Veteran Sarah Watson’s new fitness business is Good 2 Go.
Sarah Watson’s achievements in fitness are impressive by any measure. Hawaii Ironman World Championships competitor, multiple medallist at the Invictus Games, successful finisher of the pro-am Trois Étapes, with her team, including Cadel Evans and Hamish Blake, climbing over 10,000 metres in three days on a bike. Sarah is also a yoga teacher; well-credentialed (Cert 3 and 4) experienced fitness instructor; Athletics Australia Run coach; Triathlon Australia Development coach; was a combat fitness leader in the Army for over a decade, 2022 qualifier for the Triathlon World Championships (Sarah will compete in Abu Dhabi in November this year), sub-3:30hour marathoner…and the list goes on.
Suffice to say, for the army veteran of 18 years to move into the fitness industry and launch Good2Go Mindset is not a surprise. Many veterans typically develop life-long fitness habits after their service. The constant physical training generally sticks as a die-hard habit for decades after discharge. For Sarah, it was the prospect of joining the army that motivated her toward high levels of fitness at a young age.
“When I was first accepted into the Army, I freaked out that I wasn’t going to be fit enough, so I probably went overboard to get my fitness up to scratch.”
While Sarah served our country for 18 years, she never thought to give fitness a go as a career until last year. “I have done it all through my life, but never given it 100 per cent and see where it goes.”
With the launch of Good2Go website, the 44-year-old mother of two is stepping into the fitness entrepreneur space. “It’s daunting and there’s a lot to do as a small business owner, but I feel pretty confident I have the work ethic and drive to make a go of it. I have had a lot of support from the veteran community. And so far, so good.”
What makes Sarah unique to the space is that her long and distinguished military career was not without trauma, but not only from her operational service. It was trauma unique to female service personnel. Sarah’s military story is a harrowing tale of protracted harassment and stalking that followed her to a posting in Iraq. Ultimately Sarah left the service in 2014 after being formally diagnosed with PTSD.
Despite this, Sarah has drawn huge strength from the traumatic experiences and now helps other veterans in their personal journeys, helping ESOs by volunteering and fundraising. Her story of resilience and courage in overcoming negative experiences is inspiring and has taught Sarah a lot about choices.
“I had options at my lowest point; I could have fixated on being broken and got stuck in a rut fighting for the label TPI (totally and permanently incapacitated) as some advocates suggested I should have. To me, that’s almost as bad a prospect as living with the horrible symptoms of the diagnoses I’ve been given. Instead, I have fought hard to heal and reinvent myself, finding my passion and new purpose. I’m only 44 years old and there’s so much more living to be done!.”
A cornerstone of Sarah’s new business is the speaking circuit, where she hopes to help organisations bring about positive change after adversity. “I motivate and inspire teams and workplaces through sharing my story of overcoming adversity, building up resilience and finding a pivot in life when you need to change direction.”
Sarah ultimately chose her new path because it combines her love of sport with her passion to help others. “I do a lot of veteran advocacy work and volunteering so if I could then realise my passion of fitness and sport and get results for other people and pay the bills at the same time, that to me is living your purpose and your passion.
Good2Go Mindset offers personal training, yoga instruction, cardio training and motivational speaking appearances.
