The fitter you become, the bigger your heart grows. Your heart literally becomes larger because of regular exercise and the demands this exercise places on it.

Over the past 5 years, my heart has grown. I’ve become stronger and fitter, certainly, but this betrays what Roark has truly given me. My heart is bigger because of the people I’ve had the privilege of meeting. It’s bigger because I’ve been able to make so many new friends who we’ve been able to help in a genuine and tangible way.

My heart is bigger not because of this place, but because of the people who have been through it.

Reflecting on the past 5 years I honestly can’t believe we are where we are today. To claim this was my plan, or my doing, would be both arrogant and false. We have been blessed with a group of people who have guarded our values every single day, and who have shared those values with others. There’s no entrepreneurial guideline to achieving that. We’ve simply been blessed. My sincerest thanks to all of you who have called Roark your exercise home at any time over the past 5 years. We are infinitely better for having had you.

There are also a handful of men who have been with us from day 1, literally. Johnny, Rhyd, Dave, Jason, Andrew, Grant, Brad, Kev, and Mike I can’t thank you all enough for believing in me back when no one had even heard of functional training. I’m incredibly proud to have had you all train at Roark for these past 5 years.

I must also thank Pete, Ant, Ross, Steve, Nic H, Nic R, Ang, Justin, Frik, Reini and Nate for your unwavering support over the years. I’d go to war with all of you. Thank you to my family for never questioning my decisions – only supporting them. Finally, thank you to my beautiful wife for listening to and loving me.

So in closing I’ll say this; that in life there’s no happiness, unless it’s shared. And so I hope to continue to share the happiness Roark brings me, with all of you, for many years to come.

JW.