Be Yourself. This Is You.
We’re with Biçem, İpek and Pınar – all of them are strong women who know what they want and fight for it. We’re not sure if it’s their respect for their bodies or self-confidence that brings them here but we do admire their productivity and cannot wait to introduce them to you.
Biçem Şinik, Tattoo Artist
Biçem Şinik is on our radar with her tattoo technique, unique designs and strong presence. But today, we we’re really interested in is the fact that she’s been focusing on physical improvement for the last four years! “I made a promise to myself when I was 25. I’d be a healthier person when I’m 35, stop everything that harms my body and focus on working out.” And she has kept her promise. As one of those people who does it when they put their mind to something, Biçem underlines the positive influence of this process.
“By working out, I’ve become a much easygoing person. I don’t get mad and am much calmer. I feel better and more vigorous. My hands are x-small and my job requires me to work on human body with a vibrating machine which is basically fighting against me. But now I can fight it. I used to get really tired working with it.”
Influenced by her profession in her decision to take up sports, Biçem now has the muscle power that is necessary for tattoo artists. “My hands and back are stronger; I would’ve begun sooner if I knew it would feel like this.” She began with Pilates, continued with CrossFit, kick box and weight lifting, and is now aiming higher with yoga. “Dream it and make it real,” she says and reminds us that this was her motivation when she moved to Istanbul. She believes in her ideas and wishes to display what she has. “Be original,” she says. Isn’t that what we all need?
İpek Onaran, Triathlete, Math Teacher
İpek took up swimming at 6 with her family’s guidance and at 11 with her trainer’s, and contested in the national team between 2002 and 2006. After ranking second at the Balkan Championship, she “took a little break that lasted about 7 years” as she tells us with a smile. She hits the pause during college years but takes it up again for socializing and now she has no idea of ever letting go. Though she found it hard in the beginning, her muscle memory kicks in and she pulls herself together quickly thanks to the program by his brother, who’s also a trainer. Now, she’s outpacing her former self.
“There’s no point in trying to motivate yourself if you don’t have a goal,”
Her family has contributed greatly to her professionalism. “My family never made me choose between sports and studying,” she says. Becoming a triathlete in addition to her full-time job as a math teacher is a sign of how serious she’s about her responsibilities. As she underlined in her speech “Victory of Losing” at TedX, she “got to this point not by winning but by losing.” She sets higher goals for herself by listening to her father’s advice: “A day has 24 hours; you can do it if you really want it.” “There’s no point in trying to motivate yourself if you don’t have a goal,” she adds. Her goal is to rank in top three at Full Iron Man and participate in the World Championship. “You’re strong as long as you don’t give up.”
Pınar Mumcu, Co-founder of Rundamental
Pınar took up running as a hobby and turned it into a community. Thanks to her professional experience, she approaches sports from a more social perspective compared to other people who took it up at some point. Founded by four people in 2015, Rundamental running group feeds on the team spirit of running and disciplines this goal with certain activities. “I’m not a professional athlete but a serious hobbyist so I enable people like me to empathize easily and inspire them – especially women! There weren’t many people running in the street when I first began; I wouldn’t even feel safe running in shorts or at night in certain parts of town. But now there’s always someone running somewhere!” Beginning with 25 people, Rundamental now has nearly 100 members, most of who are women.
“I remember how shy they were about it at first, now they run a half-marathon and train three days a week! Since we go into the depths of running, we also encourage people to engage in other training styles besides running because we don’t have the athletic background. We partner up with other sports clubs and institutions for strength training, yoga and CrossFit.”
Our motto is ‘Not Only Running.’ Our goal is to adopt this as a lifestyle and organize events to support the running culture.”
In her community which strives to make running a lifestyle, İpek says, “It’s hard to live in the city. I felt it the first day I went running. After rush hour, even if I run for like 30 minutes, I feel like I’ve reset everything.” The community has gradually become more popular, and its partnership with Puma is epitomized in Ignite runs and supports the community’s 10K goal. Pınar has no ties with physical strength, “I’m not a lazy person at all. I feel strong if I could fit in a day a few meetings, a project, a training session and an intellectually nourishing activity.”
Pınar is not one of those people who consider it a vacation when you lie on the couch all day; she’s excited about how she can nourish and improve herself in a day. She sure is a real example of sport’s motivational power!