Gym studio BFT Cranbourne has won the 2022 Most Engaged Community award out of 236 open studio franchisees across the Asia-Pacific.
Owner couple Angie Meyer and Blaine Healy launched the business over a year and a half ago and they felt extremely excited and proud to top the category.
Ms Meyer said they made sure every single person who walked in the door was valued and appreciated.
“We know every single member. We know what they do for work. We know about their personal life and what their training goals are,” she said.
Last year Mr Healy attended Foodbank Victoria’s Hunger Ride program and rode 180 kilometres in one day to raise money for the organisation.
BFT Cranbourne also hosted a trivia night and raised over $10,000 for the food bank.
“It was huge,” Ms Meyer said.
The couple is currently doing a fundraiser again.
They are aiming to raise $15,000 to help the R U OK? foundation.
The couple thanked the community for being supportive.
“I think our community is just incredible in the way that they all get around each other and put the others before themselves,” Ms Meyer said.
“It’s like one big family, when one succeeds we all do, they make the 4am wake ups all so worth it.”
Former primary school teacher, Ms Meyer rediscovered her passion after helping out her partner Mr Healy with his first own BFT.
“When I was younger and was looking at a job, I always knew I wanted to help people, and I didn’t know in what way,” she said.
“I’ve always loved sports growing up. In the past, people had told me I should become a personal trainer, and I thought it’s not really like the avenue I want to take.
“I had helped out Blaine with the social media side of things for his own BFT and he pretty much just said you knew what you were doing and I could help you with your courses and we could do this together.”
The couple was offered to join the BFT Cranbourne director team when they were on the annual BFT Conference in Noosa.
“Everything felt like it was aligning,” Ms Meyer said.
“The facts that I could do up with my partner gave me a little bit more comfort in knowing that we were in it together so that if something could go wrong, we could make it work together.
“I realised that my passion for the fitness industry was really where my heart is wanting me to go.”
Ms Meyer said the best part of her job is to see people believe in themselves.
“It’s very easy to come in and not be confident in something or be not wanting to progressing movements,” she said.
“But it’s really nice when someone believes in themselves and sometimes it’s more of mental achievements that they have rather than the physical achievements that they’re getting.”
She recalled the most rewarding moment in her fitness career was when a 40-year-old lady put in the customer survey that for the first time in her life, she was taught how to believe in myself and loved her body again in their studio.
The couple said BFT changed their life and it was an incredible journey for them.
