I was in the corporate world before my fitness journey began. The experience and knowledge gained from my 15 years in corporate taught me many things, but I felt that this change was a necessary shift. It’s been 2 years since I took a chance on myself and there’s no way I’m turning back.

The wheels started turning when my business didn’t fulfill the potential I saw in it due to a dip in the industry. I had initially taken a risk by starting my own business. Call it bad luck or poor timing, things didn’t work out as I had planned.

Sports have always been a big part of my life, especially during my younger years. I particularly enjoyed running. When I was working in corporate, I needed to get myself a personal trainer to whip me into shape. If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t have gotten myself to keep going. I told myself to stop making excuses and start being proactive about my personal health. At this point, I had just become a mum.

I got myself certified as a personal trainer. This took a few months to do, but I saw an immediate change in my behavior. These days, I’m eager to get out of bed in the morning to quickly start my day.

Why HIIT?

I fell in love with HIIT because it involves workouts that can essentially be done anywhere within a short period of time. I started doing workouts whenever I could, wherever I could. I would workout at the hotel before breakfast, or at the airport during layovers whenever I was on my travels. For me, a gym membership or lackthereof does not make or break someone’s fitness journey.

I started Active Lifestyle as a social media platform in which people from all walks of life could be empowered. I started a YouTube channel to expand my reach to provide fitness related knowledge from workouts to healthy recipes. Having been through many different phases in life myself, I wanted to inspire people guide them towards self betterment through their health.

Since my very first pair of MKLZ leggings, they have been a staple in my daily workouts. The leggings provide all day comfort, practicality, and versatility while also being tough enough to handle my daily activities thanks to its amazing fabric. And did I mention how stylish they are? These days, I never leave home without them even when I travel.

Raelene is the founder of Active Lifestyle and co-founder of FitJab, a Malaysian startup aimed at making Muslimah fitness hijabs for Muslim women in sports.