Sam Saidden is a Fitness Instructor at Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre who is passionate about helping empower the community on their health and fitness journey.

Sam was born in Egypt and came to Australia in 1986 when he was 25 years old, his first interview with ITAC was unsuccessful because he had little to no experience, but Sam wouldn’t take no for an answer. He explained that while he had no paid experience here in Australia, he had been training since he was 16 and offered to work free of charge. Sam was offered work experience, and of course, his tenacious energy and passion for helping others quickly saw him prove himself to be an invaluable member of the team.

“I worked here before it opened, and I’ve never left. I will go from here directly to the nursing home; I’ve already booked it in.

I like everything about Ian Thorpe Aquatic Centre. I love the location, the light, the fact that you can see trees outside. I have great clients whom I practice my bad jokes with, and I get paid to do something I used to pay for, what more could you ask for?”