I spoke to Tamsyn Stock-Stafford from Body and Soul Gym (formerly Body and Soul Wellness Studio) about her journey and her plans to expand the gym in Deloraine.
Matt Taylor: Can you introduce yourself and the business?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: Certainly. My name’s Tamsyn and I am the owner of Body and Soul Gym, formerly Body and Soul Wellness Studio. I just recently had a bit of a rebranding. The gym at the moment is a 24 hour gym and it’s located at 5 West Barrack Street.
But I’m expanding and I’ve taken over 8 West Barrack Street as well, which is now going to be where all the classes are. And so 5 West Barrack Street is a 24 hour gym. And 8 West Barrack Street will be classes.
Matt Taylor: Can you talk about the rebranding? Is it just the move that’s caused the rebranding?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: Actually yes, but it was in the pipeline anyway. Because when I initially started, I opened up the gym as a a naturopath and a fitness instructor with the hopes of being able to consult as a naturopath as well. Which was a little bit ambitious because the gym is just all consuming and I just didn’t have the time to do naturopathy. And that’s kind of fallen by the wayside. So although I’m still a a registered naturopath, I’m a non-practicing registered naturopath.
And and I just felt like the wellness studio wasn’t working for me. So I decided to make it simpler and turn it into just Body and Soul Gym. I kept the body and soul because I’m about that holistic approach. I’m about that holistic approach to health and fitness. So it’s not just about the jump up and down and lifting weights, it’s also about that healthy lifestyle.
Getting lots of sleep. Deep breathing regularly. And stretching and all of that sort of stuff. Everything that helps. Helps us to be the healthiest versions of ourselves.
Matt Taylor: So the naturopathy side of things for you, maybe is a little bit on the back burner for now.
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: Very much so. Yeah. It’s still lots of skills that I find very valuable on a day to day basis. You know, when people are talking about their health. And because I’m qualified to be able to give that advice. I like to give the advice. But as, as far as consulting that’s gone at the moment.
Matt Taylor: Can you talk about your journey to Body and Soul? How long have you been in the industry?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: So my journey with this started in 2013 at the beginning of the year. I woke up one morning and went, ‘I can’t be this anymore.’
I was obese and I was really unhappy with the way that I was. And I ate really healthy food, but too much. And I didn’t exercise enough and I just didn’t have a healthy attitude towards my health. I was in my late thirties and the reality of diseases setting in was becoming all too clear for me.
So I spoke to a friend of mine who’s a fitness instructor and said, “okay, I’m coming to you. I’ll do whatever you say.” And what she told me to do, I did it to the T. I actually went overboard a little bit and within six months I lost 25 kilos and fell madly in love with exercise! I was already exercising a bit, but I was going towards obsessive compulsive, which obviously isn’t particularly healthy either… But I was just obsessed with exercising.
I was running 10 kilometers three times a week. I was doing lots of classes. And I just loved it! I’d wake up in the morning and I’d be like, right, what am I going to do today? And so that was the beginning of this for me and taking over that space because my friend who was the instructor and who helped me was in that space.
And she said, “I’m going to move on. I’m going to go and open up a space somewhere else. What about if you take over?” And I said, well, I’m not qualified. And she said, “I’ll help you with that. That’s fine. You can just enroll and I’ll be your mentor.” So we did it! I had just had a baby and it was challenging. But I like challenging, I think.
So I’ve had the business for nearly six years and I opened the year before the whole COVID shebang happened. So it’s been up and down and up and down. And there were a couple of times where I thought, ‘no, it’s not going to work’ – but it’s done really well.
And the opportunity to take this space came up a few weeks ago and I had been looking for a bigger space because where we are right now (at 5 West Barrack Street) isn’t big enough for 24 hour gym and classes. We squeeze the classes in but it’s not perfect at all. And this building has a space upstairs and a space out the back and then there’s also that foyer area which is also really good for putting in some equipment. So that’s when why I decided to take it and I’m really glad I did. It’s scary, but it’s exciting
Matt Taylor: What do you think is the reason that people come to you?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: It’s such a good question. And, I can only guess what the answer would be. I can only guess. It’s a 24 hour gym in Deloraine. That’s a big deal.
Because I think the closest 24 hour gyms are in Launceston and Devonport. And so it’s convenient for people. I have over the years collected a lot of equipment, so it’s pretty comprehensive. And the people that come to my classes you’re going to either love me or hate me ’cause I’m not for everyone!
The classes that I run, I generally go more for a cardio side of things. So it’s high energy and I think people come to my classes because of that. I’m a friendly person and I generally am happy. I’m that way naturally, but I think I learned from my trainer who was like that as well.
She’s very encouraging. And people feel like ‘Oh God, I can’t be bothered going to the gym. I’ll go anyway.’ And then they get there and they’re like, ‘I’m so glad I did it.’ And you’re helping them through it by being positive. And I think that might be why people come to me.
Matt Taylor: It seems there’s a very supportive community, a group of people who come to you.
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: Very much so. Very much so. Yes. And they’ve been very supportive of this move as well, which has been awesome.
Matt Taylor: So you mentioned 24 hour gym, are there many people who come out of hours? I hadn’t imagined that there would be many.
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: A little bit more now. Initially, there weren’t very many.
