Clubindustry

The Marriott ballroom was packed to hear former Disney CEO Michael Eisner speak Thursday morning. It was standing room only, and there were people even saving spots against the wall. I had a little trouble getting through the door, but after I showed the guy my press badge, he begrudgingly let me in. Sometimes people are a little leary of the press.

There were times when I felt Eisner was speaking directly to me with references to ESPN and Topps baseball cards. More on that later, but he definitely had my attention throughout.

I don’t think a lot of people realize how involved Eisner was at Paramount Pictures before he came to Disney, which was a “dying” company in the 1980s that was worth “only” $2.8 billion before Eisner’s arrival. When Eisner left Disney a few years ago (he was basically forced out), Disney was worth $60 billion.

At Paramount, Eisner was involved with such hits as “Raiders of the Lost Ark”, “Grease”, “Saturday Night Fever” and “Terms of Endearment”. Eisner kept most films at Paramount under a $10 million budget, one of the many examples of what was one of the main points of Eisner’s speech: micromanagement.

Eisner talked about the expansion of the Disney brand to EuroDisney, Disney hotels and Disney cruise ships. He showed a highlight of when EuroDisney first opened in France, and it appeared there was tear gas thrown on the stage. “Not exactly the enthusiastic reception we anticipated,” Eisner said. He went on to add that EuroDisney is now the most visited tourist attraction in all of Europe.

Disney later bought ABC/Capital Cities and ESPN. Eisner said part of the success of ESPN was its creativity in its promotional ads. Eisner showed one where Lance Armstrong is bicycling in a closet to keep the power going at ESPN. I’d bet 90 percent of the audience had never seen the commercial. But I had. Lots of times.

Eisner now runs a company called the Tornante Company, which recently acquired the Topps baseball card company. Tornante is also reaching out to the Internet, including a series of 90-second episodes called “Prom Queen” which will be launched on Sunday on a MySpace Web site. “The world has become a single dot,” Eisner said, referring to a painting he showed earlier in the speech that was composed of millions of dots.

Whether it was better light bulbs and bigger type on shampoo bottles in hotel rooms, or making sure not to show 4,000 Arabic people “The Lion King” in Hebrew, Eisner stressed how important it is to micromanage. He encouraged people to think inside the box and put creativity in it.

Toward the end of his speech, Eisner even praised the “American Idol” model and talked about Simon, Randy and “a sometimes sober Paula …”

“I shouldn’t have said that,” Eisner said. “I think the press is in here somewhere.”

Yes we were, Mike. Yes we were. –Stuart

Have you ever had one of those workouts where you leave already knowing that you’re going to be really, really sore tomorrow? That was me this morning. I attended the 6:30 am Les Mills BodyPump class, and, boy, did it kick my you-know-what. Although my legs were burning and my arms were about to fall off (seriously, as I’m typing my arms are fatigued, and it’s not like I’m a deconditioned person by any means), I thoroughly enjoyed the class, especially its music and energy. The insturctors were great (we even had the chance to meet one of them, Emma, at the Les Mills reception last night), and it was pretty amazing to see more than 100 fitness professionals grunting and sweating. It’s quite the way to start a day.

I’m now embarking on my journey across town to visit the JCC of San Francisco. Wish me luck navigating the city streets! I’ll write more on my visit later. –Jennipher

I’ve never figured out some people’s fascination with boxing. It has always seemed like too violent of a “sport” to me. However, when I heard that Sugar Ray Leonard would be speaking at the IHRSA show, I knew I wanted to attend his session. I remember as a little girl watching boxing matches curled up on the couch next to my dad (of course, I always had a pillow in hand to block my view of the blood that eventually poured from one or more of the boxers’ faces). It seemed that boxing was a bigger sport then than it is now. I guess I’d have to say that as a little girl one of my favorite boxers (if little girls who hate boxing have favorite boxers) was Sugar Ray Leonard.

Unfortunately, I missed the first 15 minutes of Leonard’s presentation, “The Power to Win.” But I was glad I saw the last part of it. He showed clips from his various fights and talked about his various opponents–all in the context of what it takes to win. Leonard’s advice about how to win? Believe in yourself. Control your composure. Listen to others more than you speak because that’s how you win. He said not to have fear of failure, but instead have a fear of doing nothing.

“Risk is a part of success,” he said.

I then attended Vice Admiral Richard Carmon’s presentation, “Where Do We Go From Here to Create a Healthy Nation?” The 17th surgeon general of the United States gave a riveting account of his life as a child. Amazingly, he was a high school dropout. His parents had “substance issues” and the family was homeless for awhile. Despite his parents being unemployed often, his mother did not believe in welfare; therefore, the family was without medical care for much of his life. This was something that stuck with him for the rest of his life.

