NETWORK THROUGH THE YEARS late 1990s – 2006
Late 1990 ’ s
Greg and Nigel create the first accreditation body for fitness professionals in Australia , called the Australian Fitness Accreditation Council ( AFAC ) which later evolves into Fitness Australia .
1997 Network ’ s first tentative foray into the brave new world of the World Wide Web takes the form of www . globalfit . net , which is a joint site affiliated with Network for Fitness Professionals , Les Mills International , ISSA , UltraFit Magazine and Rebel Sport .
1999 Network undergoes another name change , becoming “ Australian Fitness Network ”, which is chosen to reflect the industry ’ s inclusion of all facets of fitness , from facility owners and managers , to gym instructors and personal trainers . Of course , to this day everyone still just calls it “ Network ”.
2000 Network commits to taking its own independent journey down the “ internet superhighway ” by replacing www . globalfit . net with its very own dedicated website . A “ web coordinator ” is hired and eventually , after numerous near starts , the first of many , many , many versions of www . fitnessnetwork . com . au is designed and launched .
Early 2000s
Network ’ s Fitness Leader Courses become more formalised with the introduction of the Certificate III in Fitness and then Certificate IV in Fitness .
2001 / 02 Network separates its education arm to establish an independent business called the ‘ Australian Institute of Fitness ( AIF )’, which specifically focuses on delivering face-to-face fitness courses . The AIF is created by bringing together other leading fitness educational providers from around Australia . This business becomes so successful , it eventually moves to its own separate premises next door to the existing Network office in Neutral Bay .
Network sells the Fitness Expo to Diversified Exhibitions , so as to be able to focus solely on delivering the finest fitness educational event in the world , the FILEX convention . The agreement of this sale stipulates that the two events must always be held simultaneously .
2004 / 05 Network and the AIF leave the multi-coloured walls of the Neutral Bay offices to take up residence in brand new larger premises in St Leonards . This enables the AIF to build a custom-made campus for the delivery of high quality fitness courses .
2005 / 06 TV producers contact Network , asking for recommendations for trainers on a brand new show called The Biggest Loser . Network recommends a highly energetic instructor / trainer called Shannon Ponton , and a woman recently announced as Network ’ s PT of the Year , named Michelle Bridges .