When banker and fitness fanatic Andy Coley swapped English cool for Australian sunshine several years ago, the chance to head to Bondi Beach, rather than the gym, to make his heart rate rise was irresistible.
And while he wanted to give himself a good workout, lugging exercise equipment such as kettlebells to the beach took some of the gloss off the experience, so he decided to solve his problem by launching his own startup, Beachbells, which offer all the benefits of a kettlebell, while being easier to take with you and back.
Beachbells are designed to help you build strength and muscle tone and burn calories, but they use the beach to help you do it. You fill them with sand to weigh between 1.5kg and 16kg, enjoy your workout on the beach and then empty them at the end of the session and they’re back to being lightweight and compact and easy to take home.
Andy launched Beachbells last year and when Covid-19 and the lockdowns hit, like many smaller retailers, he moved online to help people stay healthy, going national through Amazon Australia, with Fulfilment by Amazon to take care of inventory, storage, delivery and customer service.
His side hustle has been so successful that Andy’s now preparing to ditch the suit and tie for a full-time job in fitness with global expansion plans on the cards.
Over 12 days in the lead up to Christmas, we’ll be sharing the stories of great Australians startups selling on Amazon Australia, told by their founders.
Here is Andy’s story. Happy holidays to all.
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