After being savagely bashed by a group of men and smashed in the face by a rock, jockey Sonja Logan fell into despair and depression and drank too much grog.

The self-aware Darwin jockey knew she needed to drag herself out of the rut.

She went about doing exactly that.

Now she has found happiness as a bodybuilding jockey – two words that you would never normally hear together.

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You wouldn’t think the worlds of a jockey and a bodybuilder are compatible, given jockeys need to be light whereas bodybuilders bulk up with muscle.

But Logan is making it work – even if she considers showing off her ripped physique on stage while wearing a bikini far more nerve-racking than riding a 550kg horse.

But let’s rewind to how her bodybuilding journey started.

Jockey Sonja Logan, who incredibly doubles as a bodybuilder. Picture: Supplied

• ‘They are going to kill me’: Darwin jockey bashed in terrifying ordeal

“After I got assaulted in 2023, I felt like I spent a year being miserable,” Logan said.

“I was definitely depressed, I couldn’t get out of my own head.

“I was struggling, I had no drive for anything.

“I didn’t feel good in myself, and I was drinking way too much.

“I wasn’t an alcoholic but I was on the road to being one. I was in a shitty mindset and then you add alcohol to that.

“I would come home and Tom (Logan’s husband, trainer Tommy Logan) would go to bed, but I would still be up having a beer.

“I saw a fitness challenge which came up on social media, a six-week challenge where you could win $2000.

“I didn’t win the challenge but I decided I really loved bodybuilding, so I went and got myself a coach and it has all gone from there.”

Jockey Sonja Logan displays her bodybuilding competition spoils. Picture: Supplied

• Jockey’s amazing return after bashing ordeal

While most would imagine the life of a jockey and that of a bodybuilder are mutually exclusive, Logan is managing to do both.

She remains as committed as ever to being a jockey, even winning the Alice Springs riding premiership while preparing for bodybuilding contests.

“If anything, the bodybuilding has helped me with my riding strength and flexibility,” Logan said.

“I was very nervous when I started doing it and in my first competition I was actually trembling.

“On stage, I was struggling to smile and I was shaking so badly.

“I was on stage in a set of heels shaking like a leaf.

“Then I thought to myself, there are probably millions of people who have probably watched me riding on TV, I needed to get myself together.

Sonja Logan comes back to scale aboard Early Crow after winning the Palmerston Sprint over the Darwin Cup carnival in 2024. Picture: Caroline Camilleri

• Sonja Logan wins Palmerston Sprint a year after horrifying bashing ordeal

“While I prepare for the bodybuilding shows, I diet down so I get really light and lose body fat.

“And then there is the bulking up period which is obviously harder for my jockey life, given I get heavier.

“I check in with my (bodybuilding) coach before and after every race day, just to make sure I’m not cooking myself.

“The two worlds are polar opposites – being a jockey and being a bodybuilder are completely different.

“One, you are trying to stay light and the other, you are trying to gain weight.

“But it’s working for me at the moment.

“What happened to me when I was assaulted was really awful, but with what I’m doing now I feel so much happier and good in myself.”

Sonja Logan after she was bashed by a group of men as she sat in her car outside her home in 2023. Picture: Supplied.

• Brave jockey’s journey from bashing victim to bride

No-one was ever charged in relation to the 2023 attack on Logan.

She was left with an open fracture of her nose, had two of her teeth knocked out and sustained other facial injuries in a horrifying assault in which she feared she was going to die.

“I do 100 per cent think that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

NT jockey Sonja Logan has put last year’s savage bashing behind her as she prepares for the Darwin Cup carnival. @bendorries76

STORY: https://t.co/Xjkak1E36Ipic.twitter.com/z8pwENQbkh

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• ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’: Jockey’s inspiring comeback