January 18, 2026 • 24 mins
Anna is a New Zealand and Swedish freestyle skier and reporter for TV Show The Crowd Goes Wild. She began skiing with her family at the age of four but it wasn’t until she finished school and began dedicating full seasons to the sport that she discovered her passion for slopestyle skiing.
She competed for New Zealand at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. She finished 15th in qualification of the women's slopestyle event, missing the final by only two places.
Her father, Hamish Willcox, was a professional sailor who competed in the America's Cup and her brother, Daniel Willcox, represented New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Olympics in sailing.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk SEDB. Follow
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Real Conversation, Real Connection, It's Real Life with John Cowen
on News Talk SEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Gid A, Welcome to the first Real Life of twenty
twenty six. I'm John Cowen and my guest tonight is
at home and at least three very wild environments on
the ocean, in the mountains, and on television. Olympic skier
and broadcaster Arna Wilcox.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Welcome, Thank you, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm so glad that you could fit us in because
busy time, because you're heading off to the Winter Olympics soon.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yeah, in like two and a half weeks or yeah,
almost two weeks. I'm off.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Okay, that's is it still a buzz getting to these things?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Of course? I mean this is my first Olympic Games
going as a broadcaster, because when I came into working
for Sky, it was the it was the twenty eight
it was twenty eighteen, and I literally had just started
weeks in and then the peong Chang Olympic Games was
a few weeks away, so the creditation was obviously given
to someone else and then the next Olympic Games in Beijing,
I just had my little first baby, so the timing
(01:26):
was bad there. So now it's like, okay, this is
my time.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
What it also been difficult going to the twenty eighteen ones.
Would you have been crying a little bit on camera?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Actually it's a really good point. I probably would have
been a little bit, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Because you did so well in twenty fourteen and then
your world shifted.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah exactly. I just you know, I broke my back
at the first Olympic qualify for the peong Chang Olympic Games,
so it pulled me out of Olympic qualification for that,
So you are right. I probably would have shit a
few tiers and maybe it was a bit too soon.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah. Well, look, I want to come back to that
traumatic retirement from skiing, because that's one of the big
things in your world, isn't it. But coming up to
the Winter Olympics, it's to be in Italy if you
skied on some of those fields, is it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
I did the Junior World Champs in Italy, but it
wasn't in the Veno where the park and pipe is
going to be. But I've spent a lot of time
in Italy sort of around the skiing anyway. It was
one of my favorite places to go in between sort
of like events and stuff like that. So I do
love Italy. It's very exciting to go back.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
There, all right. And who in the New Zealand team
should be watching? I know that of course that we've
got Zoe Zadowski Sinnad, who's sinator, who's done so well,
I mean she's picked up gold, silver, bronze at other Olympics.
Should be one to watch a course. Who else on
the team will you be looking for?
Speaker 3 (02:46):
So there's it's such a young team. You know, she's
one of the veterans and she's like twenty four years old,
which is wild. But we've got a handful of metal hopes.
I mean Alice Robinson, you know she's this is actually
she's a bit of vet to her third Olympic Games.
She's in alpine skier and she's been on form the
sort of last year in a bit. And then you've
also got in the park and pipe, you've got Luca
Harrington who's a big year he's the current big Year
(03:07):
world champion. And then you've got Finn Malville Ives who
is just on fire. Right now in the half pipe,
and also a kid called Luke Harold too, So there's
two big metal hopes in the in the Olympic.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Causs so it should be very exciting to watch.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Oh yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
You did so well back in Soshi in the twenty
fourteen and you now have a long standing career as
a sports reporter on the crowd goes wild and life's
moved on. You've got kids and a husband, cam and
so there's a lot in your life. But you mentioned
that you still probably miss that competitive sporting and you
(03:43):
broke your back and your body told you had to retire. Yeah,
and what went on in your head at that time
a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
It was definitely the toughest decision and I was in
denial about it for a long time. When I broke
my back in France, the closest airport was actually Barcelona,
and I remember I left my ski bag in Barcelona
with a friend who lived there because I was adamant
that I was going to be back in I was like,
I'll be back. I'll walk it out three minute, I
mean sorry, three minutes. I'll be back in three months
for the World Championships. Like no worries and I literally
(04:12):
left my ski bag out there. That's how like adamant
I was that I wasn't going to be retiring. But
you know, at the end of the day after you
know quite a lot of soul searching. And my parents
have always been really supportive over my career, you know
and skiin even though you know, as a mum now
I'm like, oh my god, please don't choose a sport
like this. But they've always been supportive. But there was
(04:33):
a big turning point around that time. I had this
really big concussion about like September of twenty twenty fifteen,
twenty sixteen, and then it was like two months later
I broke my back and they really sat me down
and was like, we actually don't support this anymore, and
we would kick ourselves if something really big happened that
you couldn't come back from and we didn't have this conversation.
(04:54):
So they had a really blunt conversation with me where
they were like, we don't want you to do this anymore,
and you've got so much more life for hitter appearance.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, I know, you were so motivated to probably the
only people that could probably speak into your life like that.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
I know exactly, and I think at the end of
the day, this decision had to be mine and I
did come to it on my own, but that conversation
really did like hit me, I guess more than I realized.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I can remember reading a comment when you were on
Dancing for Stars that your dad saying you were so
much he was so much happy at seeing you doing
those types of things. Then going and doing jobs.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yeah, like I said, as a parent, now I'm like, yeah,
I can't imagine what it's like to have a kid
as an extreme sport.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So you had to retire. You went off to Spain
and that didn't work out too well for you either.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Or was that when I had my my accident and
MINORCA I know.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I just in case your head wasn't banged around enough exactly.
