Their Dreams Are A Family Business: How Taekwondo Star Mackenzie Macdonald Kicks Her Way to the Top

A 16-year-old can be ranked number one in Australia and still need her mum on the plane as a required chaperone. That’s the reality for junior elite sport, and it’s why Mackenzie McDonald’s Taekwondo journey is as much about logistics and family sacrifice as it is about medals.

We talk with Mackenzie and her mum, Christy, about what it takes to stay at the pointy end of high performance Taekwondo: third Dan gradings, the pressure of world-level competition, and the mindset that turns a painful loss into a plan. Mackenzie opens up about that razor edge between being friendly off the mat and being ruthless on it, plus the hard social trade-offs when school friends don’t understand why training always comes first.

Then we get into the unglamorous details that decide whether a talented athlete can keep going. As a rural athlete, Mackenzie clocks more than 700km a week just getting to training, and the family has made big changes including homeschooling for flexibility and reshaping work to cover travel and costs. We also dig into what the Aussie Athlete Fund teaches athletes about fundraising, storytelling, and building a personal brand so support becomes “back my journey,” not “help my parents cope.”

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Transcript

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Welcome To The Season

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. Woo!

Meet Mackenzie And The Chaperone Reality

Conversationalist Sarah 1:13

Today we sit down with a youngster who has already been competing for years. At only 16, Taekwondo athlete Mackenzie Mcdonald is a nine-time national champion, a 10-time international medalist, a third Dan Black Belt, a three-time Team Australia representative, and she just finished competing at the World Junior Championships in Uzbekistan. She's currently ranked number two nationally and is recognized as a Tier 1 high-performance athlete. Her travel schedule alone would put even a top-ranking corporate executive to shame. And she does it all while needing a chaperone. Being competitive at the highest level when you're a junior requires extra costs, like the requirement to fly a parent chaperone around the country and the world to that matter, to your events. Because McKenzie is a rural athlete, she travels by car for more than 700 kilometers a week while maintaining her studies and her rigorous training schedule. Did we mention that Mackenzie's brother Jackson is also a high-level motorsport athlete? So luckily we have Mum Kristy on the podcast today to find out how a family like this can actually make such a gruelling schedule feasible. Are there even enough hours in the day? Like the sacrifices must be immense. I can't wait to find out more about this extraordinary family and the incredible young woman who does it all with a turning kick and a perfectly timed headshot. I mean, I just used lingo. I did that. Um welcome, Mackenzie and Christy, to season four of the Price You Pay podcast. So welcome, ladies.

Mackenzie 2:48

Thank you very much. Thank you for having us.

Conversationalist Sarah 2:51

Were those the right terminology, Mackenzie?

Mackenzie 2:54

Um, there's a couple of stats that have now been bigger and better.

Conversationalist Sarah 2:59

Oh, amend them. Let's go. Let's tell them.

Mackenzie 3:02

I'm now a 12-time international medalist. Oh, jeez.

Conversationalist Sarah 3:06

Two more international okay, that's huge. Two more, yeah.

Mackenzie 3:09

And I'm now ranked number one nationally.

Conversationalist Sarah 3:12

Oh. Oh yeah, that's an important one, don't you think?

Mackenzie 3:16

I reckon, yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 3:17

I mean, well earned. Um thank you. And way to own it, because you should, you earned it. And this is, I wasn't planning on asking this, but are is everyone at your level necessarily a third non black belt like you are? Because I felt that was very high level in that way.

Mackenzie 3:35

It really depends on what part of the world you're from and what club you're from, even. I know that my club, Horse Taekwondo, they're very they still encourage the athletes to continue doing their gradings. So it's a stepping stone that they still have in their career outside of competing.

Conversationalist Sarah 3:52

Okay.

Mackenzie 3:53

Really depends.

Conversationalist Sarah 3:54

And each dan takes longer and longer, is that right?

Mackenzie 3:58

Yeah, that's correct. Yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 4:00

Well, for me, I I know a little bit about that part, and just that alone is um incredible. It it I always associate dance with wisdom. And so I can't wait to hear all that wisdom in a 16-year-old. So before we get stuck into all that, are you back in Victoria right now or are you still on the European tour that you were just on?

Mackenzie 4:22

Yes, I'm at home. I've been home in Melbourne for around three weeks now since returning from Uzbekistan.

