**EP324: Gladiator and Trainer to the Stars - Lourene Bevaart (Part 1)**
**Dr. Auric Bishop:** Welcome, my name's Dr. Auric Bishop. I'm a cardiologist, an author, and a keynote speaker. I'm CEO of the Healthy Heart Network. I'm all about trying to help people live as well as possible for as long as possible. Heart disease is huge in Australia. Every 20 minutes someone suffers a heart attack. Most of these could probably have been avoided if only we knew what to do. This podcast is all about helping you understand blood pressure, weight, cholesterol, for better health. If you enjoy this podcast, I would be honoured for a five-star review. You can share it with your family and friends. It may well save someone you love.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Hi, my name is Dr. Warwick Bishop. Welcome to my podcast and videocast station. I'm very excited today to have Lorene Bevaart join me. She's a 30-year experienced fitness and wellness trainer. She's a previous world champion in karate. You may remember her as a gladiator in the first series of Gladiators. She's also been a personal trainer to Shane Warne and Russell Crowe. She's a lady with an enormous story behind her, and today I'm going to get the chance to share that. Welcome, Lorraine.
**Lorene Bevaart:** Oh, thank you so much for a great introduction. I appreciate you having me on.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Yeah, no, look, I'm really looking forward to teasing out some of the background, and particularly with the new series of Gladiators. I can't wait to ask you a bit more about your own experiences with that and what it must be like looking back, because it's an impressive, impressive show.
**Lorene Bevaart:** Oh, it's amazing. Like, you know, it's really great to see it. Very nostalgic, bringing lots of great memories back, and I hope that it takes off. I really do.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Look, Lorene, I will ask you about Gladiators a bit later on. And just for those listening, my hope is to chat with Lorene this morning in probably two parts. In the first part, talk about her life, her journey. In the second part, talk about her interests at the moment, particularly from a health perspective where she's got some really interesting stuff about the way the body works, redox reactions. For those who don't know too much about that, that's all about how the chemistry in the body works. But we might keep that for the second part because it's a really fascinating area of its own.
But Lorraine, we started this podcast some weeks ago and it all dropped out because of weather in Melbourne. But I remember we started it off with a young girl growing up with some dreams. How about you share that? Start there with us.
**Lorene Bevaart:** Yeah, absolutely. So I was in year eight and I'm sitting with three other girlfriends. It's lunchtime at the middle of the school oval with our Vegemite and cheese or lemon spread sandwiches, if you can remember those. One of my girlfriends just put it out to three of us, you know, what do you want to be when you're big or what do you want to be when you're older? I remember clearly saying these things: I wanted to go to university. I wanted to be a physio teacher. I wanted to be a world champion. I had no idea what at, but I was going to be a world champion, and I wanted to be a mum of four kids. It's amazing how when you're a child, you have belief; you have these dreams. Fortunately for me, that wasn't knocked out of me. That belief was still there. I achieved every one of those goals except instead of having four kids, I had two. So, like, it's just an unbelievable journey, great. It's amazing to achieve those things that you dreamed of when you were a child.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** So this is interesting because we all set goals and we look to try and step towards those goals. A grade eight girl making these sorts of dreams, did you have someone who mentored you through that? Were there a couple of lucky steps that you took? How did you get from a grade eight with some great dreams to someone who was in karate and then physical education, and obviously then Gladiators and some of these very famous people who you engaged with in training? What were some of the small steps on that journey and who supported you?
**Lorene Bevaart:** I was a very high achiever, and I honestly believe that who you surround yourself with, you become. I was very, very fortunate during my years at schooling, whether at primary school or secondary school, there were a lot of high achievers within the school. My peers and also teachers were very driven and very supportive. At high school, we won the athletic sports, we won the swimming sports, we won everything. There were a lot of athletes or students from that era that went on to play for Essendon Football Club, that played national cricket, that became representatives for Australia in cross-country. So when you're surrounded by that, it has an effect on you. You all want to achieve. You all support each other. It's a great camaraderie. I think that's where it all stemmed from. Not only that, my mum and dad, like, you know, they're very hard workers. Dad and mum were very supportive for me to do really well. I wanted to do well for my dad and my mum as well and for me. I was such a high achiever. So I think the combination of all those definitely put the steps in place. Not only that, I'm one of those people that you've got to give it a go. If you don't give it a go, how can you expect to excel or get somewhere if you always stay in your comfort zone? So that was another thing that I know that I was always willing to prepare to give it 100%. Let's give it a go and let's see where that journey goes.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Look, I think that observation and recognition of who you surrounded yourself with is incredibly important.