He came off a bike.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yeah, well I got hit by a bike.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I was, oh, okay, Yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Went to I went to minorcap somebody. I said to
my dad again a bit of a joke. I said, look,
if nepotism here. I was like, if you could get
me a job in the America's Cup because this was
when it was in Bermutera and I was like, if
you hustle me a job in America's Cup, I will
quit Skien. I said that to him, and you should
have seen him pulling on all his contacts trying to
get me a job in Bermuda that didn't work out.
But he was like, I didn't get your job Bermuda,
(06:11):
but I got you a job at the sailing camp
that he used to work at and Minorca in Spain.
So I was like, yeah, all right, fine, I'll take
that again. Niphantism and I met into Spain in like
a few days into my trip. I was walking home
from a bar. Everyone had stayed a bit later and
I wanted to go home. And I had only been
on the island for a couple of days and I
(06:31):
was at the bottom of a very steep parl. There
was there was no street lights, and all I can
remember it's just been on the pavement all of a sudden, basically,
And what had happened is like a biker hadn't seen me,
like just a guy in a pushbike, but gone really
fast and he bowled me over and he I'm pretty
sure I had broken his arm and got pretty iffed
up too. But then anyway, I ended up in an ambulance.
I woke up in ambulance, had no idea why I
(06:52):
was in Spain, and I remember calling my dad and
I was just like, so messed up in my head again,
and he was just yeah, in tears, had to pull
over the car and it was had to yeah, recover
from another injury by myself on the other end of
the world, when I had just announced my retirement because
I was like, I'm going to keep my body safe now.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, No, life doesn't go as your plan. No, I
mean there's a few things happening in the world at
the moment that don't seem to be going to plan
the order that we've sort of relied on, and news
that keeps on tumbling out of our radios and news
feeds and things very alarming, and yeah, so you're in
(07:32):
that state in Spain. We're feeling a bit like that now.
And is it rattling you what's happening now?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, to my core, you know, with everything where the
world's at at the moment, I've been I've really struggled
in the last few years off trying to wrap my
head around it. I've always been I grew up in
a family that we discussed everything at the dinner table.
I was really lucky, like my parents and I grew
up on the North Shore, but I grew up with
very socialist parents. My mom is from Sweden, so grew
(07:59):
up in a country where you know, you pay a
lot of tax, but you eat a lot back from it,
you know it's well spent. And my dad, you know,
he's pretty much always voted for the Green Party and
you know, we're considering being on the shore around that
sort of max. I grew up in the sort of
bubble off, like this very socialist bubble, and I've always
been very i guess like left wing empathetic. I was
(08:20):
the type of kid at sixteen years old who would
read an article about, you know, a migrant boat capsizing
and killing everyone on board and being tears about it
at sixteen. So I have this like quite intense empathy
towards everyone in this world. So with everything going on,
like I have not been able to understand and fathom
and process and be able to like live normally basically
(08:42):
in the last like two years, since everything has happened
in Gaza, which I know, we've totally like gone off track,
but yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, well, we tend to zigzag around here, and it's
just the sense of being all at sea, and can
you see a track through it? Can you see?
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Not everyone? Not everyone keeps ignoring it, do you know
what I mean? Like not if everyone just keeps staying
within quote unquote their bubble and well they can't do it,
and they can't do anything about it, what's the point
of doing anything about it? Then? Like then, no, I
really don't see it's their way out now.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
One of the sort of the unique things about real
life is that we talk about people's inner life and
thoughts about God and things like that. Do you see
any sort of spiritual dimension in this or are you
open to that? Or yes?
Speaker 3 (09:29):
I was raised with I wasn't raised religious, but I
was raised with I guess a respect for religion, you know,
in my family, and I guess I could call myself
agnostic in some ways. And I think, you know, I've
never really thought too much about religion until recently, when
with everything that's been going on, and I have to
(09:50):
ask myself, why am I struggling so much? You know,
when doesn't feel like many people around me are, which
is also why I go to often, you know, these protests,
stuff about to be with other people who are like me,
if you know what I mean, because otherwise you feel
like you're going crazy sometimes. And I guess in some
ways I've been almost envious people who have this you know,
connection or the spiritual like this, I guess higher power, right,
(10:13):
this this thing where they're feeling like there's something bigger,
there's more than this purpose because when you don't have that,
and when my belief system is crumbling, my brief system
is you know, justice, and and I guess like kindness.
And I don't know, I'm not saying this very eloquently,
but like these these social structures that I cling on
(10:34):
to democracy, when I see them crumbling around me, like
I have nothing to cling on cling on to, whereas
people who do have a faith, they do have something
to cling on to. And I guess it's why, you know,
in these yeah, in these countries where you know so
much suffering can happen, they can still be so joyful
and they can still be so kind to one another,
and there's still so much I guess love there because
(10:56):
there's so much faith there.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Often I'm talking with a very deep thinking Annah Wilcox
and We'll be back after the break and talk a
bit more about how she got into sport, about her
sport crazy family, and we'll talk about what she's got
coming up next. This is real Life. I'm John cown.