Conversationalist Sarah 4:30

Okay.

Mackenzie 4:30

Yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 4:31

And is that how do you find that when you're traveling? Do you get jet lagged? How do you go when you're coming back?

Mackenzie 4:37

Um, coming back, I don't seem to have too much of an issue. Of course, there's still just a little bit of feeling a bit out of it. But there's one thing about me is I love to sleep. So we have no issues in that department of me getting to sleep.

Conversationalist Sarah 4:53

Oh, that is hilarious. Okay, I know others like you. So that is like a superpower. So well done. Um, so who traveled with you to Uzbekascent to the World Juniors?

Mackenzie 5:04

Mum came with me. Okay. So that was really good to have her there, just as a venting point, as just being able to say, Oh, Mom, I need your help, rather than being alone.

Conversationalist Sarah 5:17

Good on you. And like, surely dad won't listen to this, but is there a better chaperone between mum and dad?

Mackenzie 5:24

Oh, it really depends. I feel like mum's very, very much on top of it and getting everything done. Dad's just like, he's just more chill, relaxed, kicked back. He's like, Yeah, you got this sort of thing. So there's pros and cons to both of them.

Conversationalist Sarah 5:39

Like, I guess does dad say that until you've like missed your, you know, you're not at the competition at the right time, and then all of a sudden he ain't so cruzy.

Mackenzie 5:48

Or say I'm the one that would get frustrated with that. I'd be like, Dad, let's go. Come on, come on, blue, yeah, relax, let's go.

Conversationalist Sarah 5:55

I just had that vision as well. There's a very funny bluey episode. Um, not that you watch blue anymore, but there's a very funny episode about the the organized mom and the chill dad.

Mackenzie 6:06

So yeah, very much case, yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 6:08

I love

How Taekwondo Became A Family Anchor

Conversationalist Sarah 6:09

it. Okay, Christy. Yes, talk to us. I mean, how did this taekwondo journey begin?

Mum Kristy 6:16

Okay, so this journey started maybe coming up close to 10 years ago now. Okay, she was very close to 10 years. So McKenzie will be arriving at her 10-year milestone for taekwondo this October.

Speaker 3 6:31

Correct.

unknown 6:32

Okay.

Mum Kristy 6:32

So that sort of goes to answering a little bit about the Dan's and the amount of time and investment goes into securing a black belt and then developing upon that. So that's how McKenzie has Dan is that consistently applying herself and moving through the various grading opportunities we have at the club. Um, but it all started for us. We have um Mackenzie's brother Jackson, he's a mover and a shaker, hence the motorsport side of things. Um, but it was something that we could do together for both children. So Jackson was maybe four, McKenzie was about six years old. Um, we investigated a few opportunities sort of in our area, and we found ourselves fortunately um at Hall's Taekwondo. We spent a good couple of hours there just walking through the center and meeting all the instructors and played some games. And my question to Mackenzie was, What do you think? And her answer was, It feels like home.

Conversationalist Sarah 7:41

Oh wow. Straight away.

Mum Kristy 7:43

Yeah, straight away. And we just knew. So for us, it was about both children, and it was about Jackson being able to get involved in taekwondo, moving around, you know, doing obstacle courses and doing little ninja kicks, um, and Mackenzie to move through her black belt cycle. Um, and very quickly, uh, within the space of a year and a half, two years, she moved to Pensa.

Mackenzie 8:07

Yeah, also uh second damn black belt. Oh, no, and so is my dad as well.

Conversationalist Sarah 8:13

Okay, snaps, mum. You avoided that.

Mum Kristy 8:16

Well, we I was getting to that part of the story. So the kids got involved and they're loving it, and we're a term into the cycle, and my husband's sitting there going, I'm bored, I think I'm gonna join up. I'm like, oh, good for you, great, excellent. And a term later after that, I joined up as well because the adults class just looked so much fun, and it was amazing. So, yes, all four of us move through.

Conversationalist Sarah 8:45

That is really interesting. And is that helpful in some ways? Like, I'm thinking about how cool it must be to in some ways speak all speak the same language when it comes to taekwondo and maybe even the the values, you know, the underneath um messages that Taekwondo is probably giving out. Um yeah, that's actually quite interesting as a family. Does that help, Christy?

