Entrepreneur driving change, Julie Mathers on taking control of her health - Women's Agenda

Entrepreneur driving change, Julie Mathers on taking control of her health

Julie Mathers

As a purpose-driven entrepreneur, leader and mother of two, Julie Mathers has learned the importance of taking control of her health and finding balance between work and family.

Throughout her career, Mathers has focused on driving change and building better businesses for our planet, people and animals. 

In 2014, she founded Flora and Fauna, Australia’s largest 100 per cent vegan and cruelty-free beauty, home, fashion & lifestyle store. In 2016, she founded Green + Kind, a zero-waste brand providing plastic-free alternatives for home and personal care. And earlier this year, Mathers exited both Flora & Fauna and Green +Kind to acquire and step into the role of CEO at Snuggle Hunny, an Australian baby brand creating products like clothes and swaddles. 

Now, as part of our weekly health series looking at how dynamic women of different career backgrounds maintain their physical and mental health, Mathers shares more on her daily routine.

An early riser and lover of running (she’s run 9 marathons!), Mathers makes sure to spend quality time with her husband and two boys. She encourages women to develop habits that prioritise their health and happiness. 

Read Mathers’ full ‘how I manage my health’ profile below. 

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Most mornings I…

Wake up around 6, and try to get an hour or two of work done before I get my two baby boys up. I never used to be a morning person and I’m still not convinced I am, it’s just a great time to feel energised and I can really crank out a lot of work when the rest of my world seems to be offline.

As soon as the boys are up it’s action stations with a two year old and three year old running around. If I’m in the office my husband and I get the boys ready for daycare, attempt to feed them, our plethora of animals, feed ourselves and get out of the door. They’re in childcare above the office which is handy! My mornings are very practical. Oh and I also do the wordle and might cram in a couple of levels of Candy Crush!

My exercise routine includes…

Running, walking and my trusty Peloton. I love running and I’ve run 9 marathons now. I’ve had three knee surgeries so it has taken me a while to get back into running but I love it. Running is my happy place and somewhere I really get some me time. I love my Peloton. You feel part of a community and it is so easy to exercise for 20 or 30 minutes – bite size chunks. 

My favourite workout is…

Running and doing sprints. I love trying to set PBs on every run.

I find balance in…

My family. It’s actually been a forced balance for me. I am not someone who has previously valued balance much for myself personally. I am very much all in when it comes to work and I thrive and enjoy that. I love work, love building brands, and, with Flora & Fauna and Snuggle Hunny, love what I do so don’t worry it might be all consuming.

Since having two babies I’ve had to reassess how I do what I do and it is because I want to spend time with my two boys. My husband and I work together as a team which is crucial. We also take bite size chunks of time to do things. eg on a Wednesday we take the boys to the local playground for 20 minutes. Great for the boys and really good for us too. Sometimes it’s simple things that help you find balance and joy. 

On health, I encourage women to…

Take control and make decisions that are right for you and your health. I say that as someone who has lost over 14kg in the last 6 months and whose health has improved dramatically since doing so. I had both my children in my 40s and I didn’t bounce back at all  – quite the opposite. At the same time F&F became very busy and my health was put last – snacking and mid week wine happened most nights; I had horrific heartburn and generally was not well. 

When I sold F&F I was very unhealthy and that didn’t improve. I was so focused on the business I had lost all focus on myself. When I exited F&F the first thing I did was change my habits and how I lived my life. 6 months later I am lighter, a lot healthier and much happier. 

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