South Australia’s top 65 rigs: Dani Daish, Kwame Duah and Bella Morrison
Some of Australia’s most ripped fitness influencers are sharing how they achieved their enviable physiques.
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As the home of many dedicated athletes, coaches and influencers, South Australia is both the festival and fitness state with gym-goers turning to social media to share their passion for health.
From bodybuilding champions to everyday fitness fanatics, these South Aussies are sharing their tips and tricks of the trade learnt from years of hard work to inspire others.
Whether it be through raising awareness of mental health, documenting their deadlifts or simply sharing their favourite healthy recipes, these 65 rigs are creating an uplifting and body-positive community online.
Kristen Ellis
Handle: @kristenellis_
Followers: 8.5k
After putting years of hard work into her body Adelaide local Kristen Ellis now a coach and trainer.
The owner of Coached by Kristen, also known as CBK, shares fitness tips to more than 8500 Instagram followers.
In her weekly series “Technique Tuesdays” Ellis’ gives practical advice on how to perfect different exercises including common mistakes and cues to remember.
Michelle Richards
Handle: @michellerichards_healthcoach
Followers: 15k
Michelle Richards is not only a health coach but a mum of three tackling parenthood and bodybuilding.
On Instagram Richards keeps her followers up to date with her family life and fitness journey.
She recently competed in the I Compete Natural (ICN) Nationals seven-months post partum, placing third in the Bikini Mummas category.
One-half of fitness power couple, Richards and her husband Samule Mussared are co-owners and head coaches at The Base.
Samuel Mussared
Handle: @samyzest1
Followers: 4k
Natural vegan bodybuilder Samuel Mussared proved you don’t need to eat meat to thrive when he was crowned the 2023 I Compete Natural (ICN) Australian Professional Classic Physique champion.
Mussared, who has been competing as a vegan the past nine years, hoped the win would inspire others to think twice about their eating habits.
He is the other half of Michelle Richards, Mussared is a co-owner and head coach at The Base.
Sal Hassan
Handle: @sal__hassan_
Followers: 16k
A former star footballer, Salim Hassan is a personal trainer who is heralded by clients as a man who practices what he preaches in every way”.
Hassan has always been a gifted athlete; he was drafted to the AFL system in 2004, selected by Port Adelaide.
In the same year, while playing for the West Adelaide Football Club, Hassan won The Advertiser’s SANFL Player of the Year award.
These days, the 41-year-old runs Buddha Fit, an all-inclusive group fitness studio in Adelaide, providing tailored strength and fitness training programs and nutrition coaching to people of all experiences and ages.
The popular online figure shares the transformation journeys of his clients with his 16,000 followers while sharing fitness and nutrition tips with his highly-engaged audience.
Tayla Goody
Handle: @taygoodyfitness
Followers: 134k
Tayla Goody is a trainer and coach sharing her life with 134k followers on Instagram.
The Muscle Nation model who shares fitness, fashion and travel content is often posting beach snaps, gym videos and showing off stylish activewear.
Fred Zziwa
Handle: @team_fred_zziwa
Followers: 2k
Fred Zziwa is a Victor Harbour chef by day with dreams of representing Australia in boxing at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
ZZiwa’s talents have taken the amateur boxing world by storm with the 25-year-old defeating the Australian national titleholder in four different weight divisions, debuting with a third round stoppage in his first professional fight on the Gold Coast last year.
The Ugandan-born boxer is now a step closer to achieving his Olympic dreams after being granted a permanent visa in January and will compete in the world championships in May.
Megan Knight
Handle: @meganknight.bodybuilder
Followers: 26k
Murray Bridge-based gym owner Megan Knight has quickly become one of the hottest names in bodybuilding.
The Miss Universe winner has travelled the world competing and promoting the sport she loves.
In 2023 alone, Knight achieved the title of Miss Universe at a competition in Mexico, named overall champion and Ms New Zealand winner during a trip over the Tasman and, came second in the amateur Olympia category in Toyko, Japan and was a special guest poser at a bodybuilding competition in India.
Knight told The Advertiser she has always admired the art and the aim for the perfection of bodybuilding.
“I love the human body and how we can change and manipulate our bodies,” she said.
