Andrea Alfred is from the Kwakwaka'wakw First Nation near Alert Bay, on Vancouver Island. She started bodybuilding at 50 years of age and won first place in her very first competition, the Popeye Fall Classic. That win qualified her for the Nationals and Pro/Am competitions. 

Recently, reporter Gunargie O’Sullivan spoke with the athlete. Andrea relates how she’d always participated in basketball and soccer from the age of 11 or 12 and did some boot camp style workouts, which she absolutely loved. “I found out that it really was my passion. And what it does is change your whole outlook,” she says.

When asked about setting goals, Alfred says, “When you achieve them, you get there. What I find with me is when it gets there, it is the most euphoric, incredible feeling. And it’s not doing it just for me, because my purpose is to model the way, to show that it can be done by anyone who sets out to do a specific goal.”

Listen to Andrea Alfred’s interview below.

Resources:

Celebrate 21 Indigenous Athletes for National Indigenous Peoples Day
Andrea Alfred  on Instagram

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This interview is the first in a series on Indigenous Role Models.