Karenjeet Kaur Bains is a woman on a mission.
The 25-year-old holds the accolade of being the first female Sikh powerlifter to represent Team GB but that is far from her ultimate dream. Ultimately Bains is here to drive change.
In a sport that is predominantly male-dominated - and not traditionally an environment where a Sikh woman might find herself - she’s here to show that no matter who you are you can achieve what you want.
“I’m Sikh and from a south Asian background so in other more traditional mindsets, girls don’t have the same opportunities,” she says.
“My childhood was completely different to some of my friends.
“If I’m talking super traditional - and I don’t want to generalise too much - but sometimes the traditional mindset is that boys do certain things, like sport, and girls do the household things - focus on your studies and don’t get distracted by sport.
“But I never had that pressure in my family because I saw my dad encouraging my brothers, they are 10 years older than me and they were 400 metre hurdlers at national level.
“He also encouraged my mum into sport as well so he got her, as a masters athlete, into track and field.
“She won five golds and four silver medals at the Warwickshire Athletic Championships and she never got to do sport when she was younger because of the traditional mindset.”
“I see my dad as a role model, definitely”
Bains’ sporting journey originally began in sprinting as she took up powerlifting at the age of 17 to help make her faster in athletics.
Very quickly after her focus soon changed and she discovered her love for powerlifting and strength.
But throughout her journey there is unquestionably one man who has been a driving force behind the scenes for her and, as mentioned, the rest of her family - her dad Kuldip Singh Bains.
He was a former bodybuilder and powerlifter himself, as well as being an engineer, and his undeniable wisdom and passion in allowing his family to experience sport has to be admired.
“I see my dad as a role model, definitely,” she adds.
“He always says to me, ‘I’m a dad first and a coach second’. I’m just really lucky to have that.
“Often you have that father-son relationship between a son and his father but sometimes it’s difficult for a girl to find something to bond over with their dads.
“For me I’m quite lucky in the unique sense of sport. I’m really blessed and I wish some people had the same support that I did.
“If there’s any girls out there that don’t have that support then maybe they can look to my example.”
“I like to smash any type of stereotypes”
As well as powerlifting, Bains has a host of other things going on in her life. She is an ambassador for Brawn , a community app for strength athletes, and is also a chartered accountant.
Unsurprisingly, juggling it all has been particularly challenging at times in her life.
“Stressful is the only way to describe it!” she says.
“I think with me, my parents have always instilled in us as kids to be really hard working and you don’t get anywhere in life unless you put the work in.
“I remember when I was qualifying to be an accountant I would get up at like 6am, would have to study, then go to work from 9am-5.30pm and then go into the gym for two hours.
“Then I’d have to come home, have dinner, revise for a couple more hours and then probably go to bed at 1am.
“Then I would go again and my life was pretty much like living the same day every day - like Groundhog Day.
“That was my life for five years but I have no regrets. I achieved a lot sportingly as well as career wise but it wasn’t easy.”
But then, as the saying goes, the best things in life don’t come easy - and for Bains that has certainly been the case.
Despite the effort and the juggling act, powerlifting has given her far more than she could have imagined when she first took it up at the age of 17.
“Powerlifting gave me a sense of purpose,” she explains. “It’s just helped me be a really disciplined person in various different arenas.
“I channel that athlete mindset that I have, the way I approach a heavy deadlift or a personal best, as the same focused attitude that I have towards careers.
“It’s just amazing to have that kind of release because I know it can be super stressful, you have so many things going on and to be able to have those good endorphins in the gym as well is just awesome.
“But above all I love to break stereotypes and break barriers. Often you don’t hear of an Indian female doing well in strength sports because it’s probably unheard of particularly in my south Asian background.
“So I like to smash any type of stereotypes - I find that super empowering - on any predetermined ideas of female strength. It’s not only myself but there’s so many amazing world champions out there smashing it.
“It’s just great to be able to break the norm and hopefully give a good example. I like to see myself as a role model to the next generation.”
Throughout our conversation it’s also clear just how much Bains values her religion and values.
It’s why she chooses to compete under her full name and include the traditional Sikh name Kaur.
“As a Sikh you’re taught certain principles,” Bains explains.
“One of our things in our religion is Sewa - selfless service - and if I think I can help someone out there and my example can plant a seed in someone’s head then wouldn’t it be amazing if you had the next generation of world champions and Olympic champions?
“They look like me just because they saw me talk or I gave my example.
“I like to throw my story out there hoping to inspire people.”
'Arnold Schwarzenegger in long hair'
Body image in women’s sport has long been an issue with female athletes often finding themselves under the microscope or analysed in ways a male athlete would never have to experience.
That has always been one of the barriers stopping women getting into so many sports, including strength sports.
But, for Bains, she feels that perception is finally starting to change.
“I remember I went for an interview to be an accountant, and I wrote on my CV ‘British Champion Powerlifter’,” she says.
“I don’t know what the guy was expecting, whether he was expecting Arnold Schwarzenegger to turn up with long hair or something.
“I walked up and he almost did a double take, like ‘you’re the powerlifter?’
“I think people still think that if you touch a deadlift bar you’re going to suddenly become like this.
“It’s just changing norms. I’m 25 now and I’ve been lifting since I was 17 and girls don’t have enough testosterone to get that jacked unless they’re cheating.
“You’re going to get that toned physique that every girl seems to want.
“It’s just breaking the mould and I think it’s just needed more to be able to see muscly girls with good arms - they look fantastic.
“Seeing them in places like Gymshark and Brawn, I’m hoping the tide is turning. Fingers crossed!”
