From brushes to boxing: How Tina Rahimi went from being a makeup artist to making Olympic history

Tina Rahimi has never really had a problem with finding her purpose – she finds it in everything she does. 

Back in 2017, the Bankstown woman was working a regular office job when she picked up a makeup brush and began practising on herself and her family and friends, realising she had a natural talent for the art.

She moved forward one step at a time – enrolling in a course, creating an Instagram page, and slowly but surely acquiring clients.

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Rahimi continued her business for four years, unfortunately having to put the brush down when COVID-19 meant lockdowns and strict restrictions. But despite one door closing, there were much bigger things in her future. 

At the same time she had picked up her makeup brush, the now-29-year-old had also picked up a pair of boxing gloves.

She initially joined in an effort to get fit, having not found much success or discipline in doing regular gym workouts.

The moment she stepped into a local class changed everything.

"I just remember loving it from there, and I did not look back. I just fell in love," she told nine.com.au. "I didn't think that it would be possible for me to love it that much and become something that I pursued."

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Again, she took it one step at a time, working day by day to perfect her skills.

"There [were] many times where I was like, 'things might not work out'.

"Everything's so technical… and, you know, I still feel like it's not perfect, but I keep doing it, I keep working. Even just a little bit better each day will get me closer to perfecting it. 

"Nothing happens overnight. You've got to be able to be patient, and then eventually you'll see the results.

"It's interesting when you just start something … you're not even aiming for it to take you anywhere, but then you just end up falling in love with it. So it's always good to try something new."

Soon enough, Rahimi had worked so hard at the sport that she found herself entering the Commonwealth Games, where she won a bronze medal, the Pacific Games, where she won a gold medal, and eventually all the way to the Olympics, making her debut at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. 

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There she represented Australia on the world stage, becoming the nation's first-ever female Muslim and hijabi boxer to compete at the Olympic Games. Though she did not place, her achievements made the nation proud nonetheless.

But they didn't come without a cost. Being a visibly Muslim woman competing in a combat sport, unfortunately, makes her a target for hate.

"People will always have something to say,  whether it's 'what is she wearing?' [or] 'how is she training in that?'," Rahimi acknowledges.

"There's always people that are commenting on my Facebook posts, calling me names. They judge you by your appearance.

"Sometimes people's opinions do get to you, especially, being a Muslim and visibly Muslim… you do get those comments… a lot of the time.

"But at the end of the day, I put in the hard work, and I believe in what I can do. I've trained my ass off, so I'm not going to let anyone's opinion really get to me."

Luckily, she has the support of her loved ones to offset any negativity she receives, as they have shown right from the beginning of her boxing journey. 

When she told them of her first fight in the ring, "it wasn't really a big deal", with family even travelling from out of state to watch her.

"It wasn't really frowned upon or anything. And till this day, everyone's all good for me to be boxing. So I thought that was kind of a blessing there, because I did have support."

But what really sustained her through boxing, and in fact all of her interests, is an eternal love for it.

"I tell a lot of people, you gotta love what you do… otherwise, you're not gonna want to work hard for it, or you're not gonna really be successful with it, because it's not something that you'd want to continue. You're not gonna push for it.

"That's how I believe it's worked out for me, because I gave boxing and makeup everything, and I was so passionate about both of them.

"I feel like that's how – especially with boxing – how far I got with it. Because I literally gave it my all."

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