Ovolo & Bonnie Hancock IWD 2023

“You better

Lose yourself in the music, the moment, you own it

You better never let it go

You only get one shot

Do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime…“

Lose Yourself - Eminem

This was one of the songs on Former Iron Woman Bonnie Hancock 's playlist that played full blast as she paddled amongst the crocodiles in the Northern Territory…

This morning I was blessed to have hosted an International Women's Day breakfast for our Ovolo Hotel Peeps across all regions with an exceptional human, Bonnie Hancock as our special guest.

Recently Bonnie conquered 12,700 kilometres, being the youngest, and the fastest person to paddle a surf ski around Australia. Bonnie Hancock is not only an outstanding athlete being a formal Gold Coast Iron Woman, but she also strives to give back to the community she loves (raising 100k for Gotcha4Life Foundation – suicide prevention- in her last venture), as much as she can, to make a difference for herself and others.

Well, this morning we were inspired, awestruck, and taken aback as we listened with bated breath as she spoke to her high lights, low lights, what kept her going (mentally & physically), her mentors, and how she remained determined, resilient, and courageous when being stalked by a crocodile, tackling the 6 foot swell (OMG) being incredibly sea sick, and days she was in so much pain from paddling (hands, back & heart), that another minute seemed like eternity.

What the team took from today was that by taking risks to do something you are passionate & believe in takes hard work, perseverance to be successful (very much like our Founder & Executive Chairperson Girish Jhunjhnuwala ) with the reward of achieving your personal goals making it all worthwhile.

Also, to find a balance in your everyday being, find support in your team that surrounds you, and to take it one day at a time. Don’t be afraid, we really can achieve anything we set out to do, it really comes down to you.

So do it people! What are you waiting for, you really can be who you want and along the way, inspire those that surround you.

Thank you, Bonnie, for being our guest, a true living legend, and we cannot wait to see you break the 24-hour paddling record, as you now have all of us from Ovolo Hotels being your new number one fans for life, standing right beside you to virtually encourage you for every stroke that you do.

(Thanks to the Ovolo Woolloomooloo Crew for having the breakfast at the venue- and the people who dined with us and streamed in)

Kieron Hunt Adam Leonardi Laura Cheng Jen Dighton Chloe Nguyen Raymond G. Wayne Taranto Dave Baswal Roberto Russo MIH Rr. Anggia Irawati Meisara Joseph Ng Joel Bartlett Ryan Tuckerman Stephen Howard Amanda Cottome Gabriel Polias Amy Moylan Ben Higgins Marc Hediger Ben Wrigley Yawen Cui 崔雅文, CA Kin Chow