Episodes

"I think Kobe turned his profession from what it was into a purpose. It's one of the reasons why people gravitated towards him . . . and I think it's also one of the reasons why his loss hit us so hard. He was there with a bigger point . . . and I think it was a wake up call for all of us," states industry veteran William Maloney. Will's new company, Health Capital, helps people build a "health portfolio." Listen now to this wide ranging discussion on Will's extensive background with athletes of...

Rick Richey has been in the HALO sector since 2002. As the Owner of the Independent Training Spot, he's since gone on to start ReCOVER in 2018, the first facility of its kind in NYC dedicated strictly to recovery using modalities like air compression, CVAC, hydromassage, NuCalm, full spectrum infrared sauna and more. Rick discusses the challenges (and advantages!) of not being first to market, lessons learned from advertising in health clubs and how that carries over to ReCOVER, the importance o...

"The strength coach is the ultimate fall guy in professional sports. It's almost like the more players are paid, the less accountable they became for their own behaviors. It's just sort of something that comes with it, but it makes you better!" laughs Coach Dana Cavalea, author of Habits of a Champion. As a performance coach with the NY Yankees from 2002-2014, Coach discusses his rather fortuitous entry into the field, to coaching elite athletes, challenges of working with management & players, ...

"The fitness industry is notorious for having terrible retention rates. New leads are the lifeblood of any business," states Patrick Cundiff of Loud Rumor. Having worked with over 2,000 fitness studios in the past 5 years, their agency is well positioned to know what works and what doesn't. This discussion focuses on why it's necessary to consider pivoting part of your business online, retargeting, lead capture, continuing to provide value as facilities start to reopen, why it's important to kee...

"Everybody moves and everybody wears socks! It's what we call the movement cycle. . . and there's an entry point for everyone and that's a great opportunity," states Jared Verteramo, President of Lasso Gear. Lasso is a highly unique, patented sock in the "hybrid sports with medical benefits" space. This wide ranging discussion covers how to compete with other, huge companies in your space, dealing with excess inventory, how to stay lean and deal with downstream demand, plans for scaling in the f...

"You can get great experience working with other companies, but you always have to have something bubbling . . . if you want to create your own thing. You have to be ready to take the risk," states Isaac Calpito on how his super popular workout, Torch'd, got started. Isaac came to NYC the day after high school graduation, lived on his friend's floor while auditioning, and eventually ended up on Broadway for 10 years doing 8 shows a week. It was there that Torch'd began. Isaac has over 20,000 pe...

As the Managing Director and Founder of Exaltare Capital, Omar's group was one of the first inside the Planet Fitness network. He was able to "see around the corner" and jump in very early. With his background in consulting and private equity (he worked on the highly successful 24 Hour deal among many others) he states, "I enjoyed being close to the portfolio companies and really wanted to be more hands on." In this wide ranging discussion, Omar shares his position on private equity, what being ...

"The level of conviction has to be high enough even if it seems to be insane by everybody," states Alex Plonsker of SplitGym, referring to how crazy it can be as an entrepreneur. In essence, SplitGym is becoming a, "StubHub for the fitness industry. People can sell unused classes or days for cashback and more or less creating a secondary market." SplitGym is fully integrated with MindBody, so it's a seamless transaction on the consumer side. Alex has rolled out in New York and is now on the hunt...

"Two of the most important elements in the golf swing are your glute strength and hip mobility," states Trillium Rose. Trillium is recognized as a Top 50 Teacher by Golf Digest and the LPGA and honored as the 2017 Middle Atlantic PGA "Teacher of the Year." Trillium dives into the latest in golf tech, training and education. Her area of expertise is in helping golfers develop their skills as quickly as possible and help them practice efficiently. She is a graduate of Teachers College, Columbia Un...

"Just move! It doesn't have to be about how many sets, reps, and time. There is no magic pill. We are the magic pill!" states entrepreneur Joana Meneses. Founder of BodyRoots, Joana has been in the HALO sector since 1999. She dove into Pilates head first just as it was gaining in popularity and quickly became one of the top Stott Pilates Master Trainers in the early days, travelling all over the world training trainers. On her return, she began (and ran) the highly regarded Pilates program at th...

"Kids who exercise up to an hour a day will do up to 40% better on tests in school," states Lee Spieker a 30+ year industry veteran. Lee has done it all! From everything to working for Weider in the early days, to selling Universal equipment (remember those?) to owning health clubs, to producing the well known Buns of Steel workouts, and eventually starting Railyard Fitness as well as the non-profit, 1houraday. This wide ranging discussion focuses on the critical importance of fitness for childr...

"We need to accommodate people who have low ability levels, while also not limiting what we offer to those who have high performance abilities," states Mike Donnelly, Director of Fitness for Greco Fitness. With plans to be the largest boutique facility in Canada, Jenna York, Director of Operations and Mike chat about Greco's quick rise, Greco's strong reputation in the market, working with investors, their impressive roll out to a paid, digital revenue stream, maintaining quality control around ...