You're listening to News Talk ZB.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on News
Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Welcome back to real Life. I'm John Cowen and I'm
talking with Anna Wilcox, who is an olympian and also
a broadcaster on the Crowd Goes Wild And what are
we listening to there?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (11:48):
That was That's Hot Chip over and over again, which
is a song that makes me laugh and it makes
me think of a time in my early ski days,
my first ever ski season at Okay Who I was
listening to super into indie music, and I remember listening
to that song quite a lot, but one time in particular,
sort of dropped a little cliff, a mini cliff or
at fuck Poppa, and then that song was playing in
(12:10):
my ear and I just started to like rag Doll essentially,
so just like go over and over and over and
over and over again, which that song the lyrics. I
was listening to it at the time, and I was
laughing in my head, like how funny that these lyrics.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
So it's describing very appt soundtrack your life exactly your
life as it started. Strange. You mentioned your family before.
Your father and your brother are both very successful sportsman
on the water. Yeah, and so it's not surprising that
you're sporty, but you decided to take your sport as
far away from the water as you could get, right
up the top of mountains.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
I know, I joke, I just went, I ran for
the hells because sailing was not my thing, you know.
I was born into a family of sailors and it's
what we did every Sunday. Yeah, and my dad used
to joke, which would be funny maybe to the audience
that they would be like, it's either church or it's
sailing on Sundays. That's your twee s sonna. So you know,
I just, you know, it didn't I didn't take to
(13:01):
it like my brother did. He was, you know, a
little protege of my dad's when he was when he
was little. But and then I just kind of had
to find my own pathway, you know, and I ended
up like my mom was from Sweden and she loves skiing,
so she definitely drilled that into us. We were lucky
enough to be able to go on a few ski
holidays when we were younger, and that made me love skiing.
(13:23):
And then when I finished high school, I didn't know
what I wanted to study yet, so I decided to
take a gap year, which I'm still on and it's
going really well. One it's good, and do my first
ever a ski season. It will pay her. And I
finally was like I fell in love with not just
the sport, but the lifestyle and the people. And I realized,
you know, there's just other ways of doing life, because
(13:43):
you know, when you grew up in a I guess
the CETI and this echo chamber of everyone just doing
the same thing and going to university straight after school
and doing that, you kind of think that's the only
way to do things. And then when you kind of
brunch out of that and you meet all these people
of different ages, ethnicities and just you know, just having
fun basically and doing a sport as well, is what. Yeah,
that's sort of what I was drawn to.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Right now, it's a world that I can't really identify with.
In fact, is you're in a world now that I
don't really identify with You're mixing all the time in
your career with high performing athletes, and you're also a woman,
and so your world is so different from mine that
you might have to excuse me for being basically ignorant.
(14:26):
But I got a glimpse from an article that you
wrote about the pain and hardship in both these worlds,
the hardship that you went through becoming a successful olympian
and also just the hardship of just being a woman.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
I think, Yeah, there's just so much that comes with
being woman that we struggle with that you know, people
don't really or men don't realize, I guess. You know,
when it comes to anything from you know, our period pain,
which athletes deal with. You know, your high performance athlete,
you're still going to get period pains or indo or
migraines which I and you.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Still have to turn up and do your best.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Still going to turn up and do yourself, menopause. You
know that all these things that aren't talked about enough
and we go through it's a silent struggle, I guess,
but in my opinion, you know, it makes us just
so incredibly resilient as well, Like I have a daughter
and a son, and I just truly believe, like you know,
we have over time just become such strong beings women
have because of I guess like these just little things
(15:20):
that we go through.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
But yeah, okay, and the sacrifices to become an Olympian,
do you reckon that there's skills, attitudes and things that
you use to become successful there that you deploy in
your battles to you know, with mental health and other things.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Yeah, for sure. I mean, like, I actually got pretty
severe postpartum depression after my second baby, which I wasn't
really expecting, and that was actually a moment where I
got the Olympic rings tattooed on me because I just
wanted a reminder of the fact that I had done
something really hard before and I could get through this
as well. So I kind of had to dig deep too. Yeah,
(16:00):
to exactly, like you say, those sorts of like high
performance moments when you really have to step up, right.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, Can I ask you what helped with your depression
or who helped with your depression? You know what got
you through?
Speaker 3 (16:13):
I had. I've had a couple of bouts of depression
since since finishing up. I guess as as an athlete,
and one of them one period was before before my
kids were born, and that that was a huge realization that,
you know, depression anxiety can really hit anyone at any time,
and it's not something that you sort of like have
to have battled within your teenage years or that you
have like that sort of you've been in and out of.
(16:35):
It literally sort of came out of nowhere, and I
didn't really even understand where it came from. There wasn't
really anything significant in my life that had happened for me.
I went to therapy then and that really helped. And
it took about, you know, six months of going to
therapy if not more, to sort of come through that.
But for me, it was like anxiety, like battling panic attacks,
which I'd never had before, and that was pretty pretty willful.
(16:57):
But yeah, the therapy really really helps sort of I
guess file or you know, help manage it in some ways.
With postpum depression, it was so bad, I laughed because
I'm through it. Thank God, I'm not planning to have
any more children's you know. But it was for me,
it was medication that got me through. That was the
first time in my life. I took medication and I
really needed it and it was a game changer. And
(17:18):
I applaud anyone who's going through severe depression like that
to not take medication as an option if if you
are really that bad, because you know, for me, it
was exactly what I needed and yeah, really saved me.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Okay for men standing with their women doing these hard
things that you're talking about, or with anyone that's going
through depression, what helps? What's what? What things do you
appreciate most from the people that have been by your side?
