Knock-out couple 'OUR GYM CHANGES LIVES'

Known as the champion maker, Lolo has a lot of big wins under his belt

- Suzanne McFadden

He's humble, softly spoken and yet fiercely strong when it comes to training winners. In fact, Lolo Heimuli has produced more than 100 national and 10 world champions, earning the title of Trainer of Champions around the globe.

From modest gyms in Auckland, while raising others to top-tier success, he's kept his own feet firmly on the ground. None of the glitter of those titles, Lolo insists, would have been possible without the woman in his corner for the past 35 years - his wife Leinata.

After years of building the business through financial hardship, the couple's two adult sons are now central to the gym's continuing success. “When we were getting started, we didn't make any money,” says Lolo. “It was Leinata who kept us going, doing her thing behind the scenes.”

During the day, Leinata ran the café in the iconic Smith and Caughey's department store. By night, after training wrapped up at the gym - in an old school room behind a central Auckland church - she cooked meals for the fighters, who often stayed over. They became like family to the Heimulis.

“Leinata made sure everything was good at home, which gave me the peace of mind to go after my dream,” says Lolo, 65.