In 2010, the five-time medalist made a decision that would change her life forever.
"I came off the back of the Olympics not getting the result that I wanted to get. So that's why I went to the World Cup Finals and that's where I had my accident," Steph told Beauty Boss hosts Jacqui and Alana.
"I was burnt out and I was tired and I was injured coming off the back of the Olympics and I probably shouldn't have gone to that last race. But I did and I had that horrific accident where I fractured my spine and did horrific damage to the left-hand side of my body. and both internal and external damage to my body."
Knowing that she would probably never snowboard again and facing a long rehabilitation process, Steph found herself in a dark place.
"I'd been extreme sportswoman for most of my life and had taken for granted my body and what I could do, and then had this horrific accident where I struggled to get through a 20-minute pilates class in a day," she says.
"That was very, very confronting for me and mentally, physically, emotionally, and put me a really dark space for a while there."
But it was out of this darkness that the ever-resilient Steph managed to find the light of the end of the tunnel.
"The recovery and the rehabilitation process of the accident introduced me to so many other people that had trauma in their life," Steph says. "My whole fitness business was built out of the fact that the health and wellness industry was missing this really nurturing element for people that needed to be looked after."
It was out of this realisation that Steph's fitness empire was born. Now, she's the proud owner of two successful Melbourne fitness studios, Studio PP and Rise by Studio PP.
Steph has also become a motivational speaker since her accident, allowing her to use her personal struggle to inspire and help others.
"For the first few years, I didn't talk about it at all," she says. "Once you come to terms with it, you realise there's other people going through similar things and you can maybe have a voice or help others, that's kind of when you step into it."
Steph is living proof that no matter what you're going through in your life, your biggest struggles can sometimes become your biggest strengths!
To listen to the rest of Steph's interview, tune into the Beauty Boss podcast here.
