Tori West On Training, Travel, And Building A Sports Tech Company

We sit down with Olympian heptathlete Tori West to unpack what it takes to build a “dream heptathlon” while balancing real-life costs, work, and travel. We also follow her leap from regional sport in Townsville to a Swiss training camp, plus why she is building sports tech to give athletes control of their own data.
• how heptathlon scoring works and why personal bests tell the real story
• the psychology of event order across two days of competition
• growing up in Townsville, being shy, and finding confidence through boxing
• funding a sporting dream through stacked jobs, side hustles, and brutal schedules
• moving to Brisbane for an Olympic-level coaching environment and long-term growth
• building a company that helps athletes and coaches use training data better
• the future of athlete data ownership, consent, verification, and athlete passports
• setting big goals for the Commonwealth Games and staying grounded under pressure
• giving back to regional sport and supporting athletes at every level
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Transcript

Season Four Kickoff And Mission

Host Nat Cook 0:04

Welcome to season four of the Price You Pay podcast, hosted by me, Nat Cook, five-time Olympian and gold medalist, alongside our star interviewer, Sarah from Chatterbox Media. Through conversations with Aussie Athlete Fund recipients, we uncover what it truly takes to reach the highest echelons of sport in this country. We invite family and key members of the athletes' journey to round out the discussion, revealing hurdles like travelling up to 700 kilometres a week just for training as rural athletes, or the cost of international travel for a parent chaperone to accompany their child to a major competition. These families are committed to do whatever it takes to support their kids from the grassroots to the green and gold jerseys. Come along for the ride and listen in to what dreams are truly made of. And now over to our master conversationalist, Sarah.

Meet Tori West And Her Path

Host Nat Cook 1:09

Woo!

Conversationalist Sarah 1:12

We are very eager to speak to today's guest, Aussie Athlete Fun Great, Tori West. This girl can inspire so many young athletes with her story of persistence and perseverance. Born in Townsville, Queensland, Tori was a talented junior athlete, whether it be high jump, javelin, and even winning the Queensland State title for boxing in 2017. It probably makes sense that she landed in Heptathlon for her ultimate sporting focus as it combines prowess in so many different disciplines. In 2020, she became the first Australian in 13 years to break the 6,000-point mark at the Australian Combined Events Championship before qualifying for Paris Games and finishing 20th. Tori has big plans for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this July, and of course, LA 2028 are in her sights. But there has been a sideline story running throughout Tori's athletic career that is too exceptional not to cover. So should we get stuck into it, Tori? Yeah, let's do it. Yay! Did I make any mistakes in the bio? Basically, people tell me after, but if you want to correct it now, you can.

Guest Tori West 2:18

No, that was great. We covered the basis of the pre-story. Yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 2:22

Yay. Awesome. Um, and again, you're so much more than the statistics on yourself. So um I am truly grateful that you found time as an Aussie Great to chat to us in the lead up to the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Um,

Training Load And How Heptathlon Works

Conversationalist Sarah 2:38

and look, obviously these can be intense times. So can you describe a little of your travel and training schedule that you've experienced already this year?

Guest Tori West 2:48

Yes. Wow. Um, well, I've been training like full on for the Commonwealth game since November last year. So the training process starts quite early for the Heptathlon. You have to build big foundations to get to the point where you qualify, and then you've got to obviously keep pushing to be competitive on the day. So uh this year I've already done the national championships. That's where I opened my season in April in Sydney. I had a really good opener, 6'1, 6'5 was my point score. I finished just finished second. There's a talented junior who's just broken through via scary, who did really well on the day. She had what I'd call close to the dream heptathlon, you know, where we we do, so I'll explain the heptathlon. It's seven track and field events over two days, and you get a point score based on how well you perform, not how you rank. So you want to run as fast as you can, throw as far as you can, jump as high as you can, all within that two-day sequence. And it's always the same order. So the goal is to always be performing at your best. So to judge a heptathlon, you're not judging an athlete based on how they rank, you're judging them based on how they perform relative to their personal best. So the game is always self-improvement. Yeah. So you know I'm on a good personal best performance, or sorry, a good heptathlon performance if I've got like PBs or seasons best, you know, in my my heptathlon. Whereas if you just have a heptathlon and there's no seasons best and no PBs, that's just, you know, it's not really what you want. You want to keep pushing. So that that's the perception you should take when watching a heptathlon is like that's how you judge it, really, because everyone's got a different strength profile.

Conversationalist Sarah 4:24

Yeah, everyone's gonna watch that.

