“Champions aren’t made in the gym. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.” Muhammad Ali

The champion we are talking about here started building herself at an age when most kids are busy with building blocks. All of 3yrs of age, our champion was influenced by watching sports broadcasted on the TV screens. She instinctively knew that sports like gymnastics, diving, ice skating, and motorsports would define her life. She was already competing against her brothers in BMX and motocross at her local clubs in the under-5 boy’s division. Simultaneously, she was diligently training in gymnastics and attending judo practice alongside her brothers.

Today, our champion is a Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist, 3 x World Cup Gold Medallist, 3 x World Track Championships Silver Medallist, 2 x Commonwealth Games Silver Medallist and the accolades don’t stop here.

She is Rochelle Gilmore.

The Defining Years

Rochelle has experienced an incredible professional path.  She has gone through some thrilling highs, remarkable accomplishments, and some of the most challenging, disheartening, and humiliating moments; however, what doesn’t defeat us truly makes us stronger.

At just 6 years old, Rochelle trained like a professional athlete practicing before, during, and after school. She competed in BMX racing, Surf Life Saving (Nippers), Little Athletics, swimming, and tennis competitions while participating in any sport her school had to offer—cross-country running, softball, touch football, and netball.

At age 15, she had been training with the Australian Institute of Sport for Gymnastics and competing at the highest levels in Australia. She had won National Championships in BMX, Surf Lifesaving, and Cross Country, and achieved World No.2 in BMX, while also participating in numerous other sports. However, it was time to take things seriously and make an important decision. She had just received a letter informing her that she had been recognised in Australia’s top 1% of sporting talent through a public-school talent identification program and offered a fully funded scholarship to the Institute of Sport. The issue faced was having to choose which sport would be her chosen career path. Triathlon, Rowing, or Cycling?

Choosing her Path

Rochelle’s passion was BMX and Surf Lifesaving however, at that time, neither was recognised as an Olympic Sport and did not qualify for the Institute of Sport’s funding programs. Since she had been racing BMX from such a young age, cycling became her choice. Some believed at the time she made the wrong decision as Triathlon saw a significant surge in popularity across Australia at that time however cycling is a professional sport where you sign a Pro-Team contract for one to five years and receive a salary, giving you a secure income while all expenses are paid for from housing, flights, medical, insurance, study, psychology, doctors, bikes, equipment, clothing, footwear, etc… That’s correct, ZERO expense living with a set income and additional personal sponsorships. Fair to say she made the right decision!

Rochelle’s cycling career took off quickly in Australia; three months after her very first road bike ride—which felt like a huge machine in comparison to the tiny little BMX bikes—she won a National Championship! In the following three to six months, Rochelle started competing at the velodrome—where she won numerous state and national titles and medaled at the Junior World Championships with the AIS/Australian National Team.

At 16 years old, Rochelle began her cycling career in Europe and was officially living and competing there full-time before she turned 18. Throughout her professional journey, she won many prestigious races including numerous stages at the Giro d’Italia, the first stage of the Route de France & yellow jersey (TDF equivalent at the time), several World Cups on both the road and track, and the highlight, a Commonwealth Games Gold medal in the Road Race in Delhi, 2010.

“Cyclists race around 120 days/year – all around the world! If you have a bad race, there’s always another one just days or weeks away to focus on. Racing in different countries and on different continents from one week to the next gave me an extraordinary lifestyle. This low-impact sport can mean longer careers and one finishing their career in cycling without suffering a significant injury,” shares Rochelle.

Retirement as a cyclist came in 2012 and Rochelle turned her attention to creating the World’s most professional and highest-budget women’s cycling team (UK-registered and Belgium-based) with 20 athletes. The team included 3 current Olympic Gold Medallists, a World Champion, and National Champions from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, and Sweden. It wasn’t long before they became World Number One! During this time, she had also created 10 other independent businesses around the world, and two development teams, and was working full-time as a TV host/presenter and commentator.

Rochelle was inducted into a Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 and another in 2024. This recognition was not only for her cycling career success but also for providing opportunities to talented Australian athletes to experience racing in Europe.

Rerouting her Career

In 2020, the pandemic, COVID hit everyone’s lives. Rochelle decided to shut down many of her companies, including the cycling teams, and take time to consider her options. A fresh challenge was needed but with cycling in her blood, she remained on the Road Cycling Commission Board where she felt challenged to keep improving and enhancing the sport of cycling from Grassroots through to professional cycling and the Tour De France.

