Warrior Stories
Peter Charles Sutton III
“GET STRONG!”
With a unique background in power lifting, wrestling and rugby; upon completion of the course in May 2008 Pete soon became an Australian Institute of Fitness Coach. Whilst doing the course Full Time Pete was also working hard 5 nights a week as a Duty Manager. Not only does he coach at the Institute but he is also the co-owner of ACT Barbell, which specialises in strength and conditioning for athletes.
With 40 clients and counting, Pete has had great success with his clients including assisting clients with national medals for power lifting as well as wrestling. So what’s Petes best piece of fitness advice? He puts it simply down to consistency and his favourite exercise being the squat. Peter Charles Sutton III is truly one of the greatest Warriors to graduate from the Australian Institute of Fitness.
Danny Sciberras
“Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes of the goal.”
Having completed his personal training course over 5 years ago, Danny Sciberras has achieved success in the Fitness Industry that many people can only dream about. After seeing an Ad in the newspaper for the Institute, and realising that accounting wasn’t really the career path for him, he started at the Australian Institute of Fitness. Danny did the course part time which worked well for him meaning he could still work for his family business during the day whilst doing the course on nights and weekends.
After completing the course Danny started working for A’ Hern Health & Fitness, but quickly progressed to coaching and then managing the Australian Institute of Fitness. Since then Danny has taken on the role of General Manager of Southern Cross Health Club, and as if that isn’t enough he also runs his own personal training business called ‘Empower Training’ which runs out of Anytime Fitness in Jerrabomberra. Danny is currently training around 19 clients, with some of his biggest success stories being able to help people get from 120kg down to 90kg.
The thing Danny loves most about personal training is being able to offer experience to help people improve their quality and quantity of life all the while working in an industry where he is surrounded by fun and friendly people. The best piece of advice Danny has for people wanting to get into the industry is: if you’re really serious about helping people, then do it.
Wendy Hatch
“The difference between a successful person and others is not the lack of strength, not the lack of knowledge but rather the lack of will.”
Wendy was working as the Club Manager at Fernwood in Gungahlin before taking on the challenge of becoming a Personal Trainer. She had heard of us a long time ago as a lot of her work colleagues had come through the institute. Wendy’s main reason behind getting more involved within the industry was that she loves to help people change their lifestyles and to help improve their quality of life.
Wendy joined one of our part time classes and found it was perfect for her lifestyle as she is a parent, teaches group exercise classes and also has time to manage a health club. Wendy graduated in May 2008 and is now more involved within the industry than ever before. Wendy is currently training all 15 of her clients twice a week. One of her successes as a Personal Trainer was getting a client onto a treadmill for the first time in 15 years and helping the rehabilitation from a car accident.
Arryn Bennetts
“Make sure it’s what you want to do, give 100% and go for it!”
Growing up, Arryn was always interested in sport and fitness playing anything from soccer to rugby league to AFL. However, it wasn’t until his brother suppressed a disc in his back and did nerve damage that he actually considered making fitness a career, starting with personal training before hoping to eventually move into physiotherapy.
Arryn did the course Full Time, which meant he worked nights and weekends just to be able to complete it by the end of 2008. After completing the course he started working with Bodyworks Alive in Gungahlin, where he is now training between 25-30 clients a week, plus doing gym floor as well. His biggest success story to date is helping a female client lose 30 kg in just 3 months! Seeing results like this is what Arryn enjoys most about the industry, helping people achieve their goals and reaching those milestones. Arryn is in the process of opening his own business with a friend where they will focus mainly on Bootcamps and Personal Training, but also doing conditioning and pre-season preparation for sports as well. What’s his advice for people wanting to get into the industry? “Make sure it’s what you want to do, give 100% and go for it!”
Kristie Rawlings
Kristie has always had a love for sport, and after having a cousin who completed the course at the Australian Institute of Fitness; she decided that she would make the change from childcare into the fitness industry. Kristie did the course Full Time for 8 weeks where she found it to be a challenge, having to manage a job at nights, but in the end it was all worth it because she found the coaches and the people around her made it into an awesome hands-on experience.
In April 2009 Kristie started working at Fitness First in the City where she now takes up to 30 sessions a week, including approximately 25 clients. What she enjoys most about the job is helping people achieve their goals and learning skills from people already within the industry, which she can pass onto her clients. Her advice for people wanting to get into the industry is just “have a go because it opens many doors, and always reach for great heights.”
Richard Schmidii
“Change your thought and you can change your world.”
Richard was studying psychology at ANU and working casually in hospitality before jumping into a career in fitness. He first found out about the institute whilst doing a search on the internet. Richard enrolled in a part time course at the institute. Richard loved the knowledge provided by the course and the way the coaches were able to put it across to the class in various ways.
Richard has now jumped on board with Steiner International and is training clients on cruise ships in some of the most exotic destinations around the world. The most enjoyable aspect to his job is that he loves to travel, meet new people and to make friends for life. The best piece of fitness advice Richard could offer anyone is that pain is temporary but quitting is forever. Richard recommends anyone looking to get into the fitness industry should make a start before bad habits set in.
Tim Manton
“Life is Good”
Before getting into the fitness industry Tim was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army for over 20 years. He then became a personal trainer upon the completion of his qualifications with the Australian Institute of Fitness in May 2008. Tim studies the course part time whilst still in the army and described his time as tough at times but definitely achievable and it was all made worth it with the great people he met.
Now over one year since completing the course he is running his own successful business Stepup2fitness in which he offers group fitness, one on one training as well as massage. His sense of humour and life experience is what has gotten Tim’s 250 clients coming back for more. The best advice he gives to clients is to stick to it and never forget the importance of nutrition. Since being in the industry Tim has found that there is more to it than you realise and it requires a lot of hard work and commitment, however this is all offset by the amazing achievable results his clients are achieving.
Gordon Budd
“If it’s going to be, it’s up to me.”
Gordon had been working in hospitality for 20 years before he decided to make a change and dive into the Fitness Industry, so he could be somewhere he was making a difference. Gordon knows about the commitment it takes to be successful having been crowned 3 times Australian Champion for Irish Dancing. So therefore after hearing about the Australian Institute of Fitness through his local gym he decided to take it on Full Time. This meant that for Gordon living in Merimbula he made the decision to live in Canberra during the 8 weeks with family then travelling the 3.5 hours home over weekends, where he was still continuing to work throughout the course.
After completing the course in early 2009, Gordon now runs his own business in Merimbula called ‘M-Hance Mobile Personal Training’ where he takes group fitness classes, one-on-one training sessions and also throwing in Irish Dance Classes as well, making use of local town halls, the beach, clients homes and also travelling to nearby towns such as Toowoomba and Pambula to accommodate for his growing client base. Gordon is 100% committed to achieving results and helping people change their lives for the better. His advice for those wanting to get into the fitness industry is “Just do it, you won’t find a better job. It’s been life changing for me in so many ways.”
