Who said that we need to have bad lifestyle patterns when we travel? Wellness tourism is booming, and sarah hoey, fitness ambassador for the pullman hotels & resorts, is surfing on that wave beautifully. Her mission is to help a whole new generation of travellers thrive while on the go.

What brought you to fitness?
Sarah Hoey : My proper education is in global business management and international relations, but I always loved working with people in health and sports. Ten years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer and decided to beat it by entering fitness and bikini competitions, where strong and independent women became my role models. I worked with the best, but then it was time to expand my horizons.

How did it happen?
I believe in vision boards: if you visualise your dreams, they become reality. In the summer of 2014, in search of another adventure as a global nomad, I was given the opportunity to train clients at the Pullman Marrakesh. The timing was perfect, so I packed my backpack, and in addition to being a trainer at this magical Morrocan resort, I started to talk about how to provide a better variety of healthy options for the guests.

What is your role as a wellness Pullman ambassador?
I've been designing and teaching fitness and yoga classes, but now this honorific role extends even further. The travellers’ mentality has evolved. It’s a bit like “40 is the new 20”: millennials want to live healthier and feel healthier. They've defined age not as appearance but as the overall feeling of wellbeing. Checking-in at a Pullman resort, you’ll be offered a choice of four healthy juices: Age Defence, Energy-Boost, Detox, or Balance, which can be combined with a corresponding work out. Those tailored programs have three levels, beginner, intermediate, advanced, and are 7 minutes long. We are shooting videos of these 7-minute workouts in heavenly Thailand, and they will be shown in the guest-rooms of Pullman hotels across the globe. We believe that the better our guests feel while travelling, the more successful their trips will be. And that’s true whether they are travelling for business or pleasure.

When did you start adding yoga to your teaching?
I started Vinyasa yoga, coordination of the poses with breath, to relax my own body from the pressures of weight lifting and cardio vascular fitness schedules. The benefits were so great that I wanted to share them with my clients.

Interview Juliette Michaud
Photography Sarah Marshall