**Lorene Bevaart:** Oh, huge. It's everything. And you're so right. You will never extend yourself if you're hanging around people who don't lift you and raise you. That's what I say to my kids every day, right? Or not every day, often I just say, look, if you don't like the circle of influence or the circle of friends you're in, if they're toxic, remove them or you remove yourself because I guarantee whether you're aware of it or not, they start to taint you with their behaviours and their beliefs and so forth.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Yeah, so hopefully they take that on board. Look, so you obviously went through later education, went through uni to become a physical education teacher.
**Lorene Bevaart:** Yeah.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** And then did you roll on to Gladiators soon after that?
**Lorene Bevaart:** During my university days, I got followed home a couple of times from college, and I've always wanted to do karate, right? I was a huge Bruce Lee fan. I mean, come on, who doesn't love that? And mum and dad said, look, Lorene, you're a tomboy enough. No, no, no, you're not going to do it. When I was old enough, I thought, right, this is my opportunity now. So, you know, you did those couple of free lessons of judo and taekwondo, and I came across this karate school. I remember doing my first two free lessons, and it's quite daunting, right? You've got this whole dojo or the room they train in full of people in these karate white suits. So I didn't join straight away. I didn't go back until nine months later. And that's where my journey really started. I remember standing in this dojo, 30 of us in our white belts, and the instructor at the front said, "I want you to take a moment. I want you to look to the left, look to the right, be aware of who's there behind you." Then he said, "Out of 30 or 35 of you that are standing in this room, only one or two of you will make it to black belt." And straight away I've gone, well, that's me. I've been going all the way. And it's true. Only two of us that were in that dojo, in that room at that time, graded together on the same time, same day for black belt. Now, why do people stop? We don't know. There's lots of reasons, right? A lot of things. But that was a lesson in itself.
So then I went to university, I got followed home, I started my journey in karate, and I got my phys ed degree. I started to teach physical education at Lillydale High School. I was doing some schoolwork, doing some preparation, and I had the TV on in the background just for some noise. An ad came on TV: "We're looking for our next group of contestants for Gladiators." And I've gone, oh, wow, how cool would this be? This is me to a T. Because I was traveling around the world with karate, I thought what a great way to get more recognized and perhaps get some sponsorship to help me compete.
So I drove down to Festival Hall in Melbourne, and there were probably 2,000 or 3,000 other people out the front, all out in their gym gear and their tights, and everyone's checking each other out. "Oh, that person looks great. Oh my gosh, he looks amazing." People from all different backgrounds—mums, dads, teachers, nurses—just everything. They brought us in, we sat down, and they said to us, "Okay, well, this is what's going to happen over the next couple of hours. You do a nine-minute fitness routine, you know, play a couple of games, and then we're just going to do a little bit of an interview and ask you some questions."
And I'm gone, nine-minute fitness routine? How easy is that? I run for 30. I train karate and punch, kick, and sweep for an hour and a half. I do weights. They brought us out about 30 at a time in a square on these dots. It was a three-minute upper body routine, three-minute core, and three-minute legs. Oh my God. Whether it was anxiety, the nerves, the stress, it was one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was burpees, jumps, sprints. So many people didn't get through that nine-minute fitness routine. Then they took us on to a couple of gladiator games, like see how your balance was, see if you could climb the dual game with the pupil sticks. Then they brought you into this room where there were lights and cameras and put a microphone in front of me and said, "Why should we choose you to be the next show of Gladiators?" So I did my spiel. I don't know what I said. It was just one of those things. I thought, well, I hope that goes well. I went home and we had to wait for the letter in the mail back in those days, right? It said, "Congratulations, Lorraine. You've been chosen to be the next challenger on Gladiators."
Then they flew us up to Queensland because it was filmed in Boondall in Queensland in a live stadium. I think they had a list of 30. Then they get you to play the games, just see how you're scared of heights and just all those sorts of things. Then they cut that list down to about 25 or 30. So, yeah, that's how it all evolved.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** It's almost tingling. It must have been so exciting to go through it all.
**Lorene Bevaart:** It was really exciting. You had your heats, and then you had your quarterfinals, semifinals, and then the grand final, and we had great prizes. They said to me, "Look, Lauren, you have dominated this series so well. If you win tonight, apart from the prizes, we would love you to become our new gladiator." So I thought, wow, just a little bit of extra pressure. Then I won it. I went back to school, went to my principal. He always used to give me leave without pay to go do my competitions around the world. So basically that means I have all my lessons planned. They're getting a teacher to come in, and they take my class for me, and I didn't get paid while I went. So no drama, all good.
