Fitness Business Podcast: Leadership, Innovation, and Profit

Adam Zeitsiff is the President and CEO of Golds Gym International Throughout his career, Adam has served in CEO and CIO positions for a number of major organizations, including serving as CIO for Gold's Gym from 2016 to 2018. He specializes in accelerating and managing global operations, growth, expansion and brand innovation of multi-unit retail and franchise companies in highly competitive landscapes.

Jason Reinhardt is the owner of Go M.A.D Fitness. Go M.A.D. Fitness was born from Jasons passion for exercise and his commitment to helping others improve the quality of their lives. He has served over 15 years as a multi-club leader, he was elected to serve a four year term on the Board of Directors of IHRSA in 2016, and as of July 2019, he now serves as the Chair of IHRSA.

Tim Lyons is the founder and CEO of Pro-Fit Marketing Solutions and Pulse Fitness Training. Tim has spent the last decade as gym owner and operator in the fitness industry and he knows first hand the challenges of gym ownership and understands the need for reliable, results-driven marketing solutions.

Greta Wagner is the Executive Director and Senior Vice President at Chelsea Piers Connecticut. Chelsea Piers is a premiere sports and entertainment complex with locations in New York City, Brooklyn, and Stamford. As the Executive Director/EVP of Connecticut, Greta is responsible for the leadership, development, and financial success of the 500,000+ square foot Stamford facility. She has been in the fitness industry for over 30 years. Greta is a board member for the Chelsea Piers Scholarship Fund and the Stamford School of Ballet and supports over 25 additional charitable organizations and as you will hear later in the show, she is also one of the panelists for the 2019 IHRSA Womens Leadership Summit.

Jon Nasta is a Consulting Partner for Retention Solutions Ltd, Listen360.com and Keepme.ai. Often accused of being obsessed with member engagement and retention Jon has held positions such as COO of Retention Management, Sales Director of Matrix Fitness and Marketing Director for Xercise4Less. He is currently combining all he has learnt about member engagement and club operations by launching a new club concept, In addition, he enjoys bringing the health club industries leading attrition defence systems, Listen360 and KeepMe to market.

Matthew Walrath is the founder of Beyond Macros. Matthew teaches fitness industry professionals how to create remarkable client experiences that get results, increase retention, and generate referrals while decreasing admin and marketing tasks. He founded the online nutrition coaching company, Beyond Macros, in 2016 after being on a consistent waitlist as a nutrition coach for over a year. He's since helped 40 nutrition coaches (and counting) bring their services online.

Sam Mutimer is the Founder and Director of Social Media at Thinktank Social. During this weeks show you will learn, who should use social media to grow their personal brand, how to develop your personal brand statement, why you should be using Instagram and LinkedIn more than you think, how to find what content style best suits you and last of all we chat about the benefits for a business to have a team member with a strong personal brand

Joanna Stahl is the CEO & Founder of Go2Practice. Joanna is a 20 year industry veteran teaching for Crunch & Equinox Throughout her career, she has built third party brand partnerships for LifeTime Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness via in gym advertising and experiential marketing which included sponsored programming, sampling, branded areas, content and more Joanna founded her business, Go2Practice, after identifying the consumer shift in how we search for fitness experiences and the need for on demand access to a gym.

Mo Hagan is an International Health, Wellness, and Anti-Aging Expert, #1 Best Selling Author & Speaker, and the newly appointed COO of Canfitpro. This week Mo joins us for #TalkingTrends where we discuss 6 key areas - Marketing, Sales, Managing Teams, Retention, Fitness Programming and Professional Development.

CJ Martin is the Founder of Invictus Fitness. C.J. has coached more than 50 individual athletes and dozens of Masters athletes to the CrossFit Games. He has also coached Team Invictus to the CrossFit Games for 10 consecutive years.

Simon Walshaw is the Founder of Grace Curve Consulting, an Australian based business that works with organizations to enhance their culture and grow their leadership capacity. Prior to founding Grace Curve Consulting in 2017, Simon was the manager of Mingara One Fitness, a 4000+ member fitness and aquatics centre.

