New mum and entrepreneur Amanda Eriksson Karlsson wasn’t going to let anything get in her way when she and her friend, Emma Forster moved from Queensland to Newcastle to open the first Fitstop in Newcastle – Fitstop Charlestown. Both women decided to make a life changing decision and uplift their entire lives and families to move to Newcastle to launch the new business.

“We are so excited to be part of the Newcastle community. We are both from small towns and completely different parts of the country, but we were drawn to Newcastle because of its stunning coastline and wonderful community,” Eriksson Karlsson said.

“We have been friends for years and come from business, fitness and education backgrounds and both have a strong interest in health and fitness.

“It was a big decision to move but we decided that if we were going to do something that was life changing like starting up the country’s first Fitstop business in Newcastle, that we would have the backing of a wonderful brand and team behind us to help us and we would be doing it in one of the best spots in the country.

“It hasn’t been easy, I have been onsite every day with my new baby making sure that the fitout is completed as required and everything stays on track for our opening.

“Fitstop Charlestown opens in May and we are excited to welcome the people of Newcastle to our new gym.

“My role will involve running the business and taking care of growth while Emma will be our head trainer coach. Emma is an experienced athlete who for the past two years trained and worked at one of the top performing Fitstop gyms in the country in Mackay.”

Fitstop is one of the country’s fastest growing fitness brands delivering functional fitness in an environment that offers the right atmosphere of motivation, support and flexibility.

“We know that the people of Newcastle are going to love Fitstop. People want the tools and the programs to reconnect with their inner athlete and we are able to provide this,” Forster said.

“At Fitstop, we call it functional fitness and it is something that we are very passionate about. We enable and inspire our members to push boundaries and unleash their true potential.

“We are also the ideal place for anyone who is looking to get into fitness or rekindle their interest in fitness again in an environment where you can do things at your own pace, we will be right beside you cheering you on.

“Unlike other gyms and fitness environments, we focus on creating places where people can increase their overall health and wellness and achieve personal goals in a supportive way through our high calibre strength and conditioning training. These sessions include the four core elements of functional fitness training: lift, perform, condition and sweat.

“Because of our approach to fitness, we are enjoying huge interest in, and support for, our brand. We are very much about creating a wonderful community where people can connect and feel inspired.

“Fitstop offers a personalised service in a group environment, so we make sure that our members maximise each session based on their fitness level. We also ensure that everyone feels comfortable regardless of what stage they are at, or how they like to work out. Everyone is different and at different stages of fitness.

“Our innovative custom built Fitstop app enables our members to track and manage their entire fitness journey. They can book sessions, complete programming series, and access nutrition and performance benchmarking all through our app.

“We invite everyone to come in and see us and find out what we are all about. We are looking forward to meeting everyone and building a wonderful fitness community here in Newcastle.”

About Amanda Eriksson Karlsson and Emma Forster

Amanda is an experienced business operator who brings a strong sense of inclusion and community to her work. Already Amanda has connected Fitstop Charlestown with local charity, schools and preschools activities. Emma is an experienced fitness professional with a Cert IV in Elite Athlete Wellbeing, a Cert III and IV in Fitness, a Bachelor of Exercise Science (Human Movement), and a Diploma of Education.

Fitstop Charlestown

Location: 9/228 Pacific Hwy, Charlestown NSW 2290

Ph: 0403 082 341

Days/Hrs: Monday – Saturday, 30 plus classes per week

Monday to Friday: Free supervised creche: 9.30am

Monday to Saturday: Free kids area and pram parking

About Fitstop

Founded by Peter Hull in 2017, Fitstop is a leading innovative and technology-driven functional fitness franchise. With its roots beginning in Brisbane, Australia, it now has presence across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and as of early 2023, North America. Fitstop leads the way with unique athlete-inspired team training focused on strength, metabolic conditioning and endurance, inspiring people to move more to live more. Find out more about the home of functional fitness - https://www.fitstop.com/.