Spotlight: Professional Female Athletes & Co-Founder

Happy Women's History Month! We're all about sharing how strong is beautiful and motivating females to achieve greatness. This year for International Women's Day, we've done a Q&A with our female athletes and co-founder to find out what International Women's Day means to them and any advice they have for other females.

Keep reading to hear from Meryl Baker co-founder, Emily Rolfe 4x CrossFit Games athlete, Yazmin Stevens Olympic weightlifter, Lauren Stallwood CrossFit athlete, Emma McQuaid 3x Crossfit Games athlete, and Sola Sigurdardottir 2x CrossFit Games athlete. These women are unstoppable! 

First, we have Meryl Baker, who co-founded Spacer Mobility after struggling with foot and knee pain for years. Her goal when she started The Toe Spacer, now Spacer Mobility was to share the benefits of training barefoot and strengthening and mobilizing feet to support upward joints. 

What made you start barefoot training and start Spacer Mobility?

 In 2017 we lived in Hong Kong in an apartment with a small gym. I spent most of my day working in the corporate world wearing high heels, so I was able to kick my shoes off and train in the gym barefoot. It was a mix of understanding how much better my body felt training barefoot and being in a culture where there's an emphasis in feet, especially in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

What's the hardest part about being in business?

There are many hard things about being in business, but one that I personally found challenging is being okay with not being an expert and knowing/doing everything. I've learned to do what I'm good at and leave the specialists to their expertise. As a leader, I've learned to work with amazing people that are at the top of their game in their profession and build a strong team so we can collectively be experts.

Who is your female role model?

My mom is someone I always look up to. Whatever it is - she just gets on with it! She has had an incredible life that was filled with hardship and challenges, and I wouldn't be where I am today without her. One of my biggest driving forces is to create a legacy to honour the foundation that she has built. 

Up next is Emily Rolfe a 4x CrossFit Games athlete and third-place winner at last year's Dubai CrossFit Championship. She is also a full-time radiologist! She is determined, strong, and all round a lovely human. 

As you began training, did you ever feel like you weren't welcome, or didn't belong in the gym? If so, what would you tell your younger self?

I didn’t ever feel unwelcomed but felt intimidated for sure. I would tell my younger self that everyone starts somewhere, and that girl who you are intimidated by was once you.

What does being powerful and strong mean to you?

Being happy, confident, comfortable and proud of who I am means I’m not afraid to be who I am regardless of what others think.

Have you faced any barriers or criticism about being a female in CrossFit? If so, how did you overcome them?

Not in the CrossFit world but outside of it definitely. Mostly things like looking “too” strong, having manly shoulders etc. I care about performance and what my body can do. That being said, I’m proud of my muscles as they reflect YEARS of hard work.

Who is your biggest role model and why?

My mom. She taught me to be strong and fight for what I want. She was an Olympian in the 80s and had to fight through way more stereotypes about athletic women than I do today. She, along with many other athletes in that era helped pave the way for my generation. We still have a long way to go, but the women in the generation before us had to be brave and resilient to go against the ‘norm’.

What does International Women's Day mean to you?

It means we can and should celebrate woman’s achievements! We can encourage and inspire women to do extraordinary things regardless of gender

Up next we have Olympic weightlifter Yazmin Stevens.She competed at the 2018 European Small Nations Weightlifting Tournament. She represented Malta at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's 64kg event and competed in the women's 64kg in 2021. She is strong-willed with the biggest heart and is quickly becoming one of the best content creators in the fitness realm.

What does being powerful and strong mean to you?

 

I was never a very confident person growing up (believe it or not)...and I also always felt like I never truly fit it. Power and strength has given me my identity, while also making me very proud of being ME. So to me they mean confidence.

As you began training, did you ever feel like you weren't welcome or didn't belong in the gym? If so, what would you tell your younger self?

