Exclusive interview with Anna Maria Lang, Founder of Battle Babes Fitness
Anna Maria Lang
Anna Maria Lang served nine years in the Australian Army and became a paratrooper. She has achieved high levels of fitness and, after losing 30kg, completed half marathons and a 200km-in-one-month run challenge. Anna has recently started an online magazine called Battle Babes Fitness, aimed at helping women live the life of their dreams, regardless of your body shape or size.
Tell me a little bit about your background and how you ended up choosing your field.
I come from a long line of veterans and also have been interested in fitness my entire life because of my upbringing and my military experience myself. I have had my own challenges with weight and an eating disorder in the past and have healed to be able to embrace and love my body no matter what shape or size I am. I chose this field because I am passionate about helping people and particularly women while I am inspired to assist women to mostly lose the weight off their minds because life is too short to be wasted missing opportunities for the way you think you look. Being a paratrooper in the Army gave me insights into how truly powerful we are as human beings and what is possible because I overcame some significant challenges to be able to succeed at the course. It showed me that we are innately strong and resilient and can achieve things even our minds may struggle with comprehending at that time.
Who is your hero and why?
Angelina Jolie is my hero because of her resilience and the way in which she has succeeded in the media and as a human rights activist. I admire her physical and mental strength while understanding what it is like to be someone who believes strongly in a cause while being an entrepreneur and visionary who makes a difference in the lives of others. Over the years I have seen her go through many great and not so great things and she keeps going and succeeding. I find this inspiring and helpful to stay on track myself because women like us who have a great vision need to be that way and it’s amazing to see Angelina shattering glass ceilings at times and paving the way for women in the world inspiring them to be better people. No matter what your past, there is a way forward and a way to succeed and Angelina does this very well. She maintains fitness and health while succeeding and being busy and she also is of service while being an entrepreneur.
How do you personally define success? What does it mean to you?
I define success as the number of people’s lives I am able to inspire and impact. This means making a difference and helping people, particularly women to succeed at whatever their path is. So many people place success on a dollar figure and that is something that comes with making a difference as an entrepreneur while the true measure of success is the way you can inspire people to live a better life, find their purpose and live their true destiny. It means a lot to me to succeed at this and to be able to help more people from that success while paving the way in the world for women to be able to live their lives the way they want to with their relationships, health and career. Success is also not so much about the way that I look, it is about the way that I feel about myself which isn’t really quantifiable but it is something that impacts the quality of life for all women.
What 3 books would you recommend every entrepreneur read?
The Richest Man Who Ever Lived – Steven K Scott
7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Steven Covey
Rising Strong – Brene Brown
If you had to pick a charity to give to, who would it be and why?
I am the Founder of a charity called Women Veterans United and another organisation called the Global Empowering Women Organisation. I of course would give to these causes while also I have a strong affiliation with the United Nations because of my deployment history in the military and working for them and chairing a committee for United Nations Women in the past. 10% of all profits from Battle Babes Fitness is donated to Women Veterans United which assists women veterans who require welfare or advocacy services. I believe it is important to give and live for a grander purpose than business and even than yourself. I choose these charities because these are causes that I have been directly involved with and have seen how much the funds are needed first hand.
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