Guest Tori West 4:26

Yeah, yeah. So as you watch the event, like for some girls are really good sprint hurdlers, so they start really well, and then you get to the end of the day one, people are like, oh, they're winning, you know, they're the favorite. I'm like, no, there's another day. You got the 800, you got Javelin, like this is the heptathlon. So it's a very interesting event to watch. And I don't think the narrative around it is quite told well enough yet. However, it is changing, like, there's a lot of standout athletes that are putting up performances where people are like, Wow, like this is really good. But I would call heptathlon, decathlon the original Olympic hybrid event. Like, if you think about the Olympics and the history, it started off with a pentathlon in ancient Greek days. You know, they did discus, javelin, they did naked naked wrestling. Thank god we don't do that. Uh they ran like a mile, and yeah, it's interesting. So very interesting event. That's what I do. So I opened my season with nationals, then I went to compete at what's called uh Gurtzes, which is like the Wimbledon of my event in Austria. I did okay. I messed up one event in a big way, so I finished well considering that. And then yeah, just recently I found out I did enough to qualify for the Com Games, so I'm very happy.

Conversationalist Sarah 5:34

So now good. Okay, I have so many questions about this now. Um, okay, first thing before I forget to ask, does the order of events matter? Because when you just described how some people are good at, you know, better at certain events than others, is it always ordered the same way? Because I was just thinking there has to be psychology in that when you start strong versus finish strong. So is the order always the same?

Guest Tori West 6:00

Yeah, yeah, it's always the same order. So day one is always 100 meter hurdles, high jump, shot put 200, and then day two is long jump, javelin, and the 800. So always the same order. And yes, the psychology of it is quite deep. Like, obviously, if you're a strong hurdler and a strong high jumper, you're always gonna have that mental edge at the start because you know, like people, I'm you're already playing catch up if you're everyone else. Where if you're someone like me, I would say that to be honest, I'm a very good all-rounder. Like I can pull scores from many different events profiles. I'm you know, my javelin's probably my weapon. So I have this theory like if you're not ahead of me by like 200 points by javelin, watch out because I can put that, you know, points uh deficit in. So yeah, it's very interesting how it all works. And it's I love it.

Townsville Talent And Early Shyness

Conversationalist Sarah 6:47

Okay, so I mean, we kind of introed you being an all-rounder, and so you know, take me back to Townsville. And be were you always so good at all sports? Yes.

Guest Tori West 7:03

To be honest, yeah. I mean, I started off as a little kid, like through turning four, I lived on the same street as the athletics club, and my dad took me down, and I seen kids running without a uniform, and I didn't have a uniform, and even at that age, I identified that, well, if they're doing it without a uniform, I can dad. And he signed me up the next week, and I loved athletics. Like I had all the records as a little kid and um loved it. And then after athletics, I did a bit of tennis as well. Um loved tennis, but it's quite expensive with that sport, so I didn't go, I did about two years and then stopped. Um, and then went back to athletics and then did basketball. But yeah, every sport I touched, I did have a natural ability. I to be honest, like I say that trying to be like, you know, I played basketball for school.

Conversationalist Sarah 7:49

Just be truthful. I want to hear all of this.

Guest Tori West 7:52

Yeah, I played basketball for school, and then a rep coach would come to me, you know. I've never played club basketball and they said, I want to train you one-on-one because I think you can do rep basketball. And you know, so this coach would take me on, and I was like, and I had no confidence, like I wasn't the sort of kid who would be like, uh, yeah, I want to be the champion, I want to win everything. I was actually really shy. And and that's like part of the reason why I didn't actually excel until later on. Like, yes, I was good at all sports, but I didn't have proper coaching up until I was 15 because it wasn't until the coach scouted me up and he said, You got a fast arm, I'll make you a javelin champion in a year. And I was like, Okay, someone believes in me, all right. And then I trained with him for a year and I became a national champion. So I was sort of like this, like, you know, had a lot of talent, you know, just a kid living in Townsville, you know. My my home life was a little bit, you know, I love my parents, but it was a bit uh, I don't know how to describe it in a way that doesn't that was hard times, you know. And so I just I wasn't really that sort of person who was really forthright and I want to win, I want to like I never even dreamed of the Olympics when I was a kid, to be quite honest. I just I just love sport and doing stuff for fun.

Boxing Year That Built Confidence

Conversationalist Sarah 9:02

Um, but yeah, so you were you were a high-level boxer, so all the while your athletics, you're very strong in that area. It sounded like boxing was sort of dominant for quite a while.

