Putting People at the Centre of your Wellness
Willie McCullough is something of a rare diamond among Clean Mixes customers. He’s rare because of his gender. Willie is one of only a small number of male customers, whereas the vast majority of our customers are female. So, when we spotted Willie’s name as one of our customers who receives a regular Clean Mixes subscription, we were intrigued to find out more and we decided to reach out to him.
Willie very graciously shared his views on exercise, healthy eating and wellness, and why he enjoys Clean Mixes as part of a balanced lifestyle. Willie’s approach to finding wellness could best be described as well-rounded, down-to-earth and people centred. We thoroughly enjoyed hearing Willie’s wellness story, and we hope you do to!
Willie is 43, a self-confessed “rugby league fanatic” and lives in Totara Park, Upper Hutt with his beautiful wife Teena. He has two children; his daughter Baylee is almost 18 and his son Hilton is 13.
He was born and bred in Upper Hutt and says “because I know the place like the back of my hand, I know all the great spots. Upper Hutt is a very outdoors city. It has some great swimming spots, walks, and mountain biking trails”.
Willie and Teena are both self-employed and great believers in the benefits of exercise. Willie’s typical weekday routine involves jumping on a mountain bike for an hour after work. He finds exercise provides a “mental release” as well as the obvious physical benefits.
Here’s the bit we absolutely love about Willie’s approach to exercise. He and his wife love working out together, whether it be down at the boxing gym doing circuit training or a home workout where they have set up their own weights-based training.
“As we both work for ourselves, fitness has been such an important tool for us to spend quality time with each other. We believe those who train together, stay together”. That sounds good to us!
When we asked Willie about his thoughts on the term “wellness” he dived straight into the core of the issue “wellness to me is finding time for the ones you love and hold the highest in your life”.
You may be noticing a theme here. Willie places his loved ones at the centre of his world, and that in turn, is a major driving factor of his wellness. This struck us as something we all need to be mindful of, especially in a time when we are all time-poor and surrounded by messages that sell us wellness in a pill.
Finding the right partner, avoiding negative relationships and “good food, great company in a great setting” are all factors that contribute to Willie’s sense of happiness and wellbeing. We couldn’t agree more!
Willie and Teena have been on a journey with healthy eating. Four years ago, they decided to change their eating habits, including trying out different diets, shakes and fasting. After experimenting, they are now at the point where they have taken those eating habits that have worked and put them into their everyday lives.
It was about this time that Willie discovered Clean Mixes. “I always had a sweet tooth throughout my life and was never ever too far from chocolate. When we changed our eating habits, we found that there were healthier alternatives to almost everything. I tried bliss balls from other companies but didn’t like them”.
He came across Clean Mixes at the Wellington Food Show and couldn’t believe how good the taste was! Fast forward to 2020 and Willie is still a regular Clean Mixes customer, in fact he gets Clean Mixes delivered every month via a subscription. Willie loves the Clean Mixes Bliss Ball range and says the Chocolate Chip flavour is his absolute favourite.
We always love hearing how our customers enjoy their Clean Mixes and Willie does something that many of us are unable to do. Amazingly, he has only one bliss ball a day. He doesn’t gorge himself on them. He has one in his lunchbox as a “treat snack” and says it’s the thing he looks forward to the most. That speaks to an enviable level of control and balance in terms of enjoying a treat, without overdoing it.
When it comes to healthy eating, Willie’s approach is not a prescribed or rigid diet. He says “everyone is different and things that have worked for me wouldn’t necessarily work for you. Healthy eating is a process and listening to your body”.
With regards how Clean Mixes fits into his healthy eating habits, he says it’s about filtering out the “not so good” with “better” choices. And when it comes to healthy eating, he believes a good diet combined with regular exercise is where it’s at.
We love Willie’s approach to wellness because it has people at the centre and encompasses both regular exercise and a balanced diet (including treats like Clean Mixes!)
So often in our quest for better health or wellness, we focus on just one thing – like cutting out sugar (insert meat, dairy etc), or getting to the gym more. But we should all take lessons from Willie’s story and take a more rounded approach and put in the hard yards to move our bodies, eat well and most importantly, prioritise our people.