Mum Kristy 9:09

100%. So um absolutely the values um and you know, doing things with purpose, making good choices, apart from you know, some of those self-defense aspects that you learn about practically in the class, the messaging through martial arts for us was really important. And it's just a nice anchor to have. And when you're got two youngsters coming through school and they might have dynamics at school in the schoolyard, or in the even just through family and in the home environment, you can anchor back and refer to terminology that was used that we're all familiar with. Um and that really, yeah, really important for the family.

Conversationalist Sarah 9:58

I was thinking that would be really special, actually. The yeah, the values that you want to instill in other areas. And so when did Christy, when did you notice that it was a little extra for Mackenzie? So obviously everyone's doing it together, fun, fun, fun. When did you see that she might have a little obsession here in a good way? Like that it's extra for her.

Mum Kristy 10:22

For me, it was Mackenzie's very um studious and applies herself very well to anything that she does. So, you know, we love watching her and seeing her progress. Um, but it was actually uh instructors from the club that came to us and said, We see something here, we'd like to move her through some of the um more specialized programs. Um, and in fact, um McKenzie's first foray into competition was in the um discipline of Pumse. So if you think about the karate and the kata and the patterns that they do, Pumsei is the taekwondo version of that. So McKenzie's first foray into competition was in that aspect.

Conversationalist Sarah 11:11

Interesting. So they came to you. So then, McKenzie, from your point of view, you're just doing what you do, you apply yourself. Could you identify, or maybe even now, can you? What do you love most about it? I mean, you did say you knew it was home at the beginning, but why continue? What was it about Taekwondo that got your heart?

Obsession With Winning And Handling Loss

Mackenzie 11:33

So I feel like the answer changes from when I was younger to now. Being younger, freshly started competing. I didn't win my first competition, and I wasn't very happy with that. That's one thing about me is I love to win no matter what it is. It's like our family, like our household, it's all very competitive. Just like, oh, do you win cross-country at school? Be like, oh, you got second. Oh, what the heck was that? Right? It's just always very playful, and everyone just wants to win.

Speaker 3 12:05

Got it.

Mackenzie 12:05

So as a kid, I lost, and I'm like, like, no, I'm not gonna stop competing until I win, right? So I just I just had to, and I just I love the environment, and it was just the way that you got to display how hard that you've worked and like what you've trained for, that was very special to me. And I feel like now, given that I've been to the absolute pinnacle of the sport besides Olympics, three world championships, it it changes a little bit. It's rather than it being a showcase of my talent and how hard I've worked, it's more about I'm just so obsessed with winning that I just can't, I just can't stop. And it it sounds silly, but I just can't stop unless I win.

Conversationalist Sarah 12:54

So, what happens for you when you lose?

Mackenzie 12:56

I get really, really, really angry. Yeah, and then I just turn it into so much determination. Like there's something about me is I always remind myself I will never lose to the same person twice.

Conversationalist Sarah 13:10

Oh, cool.

Mackenzie 13:11

Okay, just always if I like my plan right now, I lost to a two-time world champion at the world championships. Yeah, I'm going to train and I'm going to hunt, and I'm gonna find her, and I'm going to beat her.

Conversationalist Sarah 13:24

What country is she from?

Mackenzie 13:25

She's from Chinese Taipei.

Conversationalist Sarah 13:27

Oh, perfect. You can just hunt her down all the way in Chinese Taipei. And you're probably dreaming about what moves you're gonna do on her. Yep. And she is over there sleeping, she doesn't even know what's coming.

Mum Kristy 13:42

You're gonna come back for her. And I think um, aside from the competitiveness and the the drive, you can tell from the discussion Mackenzie has an innate drive, yeah, is that it's such a lovely, friendly environment where we train, yeah, and there's so many like-minded people, and it's not that they're all super competitive, but that everyone just wants to do their own very best, yeah. And it's a really positive place to be around and positive people to be around. And that's okay.

Conversationalist Sarah 14:18

Let's I want to talk about this. Both of you can chime in here because um I think that's a a really cool thing around how you can want to win so much against, let's say, let's use this girl that's um you're you're dreaming about currently. How do you manage Mackenzie to be want to win so much against her? And then mom's describing this environment of support and jovial once the competition's over. How do you like manage those two feelings or experiences?

