - Cardio training (20 mins)

Speed Endurance Intervals; 1min stride, 1min recovery 

Wednesday - Resistance training (60 mins)

Exercises include; SL Split Squat, DB Push Press, Weighted Russian Twists

Thursday - Cardio training (30 mins)

Speed training: 6 x 60m sprints (full recovery)

Friday - HIIT training (30 mins)

Saturday - Hike (2-4 hours)

Sunday - Rest 

LH: Absolutely, but as an athlete I don’t think you even think about sport psychology, it’s not a conscious effort it’s just something that you do. It’s what makes you different and it’s a mindset that you embody that enables you to perform at a high level. For me these things present themselves in the following ways; positive self-talk and visualization. They’re not just restricted to training either I use them throughout the day before meetings and even with my personal relationships.

LH: “The Playbook” came about this summer when a group of 120 women of color signed my “Open Letter To The Fitness Industry”. Many of us suffered immense pain watching the violence of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery murders and hearing of the injustice served in Breonna Taylor’s killing that we rallied our voices to make it clear that we will be a part of ending racism in our workplaces. The health and fitness industry has done an excellent job of ignoring women of color for the longest time and so I devised a new set of rules to play by. One that promotes equality not inclusion and one that provides solutions not just lists our endless grievances.

I truly believe that most people want to do better when it comes to equality and so the Playbook is a great guide for anybody wanting to help us achieve that.

LH: It’s 2020, and we’ve only just started. I mean sport has always lead the narrative on racism because it depends so largely on the backs of elite black athletes but other industries are way behind. It’s time for those industries to catch up and expand their vision beyond profit to purpose!

LH: The support I received from The Playbook has been immense. It was published in Forbes Online and I recently chatted to the Global Director for Sports Marketing at Lululemon so brands are starting to take notice.

LH: Footwear! I’m a purist so I’m not going to wear any old junk on my feet. Our feet are the first thing that comes into contact with the ground everyday. We should take so much care of them just like they take care of us. My favorite running shoe is the Nike Flyknit Racer - it’s super light, travel friendly and makes me feel fast!

LH: Not yet - I’m not an influencer. I’m a creative and I’ll work with a brand that respects my knowledge, expertise and passion for performance products. Most brands want me to wear an outfit that somebody in some office somewhere (a person who knows nothing about me) has chosen as “the look” of the season. Let’s make it very clear...I’m good on that! I take pride in my taste and my own style.