“I also appreciate the challenge I’m faced with for comp prep and the discipline required to achieve the desired outcome that I’m aiming for. “
She said the sport had taken her on a journey all over the world.
“I have met so many amazing people and athletes I’ve made lifelong friendships and connections with,” Knight said.
She said her biggest achievements were winning professional body building status, being invited as a guest poser in India at two different shows and winning the Murray Bridge sportsperson of the year 2023 award.
“The hardest hurdles to overcome in bodybuilding is discipline with food and scheduling your life around prep and training,” she said.
“Also, the sacrifices made to achieve your goal are the restricted diets and social life, making it a 24/7 commitment to your lifestyle.”
The Murray Bridge Pumpt Fitness owner went to the US in 2016 and came home with her first win in the INBA World Cup where she took out first place in the pro figure classic open and first place in the pro physique open.
Since then, she’s competed regularly and trained many competitors and continues to be a fitness inspiration for those in the Murraylands.
Kiv Agnew
Handle: @kivagnew
Followers: 4k
Kiv Agnew is a pilates coach at KX Pilates in Christies Beach and Mount Barker and uses her Instagram to share fitness, fashion and lifestyle content.
The 25-year-old recently celebrated her two-year anniversary as a pilates coach at the Christies Beach studio.
Jordan Steffens
Handle: @jordan_biggie
Followers: 5k
Jordan Steffens is one of SA’s greatest strongman athletes who has proved his strength by pulling planes and trains and more.
“Throughout my career as a strongman I’ve been blessed to do a lot of weird and odd things,” he said.
“I’ve pulled a train – multiple times actually – I pulled planes, trains, trucks and I’ve lifted all kinds of weird and wacky things.”
Steffens revealed he was scouted as a 14-year-old by the South Australian Sport Institute after he lifted 80kg over his head on his first attempt of lifting a weighted bar.
“I was 14 years old and I had never lifted a bar with weights before but I was able to lift it over my head and I guess I was lucky in that I had some sort of talent for it,” he said.
“That led me meet some of the world’s best coaches and good friends, and it gave me so many opportunities.”
Kim Schultze
Handle: @kims_vibes
Followers: 3k
Kim Schultze’s professional bodybuilding career began in late 2022 as part of a “bucket list goal” before she began planning for a family.
Based in Mount Barker, Schultze, who has three national pro cards under belt, has fallen head over heels for the sport which has “changed her life for the better”.
“I enjoyed the process so much that I prepped for a second season and won three national pro cards and competed in an international competition receiving second place,” she said.
“There has been a vast improvement in every aspect of my life. It has shown me that I am capable of much more than I ever thought was possible”.
For those wanting to start bodybuilding, Schultze said “it’s not an easy sport, it requires a lot of dedication, motivation and inner strength so make sure you have the right support around you.”
Schultze currently trains five times a week and walks for 30 minutes each day with the goal of growing and improving her physique to compete in an untested federation.
Maayan Goldstein
Handle: @maayan.goldstein
Followers: 8k
After almost a decade in the fitness industry, Maayan Goldstein knows all too well the importance of hard work and commitment.
The 24-year-old from Woodside spent her childhood as a competitive swimmer before becoming a certified personal trainer at 16 and launched Maayan Goldstein Fitness.
“Every person is obviously an individual and different but I love being able to support other people and reach as many people as I possibly can,” she said.
“I just love helping people get their dream body, whatever that might look like for them.”
In 2021, Goldstein achieved her four year long dream of competing with at Word Beauty Fitness and Fashion as an amateur bikini bodybuilder which she described as “like nothing I have experienced before”.
Since then she has continued to smash goals, making her debut on the WBFF World’s stage in Vegas where she received her bikini pro card last year.
She’s come a long way since starting out in the gym as a teen and Goldstein is getting ready to expand her business and a pro debut on the cards.
“I’m still deciding on my next show (for my) pro debut, it’s looking like possibly an LA show in 2025 and I obviously want to keep working on my physique but also myself as a person,” she said.
“For me it’s about building my dream body, I just want to build my best physique for myself.
“Outside of body building, I am going to be building my team here in Adelaide more and I have some exciting things that I’m going to be bringing to the fitness industry in Adelaide.
“There’s obviously still a lot that I want to do and I still kind of feel like I’m only just getting started and scratching the surface now.”