Mackenzie 14:51

I would say a lot of it is like my family support support. So rather than me being like focused and super determined, not speaking a word to anyone during training, everyone everyone just gets it. So most of my best friends are from Taekwondo because I don't have any issues with like oh yeah, I'm not gonna be here because I'm at I'm at training. They all just understand, even if I get a little bit angry, they'll know that it's because I like winning. Yes, and everyone is the same as me. They just like they want to win, but everyone supports each other and is happy, and everyone is just happy to be there, getting better.

Conversationalist Sarah 15:34

Even the internationals, do you guys like talk to each other? The other athletes from different countries. Let's say this girl might not speak English, I'm not sure, but let's say the English-speaking countries, do you all hang out?

Mackenzie 15:46

Um, yes, as much as we can at different competitions. Matter of fact, my best friend, like my most best friend, yeah, she lives in America and is on the US national team.

Conversationalist Sarah 15:56

So I have so you can want to beat her um and yet be her best friend.

Mackenzie 16:03

Yes, we are in separate weight categories. Okay. So it eliminates that sort of direct competition.

Conversationalist Sarah 16:10

Yeah.

Mackenzie 16:11

But I did actually fight one of my friends at the world championships, who was also from America, which that definitely in my mind was like, oh, she's my friend.

Speaker 3 16:21

Uh-huh.

Mackenzie 16:23

The second that I was actually there about to fight, to me, she's not my friend, she's my opponent. Oh, good to see you. So we haven't like we don't speak every day, it's not that sort of thing, it's just like we know each other when I'm friends, but there was no sort of awkwardness after. It was just sort of congratulations, yes, I'm upset. But that little bit.

Conversationalist Sarah 16:48

Thank you for that. I'm I these are self-serving questions a little bit because my daughter at 10 is sort of going through what nice looks like and what competitive, and and it's interesting, like the world delivers you lots of information around, you know, maybe you have to hate them to beat them. But what I'm hearing from you is I love that distinction. She's my opponent, and out of respect, I'm gonna give her every single thing I've trained for. And I I just yeah, thank you for that message because sometimes I think, especially with girls, it gets a little tricky because they think it's not kind or it's not nice. But to me, I see it as really respectful.

Mackenzie 17:30

Yeah, especially at such a high level. Um, given it, um let's use the world championships as an example. We're both there to win. We both know what it takes to win, and we both just understand that we have to do what we have to do, and whoever comes out on top is the better fighter on the day. So I feel like it's a somewhat of a maturity level for both ends because you could have someone that was just that just doesn't want to be your friend anymore because you beat them, which I have experienced with my teammates in the past. I have experienced that they just don't want to talk to me anymore because I beat them. Yeah, but it really, it really does depend. But often when you do get to a high level, they just understand that you have to do what you have to do, and you're not just gonna let them win because you have you're friends with them.

Conversationalist Sarah 18:17

That's an actually really interesting thing you just said there, because that's been my experience as well. At the lower level, sometimes there's more cattiness, there's more, it's a little more immature. And as you ascend, yeah, you're almost on more similar journey. So everyone gets it. And I think until you live that, you don't know that. You think, oh my gosh, I don't want friends like abandoning me. I don't, you don't realize it actually gets a bit better as you ascend. So yeah, yeah, good one. Okay, I forgot about that. So thank

Homeschooling For Training And Travel

Conversationalist Sarah 18:50

you. So, Christy, I mean, the glaring question is like, how does McKenzie manage school training and all that darn travel?

Mum Kristy 18:59

Okay. Um, there's lots of layers to that question. So um feel free to interject. Um because of the way McKenzie has moved through and progressed through the sport, as well as the complexity of having Jackson moving and progressing through his sport, it has been a matter of a lot of thinking and a lot of forward planning. So a lot of um bit of a leap of faith in that we decided to homeschool. Um and that was for a number of reasons, but a primary driver for that was around building some flexibility into our home life and our lifestyle, so that we could, should the opportunity arise, should someone knock on the door and we are able to grab something with both reins, then we could. Um it was creating that time and space, you know, when you look at the amount of travel that Mackenzie needs to do to get to the high performance centres for her training, the the travel time for myself or my husband to get her there. Um, we're in a situation where the public transport doesn't allow us to get her safely to where we need to get to, so it requires the drive. Um, so homeschool was one of those answers.

