Sport
13 January, 2025
Teenager opens town’s gym
HE’S 18, he lives in Babinda, and he’s the new entrepreneur in town.
Akon Ali is the proud owner of Phalanx Fitness, the first community gym to open in Babinda.
Officially launched next week, already the gym has had plenty of young people, mums, and gym fans walking through, testing out the equipment and signing up for membership.
A free, four-week youth fitness program, in collaboration with Mamu Health Service Limited, also began on Wednesday to see out the school holidays.
But what drives an 18-year-old to boldly start his own business at such a young age?
Mr Ali and his family were “pushed out” of the Gold Coast due to the rental crisis after COVID, so the family resettled in Babinda.
He took part in the local Cairns Fresh Start program and then considered his future.
For Mr Ali, the idea of a gym was a simple progression.
“I came out to Babinda and I am someone who is part of this community and I was just looking for something that I was missing. What do we have in Babinda that I want?” he said.
“I’ve always grown up as a sporting kid, always been around gyms and physical fitness, and out here there was just zero resources for that.
“Driving 35 minutes to the next town is too far, it messes up your routine, it makes the process of working on yourself much harder,” Mr Ali said.
He initially thought he would create a home gym, but there was not enough space in the house for it.
“So then I looked at how much it is to start up a gym, how much is it to get a lease and all that stuff … and dived straight into it. It was a mix of yoloing it, and support from my mother, and a mix of my previous experience online.”
He started the venture in October, leased the premises by November and has four staff who will run general exercise classes three times a week.
While his goal was to have a New Year’s Eve opening, he is happy to settle for early January and see his efforts deliver a new hub for the community.
