Natalie Allport is a Jill of all trades. She’s a badass hockey player, former professional snowboarder, crossfit competitor, business owner, college graduate and current Business undergrad student, world traveller, and our latest #CampusCelebrity.
Her Campus: Let’s talk quick facts! What’s your age and current city?
Natalie Allport: I’m 22 and currently living in Ottawa.
HC: You’ve recently been really into crossfit – your social media is blowing up with it! Why do you like it so much and what keeps you coming back to it?
NA: Everyday is a new challenge and competition with yourself! It’s so fun to have something that is constantly challenging you and to really push yourself.
HC: You’ve always been very disciplined with training. Do you have any advice for girls who are looking to lead a healthier lifestyle?
NA: For me personally, I have to go all or nothing before I can find a good balance. So to start living a healthier lifestyle I had to cut out all bad foods and all drinking (alcohol) and really commit myself. Only recently have I found a balance that works for me where I can still go out and enjoy myself and indulge in treats from time to time while still living healthily! For others, I would suggest starting small with committing to a fitness program,and start slowly cutting away at bad habits and working on your nutrition.
HC: What are you studying in school?
NA: I’m currently studying Business Management at school.
HC: You’ve always been very driven – I can’t remember a time when you didn’t have a bunch of different projects on the go. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
NA: I really don’t know! 5 years ago I would not have predicted what I’d be doing now or the decisions I have made to get here, which I think is really cool actually, how things change but yet work out. I’m working on embracing not having a concrete plan and I’m pretty happy with what I’m doing now, so if I can continue doing that but on a larger scale then that’d be great! I want to continue travelling around and going on adventures, learning and growing, building my business, and getting better/competing as a CrossFit athlete!
HC: Tell me more about your business.
NA: I run my own media and marketing business. I concentrate mainly on social media management, but I am expanding to offer other digital media and marketing services. Hit me up!
HC: Who is your role model? What have they taught you that you can apply to your training or schooling?
NA: I always find this a tough question because I can’t really think of one person in particular! My close friends and family are all my biggest role models, each in their own unique ways. I think we can all learn something from everyone and I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to surround myself with so many inspirational people who push me to be a better person whether it be in my training, schooling, or everyday life. People who create their own happiness and work hard at whatever it is that they do are BOSSES. Who I really look up to the most are people who aren’t afraid to be exactly who they are because I think this is probably the most difficult and scary thing to do sometimes.
HC: You’ve been heavily involved with sports since I’ve known you (since middle school!) Have you ever had to overcome prejudice or sexism being a woman in competitive sports? If yes, how did you overcome it?
NA: Yeah, definitely. Not on a major scale, but I would say even from elementary school I dealt with some sort of prejudice or sexism. I was often the only girl on sports teams as a kid and sometimes the boys really didn’t like that and I would get teased a lot. Or if I beat any of the boys in anything I would get accused of cheating or something. For some reason there’s still just a negative view towards girls who are competitive and I don’t get that. Then, in snowboarding there’s a lot of sexism as females make less prize money, get less from sponsors, and often are the subject of harsh criticism. Actually, what’s really cool about CrossFit is that it’s helping change these views and women have equal representation and prize money!
This or That:
- Bacon or Nutella: Bacon (I’m allergic to Nutella so I’ve never had it!)
- Early riser or night owl: Early riser.
- Meredith Grey or Olivia Benson: Is it bad that I don’t watch either of those shows?
- Summer or Winter: Can I say both?? Winter!
- East Coast or West Coast: West Coast will always have my heart but I love the East’s seasons.
- Starbucks or Second Cup: Starbucks
Lightening round! Say the first thing that pops into your head for each statement:
- Guilty pleasure: Donuts
- Favourite musician: Lana Del Rey
- Favourite movie: Blue Crush (haha)
- Celebrity crush: Cara Delevigne #GirlCrush
- McDonalds: CHICKEN NUGGETS ARE MY FAMILY
- Ottawa Senators: Pageeaaaauuuuu!
- uOttawa: Pool
- Pink: Nails
HC: Where can we find you to keep up with your crazy life?
NA: I’m @natalieallport on Instagram! I like going on adventures with my camera and post photos there pretty often. You can also check out my website!
Photo credits: Gym photos by Matt Zambonin (check out his IG, here) and other photos provided by Natalie Allport.