ALEX HIPWELL MOTIVATES TRAINEES TO 'SHOW UP FOR YOURSELF' & PROACTIVELY TAKE CARE OF THEIR HEALTH

@alexhipwell

About me: I’m a Nike Master Trainer, a Fitness Consultant & Athlete, and a Mind & Body Transformer. My big purpose has always been - if I can reach just one person through my platform, to help change their life, then I'm happy.

Movement as a Way of Life 

I grew up in Australia. At age 21, I left home to pursue a career in dance and choreography and began traveling the world. My base became a tiny apartment in Köln, Germany.

I studied fitness and nutrition during my dance career to start to understand a bit more about my body. After I had my son, I was trying to transform my body, and no one knew what to do with post-pregnancy. I stepped off the stage as a dancer and stepped on the stage as an athlete. It was a beautiful transition!

I set a goal to compete as a bodybuilder, and ended up coming 2nd in the world championships. So my career as a bodybuilder skyrocketed very fast. Then I moved into the CrossFit world.  

Nike women picked me up as one of their master trainers, and it’s been an absolute dream, being someone who the community feels they can be inspired by and also they can touch. 

"If I could reach one person and make them believe that they could do whatever they wanted to do, then I knew that I was on the right path and that was my purpose."

I wanted to inspire the attitude: “If she can do it, so can I.” If I could reach one person and make them believe that they could do whatever they wanted to do, then I knew that I was on the right path and that was my purpose. 

Facing a major health scare - It was skin cancer

Coming from Australia, everything I did was outside, and from age 16-25, being skinny and brown was the coolest thing ever. You waited a few days until you got a tan, and only then you put sunscreen on. Stupidity is all it is, and it catches up to you at some point.  

I noticed something on my face. It was so small but I JUST KNEW. I called the doctor to get an appointment and she said the next appointment was in four months. That was absolutely ridiculous. I called every skin doctor in Berlin and couldn't get an appointment. My ex’s friend is a skin doctor and I got in to see him. He said, 'How did you know?' And I said: 'I just knew.'

"I noticed something on my face. It was so small but I just knew."

It was skin cancer. 

He suggested putting me on a trial cream that was very aggressive, and I said: Let’s go! We also set an appointment for surgery, but I said: 'The cream’s going to work, the cream is going to work.' That was my affirmation. It was very emotional and I was very scared.

Sharing my story to help others

I started the treatment, and I decided to post about it on social media. My big purpose has always been that if I can reach even one person through my platform to help change their life, then I'm happy.  

I posted a story on IG - Please get your skin checked twice a year. My Instagram was flooded. It was insane. I needed to share this story because I wasn't sure what was going to happen. 

"My Instagram was flooded. It was insane. I needed to share this story because I wasn't sure what was going to happen."

As the days went on, you could see it getting worse and worse. The pain that I went through was like someone was holding a cigarette on my face. I would wake up at night feeling like I was going to vomit or pass out from the pain. It was an open wound right in my face.

Every day I said I'm just going to keep going. I’m going to keep teaching my classes, and I’m going to keep in everybody’s face about this. I did everything they told me to do. After finishing the cream treatment, I had 12 days to wait for my skin to calm down before going back to see the doctor.

Argan Oil - the miraculous oil that helped heal my skin

I started to use FRÉ’s pure Argan Oil, because it was the only natural product that I had. I put lots of oil in my hands and then I would pat it over the wound and over my whole face. I did this every single day for those 12 days. 

It was incredible! The wound was gone. The doctor made me write down what I’d used for the healing process, because the other patients still had a distinct red spot on their face.

Since then, that is my evening regime every single night. I use Argan Oil, and I kiss it every night. People have said to me: Your skin is different. The only thing I’ve changed is using the pure Argan Oil. It’s really magic. 

"I use Argan Oil, and I kiss it every night. People have said to me: Your skin is different. The only thing I’ve changed is using the pure Argan Oil. It’s really magic."

