The Discipline of Showing Up

Leadership, Motherhood, and Staying Human with Fiona Rose, CEO of Fitness Passport

If there’s one thing midlife teaches us, it’s that strength isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s in the quiet discipline of showing up for yourself while showing up for everyone else.

Fiona Rose is the CEO of Fitness Passport, based in Australia, a mom of four teenagers, and a woman who’s built a career around a passion for wellness that runs deep. She’s navigated leadership, motherhood, and her own wellbeing in a world that rarely makes room for all three.

We’re not here to talk buzzwords. We’re here to talk real life - how a woman leads with grit, balances the chaos, and doesn’t lose herself in the process.

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1. Wellness isn’t just your business, it’s your fuel. What lit the spark for you personally? What’s the story or moment that made health and wellness something you had to build your life around?

Fiona: I’ve always been a bit obsessed with what my body can do. I’ve played netball for 40 years, swam competitively, played softball and cricket. When I had kids, I took up running because I figured it would be the most time-efficient option. Then I completely sabotaged that plan by getting into half marathons.

For years, it was all about performance - how fast, how far, how hard could I push. But midlife has a way of humbling you. Things that used to be easy suddenly aren’t. Recovery takes longer. Sleep matters in ways it didn’t at 25. I’ve had to get smarter about the whole picture: fitness, nutrition, sleep, mental health - the full Venn diagram.

When I get it right, I’m unstoppable. When I get it wrong, I’m a disaster. That lived experience is why I built my career around wellness, and why I’m so proud of what we do at Fitness Passport. We serve 500,000+ members, and a huge chunk are women aged 35-55 - many stepping into a gym for the first time, discovering that lasting energy you get from a 6am pump class that carries you through back-to-back meetings (most of which should’ve been emails), kids’ homework battles, friendship dramas, dinner, and still having something left for your partner.

Watching women find their thing and realise “Oh, this is the game-changer for my happiness and sanity” - that’s why I have to do this. It’s just the best.

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2. Midlife hits different. Bodies change. Energy shifts. Priorities sharpen. How has your personal wellness journey evolved as a woman in midlife, not just as a CEO, but as Fiona, the human?

Fiona: My priorities haven’t changed—I still want to play all the sports and perform like I’m 28. My body, however, did not get that memo.

I swear deterioration started the day I turned 40. Suddenly I was getting injured constantly - tendons, ligaments, all the connective tissue that apparently just gives up on you in perimenopause. Right now I’ve got a torn meniscus that means no netball, no running, and I can’t even lie down without a stack of pillows under my knee. It’s infuriating.

So I’ve had to adapt. I work hard on strength training to keep muscles supporting what the ligaments won’t. I’ve added regular physio and chiro to the monthly wellness budget. Form and technique matter more than they used to - I’ll hire coaches when I need help (PT, swim coach for a bit, tennis coach on and off). Most gyms will help with form for free if you just ask, which is something I tell our members all the time, don’t suffer through bad form out of pride.

The upside? I’m much better at reading my body now. I know exactly how different foods will affect me. I know alcohol will wreck my sleep and mood. I’ll always prioritise feeling well over everything else, even if that makes me boring at parties.

And I’ve finally—finally—realised the importance of sleep. Took me four decades to accept that I’m not missing anything after midnight and I’m better off in bed. My job often gets in the way, but I aim for six hours minimum. It’s probably not enough, but it’s what I’ve got.

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3. You’re leading a company, raising four teenagers, and still finding time to take care of yourself. That’s a lot of hats. What are the rituals, boundaries, or daily non-negotiables that help you protect your own energy in the middle of the noise?

Fiona: Planning is my superpower. I add my wellness priorities to my diary and treat them with the same commitment as any board meeting. Non-negotiable.

Exercise happens first thing in the morning, five times a week. Get up, get it done, no excuses. I’ve also shifted some of my wine or coffee catch-ups with friends to walks or tennis, because social connection is as essential for my wellbeing as fitness and it is too easy to get out of the habit of socialising. Why not do both?

I’ve been meal-prepping for the week since before TikTok was even a glint in ByteDance’s eye. We eat really well at home, not a takeout in sight. I actually find that time cathartic. Podcast on, kids know to stay away, and it’s just me and the cooking for a couple of hours. It’s meditation, just with knives.

