Fitline’s Story and Culture
Our company grew out of the belief that exercise should be part of everyone’s life, just as it always has been in ours.
Fitline was founded in 2002 by best mates, Dan Readman and Chris Sinclair, not over a few drinks in the pub, but after surfing and hiking our way from Mexico to Chile.
We’d both been in the fitness industry for a few years before heading off on our adventure and while trekking the Andes and paddling around the Pacific, we decided that when we got home, we’d create a career that would allow us to continue doing what we love and to encourage others to do the same.
Fitline has never about the body beautiful; it has always been about the things you can do when you’re fit and healthy, and positive effects on the rest of your life.
We were – and still – are outdoories. Our love of world travel, and Australia’s beaches, rivers and national parks, is a constant. Whether we’re surfing, mountain or road biking, kayaking or trekking, we’re as passionate today as we were 10 years ago. For us, it’s all about living healthily – from what we put in our mouths to how we train in the gym, the people we hang out with (and employ) and the experiences we create and share.
After finishing our Fitness Leadership Degrees at Victoria University (yes, we even studied the same course together in the early nineties), we worked our way up from gym floor plebs in huge facilities to the giddy heights of - dare we confess it - aerobics instructors. We also cleaned pools, took boxing and circuit classes, and led some of Australia’s very first spin classes. You name it – if it’s happened in a gym, we’ve probably done it!
During this time, we also took it upon ourselves to organise adventure days and trips with our clients – introducing them to Learn to Surf days, hiking trips out the back of Lorne, kayaking trips in South Australia and mountain biking groups in Lysterfield Park.
It was awesome. As well as staying at peak fitness ourselves, we were also able to introduce people to adventures they might not have had otherwise. We worked our way up to more ‘important’ positions too: Chris stepped into Health Club Management for a large operator and then for one of the biggest National Corporate Health Providers, while Dan became one of the first personal trainers in Australia and realised that this was exactly what he wanted to do.
Then Dan & Chris joined forces...
As a lot of small businesses do, we started with very little money. We began as a mobile personal training company offering outdoor training to a small client base around Melbourne. Luckily for us, our clients were either business owners themselves or savvy business people, and we learnt a lot on the job about how to develop and grow a business. We thank them for all the great advice they were able to puff out while running around those parks and gardens.
Three years went really quickly and we suddenly had a team of 10 trainers and a solid client base all around inner Melbourne. Then we realised that the needs of our clients were changing. We couldn’t continue to meet those needs in a park or garden, nice as it was to hang around them. To get our clients really fit and strong, we needed to be able to offer more equipment, more nutritional support, more time. So we decided to bite the bullet and open a studio where we could address all aspects of our clients’ needs.
Our move to the Rialto Towers
Given that our clients were mostly professional, the city seemed a good start: so why not the biggest and most prestigious corporate tower in Melbourne? After a year of negotiating, we opened Fitline at the Rialto Towers.
Fitline at the Rialto was a huge step for us. It was exciting and a little overwhelming, but we were well received in the Rialto and by city professionals generally, filling a gap in what else was on offer. We were supported by companies and individuals who wanted and needed a more personal and professional approach to health. We soon closed our mobile service and began concentrating solely on the Fitline Rialto Personal Training Studio, and investing more into nutrition and trainer development to stay at the forefront of Personal Training.
Four years in and with strong growth, we decided to invite our senior trainer, Dylan Willis, along for the ride and he then became a partner. Dylan’s specialty in personal trainer development, nutrition and strength and conditioning, is a perfect match for our business, and his values and life outlook suit us perfectly. (We also managed to get him on a surfboard and he hasn’t looked back…)
The past eight years have been an incredible journey filled with challenges, new discoveries, lots of exercise, good food and great people. Our clients have inspired us and I can say we’ve helped hundreds of people change their lives around – to feel better and look better than ever before.
Outside the studio we have rode and run hundreds of k’s with our clients, taken them surfing, gone food shopping with them, educated them and introduced them to an active life. Our job is awesome and we intend to continue helping others achieve a ‘better life’, with improved programs, training and the best nutritional support we can find…and maybe even a few more studios!
We hope you have the opportunity and motivation to join us and live life how you really want to. There’s not enough time to stand back and just wish.