Michael Lahood
to inspire a life of movement.
Project Move is an on-going personal project centered around photographing athletes, sportspeople, creatives, makers and everyday people expressing the word "move" in whatever shape or form that may be and how movement goes hand in hand with moments of reflection.
As an ex-trainer and aspiring athlete I have seen incredible results from people who move. But with mental health issues increasing globally I want to focus on the tremendous calm which results from regular activity.
Movement calms the mind, and activity leads to stillness.
Each subject will feature three stills that best reflect the moment of stillness, the movement and a detail.
A simple question is then asked:
"What does movement mean to you?"
1. Cirrus Tan - Bouldering
Cirrus has been climbing since she was 13. Her school in Christchurch had a wall which she had a go at one lunch time - quickly discovering she wasn't afraid of heights. She got asked to join the club and the competitions came next. What kept her coming back is that with climbing everyone can solve the problem themselves based on your height, strength and everything in between. learning what position your body has to be in, what speed you have to climb and the timing of everything is what she loves to figure out.
"For me movement is about feeling free on the wall. Free of expectations and worries - I'm just focused on every move and getting as far as I can one hold at a time"
2. Alicia Hoskin - Kayak (part 1)
Alicia is a professional Olympic kayaker and 2x gold medalist in the K4-500 and K2-500 from the Paris Olympics and also competed at the Tokyo Olympics. However recently whenever Alicia was paddling, she was getting a dead arm. Her artery was being squashed by her cervical rib resulting in terrible nerve pain. This escalated to the point where she couldn't do anything with her arm. Alicia has undergone surgery to remove her cervical rib, first rib, scalene muscle and the subclavian muscle - all with the hopes of opening the space up for optimal blood flow. She doesn't know if she will be able to train at an Olympic level again - but for now her goal is to get out on the water and move again.
"During this stage, movement looks very different, but the principle stays the same - it's what connects me to me. When I feel my heartbeat, the breath in my lungs, or my muscles contract - even if, for now, it's the smallest movement - it connects me to my wider world and to who I am. Whether it's going for a walk on the beach with my partner or doing my rehab in the gym while I cheer the other girls on as they do a hard session, it doesn't really matter what it is. Movement is my connection, in multiple forms"
3. Bri Stephenson - Heptathlon
Growing up Bri played pretty much every sport you could, netball and athletics being the main two. In her second to last year of high school she managed to represent New Zealand in both. However this took a turn when Bri tore her ACL, MCL and Meniscus - resulting in a full knee reconstruction at the age of 16. After that injury Bri made the hard decision to quit netball and put all her focus towards athletics. She moved to Auckland and continued her sprinting and long jumping until 2022, when she then tore her Meniscus again, needing a second surgery. Shifting focus, in 2023 Bri started steering her training towards Heptathlon to share the load around the body rather than just spiring and jumping. She now trains for the Commonwealth Games in 2026 and hasn’t looked back since.
"My sports psych and I talk about what are the optimal ingredients in a day, to live our best day. Movement is definitely one of those key ingredients for me. It’s been a part of my life for a very long time and it’s given me so much - the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been and the connections I’ve made. Where I’m at right now is sort of the pinacle of it, but it’s so much more than a physical outlet for me. From spiritual to mental, it’s become a part of who I am”.
4. Jess - Powerlifting
Jess is a mum and it’s a very important part of who she is and a very big driver of what she does in the gym. It’s important for Jess to show her daughter that women can be strong, and that strong doesn’t have to look or present a certain type of way. Jess has been a competitive powerlifter for three years, and has found the sport has brought her not only a sense of community and purpose, but is now a huge tool for helping manage ADHD. Jess is also a Personal Trainer and Strength Coach who wants to help more women step in to powerlifting and discover the depth of their strength. Jess lives by the mantra that she isn’t going to sacrifice her life for her kids, she’s going to make her life better, so that her kids lives are better and continuing to move and grow within the gym space is a huge part of that.
“Movement is something I’m very grateful to be able to do. Through my job I see a lot of people who can’t move in a lot of different ways - It’s a reminder that I’m lucky, I’m privileged, I’m capable, I’m strong and even when I spend too much time stuck in my head worrying about life and the world - I can move. I’m grounded, and back in my body again”.
5. Julian David - Speed Climbing
Julian loved climbing trees at school, until he fell out of one. His teacher said "what are you up to, we have a climbing wall here at school". Julian met Rob who became his climbing coach. Rob was inspired by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to build New Zealand’s first and only speed wall and that’s how Julian got into Speed Climbing specifically. Since then he has won youth worlds in 2023 at the age of 18, and then made the finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics. LA Olympics is next on the horizon for Julian.
“I think movement is one of the most important things we can do. As a kid I remember watching the Olympics and thinking, I want to do that. I didn’t even know what sport for. I played everything - football, swimming, cycling, running - it’s all movement and it helped me get to where I am now. Personally when I think about the ability to climb at a high level, it all stems from the movement I’ve always done my whole life - movement is the foundation of everything I do, and will be for the rest of my life”.