WU USES DIVE PLATFORM TO ADVANCE
FIFTEEN years after stepping on to the podium as a babyfaced 13-year-old at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, diver Melissa Wu has morphed into a hard-headed young entrepreneur who spends as much time on her business career as she does training.
Wu, 29, who at 16 became Australia’s youngest diver to win an Olympic medal, finds time to run three businesses – juggling her time across roles as athlete, coach and boss.
With brother Josh, Wu opened HRDKAW Strength, which specialises in Olympic weightlifting and gymnastics, and was named for sister Kirsten, who died in 2014.
“The KAW part is her initials, so that was something special we did for her,” Wu said.
She also runs Havok Athletic, an activewear line she describes as a “a side hustle”, and the Australian Diving Academy with Kevin Chavez, a coaching service and diving club.
As a busy small business owner, Wu is the ambassador for Godaddy, the official website builder partner for the Tokyo Games, and wants to encourage people to dive into their passion projects.
“Most of my businesses can be run from anywhere, so even when I’m in Tokyo I’ll be doing things,” she said.
Despite her career, Wu says she is ready to give the “performance of a lifetime” at her fourth Olympics, after being given a helping hand by the year-long delay.
The extra time allowed her to heal from shoulder and rib injuries, which she said may have cost her a place had the Games gone on as scheduled.
“At this point in my career I’m focused on the process, I want to enjoy it and come away knowing I put in a really good performance and not focus too much on medals or expectations,” she said.
“I’ll be really happy if I can go in and dive with all the training I’ve put in over the years to show the performance of a lifetime.”