Your Next Escape with Tess Aisthorpe

Your Next Escape with Tess Aisthorpe 🧠 Mind
🏋️‍♀️ Movement
🌬️ Breath
🚎 Adventure
Helping humans get unstuck. Strength in the body. Safety in the system. Freedom in the mind. We’re not just a gym.

Your Next Escape

Where movement meets mindset. Where fitness meets freedom. Where you come back to yourself. Formerly known as Fighting Fit Toowoomba (FFIT), we’ve evolved, just like the people we work with. We’re a space for exploration...through movement, breath, adventure, and real connection. Whether it’s on a mountain trail, in a private training session, or during a moment of breathwork...Y

our Next Escape is about discovering more of who you are. What we offer:
Private & Small Group Training – Hybrid, strength, boxing, conditioning, crossfit, kettlebells and more. Breathwork & Nervous System Work – Somatic-based practices to help you slow down, switch on, and stay grounded. Wilderness Adventures & Hikes – Scenic multi-day hikes, local escapes, and curated group experiences. Retreats – A mix of physical challenge, inner work, fun, and connection. Event Transport & Bus Tours – Winery days, pub crawls, birthday parties, adventure days, event transfers...you name it. Support Beyond the Session – Nutrition guidance, accountability, and real conversations that keep you moving forward. We’re for the ones who don’t want the crowded gym scene. The ones looking for more. More connection. More meaning. More space to grow. No fluff. No ego. Just honest support, smart training, and unforgettable experiences. If you’re ready to explore your next level...physically, mentally, and emotionally...this is Your Next Escape.

This week marks 12 months since I jumped on a plane to Melbourne for my Intrepid Leader induction…spending a week surrou...
09/09/2026

This week marks 12 months since I jumped on a plane to Melbourne for my Intrepid Leader induction…spending a week surrounded by an incredible group of leaders, all with different stories, experiences and backgrounds, and all inspiring in their own way.

I had absolutely no idea just how much this opportunity would add to my life. Twelve months later, I’m incredibly grateful I said yes.

One of the things that drew me to Intrepid was its values…the importance placed on people, connection, responsible travel, respecting the places and communities we visit and leaving a positive impact along the way. So much of that already aligned with how I wanted to travel and lead.

After years of building my own businesses, leading adventures and creating communities, stepping into someone else’s team was a completely different experience. And honestly…I’ve loved it.

I’ve learnt I can step into something bigger than myself and still completely be me. I get to bring everything I’ve learnt through adventure, leadership, coaching, training, personal growth and simply living a whole lot of life…and bring pieces of that to every trip I lead.

For me, travel has never just been about the destination. Of course, we visit some incredible places. It’s the people who make a trip. The conversations on the bus. The belly laughs. Stories shared over dinner. Hiking through the bush together. Watching someone challenge themselves. The connections between people who were strangers only days earlier. Those are the things I love.

This past year has taken me through more of Australia than I’d explored in all the years before it and introduced me to incredible humans from all over the world.

I’ll still be creating and leading my own adventures and retreats…that part of me isn’t going anywhere. There are simply more exciting chapters being added alongside them.

To my previous guests, those travelling with me now, and all the guests I’m yet to meet…thankyou. I can’t wait to see where the adventure takes us.

Grateful for where life has taken me…and incredibly grateful to be a part of the Intrepid Travel Aussie team🇦🇺🩵

I hear the phrase “doing the work” thrown around a bit these days. And I sometimes wonder what we actually mean by it.Do...
03/09/2026

I hear the phrase “doing the work” thrown around a bit these days. And I sometimes wonder what we actually mean by it.

Doing the work isn’t done at a retreat. And before someone comes for me…I believe deeply in meditation, breathwork, retreats, coaching and therapy. They’re tools.

Eventually the music stops, the facilitator leaves, the journal closes and you have to go home and live with the person staring back at you. That’s where I feel some of the real work begins.

Can you actually be alone? And I don’t mean a Sunday afternoon or a week to yourself…I mean properly alone.

Can you sit in your own space without constantly reaching for your phone, attention, reassurance or someone to fill the silence? Can you sit there long enough for the s**t you’ve been avoiding to surface?