Luke Wulff
Handle: @lukewulff
Followers: 41k
Luke Wulff has become a popular online figure detailing his journey from a shy kid who was unhappy with how he looked to a gym junkie
The 20-year-old has amassed over 208,000 TikTok followers and over 41,000 on Instagram with his audience treated to workout videos, transformation clips and plenty of humour.
He shares his story as an inspiration to others as he documents his transformation into a confident content creator.
Kayla Bonfiglio
Handle: @kaylanellaa
Followers: 32k
A wellness, lifestyle and fitness social media influencer, Kayla Bonfiglio boasts 3.8m followers on TikTok.
The bodybuilder also runs a business named KXKFitness with Kwame Duah selling a fitness program and various gym equipment.
Alex Williams
Handle: @alex_williams_012
Followers: 500
Alex Williams juggles a 50 hour working week as an industrial electrician with being a single father to a toddler but still finds time to git the gym.
“Finding time to improve your health and fitness is not only possible, but should be a priority,” the 33-year-old told The Advertiser.
“I still find an hour every day for resistance training and 20 minutes for cardio.
“Having lost over 40kg and shed over one third of my body weight, all areas of my life have seen the benefits.
“My energy and mental health have improved exponentially.”
Jessica Burt
Handle: @jess_safetyinstrength
Followers: 1k
Jessica Burt grew up playing sports and was initially motivated to start her fitness journey in 2016 by “unhealthy perceptions” around fitness.
Since then the third-year physio student has begun working as an online PT with her motivation shifting to “be stronger, moving to my best abilities and to simply feel good”.
“Looking back on my fitness journey I have seen a lot of growth. At the start I chased a certain idea of what I thought was healthy,” the 24 year old said.
“Over the years I have learnt that those perceptions didn’t align with me and shifted my path to where I am now, striving to become strong physically and mentally, further educating myself and following my passion to create my own space in this industry.
“My current motivation is chasing the feeling of being strong, happy and healthy - finding a balance between movement and mindset to ensure gym and movement is a part of my life but not my entire life.
“It makes me excited to continue making progress.”
When starting your fitness journey, Burt said it was important to give yourself grace and find what works best for you.
“Remind yourself that everyone was once a beginner, find routines and habits that work into your lifestyle and align with your goals and simply start.”
Tess Timpano
Handle: @tess_fitpano
Followers: 16k
Tess Timpano is a “non traditional looking PT” who has built an online following on body acceptance and positivity.
Timpano lives with lipoedema and is passionate about raising awareness on the condition while also advocating for “average and mid-sized healthy bodies”.
After spending a decade in the gym, she strives to help women avoid her rookie mistakes.
“I lost 40kg in the first year of watching my food and joining a gym … and it was great until it controlled my entire life! I under-ate and over trained,” she said.
“When I began to find balance back in life I fell in love with the lifestyle, started (my) Instagram and documented my journey.
“This lead me to wanting to learn more and help others and study to become a PT.”
Since then the 28-year-old has launched her own business Fitpano Training and become a Muscle Nation athlete.
The Zajarskas Brothers - Vic and Jase
The two brothers, only a few years apart, have used each other as motivation to take their strength to the next level.
“The brother rivalry does push us to outdo each other,” younger brother Vic said.
“Going back a month ago, I was rocking the full six-pack, where my brother was struggling to get the bottom abs popping.
“After a couple of days at the beach, he (Jase) decided to absolutely smash his core while I was away for work and now he’s the one rocking a washboard.
“Now this has motivated me to start aggressively smashing mine too.”
The gym has become a haven and a way to further cement their relationship for the duo - one-upping each other with reps, kilos and the friendly banter that comes with it.
It’s not all fun and games, however, and the two fit rigs are adamant on discipline.
“High-intensity training five to six days a week combined with very clean eating with no processed garbage,” Jase said.
“The older you get the more important it is to keep your body strong, healthy and active, which in turn helps keep you sharp between the ears.”
Younger brother Vic, known as Two-Stroke (“like the mower”) among friends, said discipline was the key.
“That 3am alarm rolls around real quick some mornings but having the discipline to get out of bed in the early hours and get a session in works wonders for the mind, body and soul.”
