Australian Champion Muay Thai Fighter – Victoria Sullivan
Muay Thai, boxing and all mixed martial arts are in my opinion one of the best ways to release stress, get fit and feel empowered as a woman.
I have always had respect for Mixed Martial Arts fighters, learning how to box myself and teaching women’s boxing. This interest is how I came across Victoria Sullivan an Australian Champion Muay Thai Fighter.
I started following Victoria about a year ago and thought she is the definition of a KIK ASS HUMAN.
The attitude on Victoria is inspirational and I am so happy she can share her journey here and inspire others
This is her story!
Enjoy, Jaz x
Who is this KIK ASS Human?
My name is Victoria Sullivan, I am an Australian Champion Muay Thai Fighter training out of Champions Gym in Perth Western Australia.
When did you start fighting?
It is sort of a long story, but I had my first fight when I was 19 years old, I am now 28 years old. After my first fight I took a 3-year break before realising I was not done fighting and thought I would give it another crack. Fast forward to now I have gone onto fight 15 more times collecting 4 State Championships and 2 National Championships.
Who inspires you and why?
I don’t have a single person I am inspired by; I draw inspiration from many individuals. I think every single person in my life inspires me in one way or another, we all have our areas of specialty and I really believe we can take something from everyone. But I guess if I had to really choose a figure of inspiration, I would probably say David Goggins, his story is one of human triumph over harsh circumstances. What resonates with me is despite the hand he was dealt he has relentlessly worked to be the best in his field as a Navy Seal and endurance athlete. I tend to admire people for their tenacity and spirt rather than skill or number of World Titles. David Goggins to me is someone that can inspire anyone is any sport or any profession. David Goggins to me is a badass with relentless drive.
How has this affected your life?
Honestly, Muay Thai and this journey I have been on for the last 10 years is a gift that keeps on giving. That’s not to say this has been a smooth journey without failure, it has been riddled with that. What’s been life changing for me is having a platform that allows me to exercise my competitiveness, do something I love and be forced to level up. It’s really one of those sports (as a competitor) where you either sink or swim. So physically I continue to become stronger, fitter. Mentally as a fighter of course you have to have some element of ‘get it done’ attitude, but after doing this for 10 years you realise that there are more sustainable ways to get better, so you research, you listen to podcasts, read books, look to people that have done it before me, and overtime you become wiser. I don’t believe I would ever be interested in all of this without my driving force; Muay Thai.
So not many people know this, but I work fulltime as a Banker, which is the polar opposite of what I do as a fighter. So, I mention this because all the lessons I’ve learned throughout this journey has helped me professionally as well. The same questions I ask myself in the gym are the same questions I ask myself at work, things like ‘am I good enough’, ‘do I have the right skills’ ‘can I be the best’, the answers in the gym or in the ring are always HELL YES, so why wouldn’t they be the same in the office. So I guess my message is, when I leave the gym I still want to be a champion and that’s ultimately the greatest effect of Muay Thai on my life.
Where are you now?
I’m in the same spot I’ve been for the last few years, ready to do whatever it takes to become the best version of myself and use competition as stepping stones to this goal. Obviously right now, with this global Pandemic, fighting has been put on hold. So for now my focus is slowing things right down and focusing on skills and my mental game. This is really the first time in my life as a fighter that I know I will not fight for at least a few months so I’m taking advantage of this time to focus on the finer skills that I wouldn’t normally have the time to do.
Words of advice to anyone wanting to start MMA?
There is no better time to start something than today. Don’t wait to ‘get fitter’ or till you can convince a friend to come along with you. If you have thought about it, try it out, and give it a minimum of 3 months. You will feel anxious, you might want to drop everything and run but stick at it, ask questions even if you are scared to and if you do all of this I promise you will see results not only physically but mentally too.