Local gym recognised by NZ Business magazine

At Her Fitness in Ingestre St are Abby Tunbridge (left), Angela Hewson and Jenny Hopkinson. Photo / Supplied

Whanganui's first women's gym, Her Fitness, celebrates 19 years in operation. Business owner Angela Hewson and her Her Fitness team also feature in the current issue of NZ Business, in a story written by the magazine's editor, Glenn Baker.

The article came about through Angela's business coach, Fiona Clark, who also came recommended by NZ Business. For a small provincial business to feature over pages eight and nine of the magazine is a coup for the Whanganui businesswoman and personal trainer.

The rise and survival of Her Fitness, especially in such trying times, is a story worth telling.

There have been some tough moments over those 19 years, with recessions and Covid doing their best to make things difficult, but Angela has kept the business buoyant, kept her team employed and retained a strong membership, including 10 people who were founding members of Her Fitness 19 years ago.

"The person who signed up first and paid her money on the day we opened, April 28, 2002, she is still here."

Before she opened the gym, Angela had a personal training business, and she still has some of those clients.

Aware that motivation is always an issue, if a member is not seen at the gym for two weeks, they are contacted by email or phone. Their absence could be for any number of reasons.

"But if it's motivation, we ask, well what can we do about that?" says Angela. "We try and keep in contact, and, being small and owner-operated, we can do that."

Angela also writes a column for Whanganui Midweek in which finding motivation to exercise crops up regularly.

"We've had a huge influx, recently. People are over the Covid thing and feel they have to do something."

Angela did her training in Wellington where she had a successful dressmaking business. She got interested in aerobics and it started from there.

She and her children moved back to Whanganui, where she started up River City Aerobics in the Gonville Town Hall.

"I taught 11 classes a week and it was packed."

Her next move was to the YMCA as programme director and aerobics co-ordinator.

"The stadium used to be packed out."

She would invite her aerobics instructor friends from Wellington to come up and run masterclasses."

Her Fitness is run by a team of three on site — Angela, with assistance from Abby Tunbridge and Jenny Hopkinson. Working from Whakatane and keeping the online presence running is Kaitlin Hill.

"We've got a really good team," says Angela. "Darren Hull, from Venter and Hull, is my accountant, and he's also a very good mentor. He's been on the rollercoaster ride with me."

With Fiona Clark, her business coach, it's all about planning, says Angela. "If you've got a process and a plan ..."

Part of that planning is the gym's sponsorship of seven organisations and annual fundraising for four major charities — Breast Cancer, Women's Refuge, Birthright and food bank. There are also other child-related charities that benefit from Angela's fundraising.

Angela's not afraid to explore new ways to improve the business, so on advice from Australian marketing expert Andrew Griffiths, she set up a focus group of gym members to make suggestions and gauge the success of their implementation.

"It made a huge difference," she says. "We wanted to improve services and give clients what they wanted.

"You've got to tap into all these people who have knowledge: you can't do it all yourself, can you?"

Angela has taught many things over the years, through nutrition classes, business seminars, and, still going after 19 years are her stretching and yoga classes held at St Paul's church hall.

Her Fitness turned 19 last month but they celebrate it through May. To have a two-page spread in the May issue of NZ Business is a bonus and testament to Angela, her team and her vision for the business.