INTRODUCING : FLOWER FRIENDS 001 - Mathilde Delorme

Welcome back to the blog, a place where we try to give you more value and a read you can take something away from. Something that leaves you better than when you arrived.

This week we will introduce FLOWER FRIENDS.

We have had the opportunity to cross paths with so many through the cafe and run club so we wanted to play with the idea of going a little deeper with those we might not have had enough time with but was really intrigued by. Or It could just be telling the story of a face you see often. This weeks feature is Mathilde Delorme. She had just finished a run around Seseh with her mum.  We shared a coffee and great conversation together. Her outlook and personal experience with running was inspiring and I wanted to know more. 

Flower Friends 001  - Mati 🌸

Who are you?

 What a question to kick it off! I’ve struggled with that question. Am I someone? Who am I? 

I’m someone in motion, fluid but quite unwavering in certain aspects and things I won’t tolerate. I am a mosaic of my thoughts, my memories, my actions, the things I love, my core values. But these are not fixed - evolving, unlearning, learning.

Professionally (and emotionally) I’m deeply involved with the Olympic movement, through digital engagement with the International Olympic Committee. 

I founded @bete_noir_, a creative sports media project that I describe as my 'eternal work in progress' — and honestly, that phrase applies to me as a person, too. I explore the paradox of sport, the love-hate relationship with goals and performance, and in that, I often find reflections of myself.

I’ve been a competitive 100m sprinter for Australia, I am a Hyrox athlete, a marathon runner, a cyclist. I am the biggest supporter and hater of elite sports, I am an athlete at my core, highly competitive but unwaverly loving. I am someone that needs to push constantly, I struggle with complacency but respect and marvel in the idle art of it. 

I am pulled into aesthetics - through art, fashion, food. I design experiences that feel like an intersection of all those. 

Tell us about how you found Flowerboy…

Running in Seseh, Bali with my Mama on our annual 1-1 trip. I had originally discovered Flowerboy online through the collaborations on the LSD Satisfy runs and other mutual follows. The project seemed soulful and interesting to me - integrating a mindful approach to sport. I gravitate towards those projects.

What’s your relationship to running?

Uff. A complex one. I love it and I hate it - that’s the basis of my life project and brand  'Bete Noir Sport' that speaks on the paradox that exists in the pursuit of sport - this constant tussle between pain and pleasure, destruction and salvation. Running is my base pillar. Like a block of cement that holds up a massive building. It’s how I click things back into place in my body and mind. It’s the key to my mind, it’s my lifeblood. I grew up running, it was what made me feel accepted as an immigrant expat moving to a new country. Society is funny in that way, you’re accepted when you’re good at sports in most places. It’s an automatic respect mechanism, a status gainer of some sorts - that’s where it can become a dangerous toxic game. Sometimes you can get pulled too far into the system and forget why you started running in the first place - because it made you feel free. Like an animal, powerful, light, free. 

Tell us what you have learned about potential…

That our minds are tricky little bastards at times. Potential is infinite. We’ve seen countless examples of that in society. However the gap between actual state and potential can sometimes be huge and daunting. Break it down, go slow, prioritise and keep that ‘potential’ bar well above you.

What’s your favorite photo you have taken lately?

Share a piece of advice to your younger self..

Matigol! Work on your mobility, your intrinsic strength! Just because your heart is beating fast, doesn’t mean you’re training smart and strong. 

Prioritise your goals, go one by one. Zone in. Start psychological training as early as possible. Continue to train your gut instinct, focus on your breath. 

———

There ya go. Some fun questions and great answers from Mati. Give her and her passion project a follow on socials and stay tuned for the next edition!

Hope to share a run and coffee together soon.