Gold’s Gym Australia club owners share experiences on International Women’s Day

Marking International Women’s Day, Gold’s Gym Australia has shared the experiences of two of the group’s female club owners.

Amy Francis co-owns five Gold’s Gyms in Western Australia while also competing in strongman competitions. Michelle Resic, owner of Gold’s Gym Miranda in southern Sydney, is committed to her club, community and young family, while also studying to become a sports nutritionist.

Looking back on motivations during the Coronavirus crisis, Francis explains “I set several goals throughout the year based on upcoming events.

“At the moment I’m doing a trail series and I travel every couple of weeks to compete. I also recently did the Rottnest Swim so I trained hard to achieve that goal and now I’ll work towards the next one.

Resic advised “motivation wanes but staying dedicated to things that I’m passionate about keeps me going. I’ve found in all things we do, the ‘why’ needs to be strong enough to overcome waning motivation.”

Resic goes on to explain that her community keeps her accountable, noting “our club culture is so wonderful that it’s like a second home for me and many of the members, some of whom we’ve had in the club for years and we’ve seen their kids grow up through the creche.

“They are my why in business and I always look for ways to give more and create more opportunities for them to achieve and at the same time push me along.

“My members give me inspiration for great community events, collaborations, challenges and initiatives. I like to do lots of little things throughout the year as I believe it’s the little things that are actually the big things when it comes to connection, community, accountability and success.

“I’m an action taker so as soon as I have a random idea, I like to get straight into putting it in action and my family and club members keep me going.”

As for the future of women as club members and working in the industry, Francis states “I would love to see more women have the confidence to simply train. Although this has come a long way over the past decade, there are still a lot of women who wouldn’t have the confidence or self-belief to join a team sport, take part in a group fitness class or train on the gym floor without feeling uncomfortable.

“I want every woman to be moving and not relating the gym or fitness to a negative experience.”

Resic adds “I want everyone to know that we welcome and we support women in our club and it’s run by a strong and powerful woman (me).

“When I first opened the gym there was a huge amount of men that came in and asked for the ‘man’/owner to talk about their goals.

“They were shocked when they found out I was the owner. We’ve come a long way to get the recognition deserved with many women who have to prove themselves and worked so hard in this industry to get where we are today.

“I’m proud to be part of Gold’s Gym as the longest running co-ed fitness company in the world. No other group rivals us in the duration, we’re still growing and still succeeding.

“The foundation was bodybuilding, the future is getting everyone into wellness and fitness.”

Images: Michelle Resic at Gold’s Gym Miranda (top) and Amy Francis co-owns five Gold’s Gyms in Western Australia (below).