BUSY WU DIVES INTO A BUSINESS CAREER
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 just 16 became Australia’s youngest diver to win an Olympic medal, now runs three small businesses — juggling her time across roles as an athlete, coach and boss.
With her brother Josh, Wu opened HrdKAW Strength, which specialises in Olympic weightlifting and gymnastics and was named after their sister Kirsten, who passed away 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 “bit of a side hustle”, and, with Kevin Chavez, the Australian Diving Academy, a specialist coaching service and diving club.
As a busy small business owner, Wu is also the ambassador for GoDaddy, the official website builder partner for the Tokyo Games and wants to encourage people to dive into their own passion projects.
“Most of my businesses can be run from anywhere, so even when I’m in Tokyo I’ll be doing things for them,” she said.
Despite her hectic business 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 Covid delay.
The extra time allowed her to heal from shoulder and rib injuries, which she said may have cost her a spot at the Games had they gone ahead in 2020 as scheduled.
“The delay was the best thing ever for me,” she said.