Hey everyone!

As most of you know, I came to Australia in February 2022 with a student visa to study English for six months. The plan was simple: improve my language skills, head back to Colombia, and hopefully land a better job as a Mechanical Engineer. But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with Australia (and with fitness!) and became a certified personal trainer. Now, my goals have expanded, and I’ve been working hard to build a career in both engineering and fitness.

After finishing my English course, I enrolled in a vocational fitness program in Sydney and got my Certificate III in Fitness (so I could keep helping you all crush it in the gym!). Then, I moved to Perth with the dream of pursuing mechanical engineering, gaining work experience, and living in the land of sun, surf, and coffee — but those pesky student visa restrictions held me back.

Here’s where it gets interesting: after six months of waiting, I just got the news that my visa application has been refused! I have two choices now: pack up and leave Australia by June 26 or appeal the decision to a tribunal. The problem? The appeal fee is $3,500, and with legal costs and other expenses, I’m looking at a total of around $8,000 to $9,000. Yikes, right?

Here’s the thing: I’ve already invested thousands into visas, courses, and living expenses (yes, I’ve been living in a van to survive the rental crisis ). Despite working part-time and pushing myself to the limit, I can’t quite cover this last hurdle.

But here's the fun part: I was talking with some of you amazing people, and the idea of organizing a fundraiser came up. And honestly, it felt like the perfect last shot to stay here, keep building my future, and keep helping you all with your fitness goals. So here I am, reaching out to you — my friends, gym buddies, and all the incredible people who’ve been a part of this journey with me.

If you’ve ever appreciated a workout, a joke during a set, or the sweat we’ve shared together in the gym, I’d be super grateful for any help you can offer to make this happen. Every little bit counts, and I promise that if I get this opportunity, I’ll keep putting in the work to make it all worth it!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love and support so far — let’s do this!