Guest Tori West 9:13

Yeah, for about a year. So I watched Holy Home, yeah, for about a year. So what happened was I did javelin and loved it. And then after high school, um, I was a bit lost in my life. I didn't know if I have any idea what I wanted to do with my life. Um, I felt uh decision fatigue, like you could go travel, you could go get a job, you can go study, you know. I did good in school, so I was like, you know, I could do blah blah blah. Um, but I I felt within myself I didn't know who I was, I was just a bit like lost, to be honest. Um, so yeah, I was doing javelin but not really liking it. And then my coach, and that was when I was 18 or so, then the coach suggested I try heptathlon at 18. I tried one, not not seriously, I tried one and I did really like it, but I got really injured really quickly because I wasn't doing the right things personally. So then I went to do boxing for a year.

Conversationalist Sarah 10:02

Um, and I really like that should really help your injuries, not well, it's different.

Guest Tori West 10:09

Athletics is actually like it's a hard sport on the body because like it's full effort, right? Like it's not like you can do a sprint rep and just be like, oh yeah, like it's a hundred percent. And I guess for me, I got injured really quickly because I don't think I was very healthy, like I wasn't sleeping. Like now I'm an old athlete, I understand things, but I also I just didn't do all the basics right, like I just had no idea, to be honest. Um, but yeah, I did boxing for a year because I watched Holly Home knock out Rhonda Rousey at UFC 203 in Melbourne, Australia, and I got really inspired. I was like, I knew she was gonna win. And at the time, Rhonda Rousey was so dominant, and I was like, I can't believe I called it. I was, you know, anyways, I was so inspired, and I walked into a boxing gym in Townsville with Dan Orman in the dragons boxing, and I punched him, and he said, Far out, you can hit hard. And that was my javelin arm. He's like, girls will be so scared if you hit them. He's like, you just hit them once and they'll stay away from you. And I was like, okay. And he's like, Do you want to fight? I'm like, uh, okay. And then literally, I did four my first year of boxing, I did four fights, one all four fights, and one a state championship. And they were gonna put me on a pathway to COM Games. Because at the time it was 207, 2016. And at the time that was when Sky Nicholson was in, you know, the she's a big superstar now, like, but he was like, Yeah, he watched Sky Nickelson, and I was like, What? This is a whole new world. But, anyways, by the end of that year, I I enjoyed my time in boxing, I loved the training, it was really good mental toughness. It also gave me a lot of confidence because as I said, I was very shy, and I sort of stood up a little bit taller learning how to box. Um, but the last fight I did was in a pub in Acacia Ridge in Brisbane, and I was like, this is just too rough for me. I'm not that sort of person, you know, I just don't feel like I belong in this environment. I love the training, and so I decided that was gonna be it. I was gonna go back to athletics and you know, do the heptathlon and just see how good I can do it.

Conversationalist Sarah 12:04

Like, I love how you can just make a choice, and within it's probably weeks, you're very dominant straight away. And yet that does make me really curious because you have landed on something that you're sticking with these days and you know, doing really well. So I was curious how you would say, because you know how you said I was quieter back then, I didn't know myself. How would you say your beginnings have shaped the fact that you've landed in heptathlon?

Guest Tori West 12:39

I would say it's a huge part of it because I think for me, athletics and the feeling of like this to me, there's no better feeling than a feeling of breakthrough and a personal best and an improvement in this sport because you gotta work for it, and it's just such a pure thing. Like, I I've never experienced anything in my life as crossing a line, knowing you've ran well, like that lightness and that smile. So for me, athletics has always been a very healthy escape for me, like that feeling, safety, great people. So I think it's been yeah, my early days were a massive part, and as a shy kid, like it gave me a sense of self-worth. Now you have to be careful that that's new, you're not your full sense of self-worth as you progress and get older, because obviously bad times come. Um, but that's yeah, beat the heptathlon for me was to me, it's the purest of sporting endeavor I could do. It's the most difficult uh of all the sports I've done. Um, and that's yeah, why I love it. Yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 13:32

I love how you defined it too in Olympic wise as the original, you know, the cathlon. And I love that actually, because you do you start to really realize the the the beginnings of the Olympics and you know, the ultimate athlete, the the person who can do many things, because nowadays we get really locked in to one sport and maybe want, you know, even our physiques alter. Um that's interesting with your sport, like how physic, like physically, whether you're doing uh like running flat out versus high jump versus javelin, like all the different elements. I think it's actually super interesting. Um thinking about the athleticism required.

Guest Tori West 14:17

It's it's very difficult, yeah. Yeah.

Self-Belief Plus Real-World Money Problems

Conversationalist Sarah 14:19

Okay, so let's because you did mention how rewarding it's been being in Heptathlon. Who would you say has been your biggest supporter athletically?

