By Lucy Roberts
Broadcaster Aimee Fuller has a jam-packed life and when reading everything she’s done so far it’s hard to see how she fits it all in – live TV presenter, podcaster, author, trained yoga instructor – and this is all after her career as an Olympic snowboarder.
Nick Eagle BBC Creative
Fuller hung up her competitor bib four years ago after the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics and has been addicted to working in live television ever since as it gives her the same adrenaline boost, just without the danger.
The 30-year-old spoke to Female First about her passion for live TV, explained how she juggles everything in her life and revealed what fans can expect from her YouTube series which she has with her best friend Katya Jones from Strictly Come Dancing.
Q) Why did you want to go into snowboarding?
A) Growing up I did lots of different sports, I was really outdoorsy as a child, I used to rollerblade, we did motor cross, and I did gymnastics for a couple of years. I absolutely loved gymnastics and what you could do with your body. But I discovered snowboarding, and what I liked with snowboarding was there was no rules, there was a lot of room for creativity, there was no right or wrong and I think I fell in love with the element of progression which you also have in gymnastics, sort of like the no rule approach and the freedom you can have on a mountain.
Q) And you presented some of BBC’s coverage throughout the Winter Olympics, so was the transition between competing and presenting tough or seamless?
A) Basically, at my second Olympics I had the opportunity to do a little bit more with the BBC when I was out there in the competition, and I really enjoyed expressing myself through the media outlets during my career and I love the buzz of live television. Pretty much the minute I hung up my competition bib in Pyeongchang, the last four years I have just directed all my attention and energy into manifesting a career in broadcasting which is essentially what I’m doing now. I just love the buzz of live television; I think it replicates the same sort of kick that I used to get out of snowboarding except it’s far less dangerous. You’ve got that same sense that anything can happen when you’re live on air and I suppose I crave that mini adrenaline rush, but I’m definitely attracted to the fact that there’s way less danger.
Q) You also host the Monday Mile podcast, so how did that come about and what is it like to be able to chat to a variety of people?
A) For me that’s also what I love about broadcast is the conversation and connecting with different people. I think through good conversation you can learn so much. The theory behind Monday Mile was it was all about the way we transitioned out of lockdown, we spent so much time in front of computer screens and sedentary and stationary, so the minute we were allowed to go out and meet a friend in the park I saw it as an opportunity to take the conversation outside away from the screen and inspire people to plug in and walk and move with us. It’s essentially a moving podcast projecting forward energy and I tap into various sports people, celebrities, doctors, people excelling in their field and have conversations around their little life hacks and routines.
Q) What is you book Fear Less Live More about and why did you want to write it?
A) The concept came up a few years ago but I did a marathon in North Korea, a documentary for the Olympic channel in 2019 and I found that the experience with no phone and the experience of running a marathon really stemmed good conversation. I found myself speaking out loud mentally in the way that I dealt with things and I think this book is a great opportunity for me to share the little life hacks through my career as a professional athlete and the things I’ve done outside of sport to help you approach your fears and be fearless in the pursuit of chasing your goals because it doesn’t matter if it goes wrong, it’s about how you pick yourself back up and reapproach it. It’s an open page guide as to how to manifest and approach your dreams.
Q) You went e-foiling on the river Thames last year, so what was that like and were you nervous before doing it?
A) That was an idea I came up with and I pitched to a long-standing partner of mine, essentially, I’d seen these e-foils and I thought it would be a really cool thing to do, to do something no-one has ever done and take one straight up the middle of the Thames in the middle of London. It was actually really scary, I definitely not going to lie, I’m not fearless by any doubt and I think the crazy thing about that project was everyone sees it and they were like, ‘Wow you make that look really easy,’ but a lot went into that and that’s the art of really putting your attention and energy into something. I did it in a leather jacket and managed not to fall in.
Q) You manage to fit in so many different things into your life with the podcast, TV broadcasting, e-foiling and also, you’re a trained yoga instructor, so how do you maintain your passion for all of this?
A) I think that’s the thing is I don’t just do one thing; my passion really lies within broadcast so everything I’m doing I’m channelling my energy towards that. I also have a lot of love for movement, keeping fit and healthy and that’s why I did my yoga teacher training to deepen my own knowledge. I don’t teach, I don’t have the time to teach but I do the occasional event and I like to share my knowledge and my experience and how yoga has helped me through my career as an athlete. It’s not like I do all these things all of the time, my energy is directly focussed on my broadcast career which is radio and television primarily and then all of the other things are then kind of just fun on the side.
Q) Talking of fun on the side, you also have a YouTube series with your friend Katya Jones from Strictly Come Dancing, so why did you want to start that and what does the future hold for the series?
A) Essentially that’s come about because Katya is my best friend, we do everything together and any opportunity to spend more time together we’ll find a way. I think for both of us it’s a great way to showcase what we are outside of what people see us as. So, for me people see me primarily still as a snowboarder and I’ve not competed in four years and Katya of course she’s known for Strictly Come Dancing and I think it’s a really nice outlet for us to both showcase our skill set, have a lot of fun and we want to do more together so again it’s a way of manifesting those opportunities.
It’s a really fun series, we’ve done loads of different things so far and we’re only looking to develop and expand on that so this is kind of the starting blocks, we’ve got six episodes in the bag, but we will be doing more so watch this space.