It was very rare that someone would be here and would come to the gym after 9 p. m. But now there are a couple of people that will do a workout at 11 p. m. But no one comes after midnight. That I know of. I haven’t noticed anyone going in and out of the gym after midnight.
And yeah, before 5. But a lot of people go in at like 5am and 6am, which is so foreign to me.
Matt Taylor: You mentioned that you like high intensity and those sorts of exercises. Is that, what you favour yourself? What exercises and what sort of wellness do you try and practice?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: I was born in the seventies. So in the eighties was the whole aerobics thing. And that’s when I started to notice exercise. And so I used to do aerobics when I was a teenager and that was always jump, jump, jump, jump, jump.
Like, you know, “woo, let’s go.” Lots of high energy stuff. And I just naturally gravitated towards that. I haven’t ever had the confidence to really immerse myself in like strength and conditioning classes, which is why I’ve never done anything like that. I am actually (offering that) in this new space.
I’ve got two instructors who are going to do strength and conditioning classes. So that will complement the more cardio based classes that I do. And they are highly qualified and I’m just happy for them to do it. But I think, yes, it’s probably because I enjoy doing the HIIT classes and Tabata and circuits.
Matt Taylor: Can you explain a little bit more about what those sorts of classes entail?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: Sure. HIIT is high intensity interval training, which strength and conditioning can actually be as well. But the high intensity interval training that I do is, is basically cardio. We do sometimes use small weights to help get the heart rate up a bit and do a little bit of that resistance. The more you do that, the more it becomes like a high intensity resistance training, so HIRT as opposed to HIIT. But I just basically stick to HIIT. And Tabata is a type of HIIT. It’s just a specific type where you do a four minute of usually one exercise and it’s 20 seconds of go hard, like at your maximum then 10 second recovery, then 20 seconds, then go 10 second recovery.
And the idea is that you’re aiming for a hundred percent. And during that 10 second recovery, your heart rate actually keeps rising up. And then as you’re going to start the next round, it starts to come back down. So you’re going like this with your heart rate the whole time, and it’s up really high, and it’s a great way to increase your cardiovascular fitness quite fast. It was created by Mr. Tabata.
Matt Taylor: There you go, hence the name.
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: Hence the name, yeah.
Matt Taylor: You said that you had always sort of eaten healthy, are there any favourite dishes that you enjoy?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: I am quite obsessed with vegetables. I don’t eat meat and for me that was an ethical choice, but I’m also lucky that I don’t really miss it.
I don’t crave meat. So when I cook, I cook with a lot of vegetables, like a lot of vegetables. My family do suffer a bit with that. Anything that’s got like lentils and chickpeas and things like that in it. I love curries. I love making curries and vegetable soups and stews and things like that.
Matt Taylor: Do you grow some of your own veggies or, or source some veggies locally?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: Yeah, and obviously at the moment with everything that’s going on, it’s a bit hard and the garden’s not looking very good and I haven’t been able to put anything in. But yes I do. And I have got heaps and heaps of raised garden beds that I established a few years ago.
And I have managed to yield quite a lot. There’s no way I could be self sustainable. It’s a big job, but I have worked really hard to supplement what we’re eating with from the garden. And there’s a family business that buys and sells local produce and all organic produce from the mainland as well as Tasmania.
And they live just a couple of kilometers in that direction and I buy from them.
Matt Taylor: Do you know the name?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: Yeah. Tasmanian Organic Trading Company. The owner the owners are Andrew Gleeson. Everyone knows them. Andrew Gleeson and Melissa. I don’t actually remember if they’re married. And they are on Railway Parade, just on the other side of the highway.
Matt Taylor: Do you find that the people who come here are a certain type of person, or do you get a mix of people?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: It’s a mix now. Initially, yes, there was a certain demographic that I was definitely appealing to. And so it would be a lot of women mid to late thirties and up. So initially appealing to the women.
When I first opened it spread around town that it was a women’s only gym. Which wasn’t true – but because there were so many women coming to the gym (it seemed that way). I became a 24 hour gym I think it was two years ago and that attracted a lot of guys.
So now that space is actually quite masculine. Women do generally feel comfortable there though. Which is awesome, but yeah, it’s become a bit of a masculine space. One of the things I’m actually going to do in here is I’m having four blocks each week, where two of them are a women’s only circuit, and two of them are a women’s only gym time.
So the gym time being just an hour only women are allowed into the building during that time. Because some women feel uncomfortable working out when there’s a man in the gym. They feel intimidated or also Muslim women who aren’t allowed to exercise in the vicinity of a male.
So I’m hoping that will be well received.
Matt Taylor: How do you find that most people find out about what you do?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: By word of mouth. Yeah, definitely by word of mouth. Yeah and it’s still spreading because people still say to me, “Oh, I didn’t know there was a gym in town” and there are two.
I find it funny that people still don’t know. But most people know now. And yeah it is definitely the people that go to my gym then tell their friends who then tell their friends.
Matt Taylor: And what’s your favourite part of Deloraine?
Tamsyn Stock-Stafford: The river. The river is so beautiful.
And I don’t spend enough time down there at the moment. It is just stunning. This is the most beautiful town. We’re so lucky. It’s really gorgeous. But that river is stunning.
Matt Taylor: Thank you, Tamsyn.
The new premises were opened with a party on Friday 19 July 2024 with the doors opening at 5:30pm at 8 West Barrack Street, Deloraine.
