Who – August 24, 2019

t almost 28 yearsold,
professionalbasketballer
Elizabeth‘Liz’Cambage
isembracingherbody
andmindforeverything
thatit is.ThenewBonds
ambassador,DJand
edathleteisinLasVegas
fortheWomen’sNationalBasketball
Associationseason,playingfortheLas
VegasAces.Inbetweenjugglingmultiple

• mindthepun– ballsatonce,shespoke
  to WHO about learning to loveherself
  inside and out.

You’re a part of the Bonds RetroRib
campaign and the ‘Get Real’messaging
behind it. Why do you thinkit’sso
important to embrace beingdifferent?
We live in a world where everyoneisdifferent
in their own way, and for sucha longtime
society, especially Australiansociety,has
projected this very whitewashed,veryblonde
hair, blue eyes and Bondi Beachtan.I think
I’m very lucky to be working withBonds,
especially in a campaign thatcelebrates
individuality and is so diverse.
It’s a great group of women inthecampaign.
Had you met any of them beforetheshoot?
No I hadn’t, but I’d seen a coupleofthemon
Instagram modelling for otherthingsand
they were all so beautiful andstunningand
I was like, “I’m not meant to behere,these
girls are all such amazing models.”Butas
soon as we started shooting, theyjustmade
me feel right at home and theyhada
beautiful energy. Beautiful insideandout.
What advice would you givetoyour
younger self?
If I could go back, I would tellmyyounger
self that all of the hard work reallydoespay
off, all of those really tough momentsinlife
make you stronger and if youkeeppushing
through, you’ll get there.

Andisthattheadvicethatyou’dgiveto

younggirlswhowanttogetinto

professionalsport?

I’dsayjustfocusonyourselfandpush

yourselftobethebestyoucanbe.Nottoget

caughtupinwhatothergirlsandwhatother

playersaredoing.It’sallaboutyou,what

you’redoingandtheeffortthatyouputinto

yourcareer.

Ifyouhadthreeexercisestodoonthego,

whatwouldtheybe?

Definitelysquats.IfI’montheroadandI just

havea bandinmybagI alwaysdo

wide-stancesquats.AndI lovea

plankasitworksmycore;it’s

goodfortallgirls,doinga plank,

becauseitdoesn’tputany

pressureonyourspine.Mythird

exercisewouldbejustgettingup

andmovingaround– goingfora

walkora run.I gocrazyifI don’t

gofora walkora run;I needtogetmycardio

thesedays,soI alwaystrytostartmyday

withsomecardio.

Ona verydifferentnote,howdidyouget

intoDJing?

I’vealwayshada loveformusic– mymum

wasa dancerandmydadwasa DJ– I was

literallymade/bornintheclub.I wasraised

onhousemusic.I havefriendsthatwerelike,

“Weneedtohurryupandteachyouhowto

DJ,becauseit’sgettingridiculous”.Soitjust

grewfromthat.

Whatkindofmusicdidyourdadplay?

I thinkitwaslotsofhouseandhip-hop.

You’reopeningforSnoopDoggandIggy

Azaleasoon– areyouexcited?

Yeah,it’stheWNBAAllStarweekend,so

itwillbereallyfun.It’llbefuntoshow

everyonewhatI candootherthan

basketball.It’sa massivegigsoit’sgoingto

beprettyexciting.

Isthereanartistyouhopetoopenfor

oneday?

There’snotanyonethatI’mlookingtowork

with;it’smoremajorfestivalsandtakingmy

careertoanotherlevel.OnceI’mdonewith

basketball,it’ssomethingthatI dowantto

focuson.Rightnow,I’mjusttakingitasit

comes,butbasketballisstillmynumberone

atthemoment.

Howdoyoukeepyourmentalhealth

incheck?

I think,especiallywhenI was

youngerandlivingoverseas

allalone,mymentalhealth

reallydidstruggle.I thinkit’s

importanttofindfriends,or

evena counsellor,someoneyou

connectwithandyoucantalkto.

Youneedtofindsomeonethat

cancheckonyoutomakesureyou’reOK;

itreallyhelpedme.Butattheendofthe

day,ifyou’refeelingreallybad,thebestthing

youcandoisgetprofessionalhelpandsee

a counsellor.

That’sgreatadvice.Isthereonepieceof

adviceyou’vebeengiveninyourlifethat

youliveby?

WhenI wasa teenager,I hada coachwho

wouldalwaystellus“happyhealthy,healthy

happy”.Ifyou’refeelinggood,you’rehappy,

andwhenyou’rehappyandprettyhealthy,

youfeelgood.It’sallaboutlookingafterboth

yourmentalandphysicalhealth,because

they’rebotha balance.Ifone’slacking,it’s

goingtobringyoudown,soit’saboutmaking

surethatyoukeepthingsbalanced.Itwill

keepyouina goodstateofmind.

■ByAbiMoustafa

INSPIRATION

“Weliveina

worldwhere

everyoneis

different”

—LizCambage

Cambagewasproudofher

greenandgoldjersey!

And she’s just as

happy playing in

the US.

Cambage

loved

working

alongside

models Tehya

Elam (left)

and India

Graham.

FROM LEFT: COURTESY

BONDS

(2); GETTY IMA

GES; INSTAGRAM

Who l 41

TOP OF

THE GAME

Cambage became a

household name when

she played for the Australian

Opals in 2018 – where

she managed to lead the

team into the Women’s

Basketball World Cup

final after a 12-year

hiatus.