Director of Royal Colombo Golf Club | Co-Founder CrossFit Ceylon
At Raise The Bar, we’re relentless, pushing past colonial narratives to bring you unfiltered stories of athletic grit, coaching brilliance, and lives transformed through discipline and resilience. In this edition, we shine a light on the raw journey of a coach, whose determination and vision are redefining the game. Today, we’re joined by Andy Andrews, Director of Golf at the Royal Colombo Golf Club. From his early days chasing multiple sports in the UAE, including cricket, tennis, figure skating, and golf, to an enviable athletic education at IMG Academy in Florida and collegiate success in Texas, Andy’s path is a testament to unwavering focus and the power of sport as a life shaper. A professional career marked by tours across MENA, Asia, and India was not without heartbreak: a family crisis, his father’s arrest, and his sister’s passing pushed him into a world of hardship that threatened both his mental and professional game. But adversity didn’t slow him, it fuelled reinvention. Landing in Sri Lanka on what was meant to be a short stop, Andy co-founded CrossFit Ceylon with Alex, Rakhil, and Dimi, building from scratch a premier fitness facility with world class standards. With a culture unapologetically rooted in discipline and accountability, CFCY did more than train bodies, it shaped character. Now, as a key figure at Sri Lanka’s oldest and most revered golfing institution, Andy blends his coaching philosophy with his vision for the sport on the Island, to elevate golf to new heights, nurturing juniors and pros alike, and ultimately drawing global tours to Colombo’s historic greens.
My Story: From Childhood to Crossroads
“I was born and raised in the UAE, where my parents had lived since the 1970s. My childhood revolved around sport, with cricket, tennis, figure skating, and golf all taken seriously at different times. Sport became the underlying foundation of my life. I was never much good at school, but I was an excellent student of the things I cared about. Sport fascinated me. I would obsessively study, practice, and do whatever I could to improve. That hunger to learn through sport became my real education. By the age of 12 or 13, I decided to take golf on as my main sport. At 15, I went to the IMG Academy in Florida, which at the time and arguably still today, was the best sports academy in the world. The structure, methods, and principles I learned there shaped everything moving forward. Later, I played collegiate golf at Odessa College in Texas, further sharpening my game and discipline. In 2011, I turned professional with a +3 handicap and began playing tournaments across the MENA Tour, Asian Development Tour, Thai Tour, and PGTI in India.”
Pressure Off the Course
“But 2011 also marked a turning point in my life. That was the year my father was arrested. Overnight, what had felt like a secure and comfortable life collapsed. Beyond the emotional strain, it created a massive financial burden on our family. The stability we once had disappeared. My mum was left to hold us together, running her small restaurant, and that became our lifeline. It was what kept us afloat month by month. On top of that, my sister had already been through years of battling cancer. She had fought hard, recovered, and for a while it seemed like things were turning around. But in 2013, she relapsed. That year became a fight we couldn’t win. By the end of 2013, she passed away. Losing her was crushing for our family.
Between my dad’s situation, the financial collapse, and my sister’s passing, it felt like we had gone from everything to nothing almost overnight. At the same time, I was trying to sustain a professional golf career. I had no money to travel to tournaments and lived in a constant cycle of chasing sponsors just to get to the next event. The pressure wasn’t just on the golf course, it was every single day of life.”
From Golf to CrossFit: Building Under Pressure
“In 2014, I came to Sri Lanka on what was meant to be a small holiday and visa change, one I couldn’t even really afford. Looking back, I don’t know what I was thinking, but I came anyway. And that decision changed everything. My entry into the fitness space started small, first at Vaaj fitness center, then at Grit. Both were raw and unpolished, but they gave me a starting point to experiment and figure out what was possible. The real game changer was meeting Alex, Rakhil, and Dimi. They weren’t just business partners, they became family. Together, we launched CrossFit Ceylon. And for the first time, Sri Lanka saw a fitness facility built to true international standards. CFCY wasn’t just another gym. It was the first of its kind in the country, a place with world class equipment, structure, and coaching, designed to set a new benchmark in the fitness industry. From the very beginning, the mission was bigger than training, it was about raising the standard of what fitness could and should look like in Sri Lanka.”
Holding the Line
“The biggest battles weren’t with competition; they were with compromise. From the very beginning, we held our members to a high standard the moment they walked into the gym. They came in, worked hard, and left better than they arrived. That became the culture. We didn’t allow shortcuts. There were no easy outs, no pretending to train, you either committed to the work or you didn’t. And that’s what made us unique. The culture of CFCY was built on discipline and accountability, and people respected that. When standards are clear and non-negotiable, people rise to meet them. That’s what separated us from the noise, and it’s what kept our community strong.”
Coaching Philosophy
- Discipline: Standards are non-negotiable. The details matter, and they matter every single day.
- Resilience: Pressure is a privilege. If you can perform when everything feels stacked against you, you are truly prepared.
- Culture: No one succeeds alone. The environment you build determines the results you get. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.
Looking Ahead: Golf’s Next Chapter
“Today, as Director of Golf at the Royal Colombo Golf Club, I carry all these lessons with me. My mission isn’t just to run programs or coach players, it’s to grow the sport of golf in Sri Lanka to a standard that puts us on the global map. My goals are ambitious: to one day host professional tournaments here, from the DP World Tour and Challenge Tour to the Asian Tour, and possibly even the LIV Tour. But it’s not just about big events. It’s about building one of the most respected development systems in South Asia, with pathways for juniors, elite programming, and a culture that produces both great players and great people. This is the next phase of my journey, to take everything I’ve learned from the fairways, from the gym floor, and from life’s pressures, and use it to raise the standard of golf in Sri Lanka to the highest level possible.”
Andy’s story doesn’t end here. Next week, he’ll share more, delving deeper into the philosophies, experiences, and motivations that shaped the person he is today. Don’t miss our full podcast series online on The Daily Mirror and The Sun. Discover how, under the weight of pressure, Andy forged something truly extraordinary and how he continues to lift others along the way.
