Best Body fitness
“I started exercise really young,
at two-and-a-half: gymnastics,
dancing. But I injured myself,
I broke my arm doing gymnastics,
so I ‘recycled’ myself into circus
as a circus performer/acrobat,”
says French-born Basta, 26.
Her fit childhood ignited
a passion for movement – so
when it came to finishing school
and enrolling in study, the choice
was obvious to Basta. “I always
loved being active – sport is my
passion, so I decided to study
fitness.” It helped that her parents
were supportive of this call. “My
parents were artists so they
pushed me to not become
an artist, because it’s quite
[a hard life]. Parents want the
best for their kids. So they
were like, ‘Great, you really
love training, keep going
and then you can become an
instructor.’ So in France I went
to uni for three years, studied
sports. I have a Bachelor degree
and a diploma in both fitness and
bodybuilding.” Impressive!SWEAT, WITH A SMILE
But it was after arriving to live
in Australia just over three years
ago with her French boyfriend
that Basta got the opportunity
to combine her two great loves:
fitness instruction and circus.
“Fitness Playground [a Sydney
gym] opened a location in Surry
Hills and I got a job as a trainer.
Because my background is in
circus and fitness – and since my
boss is so open-minded – two
years ago I created a new type of
class, a mix of circus and fitness
that we called Circus Fit.”
So what is it exactly? In a
Circus Fit class you work out
on a low-hanging trapeze, and
the focus is on toughening your
core to get stronger and leaner.
It’s now a key attraction at the
Surry Hills gym. “You use your
own body weight, and you hang
on the bar,” explains Basta. “It’s
hard to work out in that class and
not have fun.” Which leads us to
Basta’s mantra: “I believe in sweat
sessions with a smile. That’s whyD
Drum roll please... or
perhaps “roll up, roll
up” would be more
appropriate, since
Laura Basta, the
winner of our annual
Puma WH Next
Fitness Star comp,
honed her fitness
skills in the circus.A LAURA
UNTO
HERSELF30