I was a typical Aussie sporty kid who grew up in country NSW. I played basketball at State and National level up until the age of 17 when I left home in 2000 and moved to the city to attend university. I promptly stopped all forms of sport and exercise in favour of study, work and the party lifestyle. In 2006 my business partner and I started our first business and building a company and living the corporate life absolutely consumed me for the next phase of my life.
Somewhere between 2000 when I left home, and 2013 (when I had a bit of a life changing moment watching a triathlon for the first time) I managed to gain a significant amount of weight and was around 104kg at my heaviest. I was also a pack a day smoker and did not exercise over that period (beside the odd 3-4 day attempt to lose weight here and there). Although I was very successful in my corporate life, I was extremely overweight, unhealthy and unhappy.
On the 2nd of January 2014 I rode a bike for the first time since primary school and swam laps of a pool for the first time since high school. I ran more kilometres in 2014 than I had run in the prior 14 years. I am 42kg lighter now than I was before I discovered the sport of triathlon.
I competed in triathlons as an amateur for 3.5 years. During that time I had a very rapid progression in the amateur ranks. From age group champion in my first ever Ironman in August 2015, to competing at Kona, the Ironman World Championships in 2015 and 2016, to 70.3 age group champion and numerous podium results over all distances. I decided to take my Professional Licence in late 2017. I have since ceased full time work so that I can pursue triathlon in a full time capacity and reach my potential and goals of becoming one of the best Ironman athletes in the world over the coming years.
I am extremely passionate about helping others, to show that it is possible to completely change the course of your life if you want it badly enough. It is not too late and it is not too hard.
Read more about Renee's story on her website http://reneekiley.com/
Three years ago Renee came onboard with us as one of our Pro #catfishathletes. It wasn't long before she came to us with ideas for a collaboration, and we loved the idea! Three collab releases later and we think this partnership is going from strength to strength.
