JHB South East - May 2022

‘A few years back, I read that because of the obesity pandemic,
children of today will be the first generation of children
to not outlive their parents. It broke my heart. It’s up to us to
change it. I want to show women they can lead a healthy life
and show them how easy it is.
‘We are our children’s role models, so if we are healthy, strong
and independent, our children will want to be like us or
even better.’
This all lead to her studying and getting new skills. Today, she
is one of only 30 classical Pilates instructors in South Africa.
‘I want to be the best in what I do, so I’m training for my master
trainer certification with the International Sports Sciences
Association.’
Once done, she will be able to do personal training, health
and nutrition, as well as lifespan coaching, exercise therapy,
performance enhancement, glute coaching ... to which
she had to say: ‘Who doesn’t want a perky peach butt? I
certainly do.’
All in a day’s work
When asked about her daily routine, challenges and best
part of her job, her face lights up and she is quick with her
answers.
‘LOL, I think that even after two years in this
business, waking up at 4am remains my
biggest challenge, especially as it becomes
colder and darker, and yes, it is cold even for
a Russian.
‘But if we talk seriously, you know I have people
coming to me with various issues like a
back injury, knee injury, joint pain or mental
problems. I wish I could just give them that
magic pill that would eliminate their pain
right away, but unfortunately, that pill doesn’t exist. It’s a journey
and we need to be patient, be consistent. It might take
a couple of months, it might take a year, but if we put our
minds to it, we can achieve it and live a pain-free, healthy life.’
She describes her best moments as those when a client
comes back to say, ‘Oli, my pain is gone. You are awesome.
Thank you so much.
‘But you know, it’s not me, it’s them. It’s their consistency, their
dedication and their body. Your body is amazing. It can do so
much more than you can imagine.
‘Their words mean the world to me. They prove to me that
I’m doing something important, something life-changing.’
Side hustles
Olia and her partner, Roxanne, started Greenolicious, an online
directory for small local businesses that later got another
branch - a Health Cafe.
But it happened during lockdown and they decided to focus
online and now run greenolicious.com.
‘We want to bring to our people here in the South affordable
health foods. Pure and real that does not cost an arm and leg.
‘Here, we teach about how living healthy is actually much
more affordable that living unhealthy.
‘I have another side hustle called BecomeMedia.co.za - a web
design and brand-building agency.
‘I help small business owners build a website and teach them
how to manage it, help them put together their social media
accounts, campaigns.’
Mummy duty
‘I work from 6am and finish around 2pm, and then I’m on
mummy-duty. I’m really blessed to be able to make my own
schedule and spend more time with our little one, who goes
to an Afrikaans primary school.’
Being a vegan, the evening dinners are healthy and includes
veggies, grains and legumes.
‘When my hubby comes home from work, being a proper
South African, he braais and then we have dinner. This is also
the time when we laugh together and talk about the day,
new challenges and opportunities.
‘To me, being a mum means to give our girl all the love,
support and care we can, and teach her she can achieve
anything she sets her mind on.
‘Being so far away from Russia, it’s especially important to pass
on the greatness of my Russian heritage - our rich culture,
Pushkin, Lermontov, Dostoyevsky, Tchaikovsky, Mendeleev,
Aivazovsky, our language, our music, our literature, art, science,
the bravest hearts of our soldiers that gave their lives for
our freedom and saved the world from the greatest evil, for
our peaceful sky above our heads. To teach her that honesty,
kindness, solidarity, tolerance and justice should be our
North Star.
On a personal note
Your body is
amazing. It can do
so much more than
you can imagine
Olia grew up in a small town on the
Volga River in Russia called Togliatti. Both
her parents are retired and still live in her
hometown, as does her older brother,
Igor.
‘My mum used to be a principal at two
schools and my dad was a musician. He
plays saxophone. But after the massive
economic crisis in the early 90s when
the Soviet Union collapsed, he gave up
his passion and started working for an automobile plant to
provide for us.
‘The 90s were challenging for my parents. They had to sell so
many things, including their wedding bands, to buy food and
pay for necessities.
‘I remember my mum used to tell me about that ugly green
coat she wore. It was so old, worn out, dirt cheap and she was
so embarrassed of it that she would be the first one at the
school, where she worked as a teacher, and the last one to
leave just so that no one would see it.
‘I think those struggles made my parents who they are.
Strong, gentle, humble and kind. My mum is a respected
woman in my hometown. She has three bachelor degrees
and was awarded an honorary title, Honored Teacher of the
Russian Federation.
‘I’m blessed to have such an amazing family, and I miss them
a lot.’
About this and that
Reading, especially when everyone is sleeping, and gardening
are leisure time favourites for Olia.
‘My hubby is building me a greenhouse. You know, Russians
are farmers at heart. We love growing our own veggies, herbs,
berries. I really want us to be as self-sufficient as we can.’
And when it comes to things to do and places she likes to
visit, you soon realise the great outdoors is always calling.
She loves Rietvlei for a Saturday morning run or mountain
biking, Bass Lake for some swimming in clear water, 4x4-ing
on the open grounds next to Swartkoppies or cruising in the
boat on the Vaal River.
Text: CARINA VAN DER WALT. Photo: ELZAAN PIENAAR
May 2022 Get It Joburg South • Alberton • Bedfordview • Greenstone • Modderfontein 15
GIS0506_014_1149806906.indd 15 2022/04/21 08:11:41