How Mackay’s gym, cafe, tourism and pizza empires were built

They are the family-owned and operated business empires of Mackay borne through hard work and commitment to community. Read how they did it.

The are the family owned and operated empires of Mackay, built by locals — for locals.

From businesses starting in the carpark of Caneland Central to taking a chance on a rundown shopfront, these locals have built their businesses through hard work and dedication.

Read how they built their empires.

Muscle Garden

Nearly a decade on from his working with clients in parks around Mackay, personal trainer Kay Nyenuh has quite literally gone from strength to strength.

Mr Nyenuh migrated from Liberia, “a tiny country on the west coast of Africa”, to Australia in 2009.

He quickly launched himself into his passion for health and fitness, amassing a strong clientele who supported him to launch his first Muscle Garden gym in a 100sq m facility on Wood St in 2013.

Nine years on, Mr Nyenuh has expanded his Mackay centre more than tenfold with a 1000sq m gym on Milton St, a second gym in Marian and a third to open in Andergrove this April.

Mr Nyenuh said the reason for his fitness empire’s success came down to a simple but powerful philosophy.

“Treating people like human beings and not just another number,” Mr Nyenuh said.

He employs eight contractors with his business specialising in strength and personal training, sports conditioning, weight-loss, injury rehabilitation and seniors programs.

But Mr Nyenuh said his true passion was opening the door to fitness for “every day people” who felt out of place and intimidated in conventional fitness settings.

“People who have been put off going to gyms because of a negative experience,” he said.

“People who have never gone to the gym before because they think the gym is not for them.

“We help become part of a support [group] bigger than just a place they go to exercise.”

Mr Nyenuh said he was excited to offer the experience to Mackay’s Northern Beaches residents with the opening of his latest Muscle Garden location in Andergrove.

“I want to say a big thank you to Mackay [residents] for their support over the years,” he said.

“We wouldn’t have gotten this far without it.”

Fitstop

What do you get when a former professional rugby league player and a personal training get together? A new gym of course.

Jerome Iakimo moved to Mackay 15 years ago to pursue a rugby career where he met his life partner Tegan, a strength and conditioning coach.

In the past five years, Mr Iakimo moved into a career in mining while Mrs Iakimo began managing box franchise gyms, leading her to express interest with Fitstop Australia to launch a franchise in Rural View.

“During Covid we saw a gap in the market here locally for a group fitness experience,” Mrs Iakimo said.

Her dream was to create a gym culture that was “as much about purposeful and periodised training as it was about building a positive community that is training together as equals”.

It was as Australia was coming out of lockdown that the stars aligned and the couple got the chance to turn their dream into a reality.

Fitstop Mackay opened in 2021, where the couple said it was met with resounding community support.

“Coming into our launch we were surrounded by amazing people lifting us up and helping us build upon our established community,” Mrs Iakimo said.

She said a strong focus on keeping client’s training “productive and positive” lead to the gym’s organic popularity and consistent growth.

“We came into the experience with humble plans for our member base and every bit of growth we have seen has been a bonus,” Mrs Iakimo said.

“We learnt to leave comparison at the door and be true to ourselves and trust the product.”

Now the couple is preparing to open their second location next week in Mackay.

The new gym is expected to double their employees to 10.

“It has taken hard work and sacrifice along the way, long days and late nights, learning on the job when it comes to how to better service our community,” Mrs Iakimo said.

“We have the most amazing team that has grown alongside us and going into 2022 and the new location we are so excited for what's to come for our Fitstop family.”

Ma’s Pizza Kitchen

The idea for Ma’s Pizza Kitchen was born from a partnership between a born and bred Mackay girl and a city boy from Sydney, Amanda Katsadoros and Mark Webber.

They are the M and A behind the Mackay founded pizza empire, the dream of which came from the desire to “bring old school, quality pizzas to Mackay”.

The couple got together when Mark left his big city life and moved to Mackay in 2007.

When they decided to open their first pizzeria in 2014, they decided they would never skimp on ingredients, forming relationships with local suppliers Frescos and Mifsuds among others.

“[We wanted] fresh local ingredients,” Mrs Katsadoros said.

“We believe a big part of our success is the relationships we have built with local suppliers, locals supporting locals 100 per cent.”

The business employs about 100 staff across their three Mackay stores in Parkside Plaza, Greenfields and Rural View, with plans to open their fourth store in Andergrove this June.

But despite their prolific success, the owners haven’t let it get to their heads.

“We are just a local mum and dad family business, our kids work in the business too,” Mrs Katsadoros said.

“We are so grateful for the support we receive constantly from the Mackay community.

“We wouldn’t be growing if it wasn’t for that support.

“We love Mackay.”

Red Cat Adventures

It was 2004 and UK native Julie Telford was backpacking through Australia when she stopped in Airlie Beach to take on work as a deckhand — and fell in love with the skipper, Asher Telford.

Their dive into their own business began in 2011, when the couple bought their first boat together, The Tongarra.

