Tony Ben is a household name in the international health and fitness industry, and has travelled the world over many times, so why did he pick the Great Lakes to settle in?
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“Well, Forster has always been one of my favourite places,” Tony explained.
“I would probably have moved up here 45 years ago, but business and other things didn’t allow for that, so I waited until I retired from my business.”
But, retired is somewhat of a fluid concept for Tony, who still enjoys his role as an international representative of global health and fitness organisation, One Federation, after recently retiring from four years as the international ambassador.
“I’ve taken teams of people to compete in fitness competitions all over the world,” Tony said.
“I stiil do today. I never really retired from the fitness industry, it’s what my life is all about, and what it’s been about since I was 16.
“Most recently, I was the ambassador of One Federation, a role I retired from about a year ago. I am still an international representative across 52 countries.
“I was doing ambassador work like that when I moved to the Great Lakes, about eight years ago. I moved up from Sydney with my wife.”
Starting out in Sydney as a gym instructor, Tony worked his way up to gym ownership, with two establishments in his name in Sydney.
“Promoting healthy living, natural, healthy good living and lifestyle is what is most important,” he said.
“That has been my study my whole life, health and fitness. I have staged a lot of fitness competitions, and judged a lot too all over the world.”
After spending a long and successful career in the health and fitness industry, the Great Lakes was just the sort of sea change Tony needed, but how did he find this patch of paradise in the first place?
“Originally I heard about the Great Lakes through a friend I met in the fitness industry,” Tony said.
“He moved up here to Boomerang Beach and after two or three years I came up to visit. I knew a lot about Forster but I hadn’t been here before.
“So that was when I fell in love with the place.
“I lived at Failford for seven years, restoring a 10 acre property and making it into an oasis, but we moved off it about nine months ago and moved into town.”
Since he moved to the area, one of Tony’s two daughters has come on up the coast with her husband, while the other still lives in Sydney with her husband and Tony’s only grandchild.
Tony said he visits often, but enjoys returning to the tranquility of the Great Lakes.
“It’s a great place, it has given me peace of mind,” he said.