I came back and said, "Hi, I've been asked to be glad I'm going to join the team." I think it would have been three weeks off they needed to film the series. He said no to me, which I was quite astounded by. Like, we had a bit of a discussion. He said, "Lauren, I can't do it." So I resigned, head of department, phys ed teacher, secure job to be a gladiator. I'm like, who does that? So there's a fork in the road. I could have stayed phys ed teaching and missed out on an opportunity or take that opportunity and let's just see where that path goes. Well, I took the opportunity of being a gladiator, went on the series, and that's when I started my personal training business way back in the day when there weren't many around, and that's how it started to evolve.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Wow. Well, you've got to make the decisions. If you don't push the boundaries, then nothing changes. So good on you.
**Lorene Bevaart:** Oh, look, you know, how many people do you meet that have been in the same job, same place for 20, 30 years? And how many times, I don't know if you've ever met anyone from high school or secondary school or uni, and you've evolved, you've changed, but they are exactly the same. It's amazing, right? It's just the journey that people take.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** No, good on you. What a story. So I think we could talk about Gladiators for the entire podcast, but what I might do is encourage people to either look at the current series to get a feel about what Gladiators is about or look at some of the clips on your website because I think there's actually a clip or two of you.
**Lorene Bevaart:** Yes, on my website and like on Instagram, there's lots of highlights. But it's absolutely fantastic. That physicality, that excitement must have been amazing.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** But tell me how that, because your personal training business, you ended up having Shane Warne, Russell Crowe within the clients you looked after. How did that happen?
**Lorene Bevaart:** I was working out of Recreation Health Club, which is quite iconic and nostalgic in Melbourne, in High Street. Everyone went there. I started my business training there. Someone at the gym who was working also at the Richmond Football Club by the name of John Toomey came to me and said, "Lorraine, oh, I've had someone ask me if I knew anyone that perhaps would like to go and personal train Russell Crowe." I thought Russell Crowe, I sort of knew of him because he'd done Romper Stomper, but not really. I said, "Look, yeah, I'll have a chat, you know, explore that. Let's see where that goes."
Then a girlfriend or a friend, shall I say, as in a female friend from Russell Crowe rang me and we had a chat. She asked me questions like, you know, how old I was, was I married, was I single, had I travelled much, had I done any karate, all those sorts of things. Then the next thing I know, I thought, I won't hear any more about it. I came home and the phone on the wall with the messenger light flashing, like the mobile phone. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, I've got a message. So I prepped the message, and it goes, "Ah, g'day, Lorraine, this is Russell Crowe. If you could give me a call on O2." And I've gone, oh my God, this is happening. So I rang, I picked up the phone and I rang him. It was his PA that answered the phone.
After a short discussion, I was on the plane the next day, flew up to Coffs Harbour. This is a really interesting story. I get to Coffs Harbour and there's no one there to pick me up. And I've gone, is this a test to see if I can find my way? I thought it's a regional airport. Surely the people at Qantas know who Russell Crowe is. So I went over to the service desk and I said, "I'm going to see Russell Crowe. He's asked me to come in for an interview." Oh, yeah, he lives up at Nana Glen. This is how you get there. So I just got a cabin. I went there, and I'm coming up this huge long driveway and there are all these people at the front. His mum and dad are there. They said, "Can we help you?" I said, "Oh, I'm Lorraine Bavard. I've come for an interview for Russell."
"Oh, yeah, look, he's busy. Would you like a cup of tea?" So for the next couple of hours, I'm sitting with his mum and dad and a couple of other people there. Then finally he comes out. It's classic. He's got his RM Williams boots on, he's got his flannelette shirt on, and he's got his Cobra hat on. He goes, "G'day." Then the next couple of hours, we're driving around his farm on ATVs and having an interview. He asked me one question. I reckon that's what got me the job. He said, "Lorraine, he's into star signs and that sort of thing. When's your birthday?" I said August. "Oh, what date?" I said the 7th. He goes, "It's the same as my mum." So that was it.
Two or three weeks later, I was on a plane to Los Angeles and working on the press junket of Gladiator. So that was amazing. I was a Gladiator, he was a Gladiator. He wanted to do some martial arts; that was my forte. And, yeah, off we went.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Wow. How amazing. Yeah. How did that roll to Shane Warne?
