Anthony Koutoufides turns passion for fitness into election pledge, promising free fitness classes

Lord mayoral candidate Anthony Koutoufides has pledged to personally run free outdoor fitness classes for residents, if he is elected to the city’s top job.

Lord mayoral candidate Anthony Koutoufides with World Triathlon champion Emma Carney, who has joined his ticket. Picture: David Caird

Carlton champion Anthony Koutoufides has pledged to personally run free weekly outdoor fitness classes for City of Melbourne residents, if he is elected lord mayor in October.

The AFL legend, who played 278 games for the Blues, has turned his passion for fitness into an election pledge like no other as the race for the city’s top job continues to gather steam.

Koutoufides said the sessions would provide the perfect opportunity for him as lord mayor to hear first hand from residents about the issues impacting them.

“I’ve been out meeting with residents and business owners over the past few weeks and many of them have indicated they want their lord mayor to meet with them more often and listen to their concerns to help shape the city’s future for the better,” he said.

Carney is running on Koutoufides’s ticket in a bid to become a councillor. Picture: David Caird

Koutoufides, who runs his own fitness business KoutaFit, said the weekly classes would include running, yoga, pilates, tai chi, HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and cross training.

While he is expected to run a weekly HIIT class, it is understood he also plans to get around to the other classes over the council term.

World Triathlon champion Emma Carney recently joined Koutoufides’s ticket, alongside former federal Liberal MP Gladys Liu and commercial property developer Zaim Ramani, in a bid to become a councillor.

Carney is expected to run the run clubs, while Ms Liu – who left federal politics in 2022 and became a fitness instructor – would also lend her expertise.

“As technology impacts our lifestyles, we all have to remain able to exercise and move our bodies so our lives will remain healthy, so providing a free incentive to get people moving again can only have a positive benefit on our city,” Koutoufides said.

“It’s another way to help Melbourne regain the title of world’s most liveable city.”

The classes would be held outdoors at locations including the Royal Botanic Gardens, Flagstaff Gardens, Treasury Gardens, Carlton Gardens, Port Melbourne beach, Holland Park in Kensington, Ron Barassi Snr Oval in Docklands and Errol St Reserve in North Melbourne.

And Koutoufides and his team would not only participate in the classes.

“As qualified instructors and coaches, we will oversee the program design to ensure participants improve their fitness, both physically and mentally,” he said.

“We will also deploy a team of qualified personal trainers to run different sessions.”

Only City of Melbourne residents would be able to access the free classes, with a simple scan of a QR code all that would be required for verification.

The latest announcement from Koutoufides comes two weeks after he unveiled the first official policy of his campaign to “bring life back” to the city, which included his pledge to shout city workers a Monday morning coffee for at least a month.

He has also promised that no more wide bike lanes would be installed across Melbourne’s CBD and share hire e-scooters would be returned to the streets with tighter restrictions.