Flow Athletic founder Ben Lucas grew up in Cronulla, but it’s the east that has his heart
Sydney’s eastern suburbs are some of the most beautiful in the city, maybe the country, and this is why, says fitness pro Ben Lucas.
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Tell us about you: I’m Ben Lucas, director and co-founder of Flow Athletic, a boutique fitness and yoga studio in the heart of Sydney. We’ve just celebrated our seventh birthday.
I train some great clients and we’ve managed to build an amazing community of locals, which I am really proud of. We have recently launched the Flow Training Centre for personal training in addition to the class studio and I’m currently training a bunch of runners, including Merivale’s head chef Big Sam to run the NYC marathon with me this year.
When and why did you move to Paddington? I moved to Paddo about five years ago. I was in Bondi before that. I moved here because it is closer to Flow Athletic and I found my dream house for my family
What do you love most about living there? The community. I live and work near Glenmore Road and I’m friends with all of the business owners and the staff at the coffee shops and restaurants. It’s just a really nice place to be. It is also a little quieter than Bondi, but there’s still a lot happening.
Favourite outdoor space in your area: I spend a bit of time at the Paddington Reservoir Gardens, which are beautiful. I will also head to Rushcutters and Centennial because there is more space for my dog and the kids.
Weekend ritual? Before COVID-19 I spent my mornings at Flow Athletic. I would take the 9am Strike class on Sunday, for example, and start Sunday morning with my fave clients. Other than that I would spend time with the kids, my wife and my dog (I’m still doing that). We hang at home, play with the ball in the back yard. We try to take it easy in the times I am not working. We also do love going out for an early dinner on the weekends if the kids are behaving. Obviously that’s not happening right now.
What is your home away from home? Even though I moved out more than 20 years ago, Cronulla will always be home to me. I grew up there, went to school there and many of my family members are still there.
Anything else you would like to say about your suburb? I just love everything about it. There are so many lovely family businesses and great people. I highly encourage people to come and make more time to hang out in Paddo if they don’t already ... at least, when the lockdown is lifted anyway.
How has COVID-19 affected you personally and professionally? It is been very hard. We have over 20 staff here at Flow Athletic and a community of people who we have been building up for the past 7 years, Flow Athletic is not just a workout, it is a community and a tight one at that.
Being an entrepreneur always has its challenges but this is a time where we have really had to be dynamic and pivot and I hope it pays off.
I am humbled by the support of our members and our community. They are such good people and so many have pulled together to help us.
What message would you like to send to your community in these tricky times?
We are still here for you and we always will be. We are taking our workouts online. They will be on demand, some will be live streamed and we are even doing PT via FaceTime, but even if you want to reach out and it is not about training, we are here for you.