Conversationalist Sarah 20:30

And what age, what age did that start, Christy?

Mum Kristy 20:33

Uh McKenzie was year eight. Year nine, year nine.

Mackenzie 20:36

Started in 2025. So very simple. Okay.

Mum Kristy 20:40

Yeah. Um and Jackson was year seven.

Mackenzie 20:44

Got it.

Speaker 3 20:44

Correct.

Mum Kristy 20:45

Yeah. Um, and for me personally, needing to put my career, you know, change tact a little bit as well. So I'm now working from home. Um means that I'm with the kids every day, um, as long as they're not out traveling. Um, but again, it was about building flexibility into the schedule. Um my husband Glenn runs his own business, so that again builds some flexibility into the scheduling and the lifestyle. Um, so yeah, to to juggle it all, we've had to make some difficult choices and it comes at a cost. Um, but we see it that you know they're they're with us for a short time, you know, till 18, 19, and they're wanting to drive their own cars and and and spread their wings even further. Is that the investment now is most important to us?

Conversationalist Sarah 21:37

Love that. That's really cool. Thank you for sharing that and how resourceful you were as a family to work that out. And that has me instantly wanting to know, um, McKenzie, how it goes for you around friendships. And, you know, it's only just started that you're not going to school every day. So, what are your friends? Think about your commitment to sport. Are they being homeschooled as well? Are they all from Taekwondo? Like, do you feel you miss out on things? How does that whole thing go?

Mackenzie 22:09

Um, I don't normally go out of my comfort zone with my friend groups. I've had a few very, very close friends that I've had since I was eight years old and we've just grown up together. So majority of my friends are from the Taekwondo space because I have struggled with school friends not understanding what I do.

Speaker 3 22:30

Got it.

Mackenzie 22:31

So I would say, especially starting high school, year seven, year eight, they would be like, Oh, do you want to go to a party with me? Or can we go out on the weekend? And always be, I can't, I have competition, I can't, I have training. And they'll be like, Oh, okay. And it got to the point where they stopped inviting me.

Speaker 3 22:48

Got it.

Mackenzie 22:49

So that obviously as a 13-year-old, 12-year-old, you'd feel pretty hurt by that. So I would say with school friends, I was never super close with them because I couldn't understand them to such a deep level. Whereas my Taekwondo friends could understand me to the deepest level. So with my Taekwondo friends, we've grown up together. And like I mentioned before, they all just get it. So and it's not like, oh, do you want to hang out on Saturday? Oh wait, we both have training. It's like we'll figure it out and they understand the busyness. Some of them, I know my overseas friends, they do online school as well. Um the athletes from my club, they do still go to in-person school.

Speaker 3 23:39

Yeah.

Mackenzie 23:40

But there's they've all had arrangements around that. Some go to sport academies that again, they would understand that. Others are more public school where it's not as I would say strict as where I've come from, being I've come from private school. Um, and yeah, I know that they manage it by doing studies while they're traveling. They would block out in between training sessions, block out an hour to go smash out schoolwork in the hotel lobby or something like that.

Conversationalist Sarah 24:10

Wow, I love that. Thank you for your very thoughtful person. I can hear how you're describing all that, and I can hear the maturity. Um, because these are things that yeah, adults are kind of working through in their own friendships and who do you want to be around and why? And for example, I remember when I would get invited to parties, I used to love that I could say I was part of practice because I didn't want to go to the party. This is I think there's this impression that we're missing out. And I used to say to mom, mom, you know, say I have a commitment because I didn't want to go. So it's funny how when you're kind of moving towards the thing that you love and you're passionate about, it doesn't feel like missing out, but it does require a bit of like fine-tuning, like who you choose, and like you say, when you don't get invited, that can feel you can feel things for sure. So thank you for that. I appreciate how you've described that.

Mackenzie 25:07

Yeah, I'll have one more thing as well. Yes, um, if you don't mind. Please. About like feeling like missing out. Sometimes it is like, oh, a bit of a bummer. But then when you put into perspective how many people my age are going overseas and competing for what they love most in the world. So when I think about it, it's like, oh, what am I really missing out on?