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Probably the number one thing is like validation, you know,
And what do you mean by that? Just like them
really hearing you and hearing how you're feeling and not
dismissing it, you know. Okay, Yeah, even if it is
like confusing and complicated or whatever. I think like that's
probably the number one thing. Is is that for me?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Yeah? In digging around on your social media feeds and things,
I found a lovely little video you did a tribute
to your man. So tell me about Campbell Richard David
Lowe that became your lawful witted husband.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Yeah, I mean a few years ago now, I met
him in the wild.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
You know which you meet him in the wild.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
I met him in the wild, because that doesn't happen
very much these days. You know, people are normally swite, right,
and you know it's often a hinge or associate, I mean,
like a dating app, right, But I meet him in
the wild on a dance floor on Ponsley Road, locked
eyes and yeah, no, he I think, I laugh. I
think he came about in my life at the perfect
time because I've obviously been like living a pretty transient life,
(18:48):
you know, going from traveling basically my entire twenties. You know,
I was on the road, and I've always been someone
who has never wanted a guy to hinder my goals,
you know. And I've been like that from a young age.
You know. My friends had like high school loves and
I was like, nah, that's it seems like a waste
of energy right now when I want to be you know,
saving up money to go traveling and whatever. But yeah,
(19:10):
he came into my life at a really amazing time
and he's Yeah, he's like my best friend. It's awesome
to do life with him. And he's the best dad
as well.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
And you're enjoying parentoo. Yes, now that you've got the
depression kick.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Now that I've gone through the newborn phase. I the
newborn phase. People lie to you when they say this
beautiful newborn bubble. I mean that some people will have it,
of course, but I think a lot of people don't.
So it's a myth that it's a good time. It's
a really rough time. At least it was for me.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
One of the things I was wondering with you going
off to the Winter Olympics. Are you going to be
back in time to go to this festival's very special too.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Yeah, this floor festival. It's the Last Flaw festival, which
is where me and my husband got married. We absolutely
adore festivals in general, but explore which is why we
got married there.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
We wanted to you got married at a festival.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
We got married at a festival. We did. Yeah, I'm
not a traditional person and I was not going to
have a traditional winning at a winery. You know, I
wouldn't have wanted to spend that much money on something
like that. But so just because of how much we
love we wanted festivals. We wanted to share that with
all our friends. So like we got eighty people. Then
my grandma came and we got to well, look.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
That should get you some sort of recognition and a
water or something. Getting your grandmother.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Along to a festival driving Miss Daisy brought her down.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
You know.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
It was a beautiful moment. And we got to share
that with so many of our friends who would have
never bought tickets or never gone to a festival before
in their life, and we kind of forced them to
and then they're like, oh wow, this is amazing.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
And it was all dress ups.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Yeah it's dress up, but total dress up. And we
are bringing our kids there this for this last time,
so I am going to be back in time. Just
fight gets there on Thursday morning and we're going to
head off on Friday to the festival. So yeah, probably
be a bit chaing.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Okay, well, I'm sure that that'll be great therapy after
all your hard to work over at the Winter Olympics.
Hope that goes well for you.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
You've mentioned how your body's had some knocks, your brain's
had a few knocks, your mental health's been a bit fragile.
Are you intentional about looking after yourself these days?
Speaker 3 (21:07):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
What sort of things keep you well, keep you stable,
keep you upright? And grinning.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Balance. I think life's all about balance. You've got to
be a little bit naughty as well, it's a little
bit good, you know, like you've got to have a balance.
Of me and my husband, I think they do that
really well. You know, we're sort of like a Monday
to Friday. You know, we gym and we eat the
right food, and we're really big on eating the right food,
especially with our kids and stuff like that. But we're also,
like I said, able to have a good time at
a festie or a gig. And I think it's so
(21:33):
important for me, you know, like to have to have
that balance, not just be like constantly a plus student,
you know.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Okay, As a parent of young children, that must balance
is one of the things that people say, no, we're
just going to put balance on hold for a few years,
but you've actually made it a real priority.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Oh yeah. I think it's important for your kids to
see that, you know, for your kids to see that
you have a life. I was raised like that. My
parents to this day have a you know, an amazing
social life and they're off My mum starts wing foiling
at the age of sixty, and they're you know, going
to like honestly, and they're going backing in South America
and they're like little children. I'm kid you not, and they're.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Year that's still allowed to be children.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
I know, I know, I know. They've got an amazing
relationship and as an example of like you know, they've
really got such a big first for life and and
I think they've always shown a modeled balance to us,
and I think it's really important.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
So when are the actual Olympics On.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
The opening ceremony is on the sixth of February, but
they actually start on the fifth of February. We've got
an athlete competing on the fifth and it goes right
up to the twenty second, twenty third off off February
and it's going to be so action packed and Sky
is your home for it. They've got so many channels,
so one hundred percent turn on your TVs because you're
going to see some insane sports. There's new ones. Ski
(22:50):
mountaineering is a new sport, for example, which I've never
seen before. It looks really hard, yeah yeah, yeah, but
but you know, the Winter Olympics is so special. You
get to see these sports like figure skating, and you know,
all our park and pipe athletes, which yeah, it's going
to be amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
What wish you all the best for your career and
broadcasting and have a wonderful time over at the Olympics.
And I'm just so grateful that you've made time to
be on Real Life. I've been talking with Anna Wilcox.
This is real life. I'm John Cowen, looking forward to
being back with you again next Sunday night. But we're
going out on one more song, which.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Is so We're going out on the song that I
dropped into the twenty fourteen Winter Olympics listening to in
my ears, and that is Feel the Love by John
Newman and Bruda Mental.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
For more from News Talks at b listen live on
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You're listening to a podcast from News Talk SEDB. Follow
this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio,
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Speaker 2 (00:34):
Gid A, Welcome to the first Real Life of twenty
twenty six. I'm John Cowen and my guest tonight is
at home and at least three very wild environments on
the ocean, in the mountains, and on television. Olympic skier
and broadcaster Arna Wilcox.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Welcome, Thank you, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
I'm so glad that you could fit us in because
busy time, because you're heading off to the Winter Olympics soon.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yeah, in like two and a half weeks or yeah,
almost two weeks. I'm off.