Jon Canarick is the Managing Director of North Castle Partners the leading small cap consumer private equity firm focused in the Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors. Jon started his career at North Castle Partners as an Associate out of investment banking and played a crucial role in the development of North Castle and many of its portfolio companies. He sits on the Board of Directors of companies including Echelon Fit, Barry's Bootcamp, Curves, Jenny Craig and SLT to name a few.

Francesca Schuler is the Chief Executive Officer at In-Shape Health Clubs, a California-based chain of over 65 full services health clubs. Prior to her role as CMO and then COO at In-Shape, Francesca held executive positions as BevMo!, Treasury Wine Estates Americas, Method Products, Inc. and The Gap. She has an M.B.A. from Wharton and lives with her family in Sonoma.

Chris Mooney is Personal Training Performance Coach. In 2016 Chris launched 51FIT with the goal of leveraging his 20+ years' experience in the industry to help prospective PTs make it through their first 12 months working as a commercial gym personal trainer. His business, 51FIT, has now evolved to offer coaching and mentoring services to established PTs to help keep them focused, accountable and succeed. Further to this, Chris has partnered with Australian based EMF Performance Centres as the PT manager across their 7 and rapidly growing clubs.

Jarron Aizen is the founder One Fit Stop. He is an entrepreneur immersed in the health and fitness industry with a passion to leverage technology to create efficiencies and experiences.

Tyler J. McCall is Instagram and social media marketer and he teaches people how to use Instagram with the intention to grow their community online and grow their business. He focuses on using Instagram and social media to tell stories, build relationships, and convert followers to fans, drawing from his 10 years of experience in non-profit marketing, management and community organizing.

Shawn Stewart is the Chief Operating Officer for O2 Fitness. He oversees the operations of 28 clubs in North and South Carolina.While studying Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Florida, Shawn Stewart began his career in the fitness industry in 1994 at Gainesville Health & Fitness in Gainesville, FL. He quickly discovered his passion for values based leadership and the power of company culture.

Shawn Stewart is the Chief Operating Officer for O2 Fitness. He oversees the operations of 28 clubs in North and South Carolina.While studying Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Florida, Shawn Stewart began his career in the fitness industry in 1994 at Gainesville Health & Fitness in Gainesville, FL. He quickly discovered his passion for values based leadership and the power of company culture.

Kate Toon is an award-winning SEO copywriter and SEO consultant with over two decades of experience in all things advertising, digital and writing. Kate is the founder of The Clever Copywriting School and The Recipe for SEO Success eCourse. Shes the co-host on the Hot Copy Podcast and the host of The Recipe for SEO Success podcast. She recently published her book, The Confessions of a Misfit Entrepreneur and she is the founder of The Copywriting Conference.

Sunil Saha, the Founder and CEO of Perkville. Perkville is the largest rewards platform for the fitness industry. Sunil started the company to help Small to medium businesses compete with large companies by giving them a powerful, yet affordable program. He now works with companies of all sizes, primarily in the fitness industry. Prior to founding Perkville, he held product management positions at Yahoo! and LinkedIn.

Adam Witty is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Advantage and Forbes Books. Adam has authored and co-authored several books including Lead The Field: How To Become An Authority And Dominate Your Competition, 21 Ways to Build Your Business with a Book and the book we are speaking about today, Authority Marketing: How To Leverage 7 Pillars of Thought Leadership to Make Competition Irrelevant.

Emmett Williams is the President of Myzone. Prior to Myzone, Emmett built and owned a chain gyms as well as having owned and grown the international sales & marketing company CFM International. In recent years Emmett was inducted into Fitness Australia's 'Roll of Honor' for his excellence in leadership, and also accepted IHRSA's 'Associate of the Year' award on behalf of Myzone.

Andrés Lopez-Varela is the Head of Strategy at Storyation, an award-winning content agency, working with brands such as Blackmores, Destination NSW, MetLife, City of Sydney and BHP. Andrés led the content program for Tourism Australia as the global content editor from 2014 to 2017 when he oversaw content produced for visitors to Australia from around the world.

Brook Dixon lives and breathes smart cities. He is the Managing Director of Delos Delta, driving performance improvement, smart city and digital transformation for clients around the world. Brook is a Churchill Fellow, previous president of the Australian Smart Communities Association and previous Director of Smart City and Smart Regulation for ACT Government.

