Pride Month: Meet Issie

British Weight Lifting (BWL) member Issie shares her experiences as a LGBTQ+ member in the UK weightlifting community.

Issie has been weightlifting for 4 years in Surrey. Having started weightlifting when she was studying at the University of Surrey, Issie then went on to join Crossfit Guildford, and eventually Guildford Weightlifting.

What was life like growing up for you?

Growing up, I was very lucky that my family and friends were supportive of me trying out sports and allowed me to be myself. Although I did not personally know many LGBTQ+ individuals growing up, I was always taught to be inclusive and welcoming to everybody and this allowed me to be comfortable when expressing my own sexuality with people around me as I got older.

Were you involved in sports growing up?

I have been active all my life, starting with gymnastics from an early age and I trained and competed in athletics, especially high jump for 11 years.

How did you get into weightlifting?

I started crossfit in 2020 after coming across a crossfit box in my local area and loved the lifting portion of it so when I started University, I began training at the uni club. After joining the local crossfit box whilst at uni, I was introduced to Guildford Weightlifting and I’ve been training there for 3 years now!

Have you come up against any barriers in the weightlifting community?

I haven’t come across any barriers in the weightlifting community - quite the opposite! Joining a weightlifting club and competing at BWL competitions have allowed me to meet other LGBTQ+ athletes and a great community of people in general. I am happy that my club and BWL are inclusive and welcoming of all athletes and my club holds events such as a pride workout which athletes from both the weightlifting and crossfit sides of the club join in for and celebrate.

Do you have any advice for any young LGBTQ+ aspiring athletes?

My advice for young LGBTQ+ athletes is not avoid joining the sports clubs because of fear of judgement or that you won’t belong! From my experience, joining a sports club is the best way to connect with a community of people like you!

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