Speaker 2 (01:00):
Okay, that's is it still a buzz getting to these things?
Speaker 3 (01:03):
Of course? I mean this is my first Olympic Games
going as a broadcaster, because when I came into working
for Sky, it was the it was the twenty eight
it was twenty eighteen, and I literally had just started
weeks in and then the peong Chang Olympic Games was
a few weeks away, so the creditation was obviously given
to someone else and then the next Olympic Games in Beijing,
I just had my little first baby, so the timing
(01:26):
was bad there. So now it's like, okay, this is
my time.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
What it also been difficult going to the twenty eighteen ones.
Would you have been crying a little bit on camera?
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Actually it's a really good point. I probably would have
been a little bit, Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
Because you did so well in twenty fourteen and then
your world shifted.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
Yeah exactly. I just you know, I broke my back
at the first Olympic qualify for the peong Chang Olympic Games,
so it pulled me out of Olympic qualification for that,
So you are right. I probably would have shit a
few tiers and maybe it was a bit too soon.
Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah. Well, look, I want to come back to that
traumatic retirement from skiing, because that's one of the big
things in your world, isn't it. But coming up to
the Winter Olympics, it's to be in Italy if you
skied on some of those fields, is it.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
I did the Junior World Champs in Italy, but it
wasn't in the Veno where the park and pipe is
going to be. But I've spent a lot of time
in Italy sort of around the skiing anyway. It was
one of my favorite places to go in between sort
of like events and stuff like that. So I do
love Italy. It's very exciting to go back.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
There, all right. And who in the New Zealand team
should be watching? I know that of course that we've
got Zoe Zadowski Sinnad, who's sinator, who's done so well,
I mean she's picked up gold, silver, bronze at other Olympics.
Should be one to watch a course. Who else on
the team will you be looking for?
Speaker 3 (02:46):
So there's it's such a young team. You know, she's
one of the veterans and she's like twenty four years old,
which is wild. But we've got a handful of metal hopes.
I mean Alice Robinson, you know she's this is actually
she's a bit of vet to her third Olympic Games.
She's in alpine skier and she's been on form the
sort of last year in a bit. And then you've
also got in the park and pipe, you've got Luca
Harrington who's a big year he's the current big Year
(03:07):
world champion. And then you've got Finn Malville Ives who
is just on fire. Right now in the half pipe,
and also a kid called Luke Harold too, So there's
two big metal hopes in the in the Olympic.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Causs so it should be very exciting to watch.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
Oh yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2 (03:22):
You did so well back in Soshi in the twenty
fourteen and you now have a long standing career as
a sports reporter on the crowd goes wild and life's
moved on. You've got kids and a husband, cam and
so there's a lot in your life. But you mentioned
that you still probably miss that competitive sporting and you
(03:43):
broke your back and your body told you had to retire. Yeah,
and what went on in your head at that time
a lot.
Speaker 3 (03:50):
It was definitely the toughest decision and I was in
denial about it for a long time. When I broke
my back in France, the closest airport was actually Barcelona,
and I remember I left my ski bag in Barcelona
with a friend who lived there because I was adamant
that I was going to be back in I was like,
I'll be back. I'll walk it out three minute, I
mean sorry, three minutes. I'll be back in three months
for the World Championships. Like no worries and I literally
(04:12):
left my ski bag out there. That's how like adamant
I was that I wasn't going to be retiring. But
you know, at the end of the day after you
know quite a lot of soul searching. And my parents
have always been really supportive over my career, you know
and skiin even though you know, as a mum now
I'm like, oh my god, please don't choose a sport
like this. But they've always been supportive. But there was
(04:33):
a big turning point around that time. I had this
really big concussion about like September of twenty twenty fifteen,
twenty sixteen, and then it was like two months later
I broke my back and they really sat me down
and was like, we actually don't support this anymore, and
we would kick ourselves if something really big happened that
you couldn't come back from and we didn't have this conversation.
(04:54):
So they had a really blunt conversation with me where
they were like, we don't want you to do this anymore,
and you've got so much more life for hitter appearance.
Speaker 2 (05:01):
Yeah, I know, you were so motivated to probably the
only people that could probably speak into your life like that.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
I know exactly, and I think at the end of
the day, this decision had to be mine and I
did come to it on my own, but that conversation
really did like hit me, I guess more than I realized.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
I can remember reading a comment when you were on
Dancing for Stars that your dad saying you were so
much he was so much happy at seeing you doing
those types of things. Then going and doing jobs.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yeah, like I said, as a parent, now I'm like, yeah,
I can't imagine what it's like to have a kid
as an extreme sport.
Speaker 2 (05:32):
So you had to retire. You went off to Spain
and that didn't work out too well for you either.
Speaker 3 (05:36):
Or was that when I had my my accident and
MINORCA I know.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
I just in case your head wasn't banged around enough exactly.
He came off a bike.
Speaker 3 (05:45):
Yeah, well I got hit by a bike.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
I was, oh, okay, Yeah, I.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Went to I went to minorcap somebody. I said to
my dad again a bit of a joke. I said, look,
if nepotism here. I was like, if you could get
me a job in the America's Cup because this was
when it was in Bermutera and I was like, if
you hustle me a job in America's Cup, I will
quit Skien. I said that to him, and you should
have seen him pulling on all his contacts trying to
get me a job in Bermuda that didn't work out.