I have. Not always by choice. I’ve spent days, months largely on my own. I’ve sat in the silence with nobody there to distract me from myself. And heck, it can be hell. It’s also incredibly revealing.

You start seeing your patterns. Your avoidance. Your need for validation. The stories you tell yourself. The parts you leave out because they don’t fit the version where you’re completely right.

Then there’s another part of the work. Having people willing to call you on your s**t. Not someone who endlessly validates your story and tells you everyone else is the problem.

Someone who asks…“What was YOUR part in that?” I’ve had coaches do exactly that. And bu**er me, sometimes I haven’t liked what I’ve heard. Growth isn’t always supposed to feel good. Sometimes it humbles the absolute s**t out of you.

And I haven’t finished. I still react. Get triggered. Fall into old patterns. And think, “Ahhh heck…there it is again.”

Maybe THAT is the work. Developing enough awareness to catch yourself. Own your s**t. Apologise. Change direction. Sit with yourself. And look inward when blaming outward would be easier.

No certificate. No finish line. No enlightenment badge or high five. Well done, you’ve got this BS.

Just you, your patterns, your choices…and the willingness to keep looking at yourself when nobody else is watching 🩵

So I’m curious…what does “doing the work” actually look like to you?

Years ago, we would cover the Scenic Rim Trail in two days. It was about kilometres, pace, big days and getting from one...
24/08/2026

Years ago, we would cover the Scenic Rim Trail in two days. It was about kilometres, pace, big days and getting from one end to the other. If I’m truthful, there was probably a bit of ego wrapped up in it too.

Don’t get me wrong, our groups loved the challenge and there’s something pretty cool about seeing what your body is capable of. Though looking back, I wonder how much was about experiencing the place…and how much was simply being able to say we’d done it.

The last couple of times I’ve had the privilege of leading people through here alongside the Scenic Rim Trail crew, we’ve done it over four days…the way it was intended to be experienced.

Slowing it down made me realise how much I’d previously been walking through these places rather than actually experiencing them.

These days, hiking means something different to me. It’s stopping long enough to learn where you are. Being present with the people around you. Learning the history, the land, the plants, wildlife and stories held within it. Looking up instead of counting kilometres.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to learn from the landowners and people behind the Scenic Rim Trail, and I bloody love being able to pass some of those stories on.

Life moves fast enough as it is. We spend so much of it rushing towards the next destination, achievement or thing to tick off the list.

I still love a challenge. Though the older I get (one could say, the more regulated), the less interested I am in needing to conquer every hike or prove how far I can go in the shortest amount of time. Maybe the challenge is actually learning to slow down. To be where your feet are. The mountains aren’t going anywhere. There’s no prize for getting there first. Slowing down lets you realise just how much beauty you miss.

From my first Scenic Rim trip in 2022 to now…same love of walking, though a very different appreciation for what it means to move through a place. I know I like this version of hiking a whole lot more these days 🩵

For years I thought feeling knackered at the end of the day was normal.That waking up tired, dragging myself through the...
03/08/2026

For years I thought feeling knackered at the end of the day was normal.

That waking up tired, dragging myself through the day, surviving on whatever was convenient and pushing harder was just part of living an active life.

I was wrong.

A while ago I started working with a sports dietitian because my body was waving every red flag imaginable. I’d lost my appetite, I wasn’t sleeping, I had no real energy, and mentally I wasn’t in a healthy place.

The answer wasn’t another training session. It wasn’t eating less, not to push harder…it was learning to fuel my body properly.

At first, it felt completely backwards. Eating more scared me. Carrying a little more body fat challenged my ego. Slowly, something changed.

I slept, laughed more, recovered better and I actually looked forward to eating. I stopped seeing food as something I had to earn.

One thing I’ve learnt is this…Your body is always communicating with you. If you’re constantly exhausted…If you’re never hungry…If you’re sore all the time…If your mood is low…If every day feels like a grind…That’s feedback. It doesn’t automatically mean you’re lazy, weak or lacking motivation. It might simply be your body asking for something different.

