The Story of our Smash Angel

SMASH FIT is a fitness Company based in South Auckland. We are exclusive to New York Fitness in Papakura. We specialise in teaching women how to lead healthy lifestyles and strive to create a positive, supporting and motivating environment for our women to thrive in. We work with long term clients who are prepared to put in the hard yards to learn about themselves and to help others succeed while on their own personal journey with us. We love everything about our group, especially our members. We are a sisterhood like no other.

On 24 January 2016 – SMASH FIT by Emma Dunn was blessed to meet Sueanne Awhitu.

I remember thinking at the time of Sue’s consult how motivated and excited she was to begin her new journey with us. In front of us, we had a woman prepared to do anything necessary and to put in the hard work to learn how to lead a healthy lifestyle. She was passionate and her desire for change was exciting – it was contagious in fact. We were proud from that very moment to call her one of ours.

Sue was one of those special people that give you the feeling you have known them for years. She was also someone who made me remember why I love what we do.

It was immediately apparent to us that we had found ourselves a gem. She was a mixture of cheeky, shy, funny and kind. What wasn’t apparent at that time was the impact this woman would have on our company and the hearts she would steal on her journey.

Every time Sue met someone new in the group you could tell they fell in love with her smile and her dimples, it was hard not to! There was so much meaning behind her smile and so much love behind her eyes.

As expected Sue was a stand out in her first class with us. I always immediately notice the humble leaders as they are everything we are about, and this is exactly who Sue was. Sue never worried about her own struggle in class, she would always be the one watching and supporting her peers when they needed her. I remember one day watching her give a sneaky thumbs up to someone in class who was struggling, just to show they were cared for and to encourage them to keep going. This small gesture had a huge impact on her smash sister and my heart burst with pride. This is everything we are all about and it was just so natural to her. Sue wanted the best for everyone and we all adored that about her.

You never heard Sue talk of her personal achievements – despite having many, she would always talk of how well others were doing and the changes she had noticed in them. Sue had the natural ability to get the best from her smash sisters because they wanted to work as hard for her, as she did them, myself included. This to me will always be a true leader. I found myself becoming reliant on her in class to help me lead the group and I believe she changed SMASH FIT for the better.

When the girls and I discovered Sue was sick, we were all heartbroken. How do you help someone that has given so much to you and the sisterhood in their time of need? What do you do? What do you say? We were all left hurt and we felt extremely cheated when our girl couldn’t participate in class or be in the gym anymore – as did she. Her second home had been taken from her!

Sue, myself and the girls often talked about her anticipated come back and on some level, it helped us all. We pulled together as tight as we could for Sue and did all we could to show her our support and endless love for her. I am and will always be so incredibly proud of each one of my members for the roles they played through this time.

We were all absolutely devastated to receive the news of our girl passing away in February this year. Our worlds have well and truly been turned upside down. Sue has left a huge hole that can never be filled in our group.

If I’m being honest - our group is struggling to come to terms with our loss.

The girls and I have decided to channel our heartache into strength and pull off an event like no other in honour of our girl. Sue’s family is everything to her and we cannot even begin to imagine what her family are going through right now. We want to alleviate as much pressure as we can financially for her family and to do this – we will do what we do best, and workout!

Sue has 5 children ranging in ages from 26 to 6 and a loving husband who needs all the support they can get and we know this would mean a lot to Sue.

Therefore, on 16 June 2018 at 10:00am through to 17 June 2018 at 10:00am we will have 60 riders take to their bikes. Each rider will ride 6 hours non stop and switch over to a team member when their block is done for a full 24 hours. We will train and prepare ourselves for this epic event and we will put our hearts into it like no event before.

16 June 2018 will mark the day we ride for our smash angel.

Please support us by donating to the cause! All donations received will be given to the whanau of Sueanne.

If you would like more information please email emmadunn@xtra.co.nz or message us on facebook SMASH FIT by Emma Dunn. We are looking for sponsors, visitors on the day, help, donations and support.