But he was like, I didn't get your job Bermuda,
(06:11):
but I got you a job at the sailing camp
that he used to work at and Minorca in Spain.
So I was like, yeah, all right, fine, I'll take
that again. Niphantism and I met into Spain in like
a few days into my trip. I was walking home
from a bar. Everyone had stayed a bit later and
I wanted to go home. And I had only been
on the island for a couple of days and I
(06:31):
was at the bottom of a very steep parl. There
was there was no street lights, and all I can
remember it's just been on the pavement all of a sudden, basically,
And what had happened is like a biker hadn't seen me,
like just a guy in a pushbike, but gone really
fast and he bowled me over and he I'm pretty
sure I had broken his arm and got pretty iffed
up too. But then anyway, I ended up in an ambulance.
I woke up in ambulance, had no idea why I
(06:52):
was in Spain, and I remember calling my dad and
I was just like, so messed up in my head again,
and he was just yeah, in tears, had to pull
over the car and it was had to yeah, recover
from another injury by myself on the other end of
the world, when I had just announced my retirement because
I was like, I'm going to keep my body safe now.
Speaker 2 (07:10):
Yeah, No, life doesn't go as your plan. No, I
mean there's a few things happening in the world at
the moment that don't seem to be going to plan
the order that we've sort of relied on, and news
that keeps on tumbling out of our radios and news
feeds and things very alarming, and yeah, so you're in
(07:32):
that state in Spain. We're feeling a bit like that now.
And is it rattling you what's happening now?
Speaker 3 (07:38):
Yeah, to my core, you know, with everything where the
world's at at the moment, I've been I've really struggled
in the last few years off trying to wrap my
head around it. I've always been I grew up in
a family that we discussed everything at the dinner table.
I was really lucky, like my parents and I grew
up on the North Shore, but I grew up with
very socialist parents. My mom is from Sweden, so grew
(07:59):
up in a country where you know, you pay a
lot of tax, but you eat a lot back from it,
you know it's well spent. And my dad, you know,
he's pretty much always voted for the Green Party and
you know, we're considering being on the shore around that
sort of max. I grew up in the sort of
bubble off, like this very socialist bubble, and I've always
been very i guess like left wing empathetic. I was
(08:20):
the type of kid at sixteen years old who would
read an article about, you know, a migrant boat capsizing
and killing everyone on board and being tears about it
at sixteen. So I have this like quite intense empathy
towards everyone in this world. So with everything going on,
like I have not been able to understand and fathom
and process and be able to like live normally basically
(08:42):
in the last like two years, since everything has happened
in Gaza, which I know, we've totally like gone off track,
but yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Yeah, well, we tend to zigzag around here, and it's
just the sense of being all at sea, and can
you see a track through it? Can you see?
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Not everyone? Not everyone keeps ignoring it, do you know
what I mean? Like not if everyone just keeps staying
within quote unquote their bubble and well they can't do it,
and they can't do anything about it, what's the point
of doing anything about it? Then? Like then, no, I
really don't see it's their way out now.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
One of the sort of the unique things about real
life is that we talk about people's inner life and
thoughts about God and things like that. Do you see
any sort of spiritual dimension in this or are you
open to that? Or yes?
Speaker 3 (09:29):
I was raised with I wasn't raised religious, but I
was raised with I guess a respect for religion, you know,
in my family, and I guess I could call myself
agnostic in some ways. And I think, you know, I've
never really thought too much about religion until recently, when
with everything that's been going on, and I have to
(09:50):
ask myself, why am I struggling so much? You know,
when doesn't feel like many people around me are, which
is also why I go to often, you know, these protests,
stuff about to be with other people who are like me,
if you know what I mean, because otherwise you feel
like you're going crazy sometimes. And I guess in some
ways I've been almost envious people who have this you know,
connection or the spiritual like this, I guess higher power, right,
(10:13):
this this thing where they're feeling like there's something bigger,
there's more than this purpose because when you don't have that,
and when my belief system is crumbling, my brief system
is you know, justice, and and I guess like kindness.
And I don't know, I'm not saying this very eloquently,
but like these these social structures that I cling on
(10:34):
to democracy, when I see them crumbling around me, like
I have nothing to cling on cling on to, whereas
people who do have a faith, they do have something
to cling on to. And I guess it's why, you know,
in these yeah, in these countries where you know so
much suffering can happen, they can still be so joyful
and they can still be so kind to one another,
and there's still so much I guess love there because
(10:56):
there's so much faith there.
Speaker 2 (10:57):
Often I'm talking with a very deep thinking Annah Wilcox
and We'll be back after the break and talk a
bit more about how she got into sport, about her
sport crazy family, and we'll talk about what she's got
coming up next. This is real Life. I'm John cown.
You're listening to News Talk ZB.
Speaker 1 (11:17):
Intelligent interviews with interesting people. It's real life on News
Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Welcome back to real Life. I'm John Cowen and I'm
talking with Anna Wilcox, who is an olympian and also
a broadcaster on the Crowd Goes Wild And what are
we listening to there?
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (11:48):
That was That's Hot Chip over and over again, which
is a song that makes me laugh and it makes
me think of a time in my early ski days,
my first ever ski season at Okay Who I was
listening to super into indie music, and I remember listening
to that song quite a lot, but one time in particular,
sort of dropped a little cliff, a mini cliff or
at fuck Poppa, and then that song was playing in
(12:10):
my ear and I just started to like rag Doll essentially,
so just like go over and over and over and
over and over again, which that song the lyrics. I
was listening to it at the time, and I was
laughing in my head, like how funny that these lyrics.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
So it's describing very appt soundtrack your life exactly your
life as it started. Strange. You mentioned your family before.
