Meet the Cast of Characters from Spiral Energy Rising: Elijah Taylor

Born in Darwin, Elijah moved to Alice Springs and then Uluru in his late twenties after a fire burned through his neighborhood, destroying the Dojo where he worked as a martial arts trainer. Now, at age 34, Eli (as his friends call him) owns his own training studio, where he teaches children, teens, and adults using a combination of styles to meet his students' needs. He moved to Uluru because he was drawn to the land's magnetic spirituality and the red rock, which holds cultural significance for the Anangu people. His classes incorporate not only physical strength and skill, but also mental fortitude, philosophy, and ancestral reverence.

Eli studied kinesiology and sports therapy at a university in Darwin before leaving formal education and earning multiple black belts across disciplines such as Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Muay Thai. He is also certified to teach fitness instruction along with breathwork and mindfulness rooted in Indigenous Australian wisdom.

Family and tradition are important to Eli, and he remains close to his parents, Olivia and William, and to his older brother, Noah, and younger sister, Grace. Eli shares a flat with his best friend Todd VanBuren. While seemingly strong on the outside, Eli often puts too much pressure on himself to be the savior or solution to everyone around him. Sometimes he'll hide or neglect his own emotional needs in the process. At times, his impulse to be a hero can cross into the potential to act as a martyr or descend into self-sacrificing behaviors. Above all, Eli is courageous, disciplined, honorable, and protective. However, he is also compassionate, resourceful, and inspiring, with a quiet strength and an outwardly confident demeanor.