Conversationalist Sarah 25:30

Like let me tell you nothing. But I did just admit that I wasn't that party. Yeah, I didn't love the party. So everyone, you're right, everyone is different, and and you know, that's right. Like for some, I did never, I never did see anybody specialize in partying later in life. Not gonna lie, they don't become professional parties. Well, that's another thing, but you know, ultimately, um, yeah, thank you for your maturity and your honesty.

The Real Cost And Smarter Fundraising

Conversationalist Sarah 26:00

Because, you know, mom, when I'm thinking about the flexibility and how you've, as a family, made some concessions, you working from home, um, what has the financial cost been? So, two kids at high in high-level sport, like how do you pay for all this?

Mum Kristy 26:20

We love the Aussie Athlete Fund and learning how to fundraise.

Conversationalist Sarah 26:24

It's great.

Mum Kristy 26:27

Yeah. But it what it has done is again, it's about like minds and people with similar stories and all rowing in the same direction. It's helping to give framework to things. So for me to step away from on-site full-time work was a considerable financial cost to move into what I am doing now. Um, but at the same time, I have the most supportive work environment, and I can work anywhere in the world. So I can grab my laptop, go, and still have a consistent income, even though it's not what we have had previously, but that's the choice, and they're the concessions that we've made. In terms of you know, my husband's work, um, moving from an employee status to being a business owner, yeah, has has been a shift, but he too comes at a cost. So if he does need to accompany Mackenzie or, in particular, Jackson, at his race events, we need to shut the doors to that business. And there is no income. So that that's the cost there. Um we have been very fortunate with sponsors and donors for, in particular, Jackson's motorsport. Um, there's a greater opportunity for people. Um, you know, there's television coverage in some cases, and there's more opportunity in terms of that type of generation of income. Um, but in taekwondo, it's far more restricted. So um lesser opportunities, but through leave learnings and these, you know, masterclasses that we're going through, we're looking at and we're discovering all the time, there is always an opportunity. There's always a little, oh, what could we do here? Almost a loophole that you can find. Yeah, it's and and at the end of the day, you know, McKenzie's building confidence and knowledge and and and working through all of these things. So I don't know that I really directly answered your question. So if I've missed anything, fire back.

Conversationalist Sarah 28:45

I reckon you you answer two and one, even. I was like thinking bonus round there, because with what mom just said, McKenzie, what would you what are you surprised about in the Aussie Athlete fun teaching? Because she kind of alluded to the masterclass and like the things that you're learning. What have you been surprised about fundraising? I'm just there's a mom has kind of like evoked a thought, but I'm curious. Um before I say it, I want to know from you. What have you learned so far?

Mackenzie 29:15

Um, I was never really in touch with fundraising pretty much at all. That was just handed off to you, you got sorted. Um, I learned a lot about what I can do as an athlete and how I can promote myself. And like Nat has always said, my story and me sharing my story. So I've learned a lot about ways that I can use social media, I can talk to people using different phrases that I've heard people pick up that's really stuck and really landed. Um, it's helped me a lot more about yeah, telling my story and promoting my brand myself, rather than it being Mum saying, Oh, can you fundraise for my daughter? It's me saying, Can you fundraise for my journey?

Mum Kristy 30:07

And oh wow, that's so cool. That's been real Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. It's um I think it's an interesting point because again, when you think about the age of the child and the athlete and their drive, it's been a real balance of Mackenzie having her own voice. You know, we've got social media laws now that we, you know, didn't have a couple of years ago. Lots of things that have changed and evolved, and something that we pride ourselves on as a family and have great value in is that our children get to speak for themselves. Having these frameworks helps guide them in a safe way and an encouraging way, and with best practice principles behind it, yeah, and allowing McKenzie to step up and learn more about herself. And these are skills that sounds cliche, but these are skills for life, these are things that she can apply 10, 15 years down. Yeah.