Just four years later they went on to build the first Thundercat in 2015 — a venture that would blossom into the Red Cat Adventure empire.

“The business evolved quickly, and it wasn't easy to handle it throughout the growth stages,” Mrs Telford said.

Like many tourism operators, Red Cat Adventures bore the brunt of damage when Covid-19 hit Australia in 2019.

“The value of our company halved almost overnight, and we were faced with the devastation of losing the majority of our staff,” Mrs Telford said.

But not only did the couple manage to weather the storm, they turned the tide, adapting and expanding the business.

Asher and Julie Telford won gold for Red Cat Adventures at the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards.  Picture: Contributed

“What ensued has been an insane, emotional, rollercoaster ride — at times elating, at others soul-destroying, but always raw and real,” Mrs Telford said.

“Instead of closing our doors and taking a rest, we slaved.

“We worked 10 times harder, and made a new business plan every time the rules changed.”

The couple now boast four charter boats in the Whitsundays, with a fifth boat recently launched in Mackay, opening the islands to locals and tourists alike.

In addition to their fleet, the couple has expanded the business to include Eco and Edu-tourism-tours along with banana boat-riding, snorkelling, paddle-boarding, sailing and bush walking tours.

“We not only clawed back our staff numbers but actually increased the size of our sales team in preparation for border re-openings,” Mrs Telford said.

The business now employs 34 staff across Mackay and the Whitsundays and recently won Gold in the Australian Tourism Awards Adventure Tourism.

“We love what we do and the industry we are working in,” Mrs Telford said.

“We have a saying at Red Cats, ‘don’t look back, you’re not going that way’, and we stick to it.”

CRT Farm and Rural Supplies

Growing up on Mackay sugar cane farms, CRT farm and Rural Supplies owners Michelle and Adrian Zarb know the industry inside and out.

The couple expected to continue making their living through farming, but at the request of Mrs Zarb’s father in June 2000, they decided to also take on a small and rundown agriculture supply business in Mt Ossa.

“He saw it was for sale and was keen to get involved,” Mrs Zarb said.

So the couple agreed, and along with Mrs Zarb’s father and brother, they launched into an enterprise that would soon become an empire.

Michelle and Adrian Zarb.

Mrs Zarb’s brother left the business in 2003 and the couple decided to expand its reach.

“It was really hard, it took a lot of dedication and we’ve put a lot into it,” Mrs Zarb said.

“We did long hours and took a few risks along the way.

“But there have been a lot of good times, getting to know our customers and meeting nice people through it.”

Mrs Zarb said some of her favourite moments were in the early days when her father was still alive.

“He was sick at the time,” she said.

“He would come and sit here, and just chat away with people.”

Since her father’s idea to buy that first rundown business, the Zarbs have gone above and beyond and now own additional depots in Finch Hatton, Farleigh and Bloomsbury, along with a cafe and general store attached to the original Mt Ossa facility.

“I never would have thought in a million years we would have ended up here,” Mrs Zarb said.

Their business employs about 25 people with all four of their children Brendan, Anne-Marie, Danielle and Nathaniel heavily involved.

“We have really good and dedicated staff,” Mrs Zarb said

“We’re like a big family.”

City Fitness

From humble beginnings in the Caneland Central carpark, City Fitness owner Steve Eden has only matched his dedication to business with his love of his hometown community.

Starting nearly four decades ago, Mr Eden has gone from strength to strength, opening his first facility 27 years ago on Victoria St, exactly where it still stands today.

‘Our longest serving member has been with us for 35 years’.

But a few things have changed, including the additions of a Mt Pleasant location in 2012 and a third at City Gates in 2015.

“Our longest serving member has been with us for 35 years,” Mr Eden said.

More recently, the business has added a physiotherapy service to its City Gates club and now clocks in with about 35 employees.

The business continues to be family owned and operated, with Mackay born and bred local Mr Eden saying they were forever grateful to the Mackay community for its support throughout the years.

“We are always looking at ways to expand and better serve the Mackay community,” Mr Eden said.

“We would like to thank the Mackay community for their great ideas and suggestions.”

Caneland Central The Coffee Club

Caneland Central’s Coffee Club associate franchisee Jo Jo Li has been serving the Mackay community their daily fuel — coffee — for nearly a decade.

The owners opened the Caneland cafe 15 years ago, before expanding with the second location on the riverfront nine years ago.

Like many hospitality industries, Ms Li said Covid-19 took a toll on her and her employees.

“It was very hard,” Ms Li said.

But, she said the support from the Mackay community kept them going.

“We love our customers with all our heart,” she said.

“[We] enjoy every little smile and small conversation.

“[We get] a personal relationship with our customers.”

She said it was these relationships and attitude which has enabled the business to become some of the oldest standing cafes in the region.

About 40 staff members are employed between the two cafes, with specialised training given to chefs and baristas.

“We always have excellent coffee and great food,” Ms Li said.

“Even though it has been very hard and stressful since Covid, I love our team and our regulars.”