Carmona turned around his life by joining the military, where he learned drive and discipline. Eventually, he earned his GED and a medical degree.

Working in a trauma unit, he noticed that the majority of people he worked on were there with injuries that could have been prevented–either stab wounds or health issues related to their sedentary lifetyles.

“We were saving them from themselves,” he said.

That’s when he started pushing for preventive measures–some way to stop managing disease and instead prevent it. It’s a cause that he still pushes today. In fact, he urged the audience of fitness professionals, who he said at 30,000 clubs strong could make a difference on the preventive side, to join their voices and be a force to prevent the obesity epidemic from worsening.

“If you can band together as one and come to the Hill, you can make a difference,” he told the audience. “What you do everyday makes a difference.”

Maybe as a group without fear, this industry really could have the power to help the nation win its battle with obesity and stop its self-destructive path. - Pam

Welcome to San Francisco, the former home of plastic bags. The big story here, outside of the IHRSA Conference, is that the City by the Bay is doing away with plastic bags in most grocery stores and drug stores. It’s the first city in North America to take this big a leap in protecting the environment. Way to go, San Fran!

A note on Jenn Shaver’s first blog when we arrived here: I have a couple of other movie references to add to our adventures in cab flying Wednesday. Jenn mentioned “Speed 3″, but had we gone up and down those famous hills of San Francisco in that cab, we could have easily been in “What’s Up, Doc?” or “Foul Play”.

Speaking of movies, the real highlight of the day for me came when Jenn, Pam Kufahl and I heard Frank Abagnale speak. He was the guy who was the subject of the film “Catch Me If You Can” with Leo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks. A former check forger and imposter, Abagnale eventually became a multi-millionaire as a legal fraud detection consultant.

It’s not often that you feel compelled to give a standing ovation to an ex-convict, but this guy deserved it. He was clearly one of the best public speakers I’ve ever heard. He never once paused or stammered; his fast-paced delivery kept you on the edge of your seat. And his message about the importance of family and fatherhood was inspiring.

On Wednesday night, we went to a gathering for Les Mills International, a licensed group exercise program company. The founder is not some guy named Les Mills — as I had thought — but rather Phillip Mills, whom we met at the reception. Mills, a native of New Zealand, attracted a gathering of his company’s people from all over the world here at the conference. Keeping with the movie theme, we got to talking about how everybody thinks of “Lord of the Rings” when they think of New Zealand. We told him we’re from Kansas and chimed in with “The Wizard of Oz” references. I’m never felt so Kansan in all my life.

Later, we hit IHRSA’s opening reception at the Marriott. The smoked chicken ravioli was d-lish, but it left you thirsty. The band was good, too — and loud. One of the members had a hairdo that was a cross between James Brown and Sanjaya from American Idol.

The cameras spotted a few of the attendees dancing the night away with the band, and they were shown on the giant projection screens in the room. If you didn’t want to end up on the screen, then you didn’t dance. It was that simple.

On Thursday morning, I’m going back to the Marriott to hear a speech by Michael Eisner, the former head of Disney. I wonder if he’ll discuss how Mickey Mouse fares on an elliptical. –Stuart

Trade shows are always a busy few days of meetings, seminars, exhibitor visits and more that tend to blur together after awhile. I always feel as if I’ve been in a whirlwind after even just one day at a trade show. Well, I guess it’s only appropriate that on Tuesday, the day that I arrived in San Francisco for the IHRSA show, the city greeted me with a blustery wind that my cabbie assured me was unusual for the city.

I spent my first afternoon here with a quick visit to the Pacific Athletic Club in Redwood City, CA (one of the Western Athletic Clubs). A few weeks ago, I interviewed Jim Gerber Sr., owner of Western Athletic Clubs, for an Executive Insights that will appear in our April issue. I was lucky enough on Tuesday afternoon to tour the Pacific Athletic Club with Jim Gerber Jr., who works at that facility. The facility was impressive from the stone-floored lobby with a nearby restaurant and cafe to the four pools, tennis courts, spin room, aerobics room, mind/body studio, child care area and Kids Club area, stretching room and cardio and strength areas. I saw many mothers with children in strollers at 3 pm at the club. It’s a very family-oriented club and a model of many of WAC’s new facilities.

It was a great way to start my first day in San Francisco, which is one of my favorite cities in the country to visit–even with the windy greeting!-Pam

Well, Stuart and I have safely arrived in San Francisco despite, I think it’s fair to say, a terrifying cab ride from the airport to our hotel downtown. I know cab drivers never have the best reputation for being “safe,” but this guy seemed as though he was auditioning for Speed 3: License to Die. Also, the motto on the back of his baseball cap (which I tried focusing on to not get sick from the San Fran landscape blurring by us at light speed) did nothing to ensure that we were in safe hands. It read, “I’m feeling lucky.” Thankfully Stuart and I were lucky enough to arrive at our hotel in one piece.

