Donna’s Story

This Was Never Just About Fitness.

It was about survival.
It was about grief.
It was about rebuilding from the inside out.

Years ago, my world shifted in a way I could never have prepared for.

My brother’s suicide sent a devastating shockwave through our family… a chain reaction of grief, confusion and emotional pain that I didn’t know how to process. Ben was my best friend, my big brother. He was only 29.

I didn’t talk about it. I didn’t feel it fully. I coped the only way I knew how… with food.

The Weight Wasn’t Just Physical

Over time, that unprocessed hurt turned into protection. Protection turned into suppression.

Suppression turned into 155 kilograms.

But the weight wasn’t laziness. It wasn’t lack of knowledge. It wasn’t lack of care. It was armour.

Food became comfort. Food became numbness. Food became control.

And I understand now… deeply… that many people aren’t struggling with discipline.

They’re carrying something.

The Turning Point

There came a moment where I realised I wasn’t living. I was surviving. And survival mode keeps you small. And it makes you ill.

I made a decision sitting on the back step of our house. I was battling depression, several chronic illnesses and I truly had gotten to the point that everything felt too hard. I had so much to live for, yet I had no energy to fight for it. I said to Layth that I could not go on… and his words changed the entire course of my life and our marriage. “What do you need me to do? Anything, I am here. I will do whatever it takes”.

I knew it was going to be the journey of a lifetime. Not just to lose weight. But to understand myself. Not just for me, but for my tribe.

To rebuild properly. To stop fighting my body. To stop silencing my emotions. To stop outsourcing my power.

Over the next six years, I completely transformed my mind and body. I immersed myself in continual education to find the answers. Not casually. Intentionally.

The Tools Behind The Transformation

I didn’t want surface-level answers. I wanted depth. I wanted to know as much as I could to help even one person from suffering the way my brother did, and in turn, heal my own pain and take back control of my life.

So I built the qualifications to match the work I was doing internally:

• Certificate IV in Fitness
• Rapid Transformational Therapy Practitioner (Hypnotherapy, CBT, NLP and Psychotherapy)
• Integrative Nutrition Health Coach
• Ongoing study in nutrition, hormones, neurodiversity and disabilities.

Because I knew if I was going to guide people through transformation, I needed more than workouts.

I needed tools. I needed to offer holistic care. And I needed heart.

Why “Warrior”

The word Warrior isn’t branding. It’s deeply personal.

My Dad is the reason that word lives here. Strength in our family was never about hardness.

It was about resilience. About standing back up. About loving fiercely. About showing up even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.

A Warrior isn’t someone who never falls. A Warrior is someone who rises. Again and again.

That philosophy lives inside everything we do.

Why I Lead The Way I Do

I lead with heart.

I love big. I care deeply. I see the people behind the weight. I see the exhaustion behind the smile. I see the strength beneath the self-doubt. Because I’ve been there.

DG Fitness was never built to be another gym.

It was built to be a place where people feel safe enough to change. It is the home for those who need connection and hope.

Where strength is intelligent. Where mindset is honoured. Where nourishment is holistic. Where the nervous system matters.

Where transformation is sustainable.