Lifting kettlebells more than just a hobby for business student

Elijah Zhang moved to New Zealand earlier this year to study towards a Graduate Diploma in Business Studies with a focus on sports business management. His interest in sport management grew out of his success in the unique sphere of kettlebell lifting.

Growing up in Mainland China, Elijah says his family taught him more than he learnt at school. The family travelled a lot, which he says exposed him to different cultures, climates, ethnicities, and ways of life that made him a more tolerant person.

At the age of 21, Elijah became a personal trainer. He says he was attracted to the job because it requires continuous learning, communicating with people and maintaining enthusiasm. During this time he dabbled in muay thai, jiu jitsu, pilates, CrossFit, yoga and functional training.

After following a friend to Thailand and entering a CrossFit gym, he became acquainted with the humble kettlebell.

“I became interested in this sport because at the time I was practicing kettlebell swings with a 16kg kettlebell, and it made me more exhausted than any other sport I was doing. I like to try new sports, so I started to search for information about kettlebells on the internet and found there were a lot of people who called themselves ‘kettlebell lifters’.”

It just so happened that an American instructor was about to hold a one-day kettlebell workshop in China, so he jumped at the chance to attend.

He went on to get his first professional coach and travelled to St Petersburg, Russia, for an intensive 27-day training stint. His days would begin with a seven-kilometre outdoor run in -15-degree conditions, followed by two training sessions and stints in saunas and ice baths.

In 2017, Elijah was the first-ever Chinese person to compete in the Kettlebell World Championships when he competed in the Seoul Korea World Championship Kettlebell Lifting event.

Unfortunately, he was red carded and following a vlog he posted on the internet about his experience, was on the receiving end of a lot of malicious comments saying he was a disgrace to his country.

He didn’t let this deter him though. He got a new coach and a new job that took him to Shanghai, where he was able to facilitate Russian kettlebell instructors to visit China to teach kettlebell classes.

Alongside all the life changes that 2018 brought him, he also won the Kettlebell National Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

“In 2019 I was encouraged by my friends to create my own kettlebell organisation and workshop. I shared things about training and competitions through the internet to try to find people who were willing to compete with me. After being the first Chinese person at those 2017 world championships, I had a goal of taking more Chinese people to the world champs.”

In a year, he had more than 100 Chinese people learning kettlebells with him and in 2019 he took four to Novi Sad, Serbia, to participate in the World Championships. He and his students won two bronze medals.

“That’s also when I started to want to come to Massey to study, because I wanted to learn more about management so I could better promote kettlebells in China and around the world.”

In January 2020, just as Elijah was hitting his stride, the pandemic struck.

“My members and I were not able to train regularly and had to stay home. To make matters worse, I was about to travel to New Zealand to study and start a new life, but because of the pandemic I couldn’t take this step in my plan.”

In what can only be described as a pivot, Elijah moved to Tibet in 2021 to work for a friend’s gym. He documented his kettlebell training on social media, which resulted in Team China reaching out to offer him a role teaching kettlebell lifting to professional coaches in China. So, he moved to Beijing and began helping athletes across a range of sports with their fitness training. He has even been involved in helping some athletes prepare for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

The big move to New Zealand

At the start of 2023, Elijah was finally able to travel to New Zealand to begin his journey at Massey. He’s in his second semester and says after finishing his diploma he plans to study towards a master’s degree.

“I chose Massey because I really love New Zealand. When I first decided to come to this country to study, I searched online for information. I saw a video about Massey on YouTube and decided to enrol because of the excellent facilities available on the Auckland campus.

“I enjoy campus life here. I can go to the gym for training after lectures and then come to the library to study. The professors and tutors are very enthusiastic and friendly, and they have helped me a lot in my studies and life. I also live very close; it only takes me seven minutes to drive to campus.”

He’s involved in the New Zealand Giveroy Sport Alliance, which is dedicated to the growth of kettlebell sport in New Zealand and since being in in the country has already won the Australian National Kettlebell Championships.

Elijah says he’s benefitted from the sport physically, mentally and spiritually, which has in turn benefited his learning journey.

“This sport keeps me passionate about continuous learning. I realised the importance of learning only after I practiced this sport at the age of 21, and that’s what prompted me to come to New Zealand to study. Even though I’m already 28-years-old, I still believe that learning is something that you do every day.”