Somewhere along the way, we’ve normalised running on empty. We wear exhaustion like a badge of honour, as though feeling depleted somehow means we’re working harder or achieving more. Living an active life doesn’t have to mean feeling terrible.

Some of the most active people I know have incredible energy because they prioritise sleep, recovery, movement and nutrition alongside everything else.

As humans, we’re designed to nourish ourselves.
Food isn’t just calories. It’s information and most importantly, it’s fuel. It’s how we repair muscle, support our hormones, create energy, think clearly and recover from life.

I’m still learning. I don’t have it all figured out. These days, I’m choosing to measure my health by how I feel, how I recover and how I show up…not by how I look.

If this post resonates with just one person who’s been afraid to eat a little more, rest a little more, or stop chasing “smaller” at all costs…

Then sharing my story was worth it 🩵

PS I dislike the word “busy” 🙄, my word of choice is “active”, instead 😉

Follow on Instagram 🩵I’m creating a space centred around adventure, travel, education, nervous system regulation, meani...
25/07/2026

Follow on Instagram 🩵

I’m creating a space centred around adventure, travel, education, nervous system regulation, meaningful connection and a whole lot of fun along the way. My hope is that something I share inspires you to step outside your comfort zone and create a life that feels true to you.

Over the past while, my life has changed more than I ever imagined.

I completed two decades of doing the same thing, day in and day out. I stepped fully into leading adventures, packed up my life and started creating something completely new. All it took was a little nudge from the universe.

Along the way, some incredible people have celebrated every step with me, while others have quietly drifted away. It simply taught me that real support doesn’t always need to be loud. It’s the message saying, “I’m proud of you.” It’s the person who asks how the tour went and genuinely listens to the answer. It’s the people who share your excitement because they truly want to see you doing well.

I’ve also learnt not to expect everyone to understand a path they never felt called to walk. And that’s cool. We’re all walking our own journey.

If there’s one thing this journey has taught me, it’s this…Every day we have a choice. We can camp where it’s comfortable, where life feels familiar and predictable…Or we can choose to climb. Climbing isn’t always easy, though every step changes your perspective. Every challenge teaches you something and every decision to keep moving forward shapes the person you’re becoming.

Keep climbing, keep creating and keep becoming.

The view is always worth it and I genuinely want this for you 🩵

11/07/2026

The last few weeks have reminded me of something I feel we’ve forgotten. Movement isn’t just about exercise.

It’s moving your body, moving through new places, changing your perspective and moving towards people instead of away from them.

The last few weeks have seen us walking through cities, hiking mountains, training at different gyms, sharing meals with strangers, camping, laughing over hot chocolates, and having conversations with people I’d never met just a few hours earlier.

There’s been no rush, definitely no pressure and pure presence.

There was no rush, definitely no pressure… just presence.

And it’s made me realise how easily we become consumed by the small things. Doing work we don’t enjoy. Emails. Social media. Being cut off in traffic. A message that wasn’t replied to.

It took me years to learn how to notice what was happening inside my body before reacting. To recognise the tension, slow my breathing, and choose my response instead of letting my emotions choose it for me.

The more I move, connect and stay present, the calmer I become. Maybe that’s what we’re all chasing. Not the perfect life. Just a regulated nervous system, genuine human connection, and enough presence to realise life is happening right in front of us.

A little love from me…go for that walk. Start the conversation. Watch the sunset. Put your damn phone away. Laugh a little more!

Life isn’t waiting for someday….It’s soooooo already here 🩵

These aren’t facts. They’re simply beliefs life has taught me so far.Through closing chapters, starting new ones, travel...
03/07/2026

These aren’t facts. They’re simply beliefs life has taught me so far.

Through closing chapters, starting new ones, travelling, coaching, making mistakes, backing myself, and learning to trust who I am, these are the lessons I’ve picked up along the way.

Maybe in five years I’ll read this and disagree with half of it. I genuinely hope I do. That would mean I’ve kept growing.

Change has a funny way of exposing where we place our energy.Quite often we spend so much time trying to control things ...
12/06/2026

Change has a funny way of exposing where we place our energy.

Quite often we spend so much time trying to control things that were never ours to control in the first place. Other people’s decisions, their actions, defending their behaviours and outcomes that haven’t happened yet.

