Honestly 5 months ago I didn’t even know if I could stay in the country. With Visa issues and issues with the council over our Vogel St gym things looked uncertain to say the least. but we will get back to that
At the start of the year I had a very special visit from my parents. they hadn’t been over since 2007 so it was amazing to be able to show them around again and spend time with them where I call home. We often see each other on Skype but it was great to be able to give them a hug and talk to them face to face.
Kelly and I finally got through the consent process about getting our house which has been a long time coming due to closures of paper roads where we want to build and many other hurdles but things are looking promissing now. She will be happy too now the gym is going well so I can actually spend some time with her:) Thank you for listening to my rants:)
Things were looking great in my life except on the business side. I had some great ideas but I didn’t have the platform I needed to put them into action so after a very long time of talking to a few close friends, you know who you are, I decided it was time to take the next step and open a gym. Its amazing how quickly you learn things when you are in the middle of it. It was a real rush being able to talk business with people and do deals, and if you get it wrong you have to deal with it straight away and move on. Luckily, I think we have gotten most of it right so far but it was a bumpy start. In August we launches Southern Peak Fitness in Vogel St and people turned up straight away, amazing atmosphere. In october we ran into a few issues and tried to resolve them the best way we could. The biggest issue for me was sorting out my Visa. After a long nervous wait and over 100 letters of support from everyone, I could stay and what a relief it was to get that decision. Over the same time we were told we had to vacate Vogel St. Unfortunately some mis-communication and the rules were against us when it came to running a gym in the warehouse precinct and we had to think fast to find a new spot. The Council were happy to give us enough time to find a new spot. End of November we shifted to Ward St but there was a ton of work to be done before we could train people but with absolutely no hesitation people rallied around us and in a matter of a weekend we could train all our members almost like nothing had happened. I still can’t believe we pulled through like we did. I do however know how we did it. It was fully because of all the people who selflessly gave up their own time to give a hand both at Vogel St and at Ward St. Going from one of the worst periods of my life to one of the most fulfilling and rewarding in a matter of a few months has left a huge impact on me and how I want to live. I owe a lot of people a lot of thanks. Harlem and Amanda our resident builders:) Jack who stayed at the gym much longer than intended to help with classes, Lorelle for listening to the same stories most days about what I was going to do, but it took me most of the year to actually get it started. Sam for having coffees with me when you should probably have been studying, Sorry. Marcus our new coach who goes beyond what is expected of him, Mike for all the custom steel work that was done for the gym which looks absolutely incredible and Tony for agreeing to start this whole venture with me a long time before we actually got started. All the members who believed enough in us to come with us and train at Southern Peak Fitness you have made the gym what it is, an amazing place to hang out and train and be part of something that really matters to us all.
It is an incredible place where business people, students, pensioners and all other walks of life come together and train with each other. No need for separate classes just huge diverse groups training together enjoying each others company and improving their health one session at a time. I can’t think of any gym more unique than ours and this place is ours because you all helped make it what it is.
Thank you and here is to a 2017 I can’t wait to get started on.
Christian
