The Queanbeyan model inspiring other mums to “be who they truly want to be”
Queanbeyan model, vlogger and bodybuilder Naomi Taylor is building a big online community – all with the aim of inspiring women to live the life they truly dream of.
The Instagram influencer is a covergirl in the US and began sharing her weight loss and bodybuilding journey online two years ago. She was in “a bad place” in 2021, she says, after losing her mum to cancer.
“I was spiralling out of control; eating to numb the pain of my grief,” Naomi says.
Left: Naomi in 2021. Right: Naomi in 2022.
“2020 was one of the worst years for me and my family, losing my Nan, and nine months later losing my mum.
“I fell into a very very deep depression, and I would eat to combat the way that I was feeling. I’d order takeaway food, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and I’d order a bottle of wine a night, just to check out and forget about reality.
“One day I had an epiphany; maybe a sign from my mum.
“I bent over to pick something up and I couldn’t catch my breath and I thought ‘what am I doing with my life? I have a son and I need to be here to look after him’.
“I wasn’t in a good space at that time and I was like, ‘I really need to change this’, and that’s when I looked at really overhauling my life.”
Naomi’s mum and inspiration, Anne (left), and Naomi woking hard at the gym (right).
Naomi reached out to coach Jenifer Lee who specialises in holistic health and natural bodybuilding. Jenifer created a program customised to Naomi that involved working out for two hours, five days a week; undertaking a rigorous weight training program, along with a controlled diet.
After nine months of hard work, Naomi had lost more than 30 kilograms. Her self confidence started to lift and her mindset around diet and exercise was totally transformed. She competed in the ICN ACT Title, a natural bodybuilding competition, in September 2022, receiving 6th place in the newcomers category.
“I had nine months to get on stage and I just said ‘I’m going to do this’,” she says.
“It’s a marathon. Rome wasn’t built in a day and to naturally build muscle takes years, but I wanted to prove to myself that when you’re in a low point you can come back and build a better life, no matter how low or what point you’re at.”
Naomi competing in the ACT ICN Title, just nine months into her bodybuilding journey.
Naomi is mum to eight-year-old William, a cheeky young man who loves playing video games and powerchair soccer. William was born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a rare genetic disorder that affects the part of the nervous system controlling muscle movement.
Naomi says that raising a child with a disability hasn’t been without its challenges, but the community has been supportive of change to make the city more accessible to all. She hopes to forge the way forward for other people with additional needs.
“Queanbeyan is a wonderful place to bring up a child,” she says.
“Obviously when it comes to people with disabilities, more can be done to make things accessible and better, there is always room for the community to improve.
“I’ve been on the Disability Committee with council for four years. We look at projects coming up or infrastructure changes and we have a say on it. So we look at it and might think, ‘What about someone with a wheelchair? Is there enough turning space?
“Or someone who needs parking with a side entry or back entry. We’ve had some challenges with different spaces to accommodate William’s needs, but I hope that will help other families in the future, and make it easier for them”.
Naomi with son William on his first day of Year 2.
Naomi’s bodybuilding and modelling pictures have attracted an audience of almost 14,000 followers on Instagram and she has recently ventured into vlogging, creating short video diaries of local events and people that spark her interest.
She’s already featured Burger Hero, the Queanbeyan Rodeo, Walk With Me (a mental health initiative) as well as some behind-the-scenes content on her modelling shoots. She hopes her content will open people’s minds and help them understand different viewpoints.
Naomi on a modelling shoot earlier this year.
“With COVID-19 I feel like people have kind of become cocooned within their homes, and stick to themselves more, there’s still almost this fear of going outside or experiencing new things,” Naomi says.
“I was like, I want to go out and explore and vlog things and see new people and places, see the weird and the wonderful … things that sometimes might be a little bit taboo, you know hot topics and things like that.”
Naomi on a modelling shoot in 2022.
Naomi is currently working on several modelling projects and is also working hard on building muscle to compete in the WBFF (World Beauty Fitness Fashion Comp) in Sydney in 2024.
“Way back in my twenties I used to do a whole bunch of promotional modelling, for events with brands like Midori, Jagermeister and Red Bull.
“I went to the old Mooseheads and Bar 32, and did quite a few bikini comps like Miss Snow Bunny and Miss V8. I love modelling, it’s like another world for me, I immerse myself in it and I absolutely love it. I have a shoot in May with a photographer who specialises in cosplay so I’m excited to do that.”
Naomi (far right) at Summernats in the early 2000s in her promo modelling days.
Using her Instagram and YouTube platforms to capture the strong, versatile and confident woman she is, Naomi hopes to inspire other women to live their best lives, whatever that looks like for them,
“You need to find the confidence and motivation to step outside the box and think, ‘I’m more than just a mum’,” she says.
“I’m a professional, I’m a friend, a bodybuilder or model.
“For me personally I think it’s forgetting what people think about you, just getting rid of their expectations of what you’re supposed to be, you can be 38 and sexy, it’s not just 20-year-olds who can be sexy, you can be in your 60s and be sexy.
“I think throughout time women have lost that identity because we need confirmation from society about how we should be, or what we should like look like, and we need to step back and think about what we want, some people don’t want to be sexy and that’s fine, but it doesn’t mean that someone else can’t be sexy.
“For me I just encourage women to naturally find the confidence they’re comfortable with and just explore and embrace it.”
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About the Author: Holly Winchester
Part Jennifer Coolidge, part Jennifer Garner (gaudy and geeky), Holly idolises Dolly Parton and Princess Di and loves NRL. When she's not creating killer content, you’ll find Holly at the Maccas drive thru getting her chai latte fix or buying 1990s memorabilia for the walls of her Googong home. Specialist subject: the Woolies carpark.
