Clubindustry

Usually about this time of year, I‘m recovering from producing a football preview section, which I used to do while working for various newspapers. After we recently finished production on our September issue, I felt pretty much the same way: drained and in need of therapy.

This was a tough month, and it was a not-so-relaxing summer around here. We had staff missing a few days here and there, deadlines fluctuated and work seemed to pile up.

The best thing that came out of producing the August and September issues was my renewed faith in our staff and myself. There were times when I didn‘t think we could get the issue out on time, but when the chips were down, we fought harder, and we got things done. We didn‘t get on each other‘s nerves too much, and we didn‘t make excuses (well, not many, anyway).

As for me, I learned that I can edit on deadline as well as I can write on deadline. I‘m normally the slow poke around here when it comes to editing, especially on the long features, but I learned I can step it up a notch or two when I have to.

You don‘t have to have a personal trainer to push you to get better (although they sure come in handy). The main thing is to believe in yourself and the ones around you. -Stuart

Being a woman and one of three daughters, I only have first-hand knowledge of mother-daughter and father-daughter relationships. The dynamics of father-son relationships are unknown to me. However, recently, I got a glimpse into that world through my interviews with Alan Schwartz and his son, Steven Schwartz. Granted, their relationship may be different from most since they work together, but I was pleased to get a little insight into that world nonetheless.

Those of you who are veterans in this industry are well aware of who Alan Schwartz is. He is the founder of TCA (now TCA Holdings, which owns Midtown Athletic Clubs). He is also former president and board member of the U.S. Tennis Association and has worked with many other tennis-affiliated organizations. He was instrumental in the early days of IHRSA and developed some research and industry standards that many of you today use regularly, probably without knowing who instigated them. These contributions are some of the reasons that we’re presenting Alan with the Lifetime Achievement award in October at our Club Industry show in Chicago.

Steven Schwartz followed in his father’s footsteps after working in real estate for a while and is now CEO of TCA, taking over developing the business as his father has focused on tennis the last few years.

During my separate interviews with each for the profile I’m writing about Alan, I was struck by this pair’s genuine fondness for each other. I thought that a father handing over the reigns of the company to his son might be a difficult thing to do, but neither let on that it was. In fact, Alan insisted that one of the most responsible things he could do for his family, his employees, his members and his bankers was to ensure that when he leaves this world, a seamless transition will be in place at the company.

He’s been preparing his children for business since they were little. Alan recounted that on many business trips, he would take one of his children with him. They wouldn’t just sit in the lobby while he was negotiating deals either. He took them into the conference room with him so they could see what he did and how to conduct themselves in business. Steven recalled that as a child he often fell asleep in the back seat of the car as his father looked for real estate for a new club. He also recalled helping his father color in tax maps so Alan could evaluate property.

Although Alan has spent almost 200-250 days of the year on the road for the past several years (he said that his travel has slowed to about 100 days a year now), he and Steven still share lunch together every day that Alan is in Chicago, where the company is headquartered. They also share an office wall so they can maintain easy contact when both are in the office.

Alan spoke fondly of all four of his children and of his many grandchildren. I was amazed that a guy who spends so much time on the road still finds time to go to his grandchildren’s events and even take one or two of them on in a tennis match.

I also spoke to other people who know Alan. Each spoke not just of Alan’s skill in business and working with people, but of his closeness with his family. I’ve never met Alan in person (although I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Steven), but I’m looking forward to doing so at the Club Industry show in October. I hope you can make it there to watch this industry veteran and pioneer receive this much-deserved recognition. - Pam

I suppose I should update you guys on the race front, as I told you I would a couple of weeks ago.

So, I ran the 5K and did OK…I guess. My performance wasn‘t to my liking, of course, because I wanted to be as good as I was in high school. I ran the race in about 34 minutes, which for me isn‘t all that great. (Most of you are probably thinking “What a slow poke,” and believe me, I thought that, too.)

I already have plans for next year, though. I want to train some more, track how I progress, and run the race again in 2008. I‘m determined to get back into running and trek on with the upcoming races. We‘ll see how it all goes. I‘ll keep you updated on this as I continue.

Well, I‘ll stop boring you with my less-than-stellar running habits and share with you a little bit about my adjustment while writing for Club Industry‘s Fitness Business Pro magazine. As I said before, I wrote for a yearbook in college, so my audience has always been students, and I sort of considered them consumers. But Club Industry‘s audience, as you know, consists mainly of club owners and managers. I‘ve definitely had to adjust to writing for an audience who knows about the industry and how things work. I mostly write about all the new products that come through the industry or conferences that we think you would be interested in attending. It‘s definitely been an adjustment, especially when I don‘t know the ins and outs of the business. I‘m certainly learning a lot by working with the magazine, and I‘m liking the experience.

I‘ll stop rambling now and get back to doing…well…nothing. That‘s why I was doing this. (Ha ha.) I‘ll check back in later, though. Hopefully, you‘ve enjoyed the posts from the new kid in town. -Kelsey

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about an article I was working on that was a follow-up piece on clubs affected by Hurricane Katrina two years ago. As I quickly learned during the interviewing and writing process, things have changed a lot and continue to do so at a rapid pace.