Guest Tori West 14:30

Uh I have a non-traditional answer to this. Um, it's it's actually my brain, right? When I say this, like I realized very early on that the pursuit and the challenge for me was not whether or not I was athletically good enough. It was whether or not I could set up a life where I could see just how good I could be, right, as an athlete. That was my extra challenge. It's like I knew I could do it. I I don't know where it came from. I've just always had this self-belief that I was good enough athletically, but there's always practical challenges. Like I moved out of home very early. How am I gonna pay for my you know rent? How am I gonna pay for my car? How am I gonna pay to go to the doctor? How am I gonna pay for my flights to go to the competition? Because I lived in town, so there's extra costs. So I realized very early on the practical nature of the ambition and the goals that I had. It's like, okay, I not only just have to be athletically good, just because you're good, no one's gonna just give you a check and say, hey, you know, unless you go out, gout, but there's a different commercial model there. But it's just I didn't have entitlement. I knew I had to really work for it a little bit harder than something. And so that's really set me up to be very pragmatic about the way I do things because I've had some really hard years with athletics, like injuries, missing out on stuff. Like, um, you know, but at the same time, I've always been working, I've always set my life up. And that was something my first coach, Gary, would always really encourage me. Tori, you need to get an education, you've got to make sure you have other things in your life going because athletics, it's a privilege to do, but it's you know, it can go in an instant. And so that's really what's helped me athletically and have the longevity I have. So I started heptason seriously at 21. So I I count that as my starting point. Even though I did one in 18, I don't count it because it was just it was not, you know, it was just testing the waters, but 21, and now I'm 30. And people say at 30, you're like, oh, you're looking towards the end of your career, and what I'm like, I can't relate. I feel better than I did at 21. Not only that, I have my life set up, I have longevity, I'm healthy, I didn't screw my body up and I have a job and have an income. If I walk away from sport today, I'm set, I'm fine. And so that's been what's helped me athletically and has set me up to where you know, now I've made the Olympics, the world champs, the com games, and I've got the experience. Yes, it's later and non-conventional, yeah, but I feel so confident that my next two to four years, or however long I want to do this, I will be competitive and I will keep getting better because of what I did through like yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 16:55

Your vision, your capacity to vision this and what and realize it because you're putting it into action. So take me back to like 21 and the kind of grueling work. Well, when did you move out of home? Do you mind if I ask?

Guest Tori West 17:09

Uh I moved out at 18.

Conversationalist Sarah 17:10

Okay, so you're like 18, like you say, and then all of a sudden, all those concerns, like all that responsibility. So tell me what work life was like back then and then like kind of transition to now.

The Work Grind Behind Qualification

Guest Tori West 17:23

Yeah, so initially when I finished school, uh, work life, I've always worked a job, um, whether that's a checkout chick or cafe, barista, whatever. After high school, I started study but didn't like it personally. I hated it. I didn't learn anything. Um, but I realized very quickly I couldn't afford to work, study and train. So I had to only pick two. So I chose to uh work and train. Initially, when I was 18, I was working like an official chip shop and uh also uh a cafe and also Woolworths as a checkout chick. Um, and that was on and off jobs, and I was also doing a little bit of freelancing, so this will lead into the work stuff I do now. But I was starting to build like my dad was a roof plumber and he had a roofing business, and so I built him a website, and so I built some basic skills for him. Um, and then I realized you could do graphic design online and submit it, and you might win money. So a company says, Hey, I want to, you know, a logo for my business. I'm willing to pay $200 to whoever gives me the best idea. And so the first competition I submitted for, I won and I won 200 bucks and I was 18. I was like, bonza, like that's amazing. How did I make into that? Was my first touch of internet money? It was amazing. So I started to like realize I got an ABN really quick because my dad was self-employed. I was like, all right, I I'll just, you know, so that was when I first started business. And I wasn't making a lot of money, but I started, I learned. And yeah, I was working odd jobs, and eventually, um, you know, that that was two to two to three years like when I was working, um, when I was doing boxing, I was working in a bank. So at the time I thought I wanted to go into finance because I was really interested in the money system, and I was like emailed the bank, Queensland Country Bank, which is the big bank in North Queensland. I said, Hey, I'm a young, ambitious person. I want to, you know, get some so they gave me a job and they basically gave me the job around what I wanted. They said you can work five days a week, 10 to 3, so you can train. And I was like, perfect, thank you. Um, but then the Commonwealth Games were coming up. So at 21, when I really started heptathon, I realized I've got nine months to pull myself together and qualify for the Commonwealth Games because it's on the Gold Coast. And I'd be stupid as a Queenslander not to go for it. And so at that time I realized, crap, I've got to pay for all these comps. You know, I don't have, you know, I was living by myself in like a little house under a house. And anyway, so I I emailed one of my old coffee bosses, Corey, who owns Rafa's Coffee in Township. I said, Corey, I need some extra work. I know you've got the early shifts, I'll take it. So for about three months, I was working 4:30 a.m. to 9 30 a.m. in a cafe, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in a bank, training in the afternoon, and then doing my internet work on my computer at night. That was like maybe five days a week, to save enough money to pay for my like everyone, my coaches, myself, to go to these competitions, do a heptathlon. In that year alone, so that nine-month period, I started the season with 4,200 points in a heptathlon. Over nine months, I did, I think it was five heptathlons, and I scored uh ended up scoring 5,793 points, which was above the qualifier in one season. And so I was the second highest ranked hept athlete at the time when I did that. So went from unranked to second. But then at the trials I fell short, like I didn't pull it together on the day, so I missed out on the team, but I went all in, like everything. I remember just it was the best feeling ever. Like, even though I didn't make it, how like determined I got. I just remembered.

