Meet Isabella Andueza: The Gym Owner With a 297-Pound Clean
When the opportunity to buy CrossFit Hawthorn East in Melbourne, Australia, presented itself, Isabella Andueza knew it was a risk.
The affiliate had been around for 12 years but had only 42 members at the time and needed some serious TLC.
Still, something told her there was potential, so last February she and her now business partner, Dylan Simon, decided to take the plunge and buy the gym.
- “I just believed that we could do it, believed we could turn it around,” Andueza told the Morning Chalk Up in an interview.
Today, just nine months after taking over, the gym has 130 members and is in a much better spot.
Doing it All
What’s especially impressive about Andueza’s achievement in rebuilding the gym is that she also holds a corporate job and is both an elite CrossFit athlete and an Olympic weightlifter.
Last season, Andueza qualified for the Torian Pro Semifinals, where she faced eight-time CrossFit Games champion Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr, finishing 24th overall.
- Recently, Andueza finished seventh at the Down Under Championship, where she cleaned 297 pounds/135kg. She also currently holds the Australian record for the clean and jerk in the women’s 77kg division (275 pounds/125kg).
Andueza’s days start at 3:40 a.m., giving her an early jump on a packed schedule that typically includes two training sessions and a job working in HR at an organization that manages community and leisure centers.
- “I just like to get my days started. It gives me a chance to have coffee and get some admin work done,” she said. “It feels like it gives me an extra few hours in the day.”
Still, Andueza admits the days are long, and some days she feels “cooked” by the end of the week.
- “I just have to be really organized with my food and cooking and really plan out my days. If you look at my calendar, there is a lot of time blocking going on,” she added.
Rebuilding the Gym
When Andueza and Simon got to work right away when they took control of CrossFit Hawthorn East in February.
This involved rebuilding the website, setting up back-end systems to improve efficiency, and focusing on social media content. As they expanded, they purchased new equipment and gave the gym a complete facelift.
Their efforts paid off as former members began rejoining the gym, people started bringing in referrals, and others came through social media.
Andueza, however, believes that the true key to their success lies in how much they care.
- “And just being really present and genuinely putting lots of love into it,” she said. “We have put our heart and soul into it.”
She added, “And our coaches are really brilliant. They are the magic that makes our box what it is. We do our best to look after them, they look after the members, and the members look after the business.”
The Big Picture
Andueza takes pride in her gym’s current success and her achievements as an athlete in recent months, but she has no plans to slow down.
She is currently training in hopes of qualifying for the Commonwealth Games as a weightlifter next summer, and she has her sights set on a top 10 finish at next year’s Torian Pro. As for the business, Andueza knows it won’t be an overnight turnaround.
“We still have more to go,” she said. “We have goals of outgrowing this space and continuing to grow our services and offerings. But it is definitely not broken anymore.”
What makes everything easier is the fact that everything she does in her life is a labor of love.
- “It has been a lot of work, but it’s fun. I do genuinely love it. For me, it’s worth it, and it’s different when the gym is your own,” Andueza said.
She added, “Our little community is pretty amazing. They have been so supportive of me taking on the business, and I feel really lucky and grateful.”
Featured image: @isabellaandueza / Instagram
