Rachel Brown is not only crazy smart, she is crazy strong! 

Rachel, Professor and Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at KU Med - Wichita, describes her fitness story as “long and winding.” 

“I grew up in the sixties,” she says, “and women didn’t lift weights or do martial arts at that time, and those are the two things I’ve most enjoyed.”

Her mother thought she could use some help with coordination, so she took ballet. Her father was a swim coach, so she swam. She also played field hockey and tennis in high school. 

“I wasn’t very good at any of them,” she says. “In my twenties I did Jane Fonda style aerobics, and tried running-my least favorite fitness activity- for a while but that didn’t last! I tried tennis and fell and broke my wrist, so that didn’t last either. Then I found martial arts in my early forties when my tai chi teacher in Georgia turned out to also be a jiu jitsu instructor.”

Her proudest fitness accomplishment is her Japanese jiu jitsu black belt, which she earned at the age of 45. 

“I’ve also trained in taekwondo, aikido and more jiu jitsu, but that’s been on hold since the pandemic started,” she says. 

Rachel spent the first 37 years of her life in England, where she attended medical school before specializing in psychiatry. She and her husband have been in the US since 1994, and she’s lived and worked in Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Michigan and now Kansas. 

“I live with my husband, who is a retired accountant, two dogs and a cat here in Wichita, and my daughter lives in Columbia Missouri.” 

About six years ago, Rachel saw other women involved in weight lifting, so she started lifting heavy. 

“I love it – it suits my body; I’m short and stocky and naturally strong,” she says. “It’s the only sport where I consider myself an actual athlete – I can lift enough weight to compete without being embarrassed! 

Rachel exercises because she likes the way it feels to move. 

“As I get older, I see other women struggling with day to day activities,” she says. “I want to be able to carry my own groceries for a while longer.”

With her wide range of athletic abilities and no intention of stopping any time soon, we know Rachel will carry her groceries for years to come!