About Rebekah and Lawrence Drummond:
About Kirsty and Andrew Page:
How old are you both?
How old are you both?
32 years
Kirsty is 34 and Andrew is 38
How did you originally meet?
How did you originally meet?
At the local gym
In the army
How long have you been together?
How long have you been together?
12 years together, married for 8
Together for nine years, married for seven
When did you become qualified as a PT?
When did you become qualified as a PT?
Rebekah in 2009 through Australian Fitness Network; Lawrence
in 2000 with the Fitness Institute of Australia, and he is currently
updatint to Certificate IV with Australian Fitness Network.
Kirsty in 2009, Andrew in 2012, both studied with the Australian
Fitness Network
When did the business start?
When did the business start?
2008
2009
REBEKAH AND LAWRENCE DRUMMOND
actually working together.’
Rebekah and Lawrence Drummond have been a couple for
12 years, and married for 8. They met at the local gym where
Lawrence was the head personal trainer. ‘My normal trainer
was away and I needed some help so the staff sent him
over. We got along really well and realised we went to the
same school. We hit it off and became inseparable,’ explains
Rebekah.
Lawrence adds, ‘We have different management and
working styles so we try to be patient with the other when
explaining or learning something new. It can be difficult
factoring in the different strengths and weaknesses we both
have, because often you assume it will work easily since you
know the other person so well.’
The Dru mmonds currently own Origin Fitness (www.
originfitness.com.au), a unique PT business that puts the
‘personal’ into personal training. They do this by providing
highly tailored and individualised programs; by working
hard to create a like-minded community of people who are
typically generous and kind; and by showing their clients
utmost respect so they never feel like they are a number or
that they are taken for granted.
It is possible to work
together and stay
married! Seriously
though, it was scary at
first to do this, and is still
a bit scary. However it is
not until we stop and take
a moment to look around
that we see how far we
have come and feel very
proud of ourselves.
What are the biggest challenges being in business with your
spouse?
‘Lawrence works full time and on our business, so it is always
a juggle between competing tasks and priorities,’ says
Rebekah. ‘Another major challenge is that we don’t see
each other as much as we would like, because we are not
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How do you separate business issues from your personal life?
‘Moving the studio out of our house really helped. On one
hand it was handy being at home because when a client
left we could just walk up the hall and be at home, but
it’s better this way where we have a distinct separation
between work and home. We are also getting better
on setting boundaries for clients and us. We do not work
Saturday after midday or Sundays because that is our family
time.’
‘Having said that, however, we do talk about the business
all the time because it’s an integral part of our life and it’s
important. Sometimes the discussions are about serious
things, but often it is about our clients, something they
achieved or something they said. We often find ourselves
brainstorming over our meal preparation or when we are
driving somewhere.’
What are your plans for the future?
‘We have so many plans for our business; the main challenge
is implementation! Every year we run an event called the 12
Hour Challenge and this year it will be huge. It’s for a charity
called Nepean Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where
our son spent the first 10 weeks of his life. We also want to
expand and employ other trainers over the next couple of
years. We have so many exciting ideas for products to make
and sell, but they are big projects and take a while to plan.’
Rebekah says, ‘We would like to have another child, so that
will have an impact on my availability to work with clients.
My government job had paid maternity leave but there is no
such thing when you work for yourself. So, we need to plan
for the impact on our family and our business when the time
comes.’
Lawrence adds, ‘I also want to ensure our work life runs
efficiently enough that we can spend more time on the most
important things, like being with family and doing the things
we love to do – outside the business.’
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2013
KIRSTY AND ANDREW PAGE
How did the business come about?
Kirsty and Andrew Page have been together for nine years
and married for seven. ‘We met in the army, when we were
both on a course in Albury (NSW). We ended up getting
posted to Darwin on the same posting cycle. We were
engaged within three months and we have never looked
back!’
Kirsty first came up with the business idea in 2008 while
Andrew was in Afghanistan with the Army.
Kirsty and Andrew currently own No.1 Personal Training
and Fitness (www.no1personaltraining.com.au), which they
established in 2009. The business focuses on making personal
training and a healthy lifestyle available to everybody.
‘We have structured our fees to make our programs readily
available for all members in our community, without lacking
in service. Our programs are available both online and faceto-face and are varied to suit all levels and abilities. We have
a strong focus on individual goal setting and achievement,
and we strongly believe, healthy mind, healthy body.’
‘We are also currently working on a “Done for You” package
to offer to fellow personal trainers the ability to replicate the
success we have had; again, with the focus on being able to
make a healthy lifestyle available to everybody and aiming
to assist upcoming trainer’s start their own business with ease.
It has made such a positive impact on us, we are keen to
help others achieve similar success.’
The business has made
our marriage stronger.
As a team, we maintain a
functioning and financial
business that makes us
both extremely happy.
And the best part is – we
get to share the whole
experience with the love
of our life!
WHAT’S NEW IN FITNESS - AUTUMN 2013
‘Mentally, I was in a bad way and had taken time off work,’
Kirsty explains. ‘I was suffering from depression (I’ve since
been diagnosed with bipolar disorder) and had gained
over 20kg (most probably due to medication). I was feeling
just miserable. After one particularly low evening and a big
heart-to-heart with my mum, I decided to make a change.
Mum said five little words that simply, and abruptly turned my
life around. She said “Do what makes you happy”.’
She adds, ‘I had a background in business/accounting,
spent time in the military and was currently in a very
“comfortable” government job, but none of it made me
happy. I realised I was happiest when I was active, so I
enquired with Australian Fitness Network and started my Cert
IV in Fitness. By 2009 I had completed my Cert IV, lost 20kg,
left my unhappy “comfortable” job and was ready to begin
my new life as a personal trainer! Since starting the business,
I’ve successfully managed my bipolar without medication,
thanks to a consistent fitness and nutrition plan and, of
course, amazing support from Andrew.’
In the beginning Kirsty ran the business with a laptop in the
front loungeroom of their ‘army’ home and a local park.
‘I got 1,000 leaflets printed,’ says Kirsty, ‘and walked them
around to each letterbox in my suburb.’
‘For the first few months I would go to the park, set up signs,
markers and equipment. Some days I would have a small
group, some days lucky in dividuals got a private session for
the cost of a group session; and some days nobody showed
up! But I kept at it, day after day, which paid off.’
‘Within six months, word had got around that there was a
“Bootcamp” in our local area and suddenly classes went
from three to four people, to 10 to 12; and then one day I
had 20 people show up. It was at this point I hired casual staff
and signed a lease on a studio. By late 2010, our average
classes required two trainers.’
‘Andrew was always there to help out, but decided to get
qualified and join in the fun, to save costs and help out. He
began his fitness studies in 2011 and was running his own
boxing classes in their studio soon after.’
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