Tam Elmore
Handle: @tam_emlore_coaching
Followers: 2k
Tam Elmore is a one-on-one PT based in Seaford Meadows specialising in training women, and empowering them to feel good in their skin.
As a mum herself, Elmore is passionate about supporting other mums to find alignment with their fitness, nutrition, mindset and a healthy busy lifestyle without the “mum guilt”.
Sam Schreiber
Handle: @sammyshreds_coaching
Followers: 4k
Royal Park fitness coach and sports nutritionist Sam Schreiber started off as a “regular gym junkie” before deciding to turn his passion for fitness into a career.
After four successful seasons as a competitive bodybuilder, Schreiber left the competition world behind in 2018 to support other athletes and like minded people to reach their fitness goals.
Reflecting on his nine-year fitness journey on Instagram in 2022, Schreiber said: “Never forget to look back at where you started. Proud but never satisfied”.
Jamie Brown
Handle: @_jamiejbrown_
Followers: 2.5k
Working with Royal Park-based coach Sam Schreiber, Jamie Brown initially began transforming her body three and a half years ago with the goal of looking “hot to trot”.
Since then the Henley Beach local, who holds a cert III and IV in fitness, has taken her passion to the next level, joining the team at SammyShreds as a coach in January.
Now Brown specialises in strength training, muscle building and fat loss and uses her knowledge to help others on their fitness journey.
Josh Trinchini
Handle: @joshtrinchini
Followers: 67k
Josh Trinchini is the co-owner of gym Three Pillar Coaching (also known as 3PC), a passion project he is slowly developing into an empire with an e-book on nutrition, a podcast, a run club and a protein line.
His approach to his own fitness has been largely through finding the next challenge, from marathons to Ironman races around Australia.
“I started from a sporting background but I didn’t reach my full potential until I started incorporating a combination of strength training with high intensity cardio and running,” Trinchini said.
“Nutrition also plays a key role in all of this and has been something I have always tried to be consistent with.
“Now that hybrid-style of training is my main focus and is something we incorporate heavily with our gym.”
Will Trengove
Handle: @williamtrengove
Followers: 9k
Will Trengove is the other half of Three Pillar Coaching - the co-owner and trainer of 3PC.
At 84kg, Trengove has a skeletal muscle mass of 45.7kg and 7.5 per cent body fat.
Despite scoring 100 out of a possible 100 in his most recent body composition scan, the gym owner and trainer said he didn’t think any of his measurements were “brag-worthy”.
“I mean, it’s better than the average Joe,” he said.
Trengove said having a social life connected to healthy habits has been vital to his strength and fitness goals.
“It sounds so simple but staying active consistently, such as hitting 10,000 steps each day, will get you on the right path to seeing results,” he said.
“I just incorporate daily movement into my routine.”
Alana Yeates
Handle: @alanayeates_fitness
Followers: 338
Alana Yeates has always had a passion for fitness and uses her Instagram to keep her followers up to date with her PT journey.
Despite being “very anxious” when she first began working out, Yeates quickly fell in love with the gym and was inspired to become a trainer.
After earning her cert III and IV in fitness, she started a career at Derrimut Noarlunga in July 2023.
Corey J. Cameron
Handle: @coreycameron
Followers: 5k
Originally from far-north Queensland, Corey J. Cameron is a bodybuilder and video storyteller based in Noarlunga.
The 28-year-old has always had an interest in fitness and started his business, V! LLAIN, to document people’s fitness journeys, particularly those preparing for bodybuilding competitions, in 2022.
That same year Cameron told The Advertiser he was hoping to compete in Texas in 2023 - a dream he made come true, stepping on stage at the Summer Shredding Championships late last year.
Ella Dungey
Handle: @elladungeyfit
Followers: 3k
23-year-old Ella Dungey is an athlete and trainer at Orion Performance Coaching and Derrimut Melrose Park.
She uses her fitness Instagram page to share workout tips, plant-based recipes and bodybuilding progress.
Will Chamberlain
Handle: @willchamberlain
Followers: 7k
Will Chamberlain is an IFBB champion with multiple titles under his belt including U80 SA bodybuilding.
Chamberlain uses his Instagram to document his fitness journey and works as a coach under the brand WC Coaching, using his body building expertise to help others with their training, nutrition and posing.
