Living the Code

Growing up in Allambie Heights with one dream – to play professional Aussie Rules Footy – Connor Pettersson dedicated his first 20 years towards winning a spot on the elite AFL turf. But, with his 21st birthday approaching, and having completed two pre-season trials with the Gold Coast Suns without being asked to progress further, Connor was forced to undergo a complete ankle reconstruction. He decided it was time to set his focus on a new path, one that’s ultimately taken him to creating CODE 5 Fitness and well on his way to the mission of helping 30,000 people lose over 5kgs and keep it off forever.

“While I was living on the Gold Coast and training to get onto the Suns, I was completing a degree in journalism at Griffith University, but also working part-time doing personal training,” Connor recalls. “That’s where I first discovered how much I loved the connection to people that would come from personal training, as well as how much passion I didn’t have for pursuing a career in journalism.”

Once the AFL dream was off the table, and Connor moved back to the Northern Beaches, he didn’t immediately abandon a career in journalism. “I completed internships at Channel 10, Fox Sports, and various places, and it just cemented how much journalism wasn’t for me. I wanted to be working with people, and helping people change the way they feel about themselves, behave, live, I just loved it.”

Code 5 first opened in 2014, a small space in Brookvale, with a focus on one-on-one personal training. From the outset Connor had in mind a very clear idea of the ideological underpinnings of the business. “Before opening, I read a few different books and Simon Sinek’s ‘Start with Why’ was hugely beneficial, specifically in identifying what CODE 5 was going to stand for. The five codes of the business were born from there: Community, Accountability, Celebrating Success, Teamwork, and Gratitude. Those were the five things identified as critical to the business at the beginning, and it remains so today.” 

Quickly outgrowing the first space in Brookvale, Connor took on a premises that was far too big for CODE 5’s needs at the time, the existing site at 1/98 Old Pittwater Rd, but the increased space meant the ability to transition to group classes. This allowed people on lower budgets to train too, while the classes also served to galvanise Connor’s focus on Teamwork, and the CODE 5 Community was able to grow even faster. 

Now, with the addition of gyms at Manly Vale and Warriewood, Connor’s mission to help 30,000 people lose 5kgs or more forever is getting closer. “If you lose 5kgs, your body’s moving better, you’re suddenly so much more confident. You’re almost a whole new person. This has a huge impact mentally too, assisting people get through tough times in their lives, having the community at the gym to rely on, and a place to look forward to spending time at.

“From the very beginning, I just really wanted to have a positive impact on people’s lives. I have such a big background in team environments too, and I wanted CODE 5 to be like a team, all inclusive, everyone striving to be better, working together.”