And then I didn’t need an operation. The luck was I found the cancer super early and was very aggressive with the cream. Since then I haven’t left the house without using PROTECT ME SPF30 on my face. I don’t just put it on. I think about what I’m doing, and the name resonates in my head. I have it in my bag all the time. I also wear a hat all the time.

Create a skin ritual that works for you 

Our shell is so precious and so beautiful and it protects everything on the inside; and we try to fuel our body so well and train our body and keep our heart strong, and then you forget about something that you look at everyday - your skin. Make a ritual out of it - just like training or preparing for dinner. Prepare your skin for the day, prepare your skin for bed. Really protect and look after this incredible outer system that you have.

"Our shell is so precious and so beautiful and it protects everything on the inside; and we try to fuel our body so well and train our body and keep our heart strong, and then you forget about something that you look at everyday - your skin."

Don’t wait for your health to make you do something.  

I was using sunscreen before all of this, but not as a religion. Now I get up in the morning and put my SPF30 on without question. I know I ride my bike outside, I know I’m going to train, so I’m at some point outside in the sun. I wish someone had told me this years ago, so I want to be that person.

The 2 mottos I live by:

1. Move Because you Can, Not Because you Have To. Movement is not about getting up and doing a workout, it’s getting up and going. Whether that be going for a walk, a swim, a bicycle ride. Move - don’t wait.
2. Show Up For Yourself. I remind everyone in every class I teach that you just showed up for yourself and this is something that needs to be acknowledged. So many times we block time to train and then something from work comes in and you push aside your training. How can you cancel on yourself yet you can’t cancel something at work? I just don’t get it.

"Move because you can, not because you have to."

Lifting women up

In the last seven years, I’ve created fitness retreats for women, called Lifting Women. It has a double meaning - we lift together, and we also lift each other up. This is a platform that allows me to reach women and remind them of their self-worth, so that they believe in themselves, set boundaries, and honor those boundaries. 

"It was the universe’s way of showing me that my purpose is to use what I have to remind women that they are worth everything and they can achieve everything."  

After a 5-day retreat, these women leave and they take that step they never thought they would take. They quit their job, or start their own biz; or they leave a bad relationship or learn how to set boundaries. Through fitness and nutrition I remind them of their worth.  

It was the universe’s way of showing me that my purpose is to use what I have to remind women that they are worth everything and they can achieve everything.  

Lifting Women is everything for me, and I’ll continue to build that community. That’s where I can give back.

My skincare routine

I used to have really bad pigmentation and dark spots, and that’s all gone. FRÉ is the only skincare line that I have used the full range. 

Morning:

• I was my face with really cold water
• Then I use the REVIVE ME serum
• On some days I also use I AM LOVE, but not daily
• Wearing sunscreen every day - there is just no question for me. I use PROTECT ME & GLOW ME, which I layer together. I call them my warrior tubes. These two have just been everything for me - they’re my weapon 

Afternoon:

• I use REFRESH ME a lot during the day because I’m training or I coach 

Evening:

• I wash my face with PURIFY ME, seriously one of the greatest face washes ever
• Then I use the pure Argan Oil & RECOVER ME
• Sometimes I use the GLOW BODY oil

"My favorite FRÉ is the Argan Oil - it’s like a skin orgasm!"

My favorite FRÉ:

The Argan Oil - it’s like a skin orgasm! I use it on my face and chest.

Rapid Fire:

• Favorite exercise?  Weightlifting
• What does sweat mean to you? Life
• What comes to mind when you think of FRÉ?  Glow
• What are you most excited about in life right now? Being scared & excited at the same time
• What’s something you’d still love to learn? Spanish
• If you were a hashtag, what would you be? #light
• What is your mantra?  Move because you can, not because you have to
• What’s the best advice that you’ve ever received in your life? Do it scared
• What is an issue that you wish we spoke about more often? Periods
• What does women’s empowerment mean in 2021?  Backing yourself
• What are your dreams for the FRÉ community? That we continue to honor our bodies