Conversationalist Sarah 20:49

And even the evolution, like how you your improvement. I love the scoring, to be honest, like you say about self-improvement. It's really motivating and inspiring to have a sport like that, where it isn't just like show up, win, loss. You actually can track your progress. It's really good. Yeah, true. Yeah. Okay, that is wild. I love your stories, they are amazing. You do more in nine months than people do in a lifetime. So this is why we have so many good things to cover. Okay, so hold on. So now we're at, you're working your butt off, calm games just miss out. Then what happens to you in terms of your vision for your sporting future? Like, what are you then going? This is my next goal.

Guest Tori West 21:31

Well, for me, the next goal, I actually felt a little bit lost after that, to be honest, because I had gone all in. There wasn't a reality in my mind where I wasn't gonna make it, to be quite honest. So I got a little bit depressed. I was like, woe is me. Because I thought I just did everything, right? And but I didn't felt rude. I know, universe, God, come on. Um but no, I think at that time it was uh I realized that I not only had goals for athletics, but also for my work.

Moving To Brisbane To Chase Olympics

Guest Tori West 22:00

Life, like I really wanted to break free of how I grew up, like I wanted to create a better life for myself. And at the time I was living in Townsell, so I made a very big decision to move to Brisbane to train with a new coach. It was really hard because I did love my coaches in Townsville dearly, like they cared so much for me, and that was one of the hardest things I've done. I remember crying my eyes out so much. I think they one of them cried as well. But um, I moved to Brisbane and I realized I started training with Cedric Dubler and his coach Eric Brown in that group. And I realized, well, this is an Olympic coach, you know, like the Olympics is the next natural goal. And so um yeah, I moved to Brisbane. Luckily for me, my mom lived there actually, so I had somewhere to stay initially. She was in the military, and yeah, moved to Brisbane, moved my life. I actually started studying again at UQ. I thought, oh, it's a better uni, I'll see what I hated that as well. So I dropped out. Um, but yeah, I moved myself to Brisbane and then began the pursuit of all right, let's go to the Olympics, let's see how good we can be. I had this massive season where I just validated that I can be as good as I think I can be, and let's just keep going. So yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 23:06

Nice. And then work-wise, you always had like would you say what you're doing currently, and well, I would like you to share that. Would you say that's the goal, or could you not even envision it at the time?

Guest Tori West 23:20

I did. I had some visions of what I wanted to do with work. Like I always love creating stuff, like I love making things, like I was very good with code. And um when I did graphics in school, for instance, I was always that kid who could draw up things and technical drawing without the guides, like I could just see it, and like I was very good at visualizing and I had a natural knack for physics and and mathematics and graphics. So it was a weird mix, which is why coding is like the perfect job for me. Um, so I had visions for stuff about data and cloud servers, but at the time when I had the visions, the technology available wasn't what it is today. So obviously, with AI and um blockchain and stuff, like it's just made the vision that I've had very, like not very different, but created new pathways to get to what I thought I wanted. Um, and I was very, very, very looking back, I think it was the best thing that I was completely self-taught in what I did because it allowed me to learn very quickly. Like I look back and I I'm actually so grateful I was born in the time I was because I seen every evolution of the internet. I seen little as a little kid, you had the dot-com burst era, you know, the um websites that came up that was massive, and then it popped, and then you have you know, home computers start getting introduced. I remember we had a home computer that we were looking after for someone, and I'd get sneak on it and play. I had dial up internet, you know, then that led to you know broadband internet and then MSN. So I've like seen, I experienced it all, even though I was young, I still experienced it, and that has allowed me to be so adaptable when new tech, like when a new technology comes, like AI, people are like scared, like, oh, I'm gonna lose my job. Tori, aren't you worried about it? I'm like, no, are you kidding me? Like, I understand how this works, like I understand how to teach myself, and I also understand the macroeconomics of it all and how it impacts industries and whatever.