"You've got to build a business model before you build a product!" states Colin McIntosh, CEO. Sheets & Giggles began in October 2017 with an initial raise of $284,000 through crowd funding. Currently at a $5M per year run rate after only approximately 17 months of sales, Colin reviews everything from his revenue funded business model, to marketing, to how and why he choose eucalyptus sheets, to his plans to start working with top athletes, and much more. This is a fantastic brand who, while cle...

"We can control our efforts in life, we cannot control the outcomes," states Dan Millman, a former world champion athlete, gymnastics coach, martial arts instructor, and college professor--has authored 17 books published in 29 languages. His best-known, Way of the Peaceful Warrior, was adapted to film in 2006 starring Nick Nolte. Dan was way ahead of the curve when, in the 1970's, he had his first business called "Rent-A-Coach." He has seen the HALO sector evolve over 20+ years and in this wide ...

"If you do it because you see value or you do it because it's intrinsic . . . it's sustainable. If you do it because you feel guilty, obligated, for the reward or the money, or you're coerced, it ends as soon as that reinforcer goes away," states Matt Richter, 25+ year management consultant, industry expert, keynote speaker and author of The Leadership Story. Why do some go to the gym and others don't? What are some steps the HALO sector can consider applying to the latest in research in motivat...

"I want to be the first globally recognized, fully franchisable corporation owned by a woman of color," states Hodges (an incredible entrepreneurial powerhouse!) when asked about future plans. As a seasoned fitness entrepreneur and global learning manager, she created her first class in her grandmother's backyard in June 2016. Classes are a mix of HITT, traditional aerobics, and ZUMBA to trap music with a focus on women of color. It quickly skyrocketed and she began teaching at Facebook, Tumblr ...

"If you govern your decisions by what's in the best interest of your members, while it may more difficult in the near term, I fundamentally believe it'll benefit you in the longer term," states CEO Bill Davis. With 38 years in business, ABC Financial supports nearly 40% of all fitness clubs in the USA. Now owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, Bill discusses the role of ABC in the HALO sector, what owners should consider in the current COVID-19 climate, hints at big changes coming to ABC in ...

A classically trained research scientist with a Doctorate in Motor Learning, Dr. Paul Juris is a seminal figure in the HALO sector. He was a Professor of Human Movement Studies at Columbia University and later went on to construct the (then new) Equinox Fitness Training Institute to a level never seen before. "We wanted to bring as much scientific rigor into the program as possible. . .I introduced movement science to that program, which at the time really didn't exist in the fitness industry,"...

"Our whole goal is to help build community within buildings, to help people get to know each other better, and to make the city feel a little smaller, and a little less lonely," states Ryan Freed. With hOM currently in over 100 buildings in NYC and Toronto, this life long entrepreneur started in the HALO sector by offering meditation classes in a residential building. He then pivoted into a much larger variety of classes for commercial office spaces and residential multi-family landlords. This w...

"I always joke that every start up needs a crazy Israeli," laughs Kenny about his Co-Founder, Nadav. Currently approaching its sixth month, these two former attorneys discuss everything nearly any entrepreneur can relate to! From having to share a small studio apartment, to the need to to pivot due to manufacturing & hardware issues, to waking up at 4:30am, to ClassPass, to dealing with operations in a brick & mortar studio, and much more. This is a must listen for anyone who has ever considered...

"The next thing I know, we have a pretty full gym, but I also didn't know what the heck I was doing," laughs Jared Stein. Currently at 5 CrossFit gyms plus a 30,000 sq ft big box space (all branded WILLYB) Jared shares his experiences from starting in the trenches, searching for space, opening the first two stores, how they expanded, what was involved with their first acquisition, and much more. A must listen for anyone thinking about opening their own facility one day!

"A lot of these technologies and apps have yet to find a mainstream value proposition. I'd look at retention and engagement much more than purchase and initial transaction," states 25+ year consumer services veteran Gunjan Bhow. With the technology now available, opportunities are massive and Walgreen's is going far beyond just retail and pharmacy, as they are currently examining digital health and other connected services. Listen now to this wide ranging discussion on the (hopeful!) future coll...

"If I owned a fitness facility and needed trainers, sales or membership staff, what better person would you want than a college (or former college) athlete?" states CEO & Founder, Ryan Drummond. One year later, progress has been phenomenal! With Crunch currently on a pilot program, The Athlete Book has Amazon, Tesla, Yelp, JP Morgan, Mass Mutual, and others on the platform. Hiring for fitness facilities has always been a pain point, and TAB solves it through virtual hiring events, highly detaile...

25 years after working incredibly hard to attempt to dance professionally in NYC, Ruth stepped into her first indoor cycling class at the Reebok Sports Club on the Upper West Side in NYC. Not long after that, an entire movement (and arguably a new sector of the fitness industry) was born. Industry icon Ruth Zuckerman discusses everything from the instructor training, the initial hurdles of expansion, maintaining authenticity, the history of the early days of Soul Cycle and Flywheel, and provides...