Source: Wealth Creator Magazine Jan/Feb 2007

Tony de Leede fact

Once Tony left school he thrived in the business environment. He had run two businesses of his own by the time he was 18: a stamp business and a surfboard storage business. “My stamp business was doing well and I bought the property my mum was trying to buy in Cronulla. Living close to the beach a lot of my friends would leave their surfboards at my place. I thought there was a business opportunity so I started Store a Board, where people would store their board on a weekly basis, instead of paying the extra train fare and lugging it on the transport system. Then it became a second hand surfboard store. It didn’t last too long because I got a real job working for an import company.”
enewsletter signup:
Why subscribe?View archive

Tony De Leede: Great Expectations

Source: Wealth Creator Magazine Jan/Feb 2007

The numbers

  • Fitness First Global has 500 clubs.
  • By 2008 Tony hopes Fitness First Australia will have 100 clubs in operation. There is also talk of another sale or even a listing. Fitness First Australia was sold to a venture capitalist in 2005. About 60 stockholders shared approximately $17 million.
  • It is part of Tony’s mandate to not only push Fitness First Australia into the future, but reward staff and stockholders.
  • Australia accounts for 30 per cent of Fitness First Global profits.
  • There are over 4,500 employees.
  • Australian clubs make twice the profit of those globally.
  • There are over 300,000 members in Australia.

Tony De Leede: Great Expectations

Tony De LeedeThey have 500 clubs worldwide, but it is Australia, under the guidance of Managing Director Tony de Leede, that is the hub of Fitness First’s operations.

The numbers are impressive: 66 clubs, 30 per cent yearly growth, 4,500 employees and over 300,000 members and although Tony de Leede believesthat competition will become fierce, he is in no doubt Fitness First Australia will continue its strong strategic growth, budgeting for another 15 clubs to open in 2007, with the anticipation of 100 clubs by 2008.

It is Tony’s 20 years experience in the industry that has been one of the main drivers behind Fitness First’s success. To understand why Fitness First Australia has been so successful in only six years of operation in this country, it is important to understand the man behind the success.

Import expat

Tony learnt the health and fitness trade in Atlanta, the heart of the Southern Baptist belt in the United States, more a place you’d expect people to be lifting bibles. But it was his experiences leading up to his move to America that steeled him for a crack at big business.

Like many entrepreneurs he grew up in a working family. His family had emigrated from Holland after World War 2, and in spite of its struggles still managed to run small businesses and instil in Tony the strong work ethic that he has to this day.

Read the full article in the current issue of Wealth Creator with Lachlan Murdoch on the front cover. Out Now!