Conversationalist Sarah 31:09

And that's what I was um, yeah, you took the words out of my mouth, and that's why I'm so glad I asked you that, McKenzie, because this is in my sporting journey where I started to realize that this was like bigger than just my sport, that these ideas around storytelling and branding and all of that kind of stuff, you you'll start to see how there'll be other things that you love in life, and that these are gonna be really important things that you bring to that next passion project, or your dad having his own business, you realize, oh wow, dad has to tell the story of this business. Like the same stuff. And from what I've been gathering around AI, more and more importantly is gonna be like your community, your like ability to be able to tell your own story. People are gonna be so hungry for that because the robot ain't gonna be telling your story, you know. Like, and so I I I think more and more also tacking you into how important financial help is to every time, you know, when you're in Uzbekistan, the plane doesn't magically pay for itself, you know, it's kind of this like realization, oh boy, I have to be this is part of it. I'm actually a businesswoman. Oh, who knew, you know? And and I remember that really distinctly. And you're still quite young, so you're doing great to know this at 16. But I had my um playing partner was a business major, and I used to think, oh, that's not me. I don't do that. I do psychology, you know? And then I realized, oh no, I do do that. That's part of my sport. That is actually like networking, like keeping the business cards, calling the people, you know, all those skills are just part of it. So, anyways, you become your business. So there you go, 16-year-olds. Tell your friends who are partying that one. Awesome. Very cool. Well,

Siblings Chasing Big Sporting Dreams

Conversationalist Sarah 33:10

I have one last question, and we haven't, well, Mackenzie, you haven't talked about your brother much. So I want to know are you competitive with him? So, firstly, you're both in Taekwondo. So, firstly, did you used to beat him repeatedly in Taekwondo? Well, that's my first question.

Mackenzie 33:28

So goodness. Um, we never really trained together. Okay. Him being so much younger than me. Um when we did get to fight each other, it got heated, to put it that way.

Conversationalist Sarah 33:43

Oh, it's spicy, okay.

Mackenzie 33:45

Even now, given he's moved away from the tackle and dosing and is into road racing, I will still just be minding my own business in the kitchen and get kicked.

Conversationalist Sarah 33:55

So isn't it annoying?

Mackenzie 33:58

It is what it is, but it was we've never been competitive as such, like, oh, I'm better than you because I just won nationals. It's never been like a toxic competitiveness, it's always been like a playful competitiveness. And it's just like, oh, well, I've been to worlds, get on my level. Like that sort of playfulness.

Conversationalist Sarah 34:19

I love that good distinction: playful versus toxic. Very good, very cool distinction there. Do you ever see him compete? Do you ever watch him?

Mackenzie 34:30

Um, I do when I get the opportunity to. He's mostly moved into the international racing space at the moment.

Speaker 3 34:39

Okay.

Mackenzie 34:39

So whenever he is racing domestically, I do try my best to come and see him given my commitments. Yeah, and yeah, that's most of it. I've gone to Spain to see him race once. Okay. That's because there was a deal on the plane tickets, so might as well. Um, and that was definitely really interesting to go overseas and see his racing differentiation from domestic and international because you could ask anyone in the taekwondo scene. It is so different, international and domestic. So it was really interesting to see that comparison in a different sport as well.

Conversationalist Sarah 35:17

Got it. And what do you think, Mackenzie, is the benefit of having two of you chasing your dreams?

Mackenzie 35:25

It's not it's a very, very big benefit. I think I definitely say that because it's not like I'm off overseas, overseas, and he's just here at home with the superstar sister. Um we both we both get it. It's similar to the like we both understand what it takes. We both we go on runs together, we do strength stuff together sometimes. It's like we both just understand in that sense. Like I don't understand racing to his extent. He doesn't understand taquono to my extent, but we both just understand if after race weekend or after comp weekend, we just need to sleep a long time. We just understand the pressure of it. Yes, we're always there for each other. If we're nervous about something, he will come to me and just be like, Oh, I'm a bit nervous. I'm like, Yeah, I'm a bit nervous going to his Pakistan too. It's okay.

Conversationalist Sarah 36:26

That's very cool. I I love how you normalize it for each other. I think that's a really special thing, too, because then when you get to competition, like you said, it's normal to be nervous, it's normal to be tired, like all that stuff that maybe some like some of your friends that aren't in Taekwondo, for example, didn't really get. And so, and even your parents, you know, being in even your sport is really cool. So I have loved this conversation. I really appreciate your perspectives, McKenzie, and your capacity to storytell and mom, how you round each other out is really beautiful. And you really are a superstar family. So thank you so much for representing yourselves so beautifully.

Mackenzie 37:09

Thank you. Thank you so much for having us as well. Thank you. Thank you.

How You Can Back Aussie Athletes

Host Nat Cook 37:13

You're welcome. And 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 localised 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.