This is a story about possibility, taking a risk and a man who dared to believe in both. It began on a bus. It was a courtesy bus, ripe with the smell of alcohol and bursting with cackles of late night laughter. The driver, Beau, long-haired and 10kg overweight, dropped crowds of people home across the coast. They’d skip down the stairs of the bus, merry on the last wisps of a great night and a cheerful farewell from their charismatic driver. Beau was on a break. He was slowing down the pace of his life by driving the pub’s courtesy bus so as to have more time to care for his father-in-law, who had suffered a brain injury. Slowly he’d watched his once trim boxing physique disappear, and it wasn’t until he saw a large poster of boxing champion, Danny Green, pasted on the wall of a shop front in Buderim, that Beau decided to do something about it.

The poster had caught his attention and when he realised that it was the face of a new gym called “12 Rounds” Beau found himself eagerly banging on its window. Lee, the owner, was inside in a cloud of dust and green paint. “I wouldn’t leave him alone,” Beau said. “I begged him to give me a chance. I knew I could be a trainer there. I had extensive boxing experience and whatever else I didn’t know, well, I was willing to learn.” After much persistence Lee eventually gave in and Beau found himself donned in black and green, a new trainer at 12 Rounds Buderim.

It was the starting point Beau needed and he grasped it with both hands, working as hard as he possibly could just to see what might happen. With over 500 rounds in both competition and sparring against countless opponents, Beau had developed an eye for helping excited gym-goers develop their boxing technique. He could see how their punches and movements might interact if there was a real opponent. These skills, alongside an energy and gusto difficult to match, saw him become a familiar face both within the gym and the community.

Martin Luther King once said, “Somewhere along the way, we must learn that there is nothing greater than to do something for others”. For some of us it requires making a decision to help, for others it as natural as taking a breath. Beau is of the latter. “I want to help people. It’s as simple as that. I want them to be fit, strong and healthy.” Sometimes it’s not the physical that requires strength but also the mental, and Beau has developed strong relationships with clients who face some pretty challenging day to day encounters. His admiration for emergency service workers continues to grow and he is honoured to be a sounding board for many who require a friendly ear. Their need to physically release reinforces his belief in the role of physical activity on improving mental health. He sees this particularly for those who find being a part of the gym community a great support when struggling with depression and anxiety. Their fitness journey offers Beau a sense of admiration, knowing that the path to resilience is often a little uncomfortable.

It was for this same reason that Beau knew he had to push on for a future for both himself and his family, despite the daunting task of tackling a dream. He wanted his very own 12 Rounds and like the gym itself, the building of his vision was a result of a supportive community. Clients put their expertise to work. From plumbers to carpenters the impressive gym began to take shape, and now stands shiny and new, nestled in the heart of Sippy Downs.

One hears the beats of thumping music and you can’t help but feel the immediate hit of adrenaline rising as you push open the doors to Beau’s gym. Inside, his smile is easy to spot and amongst the 12 rounds of exercises and the buzzing of bells to indicate a change of stations, it is understandable why this place is so addictive. For many, the gym can be an intimidating place, but with a great trainer, a supportive community and a motto of “training to live, not living to train” it’s often not even long before clients are happy to post their fitness progress on social media. Soon they are joining other 12 Round gym social events like beach volley ball and barbeques to celebrate their hard work. It’s clear the gym is becoming more than just a place to get fit, and Beau doesn’t have to work hard to sell memberships or the concept. It simply sells itself. When one client loses 35kg and no longer requires heart surgery, the need for advertising almost becomes obsolete.

Beau believes that to be successful there needs to be a motivation or a drive. There also needs to be a big dream braced by a number of small achievable steps. “You can’t just jump in an express elevator and expect to get to the top without moving carefully up wards, level by level.” He encourages others to write down their goals, to dream and to believe that with a little persistence, resilience, hard work, and a willingness to “release the fighter within” a dream can certainly come true. It’s a lucky man who describes his place of passion as a “playhouse” where he, “has a laugh,” “let’s people hit stuff” and assists clients in finding their path to a better sense of self. And like the motto plastered across the walls of Beau’s gym, it seems, if you have a dream, then you should most certainly, “FIGHT FOR IT”.