I grew up in an era where it was more a case of ‘who is the fairest of us all.’

But now ŠKODA is looking for ‘the toughest mum of all’ to add to the stresses of childcare, partnerships, home and work responsibilities…

Their 2017 Tough Mother competition is to promote the new Octavia Scout.

The winner is Ania Czerminska from Milton Keynes who took up powerlifting following her daughter’s diagnosis with a neuro-muscular condition. Ania’s hobby gives her the strength to lift her daughter and also inspired her career change to become a firefighter.

According to ŠKODA just over a third of mums in the UK take up new hobbies after giving birth in order to retain some independence including wakeboarding, rock climbing, BMX-ing and powerlifting.

Mums in Norwich are the most active apparently with more than half (52%) claiming they take part in one or more hobbies. This is closely followed by mums in Cardiff (48%), Manchester (42%) and Southampton (41%).

Ania, from Olney, Milton Keynes told us about a typical day in her life…

“I get up each morning at 5am so that I can be in the gym for 5.30am. I then head home to look after Maya and get her ready for school. I head off to the fire station for 9.30am where I work until 6pm. It’s important to have a good support system in place and Marcin and I work well as a team.”

Ania’s progress in powerlifting has seen her qualify for a number of upcoming competitions.

Other tough mums

Ania was short-listed alongside other tough mums Anita Wong, a BMX champion from Ealing in London and Shirin Shabestari, a mountaineer and rock climber from Lewisham in South East London.

All three were then filmed in the new ŠKODA Octavia Scout, said to be suited to the demands of family life and extreme sports because of its ability to transport large amounts of kit and reach remote locations.

It costs from £26,685 on-the-road.
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To see all of the ‘Tough Mother’ finalists’ stories visit www.ŠKODA.co.uk/Tough-Mother

To find out more about the new ŠKODA Octavia Scout visit www.ŠKODA.co.uk/models/new-octavia-scout