Conversationalist Sarah 25:10

So, anyways, I've gone on a different tangent, but this is good though, because we're leading to what do you I'd like to hear what you currently do.

Building A Sports Tech Business

Conversationalist Sarah 25:19

Like, where are you sitting right now? Because I know you're still on the move.

Guest Tori West 25:22

Yeah, well, right now, my humble days of getting 200 bucks from a logo design is led into a full-fledged company, and I currently employ eight people, um, which is crazy. And we yeah, so we build sports tech, I build apps for athletes. My whole goal is just to help athletes reach their personal best, you know, have more power around their data. Everyone's producing data now. I've taken the very agnostic route of like, I don't care where you get your data from, bring it into my software. I'm gonna make help make it easier for you, and also connect it with your coaches and teams so everyone's on the same page. Um, and then I'm also building ways for athletes to earn through that as well, because one big problem we have with athletes is viable ways to earn. You know, I'm not promising everyone 100K, right? I'm just saying better than nothing, right? We I think that this is very possible. Um, so that's what I'm doing now, and that's really something that's gonna, which is why when I say I can walk away from sport today, I'm fine, because I have this other thing which you could argue in some ways is bigger than the sport I do. Like I feel my heptathlon is my escape, like it's my freedom, like it's not a job, whereas you know the company is a big responsibility, a big job. So it's very interesting the parallels between the both.

Conversationalist Sarah 26:36

And how and with that, you you I could just I'm hearing the mind that you have and the visions that like the things that you see. You could have produced a product for many things. Why this product? Why help athletes? Why is that important to you?

Guest Tori West 26:52

Well, I was producing products for many things. Like originally, my company started off as a software development company and it still is. It's called Equal Labs because we build many things. And so back in, we went full-time back in COVID because everyone needed a website in COVID, everyone needed digital services because we were moving online, you know, we're having all our meetings on Zoom. So that's when my company became a full-time thing because there was a huge demand. So at the time I was building apps for like sports organizations, medical clinics, physiotherapists, it'd be apps, web app, many different things. And then eventually, after I made the Olympics, essentially, I started doing social media, right? I was like, oh, you know, everyone's doing my as well. And I did really well. And I was like, okay. I was like, maybe I should start talking about the tech I build. And then by talking about it and being relatable to the athlete, because I'm not like, you know, a tech bro, I'm like a girl, you know, thousands of athletes started signing up. And I'm like, I'm on to something. And not only signing up, they're actually using it and providing feedback and getting value and actually now paying for it. I'm like, okay, well, I better go all in on this. Like, you know, I've got because I think the hardest thing in tech is not necessarily the tech, it's the distribution. Can you connect to people? Can you do you know your market? You know, um, so yeah, that's why it's become this what it is. And for me, too, like I'm the sort of person I don't want to put all my energy into something unless I'm passionate. Because that's what fuels me. Because there's a lot of hard times, you know, it's stressful. Um, and to me, this is the perfect extension of myself and what I do, and so that's why we've landed here.

Athlete Data Ownership And Verification

Conversationalist Sarah 28:23

So, Tori, like what are you visioning these days? Because clearly you it's like you saw what's going on right now well before it was happening. So, what's your current visions?

Guest Tori West 28:36

Oh, my vision at the moment is like there is gonna be a big shift in the data landscape for athletes. Athletes are gonna start to realize what they produce is valuable, and third parties are harvesting it and monetizing it without them really understanding. Like athletes that they're like, what? So essentially there's gonna be a big awareness about it that happens. Then they're gonna start to be questioning, okay, where am I storing my data? Where, who is looking after it? What's their terms and like uh policy private privacy policies all say? And they're gonna start to realize that the tech I'm building is giving them the power to have it all with one place with them, but also giving them control on like, you know, how is that monetized? Where is that going? Like, how are we safe keeping it? What are we doing with the data? And they're gonna start to realize because nowadays anything can be produced with AI. I can say to AI, produce me 12 months of theoretical data of a group of a hundred athletes who are training for beach volleyball, cricket, and soccer, right? We have a data batch. How do we validate? Like, there's a data batch, whatever, that's there's that. How do we actually validate that that is real people though? Like, this is the landscape, and that's where we need blockchain technology. We need we need verification layers and ownership layers and consent layers over data. And so that athletes are gonna start to realize, oh, I need like what's called an athlete passport where this is my profile. You link to me, you want to do a deal with me, you want to put me in a competition, you have to link and verify it through these connected accounts and these connected. So this is the vision I see. I don't think it's gonna come, I think it's still maturing, obviously. Um, you know, I had visions of this, you know, two to four, uh, two to three years ago. Um, but it's definitely moving in this direction as I see it. And um, yeah, I just want to create the tools and be the first to market to make it really easy for athletes. You know, web three isn't that difficult to me. What's difficult is making experiences that are super easy and just makes sense.