Your father and your brother are both very successful sportsman
on the water. Yeah, and so it's not surprising that
you're sporty, but you decided to take your sport as
far away from the water as you could get, right
up the top of mountains.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
I know, I joke, I just went, I ran for
the hells because sailing was not my thing, you know.
I was born into a family of sailors and it's
what we did every Sunday. Yeah, and my dad used
to joke, which would be funny maybe to the audience
that they would be like, it's either church or it's
sailing on Sundays. That's your twee s sonna. So you know,
I just, you know, it didn't I didn't take to
(13:01):
it like my brother did. He was, you know, a
little protege of my dad's when he was when he
was little. But and then I just kind of had
to find my own pathway, you know, and I ended
up like my mom was from Sweden and she loves skiing,
so she definitely drilled that into us. We were lucky
enough to be able to go on a few ski
holidays when we were younger, and that made me love skiing.
(13:23):
And then when I finished high school, I didn't know
what I wanted to study yet, so I decided to
take a gap year, which I'm still on and it's
going really well. One it's good, and do my first
ever a ski season. It will pay her. And I
finally was like I fell in love with not just
the sport, but the lifestyle and the people. And I realized,
you know, there's just other ways of doing life, because
(13:43):
you know, when you grew up in a I guess
the CETI and this echo chamber of everyone just doing
the same thing and going to university straight after school
and doing that, you kind of think that's the only
way to do things. And then when you kind of
brunch out of that and you meet all these people
of different ages, ethnicities and just you know, just having
fun basically and doing a sport as well, is what. Yeah,
that's sort of what I was drawn to.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Right now, it's a world that I can't really identify with.
In fact, is you're in a world now that I
don't really identify with You're mixing all the time in
your career with high performing athletes, and you're also a woman,
and so your world is so different from mine that
you might have to excuse me for being basically ignorant.
(14:26):
But I got a glimpse from an article that you
wrote about the pain and hardship in both these worlds,
the hardship that you went through becoming a successful olympian
and also just the hardship of just being a woman.
Speaker 3 (14:39):
I think, Yeah, there's just so much that comes with
being woman that we struggle with that you know, people
don't really or men don't realize, I guess. You know,
when it comes to anything from you know, our period pain,
which athletes deal with. You know, your high performance athlete,
you're still going to get period pains or indo or
migraines which I and you.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Still have to turn up and do your best.
Speaker 3 (14:59):
Still going to turn up and do yourself, menopause. You
know that all these things that aren't talked about enough
and we go through it's a silent struggle, I guess,
but in my opinion, you know, it makes us just
so incredibly resilient as well, Like I have a daughter
and a son, and I just truly believe, like you know,
we have over time just become such strong beings women
have because of I guess like these just little things
(15:20):
that we go through.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
But yeah, okay, and the sacrifices to become an Olympian,
do you reckon that there's skills, attitudes and things that
you use to become successful there that you deploy in
your battles to you know, with mental health and other things.
Speaker 3 (15:39):
Yeah, for sure. I mean, like, I actually got pretty
severe postpartum depression after my second baby, which I wasn't
really expecting, and that was actually a moment where I
got the Olympic rings tattooed on me because I just
wanted a reminder of the fact that I had done
something really hard before and I could get through this
as well. So I kind of had to dig deep too. Yeah,
(16:00):
to exactly, like you say, those sorts of like high
performance moments when you really have to step up, right.
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, Can I ask you what helped with your depression
or who helped with your depression? You know what got
you through?
Speaker 3 (16:13):
I had. I've had a couple of bouts of depression
since since finishing up. I guess as as an athlete,
and one of them one period was before before my
kids were born, and that that was a huge realization that,
you know, depression anxiety can really hit anyone at any time,
and it's not something that you sort of like have
to have battled within your teenage years or that you
have like that sort of you've been in and out of.
(16:35):
It literally sort of came out of nowhere, and I
didn't really even understand where it came from. There wasn't
really anything significant in my life that had happened for me.
I went to therapy then and that really helped. And
it took about, you know, six months of going to
therapy if not more, to sort of come through that.
But for me, it was like anxiety, like battling panic attacks,
which I'd never had before, and that was pretty pretty willful.
(16:57):
But yeah, the therapy really really helps sort of I
guess file or you know, help manage it in some ways.
With postpum depression, it was so bad, I laughed because
I'm through it. Thank God, I'm not planning to have
any more children's you know. But it was for me,
it was medication that got me through. That was the
first time in my life. I took medication and I
really needed it and it was a game changer. And
(17:18):
I applaud anyone who's going through severe depression like that
to not take medication as an option if if you
are really that bad, because you know, for me, it
was exactly what I needed and yeah, really saved me.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Okay for men standing with their women doing these hard
things that you're talking about, or with anyone that's going
through depression, what helps? What's what? What things do you
appreciate most from the people that have been by your side?
Speaker 3 (17:47):
Probably the number one thing is like validation, you know,
And what do you mean by that? Just like them
really hearing you and hearing how you're feeling and not
dismissing it, you know. Okay, Yeah, even if it is
like confusing and complicated or whatever. I think like that's
probably the number one thing. Is is that for me?
Speaker 2 (18:05):
Yeah? In digging around on your social media feeds and things,
I found a lovely little video you did a tribute
to your man. So tell me about Campbell Richard David
Lowe that became your lawful witted husband.