 

Thankfully, I always felt very welcome here in Malta. I was one of the very first Maltese females who showed interest in doing the sport on a full-time basis. This sparked a lot of excitement within my association so I've always had their fully support. Having said that...a lot of people outside the gym had a lot to say about my new venture into weightlifting. many times I'd be warned that my body will change and I won't look as good as I did before. This definitely made me doubt whether I wanted to do the sport at the start...but eventually, I was exposed to other women in strength sport that made me appreciate muscles and strength...and so my advice to my younger self would be that people will always have something to say...and most of the time it's not even based off of their personal experience or expertise. Do whatever feels right for you.

What does International Women's Day mean to you?

 

Like I said, I come from a family of 3 sisters and mostly female cousins. I've grown up to see females in my family become doctors, lawyers and programmers...then go on to have and raise children alongside their incredibly successful careers. Women's day to me is celebrating how unstoppable a woman can be. How we've broken down barriers of all the things we were told we can't do or we'd be weak at...and went ahead and did it anyway and were super successful at it. I am a Maths and Statistics degree graduate, a weightlifting Olympian, and a successful content creator and I did it all wearing massive gold hoop earrings and long painted nails. I love that. 

Here we hear from 3x CrossFit Games athlete, and 3x Ireland's CrossFit National Champion, Emma McQuaid. She is propelling to the top, and nothing is stopping her from being the best she can be.  

What is the most important piece of advice you’ve received about being a professional athlete?

Just be me don’t ever change for anyone.

What are some assumptions made of people about being a female in sports and what would you change about these assumptions?

That lifting weights gives you muscles.. that isn’t entirely true you have to train 2-4 hours a day eat extremely well and high intake and have years and years to grow muscle. Iv been doing CrossFit 9years and got smaller from starting not bigger...

What advice would you give to younger females wanting to enter CrossFit?

Just start it’s changed my life for the better meeting so many new friends from all around the world

Next, we have Solveig Sigurdardottir, known as Sola from the land of ice and fire. Sola has competed twice in the CrossFit Games and three times in European regionals. She's passionate about CrossFit and is also studying to become a Chiropractor.

Have you faced any barriers or criticism about being a female in CrossFit? If so, how did you overcome them?

I think we all have at some point faced the standard criticism about us being too muscular. That women shouldn’t look like this and that us women have no business lifting weights. Background noise. I think for me, seeing other women embrace being strong and powerful has helped me tremendously. I look up to all women that have fought the stereotype of how women should look like and I want to be a part of that fight.

What are you most proud of, or when do you feel most confident?

When I was a kid I never showed any real determination in anything I did. I was an ok student but I never thought I could be great at something, that it just wasn’t meant for me. I’m proud of the woman that I am today and I’m proud of the effort I’ve put in. It just showed me that I can do everything I set my mind to and that really is my mentality now going forward.

What advice would you give younger females wanting to enter CrossFit? 

First, I’d tell you to master the basics and don’t rush the training. I know it’s cool to be able to do muscle ups but if you want a long career you need strong joints and muscles. Don’t go faster than your body can handle. Secondly I’d tell you, don’t let the background noise get to you. Look at all the amazing women around you, doing incredible things. Focus on that. Get inspired by that.

What does International Women's Day mean to you?

We have a saying in Iceland that goes something like: women are the best thing that women have. It just means that women can do so much for each other by talking positively and supporting one another. Together we can do so much and we need to stick together. International women’s day makes me take a moment to appreciate all the amazing women in my life and the women that have and continue to inspire me. I wouldn’t be the same without them. International women’s day also reminds me of how far we have still to go for just basic women’s rights in other parts of the world.

Who is your biggest role model?

As far as sports go, I think Serena Williams is one of my biggest role models. The way she revolutionised women’s tennis is amazing and I get fired up watching her play, so confident and badass. When I go on to the competition floor, I aspire to have her level of confidence.  

How do you feel about the negative stereotypes of muscular women in sports? 

We have a saying in Iceland that goes something like: women are the best thing that women have. It just means that women can do so much for each other by talking positively and supporting one another. Together we can do so much and we need to stick together. International women’s day makes me take a moment to appreciate all the amazing women in my life and the women that have and continue to inspire me. I wouldn’t be the same without them. International women’s day also reminds me of how far we have still to go for just basic women’s rights in other parts of the world.