Aaron Smith (38)

Aaron Smith, a fully-qualified personal trainer, was working in a fitness facility in the UK when he found a new type of high-intensity pilates he hadn’t experienced before.

After coming back to Australia and doing casual bar work to pay off a $20,000 debt to his father, he immediately realised how long it would take. Instead, he offered a business plan to his father, who agreed to be a guarantor for a $120,000 business loan to help Smith open his first KX Pilates facility.

While the first 24 months were challenging, Smith was able to create a second studio in 2011, and the company’s stores are now franchised out.

KX Pilates operates 81 owned and franchised facilities in Australia, as well as 10 in China and one in Jakarta, Indonesia.