In a remarkably candid revelation, Australian fitness entrepreneur Kayla Itsines has opened up about the one major regret she holds following the multi-million dollar sale of her global empire. The 34-year-old founder, who transformed a backyard training concept into the billion-dollar Sweat brand, confessed that selling a business so intrinsically linked to her personal identity was a significant mistake.
The High Price of Personal Branding
Speaking to James Dumoulin, host of The School of Hard Knocks media platform, the Greek-Australian mother-of-two reflected on the 2021 sale of her Sweat app to US fitness giant iFIT for a staggering $400 million. "I think I did it wrong," Itsines admitted. "I think you should sell the company that doesn't have you attached to it."
Itsines, who first shot to fame over a decade ago with her Bikini Body Guide e-book, described the emotional toll of the sale, which contradicted the expected celebration. "You want to sell it and be able to celebrate and relax, but for me it wasn't relaxing," she said. Dumoulin identified her experience as a classic case of 'key man risk' – where a business's value is heavily dependent on a single individual. "That's why they say Disney's the best business because Mickey Mouse isn't in the negotiations," he quipped.
From Backyard Trainer to Rich List Stalwart
Long before Forbes lists and international expansion, Itsines was charging just $1 a minute as a personal trainer in her parents' Adelaide backyard. "I was in my parents backyard and I released an e-book online, which I thought no one was going to buy but it went absolutely viral," she recalled. Her career choice initially met with family disapproval. "I come from a Greek family and the best thing you can be in a Greek family is a doctor... it took them about 10 years to come around."
Her persistence paid off spectacularly. In 2024, she landed at number 34 on the Australian Financial Review Young Rich List, just behind Margot Robbie, cementing her status as a serious business force.
Diversification and the Road to Reacquisition
Despite her digital fitness fortune, Itsines credits her smartest financial move to stepping outside the internet. Her advice is refreshingly old-school: "Don't put all your eggs in one basket." Her first major offline investment was a petrol station. "I was like, wow. Out of all the millions of dollars, it's so cool to see rent coming in from a gas station," she said, emphasising the importance of wealth diversity. "One day the internet might shut off and it will all be gone."
Today, her portfolio spans commercial real estate including petrol stations and medical centres, residential property, and new ventures like a dog-training app called Dogit and an upcoming supplements brand.
The entrepreneur also shared the intense pressure she faced, confessing to days spent "in a ball in the corner of my gym crying because I got overwhelmed." Her advice for those at rock bottom is powerful: "You know that you are under no obligation to be the same person you were yesterday... If you have a passion, go for it."
In a bold final act to this chapter, Itsines made headlines again in late 2023 by buying back her Sweat empire from iFIT. This move proved she hadn't just built a brand, but had learned enough to strategically reclaim it, applying the hard lessons from her $400 million sale.
