It’s easy to forget that the fitness industry, for all its progress, still sells a pretty narrow dream:
Lift heavy. Be hardcore. Conquer your goals.
Preferably while drinking a protein shake the size of your head.

But every so often, you meet someone who quietly — and powerfully — rewrites the rules.
Someone who isn’t trying to fit the mould but is building something that actually fits people’s lives.

Amanda is one of those people.
And you need to know about her.

Not Chasing Fitness — Chasing Movement

Amanda didn’t set out to "conquer" the fitness industry.
She was a dancer. A mover. Someone who loved how movement made her feel — not how it made her look.

When the traditional "go to Uni, get a degree" route loomed after school, she chose sport, because dance was already woven into her life.
Fitness wasn’t a career dream. It was an extension of what she loved: being active, connecting with people, moving in ways that felt good.

That thread — joy first, intensity second — has never left her work.

Habitat: More Than a Gym

When Amanda and her husband moved back to New Zealand after years in Sydney, they didn’t open a gym because they were desperate to be gym owners.
They opened Habitat because they couldn’t find anywhere that felt the way movement should feel: welcoming, varied, human.

Not militant. Not elitist. Not obsessed with hammering yourself into the ground.

"Habitat is a place where people come to move, not to prove," Amanda says.

No surprise, then, that Habitat isn’t built around a single training style.
It’s about variety: strength, cardio, flexibility, Pilates, spin, bar — all moving parts in an ecosystem where movement feels normal, natural, and joyful.

Habitat isn’t a factory pumping out HIIT zombies.
It’s a living, breathing community — a true whanau — where people grow into their movement, not out of it.

When "Lift Heavy" Isn't Enough

We’re being fed a new gospel lately — especially in the menopause space:
“Just lift heavy and everything will be fine.”

Amanda — like me — calls bullshit on that.

Strength training is important, no doubt.
But bodies, lives, and hormones are messy, nuanced, and unpredictable.

"When advice gets too narrow, it stops serving the very people it’s supposed to help," Amanda says. "It’s about offering options — and letting people try."

Three tries.
See if it works.
If it doesn’t, pivot.

It’s simple. It’s compassionate.

Rebel Pilates: Starting a Different Kind of Movement

Amanda didn’t stop at Habitat.
In true "build what’s missing" spirit, she launched Rebel Pilates — bringing accessible, group-based reformer Pilates to an area of Auckland that had... nothing.

Rebel isn’t about perfectly manicured poses in $300 tights.
It’s about real bodies, real lives, real movement.
And it's backed by education — because Amanda didn’t just spot a business gap.
She built the course herself, making it affordable, hybrid (online + in-person), and designed for people who don’t have endless time or cash.

Education isn’t an afterthought.
It’s the heart of the rebel movement she’s creating.

Systems, Sustainability, and a New Kind of Success

Most people open one studio and hope for the best.
Amanda opened two (Habitat and Rebel), built an education arm, and set up systems so her team — and her clients — thrive.

Consistency without killing creativity.
Structure without strangling community.

It’s why her member retention is off the charts.
It’s why her trainers stay.
It’s why people feel safe, seen, and strong walking through her doors.

And it’s why the fitness industry needs more leaders like her.

Why This Matters for the Future of Fitness

At Women’s Fitness Education, we’re training the next generation of fitness professionals — the ones who will be working with real women, not Instagram filters.

But here’s the truth:
Most fitness education still leans on research done on young, fit men.
Women’s health?
A footnote at best.

That’s why our Cert III and IV includes courses like pelvic floor health, menopause management, and pre/postnatal care — as standard, not as expensive extras.

Because if you want to build a place like Habitat, or a movement like Rebel Pilates, or simply coach real women with real lives — you need education that matches reality.

Amanda’s story shows what happens when you centre variety, community, and respect for where people are at.

It’s not just good business.
It’s better fitness.

Final Word

To all the rebel souls out there — the ones who know there’s more to fitness than the loudest voice in the room — your time is now.

Amanda’s building a movement.
We’re building an education.
Together, we're building a future where real movement wins.

And honestly? It’s about bloody time.