**Lorene Bevaart:** Yeah, so that role was supposed to be for just the movie called Proof of Life, but then I must have done a good job. We all got on really well with all the staff. That sort of evolved through all these big movies. We were in Melbourne; I can't remember what we were doing. Maybe it was part of the press junket. We had a lot of the cricketers for dinner one night, you know. Chuck Berry, Gilbert there, we had Shane Warne. Just through that conversation, that connection, he had been suspended for 12 months through that diuretic pill that he had taken. He said, "Look, I've got to get back in shape. I need someone that I can trust. Russell's really recommended you. Are you interested?" So that's where I stepped in and helped him. Oh, he was a pleasure. What an athlete.
I'll never forget once we were at a cricket pitch, and he put a 20-cent coin in front of the wickets, and I had to throw the balls back to him. I thought, he's not going to pitch the ball or bowl the ball and hit that every time. Every time, bang, hit the 20-cent piece, 20-cent piece.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Wow. It was unbelievable.
**Lorene Bevaart:** Yeah, yeah. He's just an incredible person. I don't know if you feel that. I think a lot of people that listen to this, he's a missed energy. And I'm not seeing him on the cricket and on the TV and for everything that he did. Like, I could definitely feel that.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Yeah. Look, people are still aware. I mean, my passion, when maybe touched on this before, my passion is trying to prevent people having heart attacks. Obviously, when I speak with patients about it, Shane Warne comes up. He was 53 years of age. And for anyone listening who's listened to me with any regularity, you'd know in my perfect world, we would routinely screen men at 50, routinely screen women at 60. Honestly, if we were doing that, Shane Warne would have been identified. We would have been able to put in place some strategies to make sure he's still here now. And you're right. He has stepped out of the bath and the level's changed. No question about that.
**Lorene Bevaart:** Yeah, so we continually trained. Every time he was in Melbourne, we would do a block, and he sent a text to me, "Hey, Lauren, I'm in Thailand. I want to do a six-week block when I get back. I want to lose some weight." Yeah, so I still can't believe it, actually, that he's not here anymore. But it amazes me, as it would amaze you, how not that he didn't do this, but just in general, how many people don't do anything about their health until it is compromised. It's quite scary. I see that more and more and more.
Getting into my 50s now, how many women—because I deal with a lot of women—just neglect that. There are some really simple steps that people can implement and do that doesn't cost a lot of money. But I think what happens is they get away with it in their 20s and their 30s, then all of a sudden the inflammation and all the things start to build up. It's hard to change those habits if you haven't been active or you haven't been educated on what to do. It is hard work sometimes, but I don't know about you, but you only have one life, and you've got to make the most of it. When I get to my 60s and 70s and 80s, I want to have my mind. I want to be able to pick up my grandchildren, and if I fall, I don't want a broken hip. I still want to enjoy life. I don't want to be constrained by a health issue, right?
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Yeah. Look, we're on the same page there, Lorene. My deep passion is to try and prevent people having heart attacks, which are preventable. Absolutely. One in four people will die from a heart attack. That's right. And of the people who have heart attacks, 20% are 65 years of age or younger. These are screaming statistics, and yet I've got a process for getting people to get a heart scan. No one picks it up.
**Lorene Bevaart:** It's really interesting to say that because one of the things I do when I talk is I have a grid, right? And it's got like a snake and a ladders ball. You've got number one to 100, okay? It's like I want you to colour out all the squares to what your age is, right? So what's the average expectancy age? For a woman is 80, I think, a man 70. So I'll use my 58 squares that are coloured in. If 80 is the life expectancy, how many good years have I got left? Yeah. Like that is when people go, oh my gosh. And how many good, mindful, active, mobile years have I got left? So, yeah, it's really good to put that in perspective because you can do something about it. Self-care is really neglected, as you said, and I love what you're doing, and hopefully that people get the message sooner than later.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** Lauren, I might wrap up this part one. There is so much more we can talk about. I'd love to hear about stories regarding Russell Crowe and stories regarding Shane Warne. I'm sure you'd have endless anecdotes that you could share. But I think it's a perfect point to pivot because you're really talking about improving health span, quality of life. I know you're very interested in that area. So what we might do is come back and talk about that as a part two. There's a bit of science in there, which I think is really, really valuable. I think we've sort of set the scene for a chance to talk about owning your health journey and making the most of it.
So thank you so much for sharing.
**Lorene Bevaart:** You're welcome.
**Dr. Warwick Bishop:** For those listening, I hope you enjoyed listening to one of the original gladiators, an absolute rock star in karate, a trainer to the stars, and someone who's clearly passionate and committed to looking after themselves and helping others. It's been a pleasure to share with you, Laureen. For those listening, if you've got any queries or questions, drop us a note. As always, I'm so grateful that you've taken the time to listen and I hope you found this valuable. For now, I'm going to wish you the very best and hope you live as well as possible for as long as possible. Take care and bye for now.
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