Andrea Stewart - 28 Years of Keeping Clevedon Moving
When I sat down with Andrea for a coffee and chat recently, it quickly became obvious that her fitness classes are about far more than exercise.
For nearly three decades, Andrea has quietly built something very special in Clevedon - a place where people of all ages feel welcome, supported and connected. A place where 20-year-olds exercise alongside 80-year-olds, where mothers bring daughters, husbands come with wives, and where friendships formed on exercise mats have lasted a lifetime. And after spending time with her, it is equally obvious why people keep coming back.
Andrea and her husband Pete moved to Clevedon around 40 years ago, initially renting near Creightons Road before eventually settling in their own home just around the corner, where they have now lived for around 30 years. Together they raised their two daughters here, both of whom still live locally with their own families.
“My oldest daughter Holly lives a few streets away” Andrea told me. “And my other daughter and her husband built a little place on our property. They’ve both got two little girls, which is lovely. I’m very lucky to have them all close.”
These days, Andrea is also a proud grandmother to Sophie, Zoe, Thea and baby Lucia - and family remains at the heart of everything she does.
But back in her mid-thirties, life looked very different. Andrea had worked a variety of jobs before having children - office work, petrol stations and “all sorts of bits and pieces, ” as she describes it.
Then, after the passing of her mother when Andrea was 35, she found herself searching for something new. At the time, she was exercising at home in front of the television, following aerobics and weights programmes.
“One day I saw an advertisement in the local courier for an aerobics instructor course, ” she recalled. “I thought, ‘Man, that would be so much fun.’ But then I thought I was too old. I was 35 and thought those courses were for young people.”
Six months later, she saw the advertisement again. “I’m sure it was Mum, ” Andrea smiled. “It felt like a reminder saying, ‘Yes, you can do this.’”
That second glance changed the course of her life.
Andrea enrolled with Netfit for Professionals, a New Zealand training organisation at the time, completing an intensive twoyear qualification covering aerobics, resistance training, biomechanics, anatomy and personal training.
“It was basically like going back to school, ” she laughed. “There were exams, practical training, theory - the whole lot. But I loved it.”
At the time, there was very little in the way of organised fitness classes in Clevedon. “There was one lovely lady doing two gentle exercise classes at the hall each week, but apart from that there wasn’t really anything like what I wanted to offer, ” Andrea said.
Her vision was simple - bring fun, accessible fitness classes into the community so locals didn’t have to travel long distances to gyms.
“If you had to go into Auckland or further out to a gym, it was half a day gone from Clevedon, ” she said. “People needed something local and convenient.”
Andrea’s very first class was a Tuesday night kickboxing session at the Clevedon Hall during the height of the Tae Bo craze. “There were probably about 15 people at that first class, ” she remembered. “And I only had homemade hand weights that Pete helped me make.”
Nearly 28 years later, Andrea’s classes are still running. Over the years, Andrea introduced resistance training, aerobics, Pilates, Zumba and senior fitness classes, gradually building what became known as “Future Fitness.” At one stage, she was teaching seven classes a week.
Today, she still runs five regular classes, including Pilates, fitness and resistance training sessions. And while fitness trends have come and gone over the decades, Andrea’s core philosophy has never changed.
“I always wanted people to feel comfortable, ” she explained. “I used to go into gyms and they felt cold and cliquey. Everyone had the latest outfits, mirrors everywhere, and people could feel judged. That’s never what I wanted here.”
Instead, Andrea created an environment where everyone works at their own level, without pressure or embarrassment. “It doesn’t matter what you wear. It doesn’t matter if you need a break. If someone wants to stop and stretch for a moment, that’s absolutely fine.”
That welcoming atmosphere has become one of the defining features of her classes “Anyone can walk through the door and people make them feel welcome straight away, ” Andrea said. “That’s what I’m most proud of.”
And the classes truly do span generations. Andrea regularly has participants ranging from teenagers to people in their eighties exercising side-by-side.
One of her favourite moments is watching younger gym-goers attempt prone holds - planks - alongside some of her older regulars.
We’re working towards two-and-a-half minute prone holds at the moment, ” she laughed. “Some of these young girls who do CrossFit and gym work come in and collapse after a minute, while some of my older ladies keep going. They come up afterwards and say, ‘I can’t believe she’s two-and-a-half times my age!’” Andrea grins. “It just shows what consistency can do.”
Some participants have been with her almost from the very beginning. “One local has been coming for close to 28 years” says Andrea. “She used to bring her daughter when she was a baby and a playpen - and now her daughter is expecting her own baby.”
The classes themselves have become deeply woven into the social fabric of Clevedon life. After Tuesday morning senior sessions, participants regularly head down the road for coffee together. “It’s a whole social thing, ” Andrea said. “It’s great to see.”
Andrea speaks just as passionately about resistance training as she does community. “The older you get, the more important weights become, ” she explained. “Resistance training strengthens bones, muscles, posture - everything. Every fitness convention I’ve ever attended keeps coming back to the same thing - strength training is vital as we age.”
Her own health journey has only reinforced that belief. At 45, Andrea was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. And later osteoporosis. “It happened very quickly, ” she said. “I got to the point where I could hardly get on my hands and knees and I thought, ‘This is going to end my career.’” A former participant in one of her classes encouraged her to see a specialist early. “That advice changed my life, ” Andrea said. “The medication gave me my quality of life back.”
Andrea has since undergone a hip replacement, a foot fusion and continues managing both rheumatoid and osteoarthritis - all while still teaching classes. Most recently, repeated hip dislocations have meant another operation lies ahead. A hip replacement replacement! Which Andrea will have undergone by the time this goes to print. Yet even while discussing surgeries and recovery, her focus quickly returns to her class participants.
“They’re just so supportive, ” she said softly. “It’s really a two-way street. They thank me, but honestly, I feel like I should be thanking them.”
That support was on full display at Andrea’s recent 65th birthday surprise. Her husband Pete casually suggested dinner at The Corner Kitchen one Friday night. Andrea thought nothing of it - until she walked inside the cafe and discovered a huge gathering of Future Fitness members waiting for her.
“There were people from all the different classes there, ” she said. “I was absolutely stunned.”
She was presented with a large bouquet of flowers while Andrea stood speechless. “For once in my life, I didn’t know what to say, ” she laughed.
The moment perfectly captured the connection Andrea has built within the community over nearly three decades. “It’s exactly why I wanted to start classes here in the first place, ” she reflected. “That connectedness.”
As Clevedon continues to grow and subdivisions expand across the area, Andrea believes maintaining that sense of belonging is more important than ever. “The regulars are always ready to open their arms to new people, ” she said. “That atmosphere - that’s what makes it special.”
And despite the surgeries, the arthritis, and the occasional challenges that come with running classes for 28 years, Andrea has no plans to stop anytime soon. “I always say I’ll probably still be up there at 85 with my walking stick doing stick touches, ” she laughed.
Given the loyalty of her participants - and the energy that still lights up her face when she talks about the classes - you suspect she just might.
As our conversation came to an end, Andrea paused for a moment and reflected on what the community has meant to her.
“They always thank me, ” she said. “But really, when I stand up there and look out across the room, I’m the lucky one.”
