Clubindustry

Chris Palumbo started elements in 2004, and ever since then, he‘s been making some major efforts at branding this franchise of women-only clubs as an upscale “lifestyle force,” as he calls it. He brought Bruce Fabel on board last week as CEO. Fabel has a background at Warner Brothers and Nike and experience in U.S. and international expansion, an area Fabel will focus on for elements. He also has three months of experience as COO at Life Time Fitness in 2001, one year as COO at Diversified Health and time at Butterfly Life.

Palumbo and Fabel are trying to build a brand not just by opening clubs, but also by surrounding their chosen market with the brand through an online magazine, an online diet portal called BalanceD (with plans to build retail diet centers), a blog, apparel in their clubs (and possibly soon, elements everyday apparel in upscale retail stores), and a recent consumer media blitz to magazines such as Shape and Vogue.

It all sounds impressive, but during the almost four years since elements started, Palumbo has only opened two clubs in Atlanta, one in Boston, one in Chicago and one in Charlotte, NC (and sold 50 franchises so far). That‘s a very small number of open clubs compared to the fast growth of other women-only health club franchises. Of course, my point of reference may be askew these days since the fast growth rate of other franchises now seems like the norm–and, of course, we all know that faster growth isn’t always sustainable.

Do I believe elements will be different? Palumbo and Fabel say they are trying to be different by building an upscale brand and support system first before expanding. But the industry has been bitten by so many bad franchise companies lately that I‘m afraid to predict success for anyone at this time. I wish Palumbo had more clubs to show for his efforts at this time. I guess I’d prefer to say that only time will tell whether building a brand first will pay off in the long run. -Pam

Exciting news last week from the state of Texas about our Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for this year. We offered the award to Dr. Kenneth Cooper, founder of the Cooper Institute and the individual who coined the term “aerobics,” and he accepted last week.

It was an easy choice to pick Dr. Cooper, but not such an easy task to find him available. We’d checked into the possibility of offering the award to him at least twice in the past, but each time he was unavailable to come to the Club Industry show in October. This year, our persistence paid off!

Now the even better news for attendees of the conference. Not only will Dr. Cooper accept the award in person at the conference on Oct. 15, but he will also offer the keynote address. This year is the first year we’ve had the winner of the award also present the keynote address so that will offer a nice change of pace for the presentation.

I will also be interviewing Dr. Cooper for a profile on him, which will appear in our September issue. I hope he can also provide some information for our 25th anniversary issue later this year. Even though I just visited the Cooper Aerobics Center at Craig Ranch in late February, I wasn’t able to speak with Dr. Cooper at the time, so I’m looking forward to interviewing him and meeting him in person in October. –Pam

In between my visit yesterday afternoon with Checkfree and attending the Technology Summit, I stopped by the Matrix booth to visit with Chris Adsit about the company‘s cardio equipment. Chris was a bundle of energy. I could tell he was excited about what the company has to offer.

He explained that the company wants to innovate by taking an existing modality and making it better or by coming up with a new one that people will use. With that in mind, he showed me the company‘s hybrid bike, which features the benefits of both the upright and recumbent bikes. The seat is up higher for more fit people, but the seat also has a back support for less fit people. It also offers step-through capability for less fit users.

He then took me over to the Ascent Trainer, which I had tried at the Club Industry show in October. It offers an ellipse motion without the starting and stopping. It also takes up less room than an elliptical since people can step on it from the back (meaning the Ascents can be located without space between each, similar to how treadmills are placed).

This morning, I went by the Matrix booth again to get a look at the strength equipment. Michael Benso showed me the company‘s Functional Trainer, which he was getting feedback on at the show. The company will then make any necessary modifications and begin mass producing the product this summer, he said. On the Functional Trainer, a user can do more than 200 exercises using the cables, a golf club option, a baseball bat option, a wall climbing option and several others. One side of the equipment offers images of several exercises that could be performed on the equipment.

Michael said that functional training is becoming even more popular, and Matrix is making products to help club owners meet that demand. –Pam

It’s Saturday, and while I’m excited to get back home to the fam (the husband and a 4-month-old puppy), I am not excited to leave this beautiful weather. San Diego has definitely been a pleasurable place to visit, and I’ve enjoyed my time and the seafood here.