Mark Schaefer is a globally-recognized author, speaker, podcaster, and business consultant who blogs at {grow} — one of the top five marketing blogs of the world. He teaches graduate marketing classes at Rutgers University and has written seven best-selling books. Mark 's new book Marketing Rebellion: The Most Human Company Wins has already hit number one in both the Marketing and Advertising categories of Amazon.

Dave Flynt is the Vice President – Experience Design for Precor. Dave has spent over 11 years working with Precor, in roles including the Principal Interaction Designer, Director of User Experience and Director – Experience Development Centre. During this time, he has built a unique, design-led product development team and culture, who together, create innovative digital fitness experiences.

Dori Nugent the Membership Director at Club La Maison Health and Fitness Club Dori is a 15 year fitness industry veteran, she started out as an instructor, then later became a Group Fitness Director for 2 different privately owned health clubs. Dori currently serves on the Board of Directors for the mid-atlantic club management association and she is an educational presenter at IHRSA conferences.

Robert Barnes is the Country Manager - Asia Pacific for Higher Logic. He has held Chief Executive roles in Australia and New Zealand over a 20 year period including CEO of Australian Canoeing and GM-Operations for Fitness Australia.

The issue of privacy around the use of data has become increasingly prevalent over the past 12 months. We had the introduction of the GDPR in 2018 and more and more often we are seeing clubs and studios invest in new technology, including the use of biometrics. For these reasons and more, it's essential that club operators have a good understanding of the privacy guidelines that affect the collection and use of customer data and information

Gemma Anderson the Head of Performance and Growth at Deakin University. She has a background as a digital strategist, working with brands such as Holden, Jetstar and Specsavers and her work has received global and local awards. In 2016 she was the recognised by B&T Magazine as the most Influential person in Marketing Under 30. In this episode: Common mistakes businesses make when using data for marketing The most important steps to set up your marketing to make the most of data and technology You Need to Know About Data Driven Marketing

Jeb Blount is a sales acceleration specialist and the author of ten books including Fanatical Prospecting, Sales EQ, People Buy You, People Follow You, and Objections. He is among the world's most respected thought leaders on prospecting, sales, leadership, and customer experience.Through his global training organization, Sales Gravy, Jeb advises a who's who of the world's leading organizations and their executives on the impact of emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills on customer-facing activities.

Elias Scarr is the Membership Director for Results Fitness and the sales and communication coach for Results Fitness University, which is a consulting group for gyms world wide. Elias has over 20 years of sales experience in the service industry and has presented for many organizations including IHRSA the NSCA and Perform Better.

In The Shoes is a series where we chat to someone in a specific role within a club, from a Fitness manager to a Franchise Manager, Sales to Group fitness. We will hear about their role, their biggest challenges, their KPIS and advice for others in a similar role. In this episode, we step into the shoes of a Club Manager.

Tim Oberg is the Founder and CEO of parkrun Australia, the largest participation event in Australia. From humble beginnings on the Gold Coast in April 2011, parkrun now operates in over 350 communities with 750,000 members.

Andrea Hovell the co-owner of Healthier Bookkeeping, an accounting business that caters specifically for the health and fitness industry. In this weeks episode Andrea takes us through a quick Financial Health Check to ensure we are on top of the key metrics in our business and can be aware of any red flags to look out for.

Julie Creffield, founder of the plus size fitness movement, Too Fat to Run. For over 25 years Julie worked with organizations, such as the London 2012 Olympics, to bring communities together, and it was when she found herself alone as a single mom, she decided to put her community-building skills to work for herself - turning her blog into a 6-figure business.

Steve Lesnard is an innovative marketing executive with 20+ years' experience leading high-profile business growth, global brand campaigns, revolutionary product launches and strategic partnerships across sports, technology and lifestyle. Steve is a creative and strategic brand leader with a proven track record of integrated marketing excellence and digital innovation in an ever-evolving consumer landscape.

Kari Saitowitz is the Founder + CEO of Fhitting Room overseeing three Fhitting Room studios in NYC. Prior to creating Fhitting Room, Kari, was a marketing executive at Pepsi where she focused on building equity for powerhouse brands and launching new product innovations. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she graduated with honors, and she graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania.