Television presenting and commentating remained on the agenda as well as managing and encouraging rising “young” talent from a variety of disciplines. “Assisting up-and-coming generations to reach their goals and aspirations is highly rewarding. You know these young ones possess the drive and passion so having the right approach, resources and training is critical for career success whether it’s in sports as a cyclist or racing car driver or as a musician, artist, or model,” says Rochelle.

In 2022, her career took a detour, and Rochelle decided to take time for herself to achieve a personal goal. She gave herself 1 year to rigorously train and be ready to see the world from the highest point on the planet. Her obsession throughout her life of one day summiting Mount Everest quickly turned into reality in early 2023. After her successful summit of Mount Everest, she decided to immediately summit another 8000m+ peak called Lhotse, within the same 24hrs.

She internally feels most proud of her preparation summit of Ama Dablam because that climb is extremely technical, and she immensely enjoyed the challenge.

Voicing her Experience and Learnings

Throughout her cycling career, Rochelle was often approached to deliver motivational talks to various businesses, corporations, organisations, staff, school children, and athletic groups. Upon reflecting on her professional journey, which began when she left home at the age of 15 to pursue her sporting ambitions, she recognised the enormity of her experiences. She has founded and managed numerous businesses, embraced the role of an adventure athlete, served as a full-time television host and commentator, participated as a board member for various organisations, organised charity events, and supported teams, individuals, and underprivileged communities globally. This diverse array of experiences—both positive and challenging—has profoundly shaped her perspective. The feedback Rochelle received from her audiences made her realise that by sharing her experiences (how she achieved them or dealt with all the hardships along the way), she could directly help, encourage, motivate, and inspire people to achieve their wildest dreams – dreams they may have never considered possible!

Her mission during her motivational speaking engagements is to inspire and energise her audience, encouraging them to believe in themselves and adopt a new perspective. When addressing an audience, Rochelle doesn’t hold back anything.

“To be honest, a lot of what I share with my audience is quite ‘shocking’. Before my talks, I conduct extensive research on my audience to tailor my message effectively, ensuring that I can assist and influence as many individuals as possible in navigating daily life,” shares Rochelle.

Through sharing her experiences, Rochelle leaves a strong impression (memories and stories) in people’s minds that helps them manage the toughest challenges and adversities they face every day, not only in the immediate future but the depth of her sharing can also help people completely change their futures and way of life/living – their existence and who they are.

Many individuals, particularly those aged 40 to 60, grapple with questions of self-identity and future aspirations. Rochelle provides strategies for overcoming the fear of failure, dismissing negativity and judgment from others, and gaining a clearer understanding of their goals and identity.

“Understanding one’s true self and desired path is a formidable challenge. My audience will gain valuable insights into the elements necessary for success and goal achievement, regardless of the scale of those goals. The depth I go into often leaves most people in the audience with information and insights they will NEVER forget, stories they will reflect upon throughout the rest of their lives, guiding them toward becoming the best versions of themselves and realising their most ambitious dreams,” says Rochelle.

Encouraging Personal and Professional Development

An intriguing aspect of Rochelle’s motivational speeches is the integration of pauses that invite audience members to pose questions. She strives to inspire individuals to embrace boldness in that moment, encouraging them to step outside their comfort zones and disregard any potential judgment from others by raising their hands to ask questions. Many individuals hesitate to ask questions in public settings, often fearing that their questions may be judged or that they may face ridicule from others. However, the truth is, that others are likely contemplating similar questions, and by engaging, everyone in the room takes away with them a little more knowledge.

Furthermore, she believes it is crucial to allocate time after her speeches to interact with audience members on a personal level. This allows for meaningful discussions about their individual thoughts, fears, challenges, aspirations, and dreams. Additionally, Rochelle offers her audience the opportunity to reach out to her directly in the future, should they wish. She aims to assist them in identifying who they want to be, setting their goals, and transforming their mindsets to become the most extraordinary versions of themselves.

For a Speech that Resonates

Preparing for a motivational speech tailored to a specific audience requires careful planning on Rochelle’s behalf. This process begins with discussions with the individual, company, or organisation that has engaged her, allowing her to understand their expectations for their audience. Once these objectives are clear, she conducts thorough research on individuals.

