Daniel Stokes

Why I’m Sweating with Pride

I’m taking on Sweat with Pride this June to raise money for our Rainbow communities! 💦🌈

Our schools, workplaces, and doctors’ offices are still not safe places for many Rainbow New Zealanders and it’s putting lives at risk.

More than half our rainbow whānau have experienced mental illness. One in five of our rainbow rangatahi (youth) have attempted suicide. And life changing STIs like syphilis, mpox and HIV are still far too common. Things need to change.

So, this June I’m fighting discrimination with perspiration, and I've committed to exercising for at least 21 minutes EVERY DAY to raise money to support Rainbow Kiwis.

This cause means a lot to me. I’d be SO GRATEFUL if you could chip in to help me reach my goal. Every dollar I raise will fund life-changing mental, physical and sexual health services for Rainbow New Zealanders.

Thank you sooooo much ❤️

My Impact

So far in this year’s challenge I have…

Unlocked three counselling sessions for someone struggling with their identity or sexual health.

Sponsor Me

Track my Progress

I’m sweating for 21 minutes
per day this June!

670 minutes completed

630 minutes goal

My Ranking

I’m #335 out of 4,346 Sweaty Bettys

335

Daniel Stokes

Raised

$575

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My Updates

7th-8th June

Saturday 8th Jun

Oops, I missed a day on Thursday - work got in the way. Friday was a brisk walk around my neighbourhood, but today I made up for Thursday with another 90 min walk in the Waitakeres.

I've learned/remembered things this week: Gym classes? Hate them. Running? Hate it. Walking? Love it! I always did, I just haven't done any in the past 5 years. Think I'm going to keep doing it and finish the month out with a longer trek. We'll see how it goes.

5th June

Wednesday 5th Jun

Decided to try running. This was a mistake - I never run anywhere except for "away." As in, "from responsibility." I ran for about 3 mins before needing to walk, and then did 1 min run, 3 min walk, for about 15 mins total.

Had to get to the 20 mins, though, so tried the first half of the Wildcard Dance class, and confirmed that I am utterly uncoordinated. Pretty sure I didn't get a single step right. It counts, though - I am definitely a sweaty betty right now.

Day 4

Tuesday 4th Jun

Les Mills cardio workout at https://www.sweatwithpride.com/workout-with-les-mills

Did not like. Will go curl up in corner for an hour or so.

Days 2 & 3

Monday 3rd Jun

Yesterday I drove out to the Waitaks and did the Waitakere Dam walk. Getting to the dam was easy - it's all downhill - but getting back was killer. I carried on past the dam and did some of the fenceline track, in total doing about 4.5km, mostly on hills. I couldn't feel my legs by the time I got back to the car. 🤣

Today was as close as I get to rest day this month, and I just did a 30 min walk around my neighbourhood. I did push myself to walk as fast as possible - and definitely got a sweat on!

Day 1

Saturday 1st Jun

Challenging start to the month: I've got uni labs 9am-5pm, then D&D straight after, so had to get up at 7am, on a Saturday, and do exercise. That should be illegal at weekends. I did one of the Les Mills online classes, which was pretty good. Ah well, it's done now, and I can't feel my legs.