One of my main sources for the article, Dion Grossnickle, is the general manager at Cross Gates Athletic Clubs in Slidell, LA, a northeast suburb of New Orleans. Dion was actually one of the first people I could get a hold of right after the storm hit, so naturally I wanted to follow up with him.

The first time we talked, just a week or so after Hurricane Katrina hit, was very memorable for me. I wouldn‘t call myself a “hard-hitting” journalist by any means, so this isn‘t really a surprise, but that first conversation was very heart-wrenching for me. My parents were evacuees from Katrina and lived in Slidell. In fact, my mom was a faithful member of Cross Gates, and she‘s part of the reason I started with them. (You can never be truly objective in journalism sometimes.) Dion, like my parents and thousands of others in that area, had gone through quite a disaster. One of Cross Gates‘ facilities was filled with mud, the other sustained wind damage, and countless employees had their homes destroyed. To say the least, it was a difficult time. During that first call, I felt bad prying into his professional and personal life (when you have a disaster of that magnitude, it‘s hard to separate the two) but knew I had to tell the story.

I was amazed at the health club industry‘s response. We set up a blog for affected clubs to post updates and for unaffected fitness facilities to post job openings for evacuees. The response was amazing. So many clubs raised money and offered housing and jobs.

Last August, I did a one-year follow-up story on the how the area was doing. Unfortunately, almost every facility I talked to was still having problems getting insurance money and making a full comeback. They all said the area wasn‘t recovered and that it had greatly changed.

Two years after Katrina, there‘s no question that the area has changed permanently. The people have changed, and the climate and market have changed. Late last week (after my article went to press), Dion e-mailed me to tell me that Cross Gates‘ liability insurance went from about $18,000 a year prior to the storm to $60,000 a year starting in September. That, no doubt, has an effect on business and the bottom line. Thankfully, Cross Gates has the means to support the increase (for them, business is booming due to Slidell‘s growing population), but many businesses do not. Also, Dion says that insurance premiums for homeowners are in some cases going from $1,500 a year to $8,000 a year. Not many people can afford increases that large.

Despite all of the financial hardship, everyone I spoke to seemed amazingly resilient and determined to make their businesses successful. In fact, many took Katrina as an opportunity to review business practices and try new programs. For Dion, the storm has brought him and his staff and members closer together, making the club stronger than before. It‘s also strengthened his resolve that fitness and working out is one fantastic stress reliever.

I wish all clubs in the affected areas the best of luck in their continued recovery efforts. -Jennipher

I was doing a little research today for an upcoming interview with new Crunch Fitness CEO Tim Miller when I stumbled upon something pretty unique on the Crunch Web site. (And if you know about Crunch, you know that Crunch is all about being unique.)

First of all, the Crunch home page has two claymation characters, Steven and Nancy, who appear in one of four Crunch claymation films here. Most of the films are rather nice and cute, but the one with Steven and Nancy goes to the brink of bizarre. In the film, Nancy, a small, feisty boxer, ambushes Steven, a tall, skinny guy, for trying to take gym towels home with him. Nancy doesn‘t just beat Steven up, she literally rips the arms and legs off him.

This reminded me of the Phil Hartman sketch on Saturday Night Live when he was in the “all-drug Olympics.” As an overly-pumped-up Russian weightlifter, Hartman rips his arms off trying to deadlift a barbell. With blood squirting from Hartman‘s shoulders, I remember Kevin Nealon, the commentator in the sketch, saying something like, “That‘s gotta hurt,” or, “That‘s gonna hurt his chances at a medal.”

I have some basic questions for Mr. Miller about topics such as Crunch‘s future and the state of the industry. But I simply have to ask him about Steven, Nancy and the other claymation characters. I hope they stick around the Crunch Web site–and I hope Steven gets stuck back together again. -Stuart

I spent an hour late this morning interviewing Carl Liebert, CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, for an upcoming Executive Insights column and podcast. Liebert has been in the CEO role at 24 Hour for less than a year, but he already seemed comfortable using health club lingo and projecting growth for the company both in the United States and in Asia. He spoke a bit about the company’s plans to expand into the Northeast–mainly New York, Baltimore and Washington, DC, at this time. He also seemed excited about their clubs in Asia and their partnership with Yao Ming that puts them in Beijing, China.

Speaking of expansion, he stated a goal of opening one 24 Hour club a week at some point in the next few years and eventually opening three a week.

That kind of growth could offer a lot of career opportunities for staff at the clubs, he says. Liebert emphasized the importance of keeping staff educated, trained and envisioning a future with the company as one way to retain employees. He also noted that the 24 Hour clubs that have the highest staff retention rates also have the highest member retention rates, a stat that he doesn’t think is a coincidence since members like the familiarity that comes with seeing the same faces at the front desk day in and day out.

Look for more from Liebert in the August issue, in the online Executive Insights column and in the podcast of the interview. All will be available by the middle of this month.

If you have suggestions for other executives at major health club companies that you’d like to hear from, let me know. We may slate them for our next Executive Insights column. - Pam