Speaker 3 (18:21):
Yeah, I mean a few years ago now, I met
him in the wild.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
You know which you meet him in the wild.
Speaker 3 (18:25):
I met him in the wild, because that doesn't happen
very much these days. You know, people are normally swite, right,
and you know it's often a hinge or associate, I mean,
like a dating app, right, But I meet him in
the wild on a dance floor on Ponsley Road, locked
eyes and yeah, no, he I think, I laugh. I
think he came about in my life at the perfect
time because I've obviously been like living a pretty transient life,
(18:48):
you know, going from traveling basically my entire twenties. You know,
I was on the road, and I've always been someone
who has never wanted a guy to hinder my goals,
you know. And I've been like that from a young age.
You know. My friends had like high school loves and
I was like, nah, that's it seems like a waste
of energy right now when I want to be you know,
saving up money to go traveling and whatever. But yeah,
(19:10):
he came into my life at a really amazing time
and he's Yeah, he's like my best friend. It's awesome
to do life with him. And he's the best dad
as well.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
And you're enjoying parentoo. Yes, now that you've got the
depression kick.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Now that I've gone through the newborn phase. I the
newborn phase. People lie to you when they say this
beautiful newborn bubble. I mean that some people will have it,
of course, but I think a lot of people don't.
So it's a myth that it's a good time. It's
a really rough time. At least it was for me.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
One of the things I was wondering with you going
off to the Winter Olympics. Are you going to be
back in time to go to this festival's very special too.
Speaker 3 (19:43):
Yeah, this floor festival. It's the Last Flaw festival, which
is where me and my husband got married. We absolutely
adore festivals in general, but explore which is why we
got married there.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
We wanted to you got married at a festival.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
We got married at a festival. We did. Yeah, I'm
not a traditional person and I was not going to
have a traditional winning at a winery. You know, I
wouldn't have wanted to spend that much money on something
like that. But so just because of how much we
love we wanted festivals. We wanted to share that with
all our friends. So like we got eighty people. Then
my grandma came and we got to well, look.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
That should get you some sort of recognition and a
water or something. Getting your grandmother.
Speaker 3 (20:22):
Along to a festival driving Miss Daisy brought her down.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
You know.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
It was a beautiful moment. And we got to share
that with so many of our friends who would have
never bought tickets or never gone to a festival before
in their life, and we kind of forced them to
and then they're like, oh wow, this is amazing.
Speaker 2 (20:37):
And it was all dress ups.
Speaker 3 (20:38):
Yeah it's dress up, but total dress up. And we
are bringing our kids there this for this last time,
so I am going to be back in time. Just
fight gets there on Thursday morning and we're going to
head off on Friday to the festival. So yeah, probably
be a bit chaing.
Speaker 2 (20:51):
Okay, well, I'm sure that that'll be great therapy after
all your hard to work over at the Winter Olympics.
Hope that goes well for you.
Speaker 3 (20:57):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
You've mentioned how your body's had some knocks, your brain's
had a few knocks, your mental health's been a bit fragile.
Are you intentional about looking after yourself these days?
Speaker 3 (21:07):
Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
What sort of things keep you well, keep you stable,
keep you upright? And grinning.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Balance. I think life's all about balance. You've got to
be a little bit naughty as well, it's a little
bit good, you know, like you've got to have a balance.
Of me and my husband, I think they do that
really well. You know, we're sort of like a Monday
to Friday. You know, we gym and we eat the
right food, and we're really big on eating the right food,
especially with our kids and stuff like that. But we're also,
like I said, able to have a good time at
a festie or a gig. And I think it's so
(21:33):
important for me, you know, like to have to have
that balance, not just be like constantly a plus student,
you know.
Speaker 2 (21:40):
Okay, As a parent of young children, that must balance
is one of the things that people say, no, we're
just going to put balance on hold for a few years,
but you've actually made it a real priority.
Speaker 3 (21:50):
Oh yeah. I think it's important for your kids to
see that, you know, for your kids to see that
you have a life. I was raised like that. My
parents to this day have a you know, an amazing
social life and they're off My mum starts wing foiling
at the age of sixty, and they're you know, going
to like honestly, and they're going backing in South America
and they're like little children. I'm kid you not, and they're.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
Year that's still allowed to be children.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
I know, I know, I know. They've got an amazing
relationship and as an example of like you know, they've
really got such a big first for life and and
I think they've always shown a modeled balance to us,
and I think it's really important.
Speaker 2 (22:27):
So when are the actual Olympics On.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
The opening ceremony is on the sixth of February, but
they actually start on the fifth of February. We've got
an athlete competing on the fifth and it goes right
up to the twenty second, twenty third off off February
and it's going to be so action packed and Sky
is your home for it. They've got so many channels,
so one hundred percent turn on your TVs because you're
going to see some insane sports. There's new ones. Ski
(22:50):
mountaineering is a new sport, for example, which I've never
seen before. It looks really hard, yeah yeah, yeah, but
but you know, the Winter Olympics is so special. You
get to see these sports like figure skating, and you know,
all our park and pipe athletes, which yeah, it's going
to be amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:04):
What wish you all the best for your career and
broadcasting and have a wonderful time over at the Olympics.
And I'm just so grateful that you've made time to
be on Real Life. I've been talking with Anna Wilcox.
This is real life. I'm John Cowen, looking forward to
being back with you again next Sunday night. But we're
going out on one more song, which.
Speaker 3 (23:22):
Is so We're going out on the song that I
dropped into the twenty fourteen Winter Olympics listening to in
my ears, and that is Feel the Love by John
Newman and Bruda Mental.
Speaker 1 (24:02):
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