Ann the Kickboxer

I LIVE in a house with four other girls so there is never a dull moment, that’s for sure. Our first house party was a Playboy Bunny party for Easter. We have a stripper pole in the house as a way of keeping fit and providing entertainment for guests.

 I work in retail but I hate it. I’m currently working towards getting a licence to drive the big trucks at the mines, and getting my welding tickets. I can’t stand rude people so that’s why I want to be in an industry where I don’t have to deal with the public. I work better with my hands. I’m a bit of a metal-head.

I’ve got three tattoos so far; two on my forearms and one on the back of my neck. The ones on my arms say ‘rise above’ and ‘strength’ because whenever life tries to knock you down, you rise above it and you become a stronger person in the end. The wings mean freedom, and it’s the theme I’m going to run with because that meaning holds a very important part of me.

After a real fucked up breakup at the beginning of this year, I started getting back into martial arts to keep me focused. I’m doing kickboxing at the moment and training towards a fight next year. I gave it up years ago because I was hurting too many people in tournaments. I broke a girl’s ribs once and I felt a bit bad about it. But now I’m back and chasing ring experience and fight for a title.

I’ve known Rama for a few years now through my brother, and he came to me with this opportunity to be photographed on his bike (Gunmetal Harley-Davidson Chopper). When I got a message from Rama that the photos will be going in Ozbike magazine, you couldn’t get the smile off my face. It took a while for me to get comfortable (having never been photographed professionally) but Jules is an awesome lady; she was great at settling my nerves.

photos by Jules @ Top Gun; words by Ann