However, the best part of the show for me — and this is purely for personal reasons — was this morning. Martina Navratilova gave a feature presentation titled “Champion for Life,” and I was in total awe. An avid tennis player and fan myself, I was thrilled to see her speak, and Pam and I even scored a spot in the front row. Navratilova spoke at length about her experiences playing at Wimbledon and other tennis tournaments and applied what she’s learned throughout her life to create seven principles for “living the life of a champion.” The principles apply to sports, work and life. They are as follows:

1. Play consistently to your strengths. Know what you’re good at and focus on promoting those skills.

2. Don’t quit until you get it right. Strive for excellence, not perfection.

3. Decide what you want. And, make a plan to get there with meaningful, measurable goals.

4. Turn adversity into advantage. Struggle builds character.

5. Show the world who you really are. You’re in charge of your own brand, and ask yourself what’s really different about your class, program or club, and promote that.

6. Surround yourself with support. You should always have people around you who believe in you.

7. You gotta have fun! Ninety percent of the battle is to love what you’re doing. If you do that, the results will follow. –Jennipher

I‘ve had several contacts with Checkfree (now part of Fiserv) at this show so far. At the opening reception, I chatted with Randy Ivey, who handles Checkfree‘s marketing. He‘s a good ol‘ boy from Texas, and he had hired a mentalist to be at the company‘s booth. Randy introduced the mentalist, Bob, to me at the reception, and Bob proceeded to impress me with his “reading” of me. He was accurate on the name of the person I was thinking of and information about a deceased relative. He then read our associate publisher, also getting his information correct.

Earlier today, I met with Matt McKernan and Ron Poliseno at Checkfree‘s booth to hear about the new software they are rolling out. It offers additional functionality and is easier to use with fewer screens and a touch screen option.

Later, I sat in on the Technology Summit, which is sponsored by Checkfree. At the seminar, Jeff Skeen, CEO of Titan Fitness Holdings, which is a Gold‘s Gym franchisee, spoke about the importance of technology to running a club company. Skeen has a technology background and had been CIO at Gold‘s Gym at one time, so his belief in technology and its importance to clubs is rooted in some history.

Both Skeen and Checkfree are excited about taking data and turning it into information. I‘m sure we‘ll be hearing more about this in the near future. –Pam

This evening, Pam and I had the privilege of attending and covering Augie’s Beach Bash, a fundraiser for ALS research. This was the third annual bash, and the second bash I have attended. And believe me, each year the event seems to get bigger and bigger.

Held at the Marriott Hotel and Marina in San Diego, the event began with cocktails outside and a silent auction. Pam and I were running late and barely missed the open bar. (Pam didn’t mind, but I was a bit bummed. A long day at a trade show is always made a bit better with a good glass of chardonnay, after all.) But we did arrive to in time to mingle and take some photos.

Once inside the ballroom, Pam took photos of the venue, which was decorated with a beach theme (surfboards, people in bikinis, etc.), while I took notes. Sometimes the best part of being a journalist is having an excuse to stand right up front at events like this. Natalie Morales from “The Today Show” emceed the event, and Ronnie Lott, NFL Hall of Famer and former San Francisco 49er, gave the keynote address, telling everyone to bring “whoo” to what you do every day. Whoo, Lott said, is that little extra effort and really living in the moment. He also said that Augie Nieto had definite whoo, saying, “I respect Augie for everything he’s done and how he’s exhausted the moment.”

Augie and his wife, Lynne, also took the stage. Since Augie received his diagnosis three years ago, Augie’s Quest has helped raise $12.5 million for ALS research. The group’s goal is to discover the cause of ALS by 2009, Lynne said.

Augie also said a few words, appreciating all the love and support he’d received over the last three years.

“I spent my whole life making people normal and healthy. That’s a cruel irony,” Nieto said. “But I’m happier today than I’ve ever been in my whole life.”

The event’s 1,100 attendees raised $1.5 million for Augie’s Quest, including a $50,000 donation from Bally and a $200,000 pledge from the Clubs for the Cure program, which was begun by the Atlantic Clubs in Manasquan, NJ. –Jennipher

I was right. My early morning workout at FreeMotion was no walk in the park. After hearing about their new pieces of strength equipment, the Incline Trainer and their vibration piece, I was put to the test on all of them. All I have to say is yeowsers! The company’s incline trainer goes up to 30 degrees, and even at a speed of 2.0 mph, it’s enough to get your heart pumping and your glutes screaming. It was intense, but in a good way.

After a quick shower (goodness knows I needed it), I popped back over to the trade show floor where I met with representatives from Polar to discuss the company’s new products and new direction. That direction is targeting more clubs by providing the technology for trainers to work with their clients more effectively via more modes of programming and using software to provide accountability. Basically, they want to focus less on actual product and more on results.

Then, I quickly stopped by the Octane booth where I saw their newest product, a recumbent elliptical. Designed primarily for Baby Boomers, the elliptical is helping clubs reach a more diverse group of members.

