A day in the life of Vicki Anstey

Each month, we catch up with one of our Red2Blue Ambassadors to find out how they’re applying their Red2Blue training in the daily lives. This month we speak to world record holder, Vicki Anstey, about how Red2Blue helped her and her two teammates to row 4000km across the Pacific Ocean.

Tell us a bit about yourself and what makes you tick.

I always find that so hard to answer! I wear a few different hats these days – I’m a fitness professional, a business owner, adventurer, motivational speaker and mentor. I began my career in marketing and advertising before setting up the UK’s first Barre Fitness Studio, Barreworks.

In 2019, I appeared in Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, which was the catalyst for me undertaking a mid-Pacific Ocean row along with two other women –known as Girls Who Dare – and we achieved a world record!

More recently I challenged myself with an ‘Ice Ultra’ – a 230km foot race through the Arctic. I enjoy sharing my stories to encourage others and I speak widely about my experiences and the fears and perceived limitations that have surrounded them.

How did you get involved with Gazing?

The girls and I were introduced to Gazing and the Red2Blue methodology in the lead up to our Ocean Row. It helped us structure our mental strength training and manage some of the setbacks of the Covid pandemic. We were a crew of three women living in different countries during lockdown, so it could have been difficult to navigate our team dynamics when we couldn’t be together in person, but Red2Blue really helped. I’ve since become a Certified ‘Red2Blue’ coach so that I can coach others to use the methodology to develop their mindset.

What has been the toughest moment of your career to date?

Spending 60 days at sea, 20 of them with severe seasickness, was pretty tough!

How did Gazing Red2Blue help you through that and other challenges?

I definitely drew on my experience with the Red2Blue model to believe that if I could adapt mentally, my body would catch up eventually!

How do you stay motivated?

I’m a big believer in general physical preparedness – the principle that you’re not training specifically for anything, but generally for life. That motivates me to keep my mind and body strong even when I don’t have a specific goal in sight.

What’s the best piece of advice anyone’s ever given you?

When you think you have reached your limit, you still have 60% left!

What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

Don’t let fear (of anything!) get in your way. See fear as an opportunity; what lies on the other side could change the whole course of your life. Lean in!

How do you switch off?

It’s hard when I have so many things going on, but I love a long walk with my dogs or a good Thai massage!

Thanks Vicki, that’s great advice! To keep on top Vicki’s latest adventures, you can follow her on Instagram @Vickianstey.