The WOD Life co-founder Andy Lee talks through the company’s rise over a decade in business

Online retailer The WOD Life has created a cult following in the CrossFit and training community. Here’s how they did it.

The WOD Life founders Ben Dineen and Andy Lee inside their Adelaide warehouse.

The global health kick spurred by Covid-19 has proven to be lucrative business for Adelaide entrepreneurs Andy Lee and Ben Dineen, with their online retail platform The WOD Life emerging with record sales and a cult following across Australia’s high-performance training community.

Having navigated the challenges of the pandemic, the duo are now looking at expanding into new international markets, including Asia, while promising to bring more big name brands to Australian customers.

Established in 2013, The WOD Life - which takes its name from the ‘workout of the day’ concept used in CrossFit circles - has grown from a side hustle to become one of the largest specialist retailers of fitness apparel, accessories and equipment, offering products from brands such as Nike, Reebok and Adidas, as well as its own TWL and The Brave brands.

The company has ridden the rise in popularity of CrossFit and other high-performance training programs over the past decade, while using the power of social media to build up a loyal following both in Australia and overseas.

The WOD Life is a major sponsor of the Torian Pro CrossFit event. Townsville trainer Emily de Rooy competing in the women’s open section earlier this year. Picture: Beny Watson (@benywatson)

With 388,000 followers on Instagram and 437,000 followers on Facebook, the company has created a community of loyal customers that has put it on track for $30m in sales this year.

Mr Lee said the company was now looking to introduce more specialist brands into the Australian market, while also increasing sales in overseas markets.

“We’re trying to bring bigger brands to Australia where consumers here don’t have access,” he said.

“And at the same time, globally, the market for fitness and training is always growing. People are always training. How they train may change, whether they’re in a CrossFit gym, a HIIT gym or running, they’re always going to train, and we’re constantly pushing the boundaries.

“The US is a massive market and we see opportunity in Asia as well through our proximity - countries like Korea, Singapore, Malaysia.

“We see our competitors like a Rebel Sport or an Iconic. But a Rebel or JD - they’re trying to be everything to everyone. We’re more focused on fitness and training, and trying to build an experience around that which people can resonate with. If they’re passionate about training, we want them to be shopping with us.”

Mr Lee and Mr Dineen left careers in finance and politics to launch The WOD Life a decade ago when they were struggling to find the products they wanted for their own training.

Mr Lee used his credit card to buy their first order of 30 super fast jump ropes, selling them to friends and at their local gym. They soon realised there was a huge gap in the Australian market.

“The first year we did a million dollars of business financed off the credit card,” Mr Lee said.

“It was pretty early days 10 years ago for CrossFit and e-commerce. We won a global competition with Shopify, went over to New York and met Mark Cuban, Tim Ferriss, Daymond John, all these big names. It was then, I think, when we thought we’re onto something here, and then we basically poured everything we could into it.”

During Covid-19, the company pivoted from apparel to gym equipment as lockdowns forced people to work out at home. The spending shift created major challenges in managing stock, but Mr Lee said relationships with suppliers had helped the company navigate those challenges as sales normalised.

The WOD Life founders Ben Dineen and Andy Lee inside their Adelaide warehouse.

A few years ago shipping and distribution was centralised out of a warehouse in Ridleyton, in Adelaide’s inner north-west, where the company employs around 25 staff.

“We previously had international warehouses but we brought everything back to Adelaide - having everything under one roof that you can control is key,” Mr Lee said.

“We’re passionate about building a business in SA as well. Our mindset’s think global, act local. Adelaide is a great proving ground for business - if it’s going to work in Rundle Mall it’s going to work anywhere.

“But having just come back from the US you see the size of the market there and the size of the market in Australia. For any e-commerce business or any start-up they need to be thinking globally to hit that economies of scale.

“Australian businesses punch above their weight globally, definitely in e-commerce, and the barriers have been pulled down significantly through social media, through digital marketing, through communication tools you can access anything so having that mindset is important.”

The WOD Life has embedded itself in the training community, from supporting small gyms and studios to recently signing on for a six figure commitment as major sponsor of the Torian Pro - a major event in the CrossFit calendar.

“The good thing about people that train is that they like to tell everyone as well, and post it on social media of course, and they’re very passionate about it,” Mr Lee said.

“We’re trying to foster a community of people who are passionate about training, bringing them together for the motivation and inspiration to train, and then providing the products to support that.”