Tara Jellis
Handle: @tarajellis
Followers: 2k
Tara Jellis, 23, is an Adelaide based fitness and lifestyle influencer sharing her body building progress on Instagram.
Jellis competed in her first bodybuilding competition in October where she was crowned I Compete Natural (ICN) South Australia overall winner for Season B.
The following month she made her national debut on stage at the Australian National Championships, winning first place in the fitness novice category.
John Weetra
Handle: @weetra_boxing
Followers: 558
Since stepping into the boxing ring for his first fight in 2005, John Weetra has racked up over 150 rounds as an amateur boxer.
Now a professional, Weetra has represented the state multiple times, taking out the title of SA Boxer of the Year in 2011 and 71kg Australian Club Champion in 2022.
Alongside his own boxing career, Weetra is also a boxing coach at George St Gym.
Leesa Scanlan
Handle: @a_girl_and_the_ocean
Followers: 5k
Leesa Scanlan is a podcast host, mental health advocate and bodybuilder from Adelaide.
As the host of the High Tide Low Tide podcast, Scanlan and her guests discuss topics surrounding mental health, fitness and self-care.
For the 35-year-old, mental health and physical health go hand-in-hand with training serving as a form of therapy.
Erin O’Sullivan
Handle: @erinosullivannnn
Followers: 24k
As an entrepreneur, lifestyle influencer and bikini bodybuilder, Erin O’Sullivan is a true blend of beauty, brawn and brains.
She was crowned Miss NABBA (National Amateur Body-Builders’ Association) Southern Hemisphere Bikini and launched her clothing brand The Miniml Collective in 2022.
When not in the gym or office, O’Sullivan is off travelling the world and enjoys sharing her adventures with her followers on Instagram.
Kwame Duah
Handle: @kwameduah
Followers: 399k
Kwame Duah has built a successful bodybuilding career over the years, setting record in bodybuilding competitions as well as featuring on shows like Ninja Warrior and Gladiator.
He grew up as an athletic kid playing football, tennis, cricket and everything in between on Yorke Peninsula.
But Duah told The Advertiser he found Adelaide’s sporting options limited when he moved to the city to study a food science degree the University of Adelaide.
So turned to weightlifting.
“After moving from the country and not being able to do as many sporting activities, I started weightlifting more serious,” Duah said.
“I just needed to do something that would keep me going - keep my passion burning - and weightlifting seems like the right thing to do.
“And while I was studying at uni, I decided to do a personal training course, mostly for myself so I could learn how to get bigger, leaner, stronger and fitter.”
Duah began competing in bodybuilding events starting with local competitions.
Fame struck at 23 when became the youngest person ever to turn professional in Musclemania after winning the title at the Las Vegas competition.
Duah has gone on to competed in 2019 Ninja Warrior and in 2024 he was cast in Gladiators as Maximus.
Now 30, the bodybuilder said he was grateful for all his experiences.
“I’ve been very fortunate in my bodybuilding career and I’ve had opportunities to do a whole range of things from TV appearances and running seminars, I got to meet a lot of people,” he said.
Bella Morrison
Handle: @bellamorrison_1pcntrs
Followers: 10k
Bella Morrison told The Advertiser her fitness journey stemmed from an unhealthy mindset towards working out and eating.
“Back in the day I was uneducated with training and nutrition, but I wanted to change that to allow myself to be healthy and stronger and just happier,” Morrison said.
She found herself a coach and she started working on herself mentally and physically.
In the process of rebuilding her attitude to health she fell in love with the sport of body building.
“My coach really helped me change my perspective on health and fall in love with the process – not just the end result,” she said.
The 25-year-old now balances her job as a nurse, being a personal trainer and doing competition prep for bodybuilding contests.
Rhys Price
Handle: rhysprice___
Followers: 16k
He is a personal trainer and an online coach and doesn’t mind sharing his nuggets of fitness wisdom for free on his social media account.
Rhys Price, who coaches under the name Physiques by Rhys, often posts education videos to help people achieve a rig like his.
Robbo Cash
Handle: @robbo_nocash
Followers: 15k
Robbo Cash debuted as a competitive bodybuilder for the first time last year and narrowly missed claiming the Overall State Title after placing second.
