training partners,
Lachlan Rowston
What got you started in fitness?
My journey into the gym began in high school at 16 years old. I was bullied daily about my skinny frame… “lanky” “stick boy” “linguini arms”.
After being fed up with the harassment and in serious need of boosting my self-esteem I decided to take action. A few weeks of in depth research on bodybuilding.com and I was on my way to swole city (not quite).
How did your career in the fitness industry begin?
I started out as a PT whilst studying Exercise Physiology at UNSW. I was not even a year into Personal Training when I found CrossFit. This led me to become a fully certified fully obsessed CrossFit frother. My love of functional fitness blossomed and for 3 years I coached primarily CrossFit group training at a local affiliate.
Why owning a Gym?
In Early 2014 I purchased 50% of an existing gym with 2 of my training partners Raph and Rory. Together we believed we could make Australia’s best CrossFit experience. After much trial and tribulation, 6 years later we ended up with 3 amazing facilities.
Today the gym space has changed SO much since when I first started.
I feel it’s now more exciting than ever.
There is way less junk in the market and so much more competition, which excites me.
I want to create a space and an experience for people they become addicted too. I believe the fitness industry is built on relationships not training methodologies and my team and brand will prove that for decades to come.
Sharing the journey of entrepreneurship in the gym space with the podcast audience has been one of the most therapeutic and rewarding things we have done to date.
Why podcasting?
We didn’t know back in October 2014 podcasting would take off like it has.
We loved listening to podcasts, it was the easiest form of modern learning. We felt had a voice and a message to share so we did.
My mum always used to tell me I would some day being making a living off my voice, as a kid you couldn’t shut me up, gift of the gab some might say.
The hardest part was being consistent when no more than a handful of people were listening.
We had faith and it paid off, now we like to think of it as a part of who we are.
Scariest but most rewarding moment in your life so far?
Dropping out of University. I’ve always been a natural rebel, I hate people telling me what to do but this one was tough. There was the person I knew I wanted to become and the person people told me to be. University was the glue trying to hold those two identities together. Once I was able to let go, my worst fears were unfounded. The people who really cared about me in the end only wanted the best for me… looking back it was one of the best decisions I have ever made and has allowed me to flourish as a business owner.
Favourite training routine?
Honestly, I’ve been through it all from Bodybuilding to CrossFit to Gymnastics to Weightlifting and all the sports you can imagine growing up.
What does it for me now is a combination of social sports and functional strength training. When I say functional I mean incorporating a lot of different but super effective exercises. I also follow an auto-regulated program meaning I use intensity based off my recovery not intensity for the sake of intensity.
Raph freedman
What got you started in fitness?
Sports is where my love with fitness began. At 12 years old, I found out that the lightest person at the rowing club would automatically be picked in the top team to steer the boat. I started running every afternoon, and only eating plain white bread at school. I weighed in (fasted) at 29kg (10kg lighter than the next lightest boy in the year) at the afternoon trials. I was promptly asked row 2km which began one the worst 15 minutes of my life, nearly collapsing walking dizzy out of gym. It was an experience of feeling so weak, that I vowed never to go through again. Within a week I had my first 50kg weight set at home and never looked back.
How did your career in the fitness industry begin?
Four years into my University career, I had just finished a decade of playing Rugby, and was looking for the next challenge. I was invited into a CrossFit gym and after the first session I knew I had found it. Within 6 months I was coaching classes and within 18 months, together with my training partners, we owned our own gym.
Why podcasting?
I was an extremely early adopter of podcasts. I saw it as a secret world where experts would speak the truth on nutrition, fitness and life. Free from the generic shit you saw in magazines. It was a natural move for Lachy and I to start our own show to provide content to our clients, and get an opportunity to speak to the bigger names in fitness we previously couldn't connect with.
Scariest but most rewarding moment in your life so far?
Living solo on the other side of the world. When you lose all your regular social and physical cues, you are free to find out how you naturally want to behave. Each time I did this I returned home with a new perspective. Thank you Amsterdam and Florida for the great memories, I’ll forever hold a special place in my heart for you.
Favourite training routine?
Push, Pull and Breath. This is basically having an anterior chain day (think presses and squats), a posterior chain day (think Rows and deadlifts), and then getting out of breath every second day. Simple and effective.