🟣 My mum smacked a skinhead

Last Friday I dragged my mum to a Skindred gig.

If you don’t know Skindred… well, we’ll deal with that later.

Just picture metal, reggae and punk all having a threesome. It’s glorious.

Now my mum is 66, newly armed with her state pension and bus pass, living her best garden-centre-core lifestyle. But 40 years go?

She lived for gigs.

She was in the Band Aid mosh pits. Spending every spare penny on live music. Headbanging so hard it’s a miracle she still has a functioning neck.

Growing up, we’d scream Bohemian Rhapsody in the car like fucking lunatics

Music was her whole personality.

But then life… shifted.

Gigs turned into dropping me off at yet another classmates birthday party (why the fuck are there so many by the way???)

Nights out became early nights ready for the early morning football runs

Slowly, without any dramatic moment or announcement, she became ‘the mum’.

The reliable one. The caretaker. The one who puts herself last so everyone else can function.

I hear this from my clients constantly.

So many mums tell me they feel like they’ve sort of… dissolved.

Not in a tragic way, building a family is damn beautiful. But in that slow, sneaky way - life steals little bits of you when you’re not paying attention.

Doing things you love suddenly requires military-level planning.

Eating well feels like another job.

Training feels like a fantasy idea for people who don’t have kids asking where their shoes are at 6.03am.

And god… the guilt.

The “is this selfish?”
The “I’m too old for this now.”
The “I should just deal with it.”

Which brings me back to the gig.

My mum spent the whole car ride worrying she looked “too mumsy” to be at a metal show.

(Meanwhile she rocked up in a leather jacket looking a lil saucy minx)

But the fear was real - she genuinely felt like she didn’t belong in a space she used to adore.

And then, three songs in? She’s swinging her t-shirt above her head like a feral 20-year-old and absolutely smacking the skinhead in front of us.

He didn’t even flinch. Just turned around grinning seeing my mum have such a damn blast.

By the end of the night she was buzzing and asking for my playlists to find the next band we could watch together

My workout playlist is here, by the way

She just… remembered herself.

Because she didn’t give in to those doubting voices and did it scared

And that’s the exact bit I want you to take from this email.

If you’ve found yourself at the bottom of your own priority list…

If you feel “too late,” “too old,” “too busy,” or “too mumsy” to get back to doing things that make you feel like you

Please hear this: your feeling are valid, but it doesn’t mean you can’t do this.

You’re not past it. You’re not done. You’re not invisible.

You’re might just be a lil out of practice.

And if you want some support in getting back to yourself - where you’re able to protect “you” as you look out for those around you - that’s where our 1-1 coaching comes in.

We’ll be in your corner reminding you, week after week, that you matter too.

That looking after yourself isn’t selfish.

And help you discover how to be strong, confident and consistent with your goals - even when life is chaos.

You deserve that and we’d love to help you get there :)

1-1 coaching with Henley Fitness

Big love,

Rachel