Self-confessed adrenaline junkie gets PAID to be set on fire!
Alicia White, 34, shares her amazing story with Take 5…
I sipped my cuppa and sighed.
Advertisement
“Long night,” I said to my colleague, Lorna.
It was 2016 and we were both working as paramedics, where we’d endured countless physically and verbally violent patients.
On this occasion, two patients had spat in our faces, a record low for a Friday night.
When things got tough, we’d often reimagine our life outside of the emergency services.
Advertisement
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
We’re nudists! So, we had a nude wedding!
Dog chews groom’s passport days before destination wedding
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
Her besties made her popular… then she MURDERED them!
I lost $500,000 on the pokies
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
Arsonist Jenny Hayes killed my family as they slept
Weird pregnancy cravings
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
My husband overcame many challenges after his injury.
A vibrator exploded my heart!
65 Tinder Dates in one night
My Tom Cruise impression paid off my debt!
“Is that even a real job?” I laughed.
After seven years as a paramedic, the burnout associated with being an emergency worker had well and truly set in. On an average shift, we would witness some of the best and worst days of people’s lives. Pivotal life moments for our patients were just one of many traumas witnessed by us in one shift.
But Lorna made me think.
Advertisement
From the age of two, I was training in Judo since my grandad John was the owner-operator of the local club. By five, I was competing for national titles.
Fighting, along with training in aerial arts, was something I enjoyed to blow off steam after work. Whether it was administering adrenaline or chasing after it, I knew that an office job simply wasn’t for me. So being a stunt person sounded perfect.
Advertisement
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
We’re nudists! So, we had a nude wedding!
Dog chews groom’s passport days before destination wedding
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
Her besties made her popular… then she MURDERED them!
I lost $500,000 on the pokies
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
Arsonist Jenny Hayes killed my family as they slept
Weird pregnancy cravings
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
My husband overcame many challenges after his injury.
A vibrator exploded my heart!
65 Tinder Dates in one night
My Tom Cruise impression paid off my debt!
After my shift ended, I googled stunt courses and discovered The Stunt Academy on the Gold Coast.
I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
At 28, I decided if I was going to do this, it was now or never.
So I set about making it happen.
Advertisement
Within three weeks, I’d taken extended leave without pay from work and moved over to Queensland to do the course.
Over the next couple of years, I learned how to fall and absorb impact, how to fight at a distance and make the “hits” sell it to camera, I learnt wirework and parkour, and even how to be set on fire.
It was physically demanding, but I loved it.
Advertisement
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
We’re nudists! So, we had a nude wedding!
Dog chews groom’s passport days before destination wedding
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
Her besties made her popular… then she MURDERED them!
I lost $500,000 on the pokies
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
Arsonist Jenny Hayes killed my family as they slept
Weird pregnancy cravings
Native ad body.
Sponsored by %%sponsor_name%%
My husband overcame many challenges after his injury.
A vibrator exploded my heart!
65 Tinder Dates in one night
My Tom Cruise impression paid off my debt!
In my first paid role, I was cast as a double for an actress in the TV show Harrow, where I was knocked to the floor and tackled by security.
On a trip back to Perth, I reconnected with an old schoolmate, Brett, and we hit it off since he too worked in the film and tv industry.
“I’ll come visit you in Queensland,” he said.
Within three months, he’d moved over to live with me. And not long after that, we were engaged and pregnant with our first child, Lockie.
Advertisement
Soon after, I returned to stunts and was asked to perform in Baz Lurhmann’s blockbuster movie, Elvis.
“A solid, yes!” I told the stunt coordinator.
Wearing a 1950s dress, I along with other stunt women, was tasked with storming the stage where Elvis was performing.
It was hard to believe that I was being paid to do this!