Rochelle’s motivational speeches are powerful and impactful to anyone who truly engages and focuses on what she’s sharing with them. Stories of her life, what she has experienced, and how she shares her coping strategies that result in achieving a desired outcome are often described as mind-blowing. It’s her job to observe the room and tailor what she shares to ensure her audience is deeply engaged with what she’s saying. Once this is achieved – everyone in the room will very quickly realise that what she has experienced in life, what she has endured, how she has overcome immense adversities, and what she is sharing can relate and resonate with everyone who wants to become the best version of themselves, and they too can achieve the unthinkable.

“Most importantly, I need to engage my audience. How do I do that? The answer is simple, pure honesty. Whilst sharing my experiences, challenges, and achievements in life, I also share my deepest, most private, embarrassing, and humiliating experiences to ensure my audience knows who I am; my background, upbringing, family life, relationship status, etc. I reserve a lot of “who Rochelle Gilmore is’ for my motivational speeches – things no one would read online or know about me,” she shares.

Experiences that Inspire

Primarily, Rochelle prioritises engaging with audiences that she believes are genuinely seeking motivation and inspiration. She shares real-life experiences with her audience and explains in intricate detail how she managed to achieve desired outcomes and, overcome challenges and adversities that we all face in everyday life. Drawing from her successes and failures, Rochelle provides her audience with the necessary tools to realise their goals and pursue their dreams.

Many experiences she has encountered as a professional athlete translate to the realms of business and all walks of life. Rochelle uses a lot of her experiences as a professional athlete to become equally or more successful in her business career.

“A huge part of being successful in life revolves around; always taking care of number one first (that’s me/you/us) and ensuring that we’re living the life WE want to live and not what others expect of us. Then, across all other aspects of life, we need to understand the minds, thoughts, and needs of others to get what we want out of life. Situations I found myself in as an athlete and how I managed those situations -which led to success have been invaluable experiences that I’ve used as foundations in achieving success outside of my sporting career,” emphasizes Rochelle.

Staying Motivated for Life

Motivating and inspiring others to achieve things they never thought possible brings immense internal happiness to Rochelle. Her life after a successful sporting and business career is all about trying to help others achieve everything they desire and even more! She loves being a part of people’s journey and involved in the challenges, supporting them to believe in themselves so they can achieve the unthinkable.

Rochelle’s personal long-term goals are to continue experiencing and achieving everything she desires in life so she can expand her knowledge across even more aspects of life. Although she believes she has encountered more in her lifetime than many might in ten, her desire for further experiences and achievements remains strong.

“Every day is an opportunity for a new experience! The more extraordinary experiences I undertake, the greater my ability to inspire and motivate my audience to pursue their aspirations,” she believes.

She advises the readers to, “Live the life you love; love the life you live. Live your life to the fullest but, take the time to reflect on your experiences. Try to deeply relive your experiences to fully comprehend what inspired, motivated, and drove you to your success. Understand yourself inside and out before attempting to motivate and inspire others. It’s only once you take the time to fully comprehend how or why you achieved extraordinary feats that you will be able to positively impact others in a way that will, without a doubt, leave them feeling confident, inspired, and motivated to challenge themselves, achieve greatness and become the best possible version of themselves.”

Preparing for New Experiences

For Rochelle, 2024 began with several commission and conference meetings around the world before a brief family vacation. Then came the enormous task of commentating every day of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. Although it was a difficult and demanding assignment, it was incredibly rewarding! Post Games, she spent most of her time working with one of our most successful charity events to date: Action Medical Research. This is a London-based event that Rochelle has been supporting and hosting for more than ten years and is extremely dear to her heart.  Every year, a small group of incredibly dedicated individuals strive to gather vital funds to save the lives of unfortunate infants born with rare diseases. “I’m extremely humbled to be able to contribute to this charity and become overwhelmed when hearing from the families who we have directly managed to save their babies’ lives. I continue to maintain my pledges to international charity,” she says.

Assisting others is a feeling like no other and it provides Rochelle with an incredibly deep feeling of sincere and humble gratitude and accomplishment. This feeling has inspired her to continue pursuing something she loves and feels strongly about. It is a project that has her working harder than ever and is set to launch this year. This enormous endeavour aims to improve and positively impact the lives of others.

“2025 looks to be an exciting and busy year with many TV appearances, charitable functions, and motivational speaking engagements locked in. In addition, I’ll keep up my responsibilities to the Road Cycling Commission and to all the young people I mentor, encourage, and support,” concludes Rochelle.