NAIDOC Week Events + Tribal Leader Profile
NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated by Australians from all walks of life and locally the week long event did not disappoint with the community showing their support at the free events. The Let’s Shape Up! team attended the Sarina Open Day at Mudth-Niyleta and Naidoc Family Day at Queens Park supported by tribal leaders from Focus Training Systems and Power Station Strength & Performance. Read tribal leader, Travis Toar’s story below.
Travis Toar’s pledge as a Tribal Leader is simple, he is committed to helping others achieve lifestyle sustainability in healthcare and fitness.
Travis spent his youth dealing with a number of physical barriers, he was born with cerebral palsy and had to negotiate his way through daily activities most take for granted, and with this came teenage angst.
It was overcoming this anxiety that helped craft his perseverance and will.
“Compensating for my imbalances I developed very good problem-solving skills when it came to my body and how it functions,” said Travis.
“To increase my muscular strength, I started weights which ended up being a pivotal shift in my self-confidence and physical confidence, I was able to perform faster, stronger and more coordinated than ever before.”
“Adaptability is at the heart of focus and little did I know that this time as a kid would be the start of the FOCUS philosophy,” he said.
In 2004 Travis embarked on a journey to South Korea that would instill values that have shaped the way he thinks, trains and inspires his clients each day.
“I spent over six years living and training martial arts in Korea with my My Kung Fu Master 이히광, Master Lee He Gwang.”
“Master Lee He Gwang showed me what dedication and awareness are, not just physically but mentally. My belief structure strengthened, and he taught me to strive far beyond the limits of normality and to drive the mind, body and spirit beyond the limits imposed by the physical world, social beliefs and our own mind,” said Travis.
When Travis returned to Australia he blended all these teachings with his personal training qualifications and the result was Focus, Asian martial principals combined with western body building. Focus Training Centre is located at Bucasia and Travis’ pledge to the Let’s Shape Up! initiative is a good summation of what the heart and soul of he and his centre is about…
“Here at the Focus Training Centre we are fully committed to work with our clients to achieve lifestyle sustainability in health and fitness. We specialise in targeting the mind, body and spirit (will power) connection and how these 3 entities symbiotically co-communicate to achieve long term life changing behaviour patterns and positive mental and physical health benefits. Our successful strategy has helped change lives in Mackay, through effective rehabilitation, substantial long-term weight loss, muscle gain, anxiety and mental stress and instilling enhanced self-confidence, particularly within the indigenous community. We are a results-based Fitness Centre committed to sustainable lifestyle change and improvement.”