Our Stories: Rebekah Heineke

Like many of us Rebekah Heineke didn’t plan on moving to London.

Five years on she’s still here and a few career moves later she’s set up her own business to build a community focused on fun, fitness and body positivity.

Like many of our network members she has an infectious energy and that real can-do positive attitude that so many Kiwis have.

Growing up in Auckland she dreamt of being a teacher and she naturally flowed into nannying, first in New Zealand, and took her experience to Monaco in the South of France.

London was the last place she imagined moving – all she’d heard was it was grey, rained a lot and was overpopulated. She says: “It was only when I moved to France that I visited a friend in London and fell head over heels in love with the city! It wasn't like any place I'd ever been to before.”

In Rebekah’s words, “anything is possible in London.” In five years Rebekah has had three extremely different careers.

She started her journey in London as a nanny, while learning graphic design in her spare time. This lead on to taking a role as a graphic designer at a high end marketing agency, for big brands such as Coca Cola.

More recently she launched Babes Balanced, realising her dream to make fitness more fun. She’s real proof of what you can achieve in a short space of time if you put your mind to it.

She says, “One of the best things about starting Babes Balanced is that I’ve had the opportunity to meet such phenomenal people along the way. There's never a shortage of people doing truly spectacular things in the startup world around me.
“You can always tell who the strong women are as they are the ones building each other up, instead of tearing each other down. This couldn’t be more true of the New Zealand Business Womens Network.”

Rebekah says she’s most inspired by the people around her who are daring greatly, including her coach Jonny Miller at the Startup Accelerator, Escape The City.
“As soon as I met him, I was lifted up and filled with joy. He’s a dreamer in the most exhilarating way, who’s exploring his curiosities towards life, which in turn encouraged me to do the same.”

While London is currently her base, Rebekah says NZ will always be home. The more she travels, the more she realises that NZ truly is one of the most beautiful places on earth. “With such an amazing network of kiwi friends here in London, I still feel connected to the motherland. Not to mention the fact that there are tons of kiwi cafes here in London where you’re guaranteed a top quality flat white, tasty food and friendly service.”

Rebekah has several plans including starting a podcast, and a number of events – check out what’s coming up below - and at some point she’ll be writing a book hoping to inspire others to take the leap into starting a business and live with a little more adventure and bravery, regardless of the setbacks.

Follow Babes Balanced on Instagram @babesbalanced

Upcoming events

• Nude Glow Yoga, an opportunity to embrace your uniqueness and be inspired by a bunch of real women with real bodies, whilst getting the benefits of moving our bodies.
• SailFit, a unique four day fitness and wellbeing retreat on a private turkish yacht, sailing along the Turquoise Coast. It is the perfect harmony of fitness, mindfulness, exploring and fun.