Trainer, Dad and in a previous life ‘Butch’. My journey to fitness started at a later stage in my life. When I was 16, my ‘Butch’ self went off and joined the Navy. I spent the next 7 years of my life travelling and getting my head screwed on straight. When I first joined, I wasn't the fittest of humans, I ate badly, exercised minimally and didn’t really look after myself all that well.  But I soon realised, with some peer pressure, that I only had one body, it didn’t feel great and that I needed to make some changes. I took an interest in exercise and spent hours of the day running around the ship and innovating with exercise techniques with limited to no equipment. I quickly realised how much I enjoyed feeling fit and well and left the Navy to pursue a career as a personal trainer.

I moved to London and began working in a small corporate gym in the heart of the city. My clients were mainly corporate folk who sat in chairs most of their day. I became very aware that although our bodies have been designed to move, provide balance, function and strength, today’s constraints were limiting our natural potential and causing our bodies to fail us.  

In my spare time, throughout my 3 years in London, I travelled extensively - frequenting Finland – (where most of my family live) and other parts of Europe and Asia. Having been brought up with Finnish culture, I was in awe of the Scandinavian ways of life - simplistic, functional and an overall approach of ‘less is more’. I subconsciously lived a lot of these principles in my day to day life but soon started incorporating it into my training style.

On my return to Sydney, I set up at 2 large CBD based gyms, for 6 years, I trained people indoors, using the equipment provided. 

Fast forward 6 years (and 2 kids), COVID hit. Like most small businesses, things changed. But it forced me to realise that training in a corporate gym, with no fresh air was not who I was, it was not what the body needs. I began training my clients outdoors and in my private studio – with access to fresh air, surrounded by nature and using mostly just the body and minimal equipment to condition and strengthen my clients.

And so the Fit Finn was born.