Cash shares workout videos on Instagram showing off his 180kg barbell back squats, 60kg
dumbbell incline presses and 140kg incline S press reverse bands.
Cate Skeer
Handle: @cate.jade_pt
Followers: 2k
Mount Gambier-based online and bootcamp coach Cate Skeer shares her body positive philosophy with her clients and online followers as she shares her journey into the bodybuilding arena.
The accredited sports nutritionist documents her training regimen and her meal preparation as well as blogging of her experiences.
“I’ve been told by many people in my life to lose weight, you’re getting chubby, and to watch what I eat from as young as 12,” she said.
“We need to be careful about what we say to young adolescents around us - they are so impressionable.”
She encourages anyone interested in physical training to live with the philosophy: “Eat more to lift more, lift more to grow more, grow more to eat more, repeat”.
Joseph Mencel
Handle: @josephmencel
Followers: 29k
There is no bigger name in fitness than supplement retailer Massive Joes and its accompanying apparel brand TMJ Apparel.
And the man behind it all is a buff poster-man for his products.
Joseph Mencel is the chief executive of the two businesses which offer supplements, fitness apparel and wellness resources. He has competed in International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) competitions.
He started back in November 2005 with the vision of bringing the best supplements from all over the world to Australian consumers.
Dani Daish
Handle: @danidaish_fit
Followers: 5k
Dani Daish is a fitness trainer and competitor from Murray Bridge who shares her tips and workout routines with her growing online audience.
She has over 5000 followers on Instagram but it’s TikTok where she really shines with over 60,000 followers.
The Anytime Fitness employee puts what she does best in her own words; “I help women ditch the diets, find confidence in the gym and build their dream physique”.
Daish said her mission was motivated after struggling with eating disorders before making the shift from starving to bodybuilding.
Nathan Ryles
Handle: @nathan_ryles
Followers: 11k
Adelaide’s Nathan Ryles is the owner of MU | FU Fitness in Unley and is famous as a five-time Australian Ninja Warrior participant.
The popular personal trainer has become a social media influencer with almost 12,000 followers.
He shares the successes of his clients and functional fitness tips for all levels on fitness.
Ben Nagel
Handle: @bflexinfitness
Followers: 2k
Ben Nagel is a rising name in the fitness industry as the owner of BFlexin Supplements.
However, he is also is a fitness trainer, offering personal training and fitness but specialising in bodybuilding competition preparation coaching.
The sports nutritionist’s supplements can be found in gyms around Murray Bridge and he practises what he preaches in his coaching with his application to training.
Petar Losic
Handle: @petarlosic.boxing
Followers: 2k
Petar Losic, 28, is a former boxer with 31 fights to his name.
A personal trainer for seven years, he now dons the pads instead of the gloves, helping others achieve their fitness goals.
Losic has since become a father to two boys and no longer feels as fighting fit as he once did.
“I’m definitely not where I was two years ago - dad life has slightly caught up,” he said.
“If I’m being honest, I wouldn’t be in my greatest shape currently.”
The standard he holds himself to are an indication of how unforgiving the fitness industry can be for those who work in it.
The push for perfection is nothing new for the former boxer, who looks as ring ready as ever.
“I’m looking to fight again in the future,” he said.
Pj van Gyen
Handle: @pj_vangyen
Followers: 2k
Pj van Gyen keeps his mind and body sharp as a competitive mixed martial artist, honing his skills on grappling mats around SA.
The former actor and model is a familiar face in the fitness industry - together with partner Kimberley, the couple are considered the fit rig king and queen of their circle.
Chris Andreou
Handle: @chris_andreou
Followers: 82k
Chris Andreou is the director of bodybuilding gym OneGym.
He travels back and forth between SA and Victoria as part of his sponsorship with Ryderwear.
His secret to getting ripped and staying that way?
“Just being consistent in the basic fundamentals and enjoying the process,” Andreou said.
Carter Hedges
Handle: @chedges123
Followers: 7k
Competitive bodybuilder Carter Hedges calls himself the “Professional Short F***”, poking fun at his own stature.
His sense of humour goes a long way in a sport known to be mentally and physically crushing.
“Ah bodybuilding, the lifestyle that normalises stripping in the gym on a routine basis,” reads one of his IG captions underneath a photo of the bodybuilder, posing in only socks and jocks.
