MEMBER PROFILE
BILL STEVENS,
AQUA INSTRUCTOR,
VIC
Bill Steve
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At 91 years young, this former wine marketer and
Network Member of over 25 years is still delivering
more than a dozen classes a week and has no plans
to retire. Cheers to that!
Life to Yo
ur Years
part of the role of an instructor. I try to at
least make eye contact with everybody
in my classes, and if possible have a chat
before and after class. A bit of praise, and
acknowledgement of a birthday or event,
are always welcomed. Everyone likes to
be appreciated as a person, not just as a
paying client.
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What fitness qualifications do you
hold?
I am an Aqua Aerobics Instructor, but hold
also qualifications for Gym, Older Clients
and Group Exercise (Freestyle).
Where do you live and work?
I live in Melbourne in the leafy suburb of
Balwyn.
What is your main role in the fitness
industry?
For the last 15 years, I have specialised in
aqua, from gentle warm water classes to
very active high intensity workouts.
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How did you get into this industry and
how did you arrive at where you are
today in your career?
I started rather late in life after a 40-year
career in the Australian wine industry.
Before I retired in 1996, I enrolled in aerobics
and gym courses at Box Hill TAFE – initially
to become more skillful in my own fitness
regime. It led to conducting a few classes in
my free retirement time and blossomed from
there. At my peak I had 20-25 classes per
week, since scaled down to 12-15.
Describe your typical day
What are the best and worst aspects
of your job?
A wonderful aspect is seeing people smile
and be happy with their workout, and the
absolute best is when somebody comes
up to you and tells you their result from
participating in your classes – whether that
be an improvement in health, mobility or just
feeling better. I used to feel embarrassed
when clients gave me a present at the end
of the year, but now I appreciate that it is an
expression of genuine, heartfelt gratitude for
the experience they’ve had. I also particularly
enjoy working with disabled people – it is a
privilege and a very rewarding experience.
On the flipside of this, the worst aspect
is when I can see and feel that somebody
is not happy in a class, in spite of my best
efforts.
I get up around 6am and without fail do a
10-15 minute Fitball and stretching routine.
Once a week I participate in BODYPUMP
and BODYBALANCE classes to keep fit (I
was also a Les Mills Instructor). I used to go
for a daily 5km run, but at present have a
knee problem. After over 50 years of running,
including 4 marathons, this is something
that I have had to reluctantly accept.
Bill with
What skills are needed in your role?
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46 | NETWORK WINTER 2019
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Apart from obvious teaching skills, I firmly
believe that ‘people skills’ are an important
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