definitely kept me on the right path . From there I moved into Muay Thai at the age of 17 , then into kickboxing and boxing at 21 , and I turned pro at 22 .”
He has an impressive record in the ring – at the time of writing he had won all nine boxing matches , two out of three Muay Thai fights , and 43 out of 46 kickboxing bouts . He has also won various titles , at both amateur and pro level in boxing and kickboxing , and he says his fitness is one of his biggest strengths when it comes to fighting . “ I have always jogged for fitness for my fighting sports , but I had never done it as a serious sport . I used to do it as a warm-up , with a lot of sprints followed by a 5km jog , before I would do my CrossFit , weight training and body weight training . However , I recently started running more , because my training stops on Fridays , and I found that by Sunday I was so full of energy that I would go for a 21km run just for fun – without timing myself , just running in the mountains .”
“ The running bug has definitely bitten me . It ’ s really fun , and it also helps me stay in peak physical shape for fighting , especially to maintain my weight ahead of fights . I fight in the 75kg division , but on a normal day I walk around at 83kg , so doing all these races is keeping my weight down , and motivating me to keep my diet 100 % clean . When I run , I can feel what my body is capable of , and literally feel every muscle in my body working . And when I race , I get tested against a lot of other people , and at the end of the race there is a really rewarding feeling .”
LIGHTS , CAMERA , ACTION
Besides being a pro fighter and personal trainer , Ashley is kept fairly busy with stunt and acting work in Cape Town ’ s growing film industry . He got into stunt work in 2013 when he went for an audition for the mini-series , Of Kings and Prophets , and had to do fitness and reaction tests as part of the audition . “ That ’ s where I got my first job , and then more followed . I was then signed by The Stunt Network , and I ’ ve worked on various productions , including 24 Hours to Live , Samson , a French production called The First Man , and most recently Scorpion King 5 .”
Unsurprisingly , Ashley is involved in a lot of fight scenes , but also does high falls , horse riding and other stunts . “ It ’ s often high-risk work , but the stunt team sticks together and that makes the team work good . It ’ s very exciting work , and you get to meet a lot of people – the make-up people , the camera team , the actors , the
casting people , and the stunt team . You also get to learn a lot about all the countries the people come from .”
Looking ahead , Ashley says the long-term plan is to open a sport centre for fitness , martial arts and stunt training , with girlfriend Robin bringing her dietetics training on board as well , but for now he is focused on his fighting career and stunt work , with plenty more running and OCR events thrown into the mix . “ I enjoy challenging myself in running , because it ’ s another way to test my abilities as an athlete , so I ’ m definitely going to keep doing races and try stay with the top guys . I ’ m now checking the calendar for trail and road running events , and looking forward to the next IMPI , Warrior and Grind events . I ’ m going to run a lot and specifically prepare for obstacles , and then see how I do .”
GARBIE Supports Runners …
So support the company that
is helping us to # runclean
In conjunction with Modern Athlete ’ s # runclean campaign , GARBIE from East Rand Plastics is providing free fold-up cardboard bins and plastic bin liners to races that register as a # runclean event and make an effort to do something about the plastic litter being left on the roads by runners .
East Rand Plastics is one of Africa ’ s largest manufacturers of refuse bags , from light duty household to heavy duty garden and industrial requirements , all marketed under the GARBIE brand and many individual house brands . These refuse bags are manufactured using recycled materials and ensuring the reuse of resources and the protection of our delicate environment .
GARBIE is the household name for refuse bags and available at all leading retail stores in South Africa and surrounds . So , next time you ’ re at the shops and stocking up on refuse bags , support the company that supports runners .
To register your running event as a # runclean race and receive free GARBIE bins , go to http :// modernathlete . co . za / bf . php ? fid = 287 or sign up via the link on www . facebook . com / runclean . ( As from the 1 st of August 2017 , only events that display the GARBIE logo on their entry forms and website will qualify for FREE bins .)
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