Fraser Smith
Handle: @fraser417
Followers: 1k
Fraser Smith trains out of Soul 365, documenting his lifting journey with a few tongue-in-cheek clips to inspire others on their own journey.
He rounds out his gym time playing other recreational sports including footy for Port Football Club in Port Pirie.
Dominic Mitolo
Handle: @dommitolo
Followers: 2.5k
Dominic Mitolo started lifted weights as early as 15-years-old after quitting soccer.
As a teenager he downloaded a fitness program and followed the training and dieting recommendation and has been obsessed with health ever since.
“That program changed everything because it has led to the next 15 years of my life to focus on my health,” Mitolo said.
“And it’s never over because I can always set myself a new and more challenging fitness goal and push my limits every time.”
Mitolo enjoy competing in bodybuilding competitions – and apart from a two year break he had to take due to an injury – he competed almost every six months.
Nikola Daniel
Handle: @nikoladanielfitness
Followers: 1k
Nikola Daniel is a fitness trainer at BUILT and does one-on-one personal training online.
“I have been into resistance training since I was a 12-year-old using cans of foods as weight to train at home,” Daniel said.
“It took me until my early 30s to realise this was the career I should be chasing.
“I absolutely love showing women how strong they are.”
Jessykah Lauren
Handle: @jessykahlw
Followers: 1k
Although Jessykah Lauren’s bodybuilding journey has a sad origin – she is proud of her story and hopes it might help others.
Lauren revealed she suffered from anorexia nervosa which led her to be weigh as little as 34kg during her high school years.
“What led me to get my eating disorder was a lot of high school bullying and it forced me to take a dark path,” she told The Advertiser.
“I was also a dancer and a perfectionist which made my eating disorder worse.”
The turning point for Lauren was when she was lying in bed and she felt her heart giving out.
“I’ve come a long way from there and I know the struggle of being in toxic environments, relapsing, being forced-fed through a tube by doctors who don’t care to address the underlying mental causes of the eating disorder,” she said.
“I know a lot of women suffer through something similar and I want to help them because I understand what it’s like.”
Lauren’s goal is to inspire women have healthy attitude to food and fitness.
Ben Maddern
Handle: @_benmaddern
Followers: 1k
Ben Maddern was the first professional-level strongman in the state.
Maddern founded the SA Strongman competition in 2005 to challenge sportspeople to powerlift non-traditional objects like rocks.
He said he enjoyed lifting rocks in nature rather than going to the gym as it was a “more raw” experience.
Ivan Tchorbadjiev
Handle: @ivantchorbadjiev
Followers: 5.5k
Ivan Tchorbadjiev travelled to the US to compete in the Summer Shredding Championship bodybuilding competition with the aim of placing in the top five at the end of last year.
The Adelaide man pulled it off placing fourth.
Cameron Whitters
Handle: @camwhitters
Followers: 8k
Cam Whitters’s bodybuilding journey goes back to 2015 but he has come a long way since.
Mr Whitters has learnt the ins and out of the sport and now coaches others to reach their fitness goals under the business name CSW Fitness.
Emily Sparke
Handle: @emsparke
Followers: 3k
Emily Sparke is an International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Bikini SA Overall Champ after taking out the honour in 2023.
The South Aussie shared snap of the crowning moment she writing: “One of my proudest ever achievements. The overall and the improvements I was able to make in a year.”
Spark, who is also an online training, nutrition, lifestyle and posing coach, is already looking ahead to this season’s competition and has plans to beat her 2023 look.
Kain Moss
Handle: @kain_moss
Followers: 1k
An active bodybuilder competitor, Kain Moss has not only competed himself but has helped his clients prep too through his business Top Tier Training.
He has an enviable physique which he has worked on for many years to achieve.
Beau Fitzgerald
Handle: @beau.fitzgerald
Followers: 4k
Bodybuilder Beau Fitzgerald regularly shares shots of his gains to more than 4k Instagram followers
The online coach at Built Coaching who also works with Primabolics and Ryderwear showed off his muscles on New Years day with a post captioned “New year, same goals”.
Alexandra Milne
Handle: @alexandramilne_
Followers: 3k
Alexandra Milne specialises in teaching women how to be strong and achieve an aesthetic physique, as well as providing them mental support while they attain their goals.
