By Jamie Salter
After a few health setbacks, Rowy Nafri decided to trade her career in IT for a new passion – callisthenics.
Now, she’s opening the first callisthenics gym in South East Melbourne with her partner Dominique Dodin.
Rowy said a callisthenics gym was not like a mainstream gym.
“We don’t use machines, we use our bodies, the bar and gymnastic rings,” Rowy said.
“Callisthenics allows for endless possibilities to build strength through body weight training.
“Weight lifting it just one form of movement, but with callisthenics, you build a lot more core strength and stability.
“It’s challenging, but we love it.”
Rowy’s newfound love for callisthenics quickly took over, but she soon discovered there was no local facility to enjoy the physical activity.
Instead, she would have to travel one hour to get to her callisthenics gym.
Rowy decided to take the matter into her own hands and purchased a brand new factory in May this year with co-owner Dominique.
“We needed something here in the South East to make it accessible for everyone in this area,” Rowy said.
The co-owners both have a sports background and have been training for about a decade.
Dominique has competed for Australia in the Masters League cross fit competition, and is employed full time for AMA Heavy Vehicle Repair Network in Williamstown.
The pair have had a few setbacks since purchasing the space due to Covid-19 restrictions but said it gave them time to get organised.
“With so many small businesses having to shut down in unprecedented times, my partner and I are very blessed that we have been given the opportunity to start our own small business,” Rowy said.
Rowy is originally from Singapore and moved to Australia in 2003.
She had a 25 year long career in in software programming, spending 15 years working for a major bank before taking a redundancy package during the coronavirus pandemic.
She said she was “excited and nervous” to open her own gym – Pure Mvmt, The Playground.
“It’s been a long time coming; we originally planned to open in early October,” she said.
The two owners have been busy preparing for an open day to show the community the benefits of callisthenics.
The open day will include a callisthenics competition for all ages and a lucky draw of prizes.
“We want to include everybody, age and ability doesn’t matter as long as you have that growth mindset,” Rowy said.
The open day is set for Saturday 4 December at 5/37 Industrial Court, Cranbourne West.
For more information, visit puremvmt.com.au