Conversationalist Sarah 30:33

So yeah, simplifying it. It's interesting because I also, um, having a 10-year-old, I've noticed I've I was thinking they are gonna grow up in a world around fraud. Like it's always about what's real. Like they come, she comes home and she's like, so and so um, because she memorizes people's license plates because she likes numbers, and she's like, Oh, they said that I'm gonna scan them and fraud them. Like just the words are used in the wrong context, but you can see how young kids like are talking about these elements, like their passwords for school have to be so long, and every like I just think to myself, it's a whole new landscape. And so when you're talking about data and who owns it, and like you can really see this authentication element that's gonna be really important. So, but I've never heard it in that lens, so thank you for describing it in that way. Yeah, it's very exciting to have you being like four athletes because you're right there, like you're doing it. Like, actually, we didn't even cover this quickly, just because we want people to know how active you are. Tell them where you are currently speaking from.

Guest Tori West 31:46

Oh, I am in a place called Badragas, Switzerland, which is a very beautiful part of the world. I'm currently training here with uh the current world leading hept athlete, and I'm here for eight weeks training for the Commonwealth Games. So I wasn't planning to be here all like because it's quite expensive, but the opportunity came up and I couldn't say no. So yeah, that's where I am.

Glasgow Ambition And The Goal To Win

Conversationalist Sarah 32:08

Well, that's a really good prep for the Calm Game. So, what is what are your goals or like what's your Calm Games vision? Come on, tell me.

Guest Tori West 32:16

Yeah, to to be honest, I mean, I don't know if it's good to put goals up publicly, but I'll be honest.

Conversationalist Sarah 32:22

Because my goals being would say yes, okay, because that's how she won the gold medal, okay? So she's a yes to this.

Guest Tori West 32:28

It's to win, absolutely to win. Okay. I understand that that the my data profile, I understand the girls I'm competing against are very good. But I also know that I haven't connected together what I'd call my dream heptathlon. And you I know it's there, it's a matter of yet. Like all the foundations are there, I'm healthy, you know. I'm now in a really good training environment where someone's pushing me who's that damn good. So I, you know, my goal is to win. You know, for heptathlon, you just got to turn up on the day, you gotta be healthy, ready, and take advantage of the conditions, and it's anyone's game. Like, there's always speculators who go, oh, this one's got this score, and they did. I don't care. I'm turning up and I'll be ready. So my goal is to win.

Conversationalist Sarah 33:09

You're awesome. Yeah, yeah. Truly, I think um I've learned that from Nat as well, is that a lot of people are afraid to say it out loud because deep down, I don't hear this in you at all, actually. I think what she taught me was you have to also be ready for anything that comes. And that's what I feel with you. It's like I'm willing to go for that because I'm willing to also accept however it goes down. But to me, to place safe, to me, you're not a place safe person whatsoever. So thank you for sharing that with us. That's really cool. And with that, I mean, I actually am thinking, I don't even want to ask this because I actually know that this is not even gonna be you. But other people would be quite overwhelmed, possibly, with such a um, you know, dynamic business and a dynamic training schedule with big goals. Do you

Handling Overwhelm Through Perspective

Conversationalist Sarah 34:02

ever get overwhelmed, or what does that feel like for you to have two literally running two huge races at the same time?

Guest Tori West 34:08

Perhaps frequently I get overwhelmed. Okay. Yeah, many times. But the other thing is like I've realized this is where I said my brain is my biggest gift because I understand how to compartmentalize. I understand how to put things in a reality check. Like, for instance, when I feel the pressure, I go, stop. This is a privilege. Okay, no one's dying if this thing doesn't get done. Okay. Like there's a perception or sorry, a perspective you've got to adopt to be able to pull off this stuff. Like there are times where I literally will say to my team, if something horrible happens, you don't tell me. You guys are quick, you do it. I don't need to know right now because I have this focus right now to compete or whatever. And so we have those conversations. But the other thing is too, like, because of the life I've lived in the, you know, I have a very high risk tolerance, I guess is the word. I've been gradually exposed to levels of this as I've grown and matured. So it's like I feel conditioned. Like I'm I've just like some of the stuff I've gone through growing up put me in very hard situations where it's like most people be like, man, like I have no idea what to do, I have nowhere to fall back. But for me, I just remember going. All I need to know today is where I'm gonna sleep. What am I gonna eat tonight? That's it. What is right now? So through life, I've just sort of learnt the skills. Um, so you I I could say the story two ways. I could say the story was this happened to me, it was really bad, and I was a victim, and I was really like it was horrible. But the other perspective I said now is like I got put in the most harsh educational experience that led me to be the person I am to do what I'm doing now, which is why it's privilege. So so yes, I do still get overwhelmed, but at the same time, because of life experience, which is very I don't even know how to tell a story, but it's it's led it's enabled me to be able to handle this. Yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 35:55

