Who is Kaisa Larkas?
I am a Finnish personal trainer and a mum of four (16, 14, 12 & 2 year olds) living in Buckinghamshire. I moved to London from Helsinki to go to uni when I was 17 and ended up staying England.
How did you become inspired by sober living?
I have always been the one who has no off switch and I’m pretty much all or nothing with everything in life. So more often than not, I would drink too much or too quickly and then wake up with a hang over. I never drank too often or to the point of it being a problem, but in the last few years I started noticing that even after a few glasses of wine I felt a bit rubbish the next day. Because I am so healthy with everything else in life as I train a lot and eat well, it seemed stupid for me to have those days where you just wish the day away because of alcohol. I have now been totally alcohol free for exactly five months and I can honestly say I do not miss drinking one bit. I know it can be hard for some people to quit, but because I’ve never drank to have a good time or be more confident, I actually wish I had gone booze free ages ago!
What is your favourite sober experience?
Everything really! I have done multiple weekend trips with my girlfriends and been the only one not drinking yet the last one on the dance floor. Waking up with a clear head remembering the whole night before and heading out for a run first thing in the morning and exploring a new city is priceless. We have also just had a lovely weekend with the family in Norway and I was enjoying the alcohol free options in the sunshine in between our walks in the forest and time on the beach by the fjord.
How do you connect with the outdoors?
Being from Finland where everyone is very outdoorsy no matter what the weather, being active and going for walks or runs is just normal to me. I love exploring new places and more recently in the last two years, me and my boyfriend have started cold water swimming, which I absolutely love!
Where are you heading next?
Athens with three of my girlfriends. We used to live next door to each other in London and with everyone in different places now, I suggested we go and have some quality time together without the children. I can’t wait to spend three days catching up, discovering the city, eating delicious food and not waking up with a hang over.
You can follow Kaisa’s adventures here.
