HEALTH AND WELLBEING
TRACY GRAVENMAKER Health And Weightloss Coach
Interview by Jasmina Siderovski
Could you please give us some insight into your childhood? I was born in the summer of 1969, raised in Sydney’s western suburbs of NSW to Australian parents. Having a 13-month older brother, my mother also gave birth to my youngest brother in 1976 who passed away at only six weeks old from water on the brain. My father was a taxi driver around the district, and mum was a telephonist at the taxi base. My parents were huge on family and friends. We were always visiting relatives, going to parties and seeing friends. They both came from big families. My Dad loved to play golf with his taxi friends, and he was an ‘A’- grade player, always winning trophies and prizes. He was hard-working, loved his family but also a very social man, loved having a laugh and telling jokes. Dad was kind and had a trusting nature. The downside was that he would drink alcohol, especially in the younger years, when I was three years old. He was drunk and wanted me to hug him, I wouldn’t go near him because I didn’t like him when he was like that, it scared me.
eYs Magazine, Spring 2020 | 14
Mum didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, loved playing tennis and squash, jogging and exercise. She always weighed herself on the scales, and it drove me crazy in my teenage years. On the flip side of that, she would bake custard tarts, apple pies, biscuits, and cheesecakes. Dad loved all of that, and the Coke and Fanta we all did. Back in those days, you didn’t know any better. I loved dancing though, I never got to do any classes, but I loved listening to music and singing, but dancing was it. I loved watching the dance movies; we would listen and dance to records with my mum. When and why did you decide to be an advocate for health and lifestyle as a fitness mentor? On my Dad’s side of the family, they were not healthy at all, a lot of sickness, diabetes, cancer, and as a teenager, I saw my Dad have a heart attack at home. This was another thing that scared me. You know where this is leading. Do you remember the movie ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral?’ A very popular 90s