But Milne doesn’t mind sharing some of her tips and tricks on Instagram where she often shares tutorials for workouts or step-by-step instructions on how to cook delicious and healthy meals.
The online coach also shares vlogs to YouTube on life, fitness and business.
Taylor Crabtree
Handle: @taylorccrabtree
Followers: 52k
Taylor Crabtree’s philosophy is to delay instant gratification for the purpose of achieving greater success in your body goals.
The founder of Crabtree Performance describes himself as a coach, educator and bodybuilder and his advice is “find comfort in discomfort, seek it, accept it and crave it”.
Jesse Barker
Handle: @jesse_cfcoach
Followers: 1k
Jesse Barker is the head coach of Revl in Campbelltown and the co-founder of Perform Athlete with partner and fellow acrobat Shani Stephens.
The cross-fitter and lifter creates inspiring acrobat-style partner workouts.
Amanda Matthews
Handle: @amandakatematthews
Followers: 33k
Hailing from country SA, Amanda Matthews is a pro Australian FMG champion who has continued her journey as a fitness trainer while running a successful barber shop.
Matthews is from Murray Bridge where she began training in gyms before progressing to compete in fitness and bodybuilding shows in 2017.
She operated supplement stores in Mount Barker and Murray Bridge.
She turned pro athlete with the Word Beauty Fitness and Fashion in 2018, won the pro show in 2019 and held the title of Miss WBFF Fitness Australia.
She has since moved to Queensland, to Burleigh Waters where she is a personal trainer at Goodlife and runs The Fade Haus Barber.
Jesse Sciancalepore
Handle: @jesseshank
Followers: 2k
He is an I Complete Natural (ICN) SA season A 2022 Classic Physique State Champion but Jesse Sciancalepor still regularly working on bettering his body and reach higher goals.
The online coach who describes himself as “100 per cent natural bodybuilder” and also helps others reach their fitness dreams.
Rebekah Platonas
Handle: @bekplats
Followers: 2k
In her first season of competing Rebekah Platonas placed first at the 2023 International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation SA State Championship in the True Novice category and second in the Open Class 1.
After the win she said she couldn’t be happier by how far she had come and was proud of how her body composition developed.
She told her Instagram followers it took 26 weeks, 182 tuna sandwiches and exactly 1116 corn thins later.
Vasco Villaran
Handle: @vas_villaran16
Followers: 1k
Vasco Villaran is a 21-year-old bodybuilder for Men’s Physique Icn.
“I do 12,000 steps every day or higher on rest days, do small amounts of cardio and one hour of weight training five days a week, I track all my macro nutrition down to the gram,” he said.
Villaran is also an online coach training others for fat loss, strength and nutrition under the brand Vaesthetics Coaching.
Emily Clements
Handle: @emclem___
Followers: 4.5k
Emily Clements is a St Mary’s-based physiotherapist at Active Balance Physio.
Outside the office, the crossfitter and absolute weapon in the gym said she was “always ready to hurt”.
“I quit every day, I just show up again the next day,” Clements said.
Lisa Fyfe
Handle: @suchisfyfe7
Followers: 7k
A mum, a golfer and a soon-to-be “big new gym” owner, Lisa Fyfe is a triple threat.
The former Mount Gambier resident plays netball, runs, lifts, paddleboards, trains hard day in, day out and shares golf content under the handle @suchisgolf7.
“I recently sold two regional gyms to open a new one in Adelaide start of next year, it’s a little under wraps at the moment but announcement coming very soon,” Fyfe told the Advertiser.
Montana Daniel
Handle: @montana_daniell
Followers: 205k
Self described hustler, Montana Daniel is a tattoo artist and OnlyFans creator with a passion for fitness.
The jack of all trades uses her Instagram to share her gym gains and relationship with her fiance and fellow fitness fanatic, Will Chamberlain.
Tom Moore
Handle: @builtstrength
Followers: 4k
Tom Moore is the owner and head coach of the city-based gym, Built.
Despite looking the part, the gym owner and trainer doesn’t like to talk about his physique when it comes to advocating fitness.
“I try to steer clear of those things, it’s a slightly different side of the industry than what I deal with, but I do get many people tell me that it will be good for the business,” he said.
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