The reality is life moves whether we’re ready or not.

Jobs change, relationships change, friendships change, businesses change and chapters close.

The discomfort doesn’t come from the change itself. It comes from our resistance to it.

The older I get, the more I realise there is freedom in focusing on your side of the fence. Do your bit. Focus on what is yours to do. Take responsibility for what belongs to you. Then let go of the rest.

I’ve also learnt that not every ending is a loss. Sometimes you’ve simply outgrown the chapter. The thing that once excited you no longer fits. The lesson has been learnt and the season has served its purpose.

That doesn’t make it wrong. It doesn’t make it a failure. It’s life giving you feedback that something is ready to change. It just means it’s time.

The best things in life rarely happen when everything feels comfortable. They happen when we’re willing to step into the unknown, trust ourselves and keep moving forward anyway.

I’m pumped for what’s ahead. Not because I know exactly how it will unfold. I just know I’ll figure it out as I go.

My hope for anyone reading this is that you stop waiting for certainty before taking the next step. There is no such thing as certainty. There is only trust, action and the willingness to learn as you go 🩵

Most people think they handle pressure well until life places them beside someone who has built a completely different l...
27/05/2026

Most people think they handle pressure well until life places them beside someone who has built a completely different level of capacity.

Not someone louder or trying to prove a point. Just someone who has spent more time doing the work on themselves and learnt how to stay in it when things get uncomfortable.

I’ve learnt this through training, business, relationships, grief, travel and being around humans who don’t immediately fold or react the second life gets hard.

Real intensity has very little to do with ego. It’s being able to stay steady when things around you aren’t. It’s showing up when your mind is looking for every reason not to. It’s self awareness. It’s regulation. It’s being able to sit in discomfort without needing to escape.

The environment you place yourself in matters more than most people realise. The people around you influence your standards, your mindset and the way you respond to pressure. Spend enough time around people who avoid discomfort and you’ll start doing the same. Spend enough time around people who take ownership of themselves and it changes you.

Being around people who challenge you will expose the stories you’ve been telling yourself about your own limits. Not to make you feel small. Not to shame you. To show you there may be more in you than you realised.

You don’t always need softer. Sometimes you need honesty. Sometimes you need people around you who quietly show you that you’re capable of more than you think.

The biggest thing I’ve learnt about growth over the past 2.5 years is that sometimes you don’t find yourself by staying ...
24/05/2026

The biggest thing I’ve learnt about growth over the past 2.5 years is that sometimes you don’t find yourself by staying where it’s comfortable…you find yourself by stepping into the unknown.

Somewhere along the way, I stopped trying to control everything…and that’s when things started changing. I’ve taken more risks than I probably did in the decade before it. I’ve stepped onto planes, buses, trails and into rooms I never imagined I’d find myself in. I’ve met strangers who somehow end up feeling familiar. I’ve watched people arrive guarded and leave softer, lighter and more connected to themselves.

And honestly…I feel ridiculously privileged to witness it.

What I’m realising is my purpose was never just about training bodies in a gym. It has always always bigger than that.

Adventure.
Movement.
Connection.
Conversation.
Perspective.
Breath.
Challenge.
Nature.
People.

Transformation happens in all of it.

Travelling with me has never really just been about landscapes or ticking places off a map. It’s about what happens to people while they’re standing in the middle of them. The conversations in the water. The walls that slowly come down. The confidence people find in themselves. The reminder that humans actually need other humans.

Every adventure teaches me something too.

A 23 year old travelling solo can teach courage.
An older couple can teach presence.
A stranger can teach perspective.
A hard conversation can teach compassion.
Country can teach respect.
Nature can teach regulation.
Even silence can teach connection.

I feel like over the years I’ve built a pretty solid tool belt. Fitness. Breathwork. Nervous system work. Adventure. Communication. Leadership. Holding space. Real conversations. Real connection.

For a long time I felt I only used parts of it. Now I want to utilise all of it in ways that genuinely impact people. Not just physically. Humanly. I still want to help transform lives. I know I have changed…And truthfully…I feel I’m finally allowing myself to step into that 🩵

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+61421931182

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