Andrea Vahl is a Social Media Consultant and Speaker and is the co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies and her new book is Facebook Ads Made Simple. She was the Community Manager for Social Media Examiner for over 2 years and has appeared in top lists on Entrepreneur.com and Inc.com. This weeks episode is a little different to most, we have split this weeks show into two sections: Facebook Ad changes Top Facebook Ad tactics for gym owners and personal trainers. And heres a tip – right at the end of the interview, Anndrea shares 3 of her favourite digital business tools, so make sure you listen out to todays Fitbizpiration!

Denise Lee Yohn is the go-to expert on brand leadership for national media outlets, an in-demand speaker and consultant, and an influential writer. She is the author of the bestselling book What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles that Separate the Best from the Rest and the new book FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies. Not only is Denise a brand leadership expert and author, she is also a Key Note speaker at IHRSA 2019.

Dr Paul Bedford has over 20 years experience working in the fitness industry, including role​s​ as a gym instructor, personal trainer, fitness manager and club manager. ​ ​He has a master's degree in exercise and health behaviours, and a PhD from the London Sports Institute. The aim of ​his​ PhD research was to identify interventions in a gym environment to increase adherence. The study increased average participation from 6 months to 13 months. ​He then went onto ​develop a training programme to assist retention that has now been delivered to 25 operators, involving nearly 93 facilities.

If you have ever wanted to grow your fitness business, reach new markets or introduce new revenue streams – then this episode is a MUST Listen show for you. Trina Gray is the founder of Team Rock Star Fit and the owner of the award-winning Bay Athletic Club in Alpena Michigan. She is a seasoned presenter and writer for IDEA Health and Fitness Association. She designs and moderates the IDEA World Club and Studio Summit. In 2018 she was recognized as the first-ever IDEA Fitness Leader of the Year.

Dr Fiona Bull MBE, PhD, Msc. is our special guest for this report on The Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018–2030. During the interview you will hear the 2 main goals of the plan, an overview of the 4 key pillars, we discuss the countries taking part and how fitness businesses and professionals can get involved.

Eric Hinderberger is the Director - Business Development for First Credit Services. During the show, Eric shares 7 ways to turn around sleeping members. Specifically he shares: The definition of a sleeping member A 5 point check list for identifying them in your club 7 Ways to turn around your sleeping members

Sara Kooperman is the CEO of SCW Fitness Education and WATERinMOTION®, is a visionary leader that has launched nine successful MANIA® fitness-professional conventions, over 35 live and online certifications, and over 600 video & CEC projects.

Erin Kelly is the Chief Strategy Officer for Brick Bodies . With more than thirty years in the fitness industry Erins career began as a fitness trainer and quickly progressed to group exercise instructor, personal trainer, group exercise director, general manager, VP, COO, & CEO with companies such as Brick Bodies, Star Trac, Schwinn and Les Mills.

Craig Weber is the author of the bestselling book, Conversational Capacity: The Key To Building Successful Teams That Perform When The Pressure Is On (McGraw-Hill, 2013). An expert on the subjects of conversational capacity and adaptive learning, he helps people, teams, and organizations dramatically improve their performance by treating dialogue as a discipline.

Jeffrey Gitomer is the Author of 15 best-selling books including the Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, Little Red Book of Sales Answers, Little Red Book of Selling and many more. He has been elected to the speaker Hall of Fame, he is the Self crowned King of Sales and he is the co-host of the Sell or Die podcast.

Travis Jones is the Founder and CEO of Result Based Training (RBT) Gyms and the co-founder (alongside his wife Liv Jones) of Think Tank, Attain Digital and If Not Now Then When.

Ann Marie Barbour the co-founder of Soul Body LLC and Co-Creator of SoulBody Barre, SoulBody Barre "Unhitched" and SoulBody Power group fitness programs. Ann Marie has been in the fitness industry for over 15 years, and after falling in love with BARRE, and after seeing the benefits of this type of training, she, along with her best friend and business partner Stacey Van-diver created SoulBody LLC, a company offering "boutique style" progressive programming to larger clubs and studios. SoulBody Barre programming is now in over 80 clubs across the globe including Gold's Gyms, Goodlife Women's in Canada, Brick Bodies, Merritt Clubs, Under Armour Performance Centers, YMCAs and more.