Ailsa is originally from Brisbane, Australia, but now lives in London. Professionally, Ailsa is a barrister with a primarily criminal law practice, but she has always been an active individual. She began Highland dancing at the age of 6 and started her competitive career at the age of 9. She competed at the highest (championship) level of competition for 13 years from the age of 14, and during that time, performed in both shows and competitions across Australia and in New Zealand, Canada, the USA, and Scotland (including at two world championships). She retired from competition in 2017. While living for a year in the Turks and Caicos Islands, she started CrossFit; she is now a competitive CrossFit athlete and Level 1 coach.