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“Once I found a community of women who empowered each other through strength, I realised how cool it is to be strong and capable”
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We chat to Grant and Elena, Founders of Fianna Athletic Club and STRONG Pilates, about their passion for health and fitness, running a business together and their favourite ways to work out together.
Many couples share similar interests, but couple Grant and Elena take it to a whole new level, both involved in their two cutting-edge fitness businesses: Fianna and STRONG Pilates. As co-owners in both businesses, they each bring different skill sets and areas of expertise. Grant is in the Army Reserve with undergraduate qualifications in construction as well as health and fitness, while his Spanish partner Dr Elena de Marco holds a PhD in Nutrition Science.
Together they offer a wealth of knowledge, experience and professional expertise and have created an innovative offering at their Dublin gym, offering Hybrid training (Hyrox & Turf), Crossfit and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, as well as STRONG Pilates. STRONG Pilates is brand new to Ireland, and exclusive to Fianna, offering training on the Rowformer – think a traditional Pilates Reformer but with a rowing machine (or spinning bike) built into the machine for extra cardio.
It’s their shared love of adventure and testing their limits that brought this couple together. “We both come from sporty backgrounds: Elena’s father is an Olympic rower, and her mother’s a marathon runner, so she was introduced to sports from an early age, eventually specialising in synchronised swimming. Grant, on the other hand, grew up playing rugby and competing in sailing races and later working as an instructor – and he’s been a soldier in the Army Reserves since his teens. For us, fitness isn’t just about lifting weights or running miles; it’s about building resilience and confidence. This is what we aim to share with our community through Fianna and Strong.”
It was in fact through Fianna that they met. Elena had returned from two years in the US and was eager to get back into fitness while completing her PhD in Nutrition at UCD. “I was hired by Grant as a part-time CrossFit coach,” she recalls. “And, well, fast-forward five years – we’re now married, have a house, two beautiful dogs, and run a thriving business together. Seeing Fianna grow to what it is today, alongside launching STRONG, has been an incredible journey. It hasn’t always been easy – there have been stitches, a fractured ankle and tibia, stress-related high blood pressure, very few hours of sleep, to name a few – but it’s been worth every moment!”
Grant started Fianna as he recognised a gap in the Irish market for something beyond a typical gym, somewhere genuinely community-focused and innovative. “As Fianna grew, it expanded with STRONG Pilates, evolving into an 18,000 sq. ft. high-end facility,” Grant explains. “At that point, we needed someone to manage operations full-time, so when Elena finished her PhD, she decided to leave academia and join full-time. We envisioned a place where people could challenge themselves, celebrate their progress, and build a supportive community – a space for connecting with like-minded, sporty people outside of the usual social settings. Above all, we wanted Fianna to empower people to feel capable, strong, and resilient, ready to take on challenges beyond the gym.”
The couple splits responsibilities within the businesses, with Grant focusing on brand, and Elena on admin. “The beauty is that we don’t overlap much; we each enjoy and excel at what we do, which means minimal crossover or disagreements. Of course, we regularly lean on each other for support and double-check each other’s work. When it comes to coaching, thanks to our superb coaches, we’ve set up a system where neither of us is scheduled to coach daily, but we’re both qualified to jump in whenever needed. We can each coach CrossFit, Hyrox, Turf, and Strong – ready to step in whenever our team or members need us. It wouldn’t be the same without our amazing team!”
