A change in direction

It’s hard to imagine Elly Davison as anything but bubbly and outgoing, however at one point in her life she was neither of those things. The 25-year-old has since taken that experience and used it to empower other women. Caitlyn Morgan chats to Elly about the moment that changed her career path. Picture: Carmel Zaccone

FOR as long as Elly can remember she had planned to work in the family business.

It wasn’t until after completing a bachelor of commerce in Adelaide that Elly discovered it wasn’t the career path she wanted after all.

“I knew it wasn’t the right thing for me and that I would be unhappy if that’s what I did,” she says.

“I had just wasted four years of my life and I had no idea what I was going to do.

“I went into deep depression, I would spend all day in bed watching Netflix, I didn’t want to see anyone, the only time I would get out of bed was to go to the gym.”

While at university, Elly had completed a personal training course but had never considered it a potential career path.

“I had done the PT course not knowing it was something I would even use,” she says.

“Bianca Romeo could see potential in me and at the time she was moving from her home studio to 141 Fitness.

“At the time I had nothing going for me so I took the opportunity, it was something to start me again.”

It was while completing consultations for those signing up to the gym that Elly discovered where her true passion lied.

“I noticed everyone seemed to be worried about how much they weighed,” she says.

“They would come in and say they wanted to lose 5kg or 10kg and weren’t paying attention to their overall wellbeing, they were chasing an unattainable goal.

“Instead of focusing on their weight, I wanted them to focus on how fast they could run, or how many more sit ups they could do, looking at their overall happiness and wellbeing.

“It was then that I realised I wanted to get the message out about that further.”

While on a holiday in India, Elly had a light-bulb moment that has since seen her career take off.

“It was while getting a massage that I had the thought that I needed to do an empowerment session,” she says.

“I knew if I didn’t leave then and there and make the event on Facebook that I wouldn’t do it.

“You have only a small window from when you get an idea before you begin to doubt yourself and don’t do it.

“I gave myself about a month to plan it and thought the worst case scenario will be that it ends up just me and my best friend getting coffee.”

Elly’s self doubt quickly turned around.

“Tickets started to sell, there was 10 tickets sold, then 20, then 30 and we ended up with more than 40 people there,” she says.

“It was a feel good, people were actually interested in what I had to say.”

The first session held in November focused on mental health and body image with Elly sharing her own story along with numerous guest speakers.

“A lot of people were surprised by my story, as from the outside it looked like I had it all together,” she says.

Since the first session, Elly has been bombarded with women wanting to attend more sessions.

Earlier this month she held a successful session on goal setting and was a guest speaker at the Mildura Young Professional Network Festival of the Future 2019.

This Sunday she will speak at the International Women’s Day Luncheon held at the Coomealla Club.

On April 28, Elly will team up with 141 Fitness and Blk Mlk to host Soul Movement, which is an opportunity to move your body, be nourished and learn how to prepare raw treats in your own home.

To keep up to date with Elly’s upcoming events visit www.ellydavison.com or www.instagram.com/empoweredbyelly.