My next stop was STOTT Pilates, where I saw the V2Max’s features in action. (I wasn’t the participant though — thankfully — since I was so sore from yesterday’s early morning workouts! They had a rather buff STOTT Pilates employee demo the moves.) Then the company raffled off one of the new reformers to a lucky attendee. And lucky she was…the prize was estimated at almost an $8,000 value. (If I had entered and won, I would have placed it in my living room. It’s a really nice looking piece of equipment.)

My final booth stop for Friday was at Star Trac. A few weeks ago, I had spoken with executives at Star Trac about their new brand and image, Expect Different. It was nice to see the brand in full-form. Their new ads show people of all ages and races and abilities both on equipment and exercising outside of the gym’s walls. I was formally introduced to their three strength lines, cardio line and spin bikes. My favorite of the ones I saw was the E Spinner® that’s designed to go on your club floor rather than in the spin room. The bike is outfitted with a TV screen and can play a recording of an instructor teaching a cycling class. As someone who sometimes can’t always make it to the gym on time for a class, I can definitely see myself using something like that at my club. Not to mention how great it could be for beginners. The spin room can be a scary place, so getting a few rides under your belt before you brave a class makes perfect sense. –Jennipher

I sat in on the Polar/NESTA press conference yesterday afternoon to get some insight into the partnership between the heart rate monitor manufacturer and the certification organization. NESTA is now offering a PFT 2.0 certification that includes use of the Polar monitors. The presenters talked about how use of the monitor can help retain members because monitors are the only objective way to measure a workout. (After all, can you really believe your clients when they say they are working at their maximum level?)

As part of the education process before taking the certification exam, trainers learn the practical application of the science and business of training. Trainers also learn the benefits of the heart rate technology, and they learn to use the technology to help them get and retain clients.

I originally had thought of the Polar monitor as a device to use for cardio workouts, but as the presenters explained during the session, trainers can also use it to monitor heart rates during strength workouts.

I like the idea of trainers learning how to use any heart rate monitor since I have one and find their use to be a little more complicated than I’d like them to be, which means, of course, that I don’t use mine. –Pam

I started off my day yesterday with a great session offered by Wendy Williamson of Genesis Health Clubs, and Matthew Contino of Sleepy Hollow Physical Therapy. They discussed how to create synergy between medical and fitness professionals, a topic that is of great interest to people in the industry, and that was reflected in the attendance at this session, where there were about 120 people.

Wendy and Matthew stressed that as Medicare and other insurance providers continue to cut how long people can get their physical therapy covered, more people are being released from rehab to go back out into the world, even though they may not be 100 percent. That has created a huge need that fitness professionals should be filling. To fill that need, however, these fitness professionals need the education and certifications to make the medical community comfortable with sending their patients to them. To make them more comfortable, fitness professionals need to learn to network with medical professionals and communicate professionally and clearly with them before, during and after contact with their patients. A lot of the people in the room seemed very interested in moving their careers in this direction, and the session seemed to give some concrete advice on how to do that. –Pam

I was mesmerized by some of Kjell (pronounced “shell”) Nordstrom‘s ideas in his keynote presentation today called “Funky Business.” Of all the ideas that he presented, I think the most relevant one to our industry is this: the world is becoming more personalized. He didn‘t then take this and apply it to our industry, but I think it‘s easy to see how it could be applied. People don‘t want a cookie-cutter club anymore; they want one that speaks to them, they want a workout that meets their needs and they want equipment and classes that fit them.

He says that the world is more personalized because of the proliferation of information (he wondered what universities and professors are for anymore when all the information they offer is already available in the world), the growing single population (more people are single today than ever before) and the ability of people to choose where they live based on where they feel they fit in (as more of the population becomes urban, cities are actually becoming more different from each other as the elderly move to warm-climate cities, entertainment people move to Los Angeles, financial people move to New York and London, etc.).

He also sees a little Marxism at work as a transfer of ownership to the people occurs. By that, he means that 96 percent to 99 percent of what most people do at work is intellectual.

“This is the property of you and me,” he said. “This is a shift. It requires a different way to run a corporation.”

Power, then, is in the good idea. All cars look alike because all car manufacturers read the same books, study at the same schools and use the same auto parts.

“You can make money if you have the good idea,” he said.

What is a good idea?

It‘s a good idea if it‘s innovative and it‘s a temporary monopoly.

“Successful companies do not compete. A temporary monopoly is a moment in time when you are perceived to be different, unique. It‘s all about perception,” he said.

Wow! Most of this could be applied to our industry in several ways. I was glad I was there for his presentation. –Pam