After checking in, we hit the streets and managed to find the Moscone Convention Center despite our mutual and self-admitted lack of a sense of direction. There we met up with Pam and Gregory Florez, our monthly Focus on Technology columnist, and his wife. Greg had just finished leading a session on wellness and was very impressed with the crowd’s well-informed questions. After discussing technology and it’s relationship with wellness we all parted ways, happy to have spent some time together in person and not just on the phone. We really are pretty lucky to be here. –Jennipher

So the staff of Club Industry‘s Fitness Business Pro is off for yet another road trip. This time we‘re all leaving on a jet plane (although we know when we‘ll be back again) for the city of sourdough, twisty roads and cable cars, not to mention the Golden Gate Bridge and, for this entire week, enough fitness professionals to run a small (albeit, very fit) city.

In case you can‘t attend this year‘s IHRSA show, we‘ll cover all the major happenings on this blog including seminars, keynotes, receptions, new product announcements, the trade show floor and any other fun things that happen along the way.

Today though, Stuart and I are working diligently on the April issue and getting things as ready as possible for our issue deadline next week. Once we get back from the show we have two full days to get everything to the printer. It‘ll be a push, but we‘ll get it done! (We‘ve also allocated some room in the issue to cover the happenings at the show, keeping the mag as current as possible.)

So, keep checking the blog often! We all plan on blogging at least once a day. Ta ta for now - “see” you in San Fran! -Jennipher

I appreciate that my boss, Pam Kufahl, tried to make me look good while I was out of the office for a couple of days battling the stomach flu. Pam said that I was still calling and e-mailing contacts by my computer at home.

Truth be told, I did a little e-mailing and made a couple of calls. But this illness knocked me down like no other in recent memory. I‘ve trudged through head colds and sore throats before, but the stomach flu is one body blow from which you just can‘t recover quickly enough.

The good thing is I lost a few pounds, which gave me an idea on a new weight-loss plan. Call it “The Stu Flu.” Follow these five easy steps: 1. Get violently ill. 2. Eat only crackers. 3. Drink plenty of Sprite/7-Up. 4. Don‘t move a whole lot. 5. Repeat.

For other recommendations, consult your physician. - Stuart

So, what do you think is going to happen with Bally? As we reported last week, Bally didn’t have a whole lot of good news when it held its conference call with analysts last week. Management at the public company, which has been staving off bankruptcy and searching for a buyer for about two years now, basically threw up their hands in the call and said they weren’t sure what they had (as far as membership numbers go) or whether they would be able to continue without filing for reorganization. Of course, many in the industry suspected this early on, but then, people I spoke to were suggesting that with former CEO Paul Toback gone and new board members on board, the company might pull a turnaround without a bankruptcy filing. It still could happen, but for Bally interim Chairman Don Kornstein to admit that bankruptcy might be a possibility says to me that it’s a probability.

The company hasn’t turned a profit since 2001, and it missed the deadline to file its 2006 annual report with the Securities and Exchange Commission last week partially due to errors the company found in its membership numbers. Kornstein said he expects membership revenue would be down 3 percent (about $25 million less than 2005). Bally needs some understanding from its creditors, and I don’t know that its creditors have any “understanding” left.

However, a reorganization might not be a bad thing for the company. If done properly, it could pull this once powerful player back into prime position once again.

To deal with current woes, Bally CEO Barry Elson said that the company would layoff some employees, renegotiate rents and close underperforming clubs.

Our managing editor, Stuart Goldman, is working on this story for the April issue–even fighting through the flu to continue reporting on this subject (sitting at his home computer with a hot cup of liquid by his side as he makes phone calls and e-mails contacts).

Feel free to comment on your thoughts about Bally and its possible bankruptcy by clicking on the comment button below. - Pam

I’m all for freedom of speech. In fact, I think that’s one of the main reasons for the press. Whether or not blogs are actually the press is questionable, but blogs do make it easy for everyone to express their opinions.

On the one hand, I applaud that. On the other hand, it can sometimes make me cringe. You see, I went to journalism school where I was taught that you can’t personally attack people with the words like “side-show carnies” and you must have verification for any claims that you make against others.

We’ve had some strong comments posted recently about the blog I wrote about Manny Butera and his company’s bankruptcy. I plan to check out the claims made in these comments. I will let you know whether or not they prove valid.

However, for now, I ask that in the future, comments on this blog be made in a professional manner. If you don’t want to put your name on something, perhaps you should reconsider what you are submitting to be read by the fitness world.

I suggest that e-mails alleging illegalities be submitted directly to the editors rather than left anonymously online. It will take us time to check out the details, but I promise that we will do so. -Pam