Yeah, it's almost like you've yeah, you've copped some, you've copped punches. I know you've delivered them. Literally, I know I was like, oh, boxing analogy. Um I know you've delivered them too. But but yeah, it's it's really groomed you to be able to be ready um for this moment. And um so I think that's what makes it incredible.

Giving Back Through Regional Sport Support

Conversationalist Sarah 36:20

So I I can't miss this moment before I'm gonna ask you about you sponsored the North Queensland Games. Yes, like that is really freaking cool. Okay, so I just need to know why you did that because I think I want to showcase that about you. I think that's you have so many skills and so many talents, but I think I want to know about that.

Guest Tori West 36:44

Yes, well, for me, uh one saying I really love to live by, and this is something that has stuck with me through my life, because I really believe I've come from very humble beginnings, it's many aspects, is like, first of all, you never forget where you come from, right? When you go. And strength is made for service, meaning that once you get to a point where you've gained a lot and your strength and you have resources or whatever, your responsibility is not to say, look at me, look at me. It's like, how can I help? How can I give back? Because I've had this pathway. And so for me and my pathway, the North Queensland Sports Foundation was actually really supportive of me because I grew up in North Queensland, you know, they put on events which I participated in and I thought it was really good. And not only that, I worked for them. They were one of my first tech clients back in the day. So when I when I went all in on the Cong games in 2018, I quit my job at the bank eventually because I was like, all right, I need to focus. And I remember announcing that at a at an awards night. And then the CEO and the uh his wife was also in the office. Simone at the time uh worked in the office for NQSF. They approached me and she's like, Oh, well, do you want some work? Do you want a job? You know, she's and I was like, Yes, sure, you know, and so I looked up their organization, realized their website was crap, all their tech stuff was really bad. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna gut it all and I'm gonna redo it all for you. So they they supported me not only as an athlete, but they gave me an entrepreneurial opportunity to deliver. You know, they they got grant funding from the government, and so I learned about the whole acquittal process and how you justify things and how they want data. So I built the data collection um applications to send those reports to the government to keep it going. So I learned so much for that organization and I realized doing that report, doing what they're doing, the impact they have on regional sport. You start to learn about they run events, put brings tourism to the city, uh, helps local business. Like I understood, I started to understand things. So for me, when I had the opportunity to sponsor it and get involved, and based on my history, I was like, absolutely, because I understand and I want to give back. And it's not just about sponsoring it, but it's the connections that's saying, hey, this is what we're doing, and we're serious about helping athletes and no matter what level, it's not just Olympics and Olympians, it's hey, I want the kid who's doing his first, you know, uh 5k run or the kid who's doing his first soccer game. I don't care. An athlete's an athlete to me. Yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 39:04

Girl, and that is why you're an Aussie athlete fun great, because you have the heart of service, it's just amazing. I can't wait for a kid who's in those games to listen to your story on a deeper level if they don't already know it. And thank you so much for your exuberance. Like you're so just like natural and legit, and we need more of that in life. So thank you so much for all your contribution.

Guest Tori West 39:32

Thank you. Thank you for your questions and conversations.

Host Nat Cook 39:36

And

Aussie Athlete Fund Ways To Help

Host Nat Cook 39:37

that's a wrap on another episode of the Price You Pay podcast. We hope these stories move you to want to be part of these athletes' journeys. It is our mission at the Aussie Athlete Fund to create a sustainable funding model to support our athletes for both their financial well-being and the education to stimulate their own localized economy. To get involved, please visit our website at www.aussieathletfund.com and choose your impact. Whether that's as a corporate partner, teaming up with an athlete in our Million Dollar Challenge, buying a supporters' jersey, or signing up to host a great Aussie Athlete barbecue. Sharing the fund's mission or even an episode of this podcast is how we grow and expand the reach to better support these young athletes. Pressing the follow button means that you won't miss an episode. And giving us a great review is how these athletes' stories travel further afield. Be listening for the next captivating story of what it truly takes for these Aussie athletes to live their sporting dream.