08/09/2026
3 MORE THINGS YOU PROBABLY DON’T KNOW ABOUT AMO…
The first three seemed to surprise quite a few people, so here we go again. 😂
This time we’re going a little further back.
Before Dr. Z. Before fitness became my career. Before Australia became home.
There was a forge in Napoli, a school qualification I discovered I’d passed while I was already serving in the Army… and a honeymoon that somehow lasted three years. 😂
Three completely different chapters.
Same person. Same journey.
Swipe 👉
MY FIRST JOB WAS WITH MY NONNO.
My first experience of work wasn’t in a gym, an office or a restaurant.
It was in a forge in Napoli, working alongside my grandfather — Armando Pianese, the man whose name I carry.
My nonno wasn’t simply a blacksmith. He was an artisan and an artist. He worked iron and steel with his hands, creating unique pieces and turning something hard and raw into something beautiful.
His work received recognition and awards, and some of what he created became part of Napoli itself.
As a young man, I had the privilege of working there and seeing that craftsmanship up close.
At the time, it was simply Nonno’s workshop and my first job.
Looking back now, I realise I was watching a completely different generation teach you about work without needing to give you a speech about it.
Work with your hands. Take pride in what you create. And put your name behind what you do.
I think a little bit of that stayed with me.
I GRADUATED… WHILE I WAS IN THE ARMY.
Before fitness, I actually studied to become a Perito Elettrotecnico — roughly an electrical/industrial technical qualification.
That photo is genuinely from my school days in Napoli, with some of the boys I studied with.
When I finished school, there wasn’t much time to sit around wondering what came next. Military service was compulsory for my generation, and I had to leave to begin my service before I even knew my final result.
So life had already moved on.
I was in the Italian Army when the news eventually reached me:
I had passed. I had my diploma.
It’s funny looking back at it now.
One chapter of my life officially finished when I had already started the next one.
School behind me. Ar