And here’s the thing people don’t say enough: I love my job. Leading this business brings me genuine joy. Work isn’t separate from my care plan - it’s part of it. When you’re building something that helps half a million people find their version of wellness, that’s not draining. That’s energising.

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4. We talk a lot about standing in the fog - those moments when the next step isn’t clear, but you have to move anyway. If you could write a note to yourself five or ten years ago (before you knew how this would unfold) what would you tell her about trusting herself and taking up space?

Dear 2015 Fi,

Your first CEO role! You’ve got this. You’ve been taking control since you were a kid—you’ve been doing it since you were 11, when your parents split and you moved countries. You spent your twenties living in the UK and Turkey with no plan, no money, just fascinating lessons about who you are. Uncertainty doesn’t scare you. It’s the “taking up space” thing that’s going to keep messing with your head.

And the signals are confusing! The rules of the game aren’t clear. If you’re too loud or take up too much space, you’ll get called emotional or aggressive. If you don’t adopt traditional alpha corporate traits, you’re told you have no presence. It can feel like a lose-lose designed to keep you small.

Here’s what I need you to know: you won’t always win the debates, but you’ll find other ways to win. You’ll mobilise teams to do extraordinary things. You’ll get boards to approve strategic funding—eventually. You’ll earn trust. You’ll build one of the most successful wellbeing companies in the country. And you’ll do it all with the skills that have always served you: connection, authenticity, reading the room, teamwork, elbow grease, and humour. That’s power too, even if it doesn’t look like the version of leadership you see rewarded.

And you’ll change the lives of half a million people. That’s a brilliant reason to get out of bed every morning.

Love,
Future Fi

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5. So many women shrink themselves when their lives get full. You’ve expanded yours. What has surprised you most about stepping fully into leadership as a midlife woman?

Fiona: What’s surprised me most is how much more I have to give now than I did at 30.

I think there’s this narrative that women in midlife are winding down - that we’ve peaked, that leadership is for the hungry young things coming up behind us. But I’ve found the opposite is true. I have more clarity about what matters. More confidence to make hard calls. More ability to read people and situations. Less tolerance for bullshit.

The combination of life experience, business acumen, and finally not caring what people think of me? That’s a superpower.

What’s also surprised me is how much it matters to my daughters to see this. They’re watching me lead, make tough decisions, fail sometimes, get back up, and keep building something I believe in. I want them to see that women don’t have to shrink as they age - that ambition and leadership don’t have expiry dates. That you can be a mum and a CEO and still prioritise your own wellness. They need to see that model, not just hear about it.

And leading something I genuinely believe in? That’s energising in ways a big salary or impressive title never could.

Midlife hasn’t made me smaller. It’s made me more certain about what I’m here to do.

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Bonus Q: If everything else fell away - the titles, the company, the “busy” - what would your legacy be when it comes to wellness? What do you want your kids, your team, and other women to know about what it means to build a life around health?

Fiona: That it’s not vanity. It’s not optional. And it’s not something you get to when everything else is sorted.

Your body is the only place you have to live. Looking after it isn’t selfish—it’s the foundation for everything else you want to do.

I want my kids to understand that wellness isn’t about perfection or punishment. It’s about keeping the habit, even when it’s hard. Finding something you genuinely love, not what Instagram tells you to do. Mixing it up so you don’t burn out. And making yourself proud—not for how you look, but for how you show up.

I want my team and other women to know that prioritising your health doesn’t make you less committed or ambitious. It makes you sustainable. You can’t pour from an empty cup, and all that—but it’s true. Moving your body, protecting your sleep, fuelling yourself properly—these aren’t luxuries. They’re the things that let you be present for the big stuff.

And here’s the part nobody talks about: you don’t have to be perfect at it. I’ve got a torn meniscus right now. Some weeks I nail the food prep, other weeks it’s scrambled eggs for dinner. But I keep showing up for myself, even when it’s messy.

The legacy I want is simple: show up for your body, and it will show up for you. Find what works. Keep the habit. Make yourself proud.

That’s it. That’s the whole game.

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Midlife isn’t a slowdown. It’s a wake-up! What’s your midlife superpower? Confidence? Clarity? Zero tolerance for bullshit? Comment, DM, or email me at realgirlsguide55.com.

And if you’re figuring it out like the rest of us, stay close. The Real Girls Guide to Midlife is coming soon, built for women like us who are just getting started!

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We’ve earned every wrinkle. Might as well make more laugh lines together.
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