Multimillionaire fitness star Kayla Itsines hasn’t drank alcohol for more than 11 years because she ‘never liked the taste’ or the way it made her feel.
The 30-year-old trainer, from Adelaide, has been famously teetotal since the age of 19 after having nothing but negative experiences with hangovers and sickness, as well as losing someone ‘very close’ to her to drug and alcohol addiction.
The co-founder of world famous exercise app SWEAT, who is worth an estimated $209million (AUD), addressed the issue in a recent Instagram post, revealing fans are often surprised to discover she doesn’t drink.
‘I’ve seen the bad things that can come from alcohol and I made my decision not to drink at a very young age,’ she wrote.
Multimillionaire fitness star Kayla Itsines (pictured) hasn’t drank alcohol for more than 11 years because she ‘never liked the taste’ or the way it made her feel
The 30-year-old trainer from Adelaide (pictured) has been famously teetotal since the age of 19 after having nothing but negative experiences with hangovers and sickness
‘I can’t see my decision changing any time soon, but that doesn’t mean that I’ll never have a drink in the future, but I don’t know when that is and I wouldn’t want to put a timeline on it.’
The mother-of-one, who shares two-year-old daughter Arna Leia with her ex fiancé, Tobi Pearce, threw her support behind those choosing to live sober lifestyles, urging them to ignore the judgement often passed by friends, family, and wider society.
‘I know from personal experience that when you don’t drink, people are often really confused by your choices. Sometimes they look at you like you’re strange or different,’ she said.
‘I’m here to tell you that if you don’t want to drink, you do NOT have to. I feel like I’m a role model for lots of young girls, and I’m proud that I can spread this message and let you know you don’t NEED to feel pressured to drink alcohol if you don’t want to.’
The world renowned trainer, who is currently enjoying a new romance with hunky gym buff, Jae Woodroffe. has always been open about her decision to stay sober.
The mum-of-one (pictured) urges anyone living a sober lifestyle to ignore the judgement often passed by friends, family, and wider society
Kayla (pictured) assured fans there is nothing ‘weird’ with choosing not to drink
In a previous Instagram post from 2015, Kayla went into emotional detail about a loved one who lost their life after a long battle with substance abuse.
After watching their ‘downward spiral’, she vowed she would never drink again.
‘I don’t like alcohol. I don’t like the taste. I don’t like what it does to people. I don’t like how people abuse it and I hate what it did to someone I loved,’ Kayla wrote.
‘I don’t mind if people drink it. I’m not one of those “anti alcohol, alcohol is the devil”, people, I just don’t drink and I never will. I hope you can all respect my reasons why.’
The super-fit star is one of almost two million Australians now living an alcohol-free lifestyle.
Recent figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal more than a quarter of Australians (28.9 per cent) are mostly abstaining from alcohol, while a further 9.5 per cent are drinking less than they were this time last year.
Kayla (pictured) has been candid about the agony of losing a loved one to alcohol addiction
The number of ex-drinkers in Australia has risen from 1.5million to 1.9million over the past four years, with a growing sober scene largely fuelled by hordes of Instagram influencers who tout the benefits of their alcohol-free lifestyles online.
The hospitality industry is taking note, with the nation’s first-ever non-alcoholic bar Brunswick Aces opening its doors in Melbourne on May 1, pouring a menu of more than 100 alcohol-free beers, wines and cocktails to teetotal punters.
But as 5.32 million Sydneysiders mark Freedom Day on Monday, alcohol is likely to be central to much of the celebrations.
While many coped with lockdown by saying no to the bottle, more than 18 months of restrictions has sent a worrying number of Australians into a spiral of heavy drinking.
Household alcohol spending skyrocketed across Australia after coronavirus turned normality on its head, with Aussies dropping a staggering $2billion more than usual on booze last year.
Drinkers spent an average of $1,891 per household on alcohol in 2020 – an increase of $270 on the 2019 total, figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show.
The alarming trend worsened last winter when Melbourne’s five million residents were forced into a type of protective custody during the world’s harshest lockdown which lasted more than four months.
Victoria’s alcohol services experienced a surge in demand as locked-down residents turned to the bottle, with a survey from the Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association revealing alcohol featured either ‘a lot more’ or ‘a bit more’ as a drug of concern.
Bingeing is already taking a toll on the nation’s health.
A revolutionary health calculator developed by AIA Vitality recently claimed Australians are ageing a staggering nine years faster than they should be.
The free five-minute test gives an alarming insight into the true ‘health age’ of Australians by analysing the answers to a range of behavioural questions about diet, exercise and most importantly, alcohol consumption.
A 2019 study funded by St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne found excess alcohol consumption causes more harm to Australians’ physical and mental wellbeing than any drug, surpassing both crystal methamphetamine (ice) and heroin.