Clubindustry

The last time the IHRSA show tugged at your emotions in the late afternoon was when ALS battler Augie Nieto spoke at the 2007 show. Last Thursday, Kristina Ripatti and her husband, Tim Pearce, showed similar courage in their presentation. more…

Chip Heath, who spoke at IHRSA on Friday immediately after the IHRSA Annual Meeting, did a nice job of knowing how long to speak and knowing what parts of his speech he didn’t need. more…

Compared to last year’s IHRSA financial panel session, which occurred right smack dab in the middle of one of the country’s worst recession in decades, the mood was a little lighter and the outlook a little brighter at this year’s financial panel in San Diego. more…

Yesterday began with early morning workouts, but I did a little different workout from what I normally do. Yes, I tried out the Precor EFX and AMT, but that was just a warm-up. My real “workout” was a stretch at the Tailored Flexibility booth. Aaron Taylor, the owner (kind of clever use of his last name in the name of the company), put me through some of the stretches that he uses on his clients, which include boxer Muhammad Ali, golfer Betsy King and comedian Billy Crystal. Some of the stretches showed me that I definitely sit too long as my right hip flexor hurt. If Taylor lived in Kansas City rather than Phoenix, I’d definitely be going back for another visit. more…

So, most of the rest of yesterday was spent walking the trade show floor visiting various vendors and running into people from the industry who I only get to see at conferences. more…

So, how long do we have to wait for a fitness revolution? According to Malcolm Gladwell, author of “Blink” and “Tipping Point,” not long. Any revolution can happen almost overnight.

Gladwell was the keynote speaker yesterday at the IHRSA conference (sporting a tamed-down hairdo that made him look less like a mad scientist). He spoke about how people always think change takes time, but true revolutions often happen quickly. For example, when radios first came out, few people bought them. They saw no need for them as they were marketed as a way to hear the news—and at that time in the United States, most cities had five or more newspapers, so people were inundated with news. more…

Yesterday morning’s all-conference gathering began with a few awards and a not-so-award-worthy performance. (Although it was fun to see the IHRSA board loosen up.) more…

After the keynote presentation, I made my way to the Hard Rock Hotel, where Club One was hosting a reception in the Float Lounge, a swank and moodily lit location. I had a chance to meet to speak with Sal Pelligrino of Les Mills, who was excited about the company’s “The Future of the Fitness Industry” white paper. Pelligrino was speaking with Karen Woodard-Chavez, consultant and owner of Premium Performance, Boulder, CO. Woodard-Chavez is one of our columnists, so I picked her brain for ideas about upcoming stories related to what U.S. clubs can learn from clubs in other countries. We also talked about the reasons women entrepreneurs don’t grow their businesses like male entrepreneurs do and what good customer service really is. more…

After sitting in on the REX Roundtables, I headed to the awards presentation and keynote address.

The Associate Member of the Year award went to Balanced Body, which was represented by its president, Ken Endelman. The award, which is presented to a company for its contributions to IHRSA and the fitness industry, went to Balanced Body this year because of its innovation and its commitment to the integrity of Joseph Pilates equipment, which it provides to studios, health clubs, rehabilitation facilities and individual consumers globally, according to IHRSA. Through Balanced Body University, the company provides access to Pilates instructor training programs as well as continuing education opportunities, offering a network of more than 50 educators for assistance with Pilates programming and certification. more…

I arrived in San Diego yesterday afternoon to a partly cloudy day and intermittent sprinkles. However, that didn’t stop the IHRSA 2010 show, which was in full swing with seminars yesterday.

I headed over to the San Diego Convention Center to catch the last portion of the REX Roundtables. Unfortunately, a 90-minute rain delay prevented me from sitting in on any of the roundtables, but I did get to hear Bo Burlingham, editor-at-large for Inc., offer the keynote, which focused on small business giants. Burlingham is the author of the Inc. article about Joe Cirulli, founder of Gainesville Athletic Club, which he considers a small giant. more…