| Editor’s Welcome |


“Let me entertain you, Let me make you smile… Let me do a few tricks, Some old and then some new tricks; I’m very versatile; And if you’re real good, I’ll make you feel good, I want your spirit to climb; So let me entertain you, We’ll have a real good time, Yes sir! We’ll have… A real good time!”


Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics from the musical Gypsy not only


serve as an appropriate prelude to this issue of CBI, but also remind of a critical business axiom: People want to be entertained. The members of IHRSA clubs obviously have long lists of prag-


matic expectations—they want to exercise in a safe, professional environment; they want to get results; they want to enjoy improved health and fitness. But they also—whether they acknowledge it or not—want to be entertained. And how well they’re entertained will determine, in part, their


club experience, personal results, and lifelong benefits, as well as how long they remain members. Industry newcomer Madonna, who’s featured on our cover,


certainly understands the value of entertainment and has capitalized on it in virtually every media, venue, and role imag- inable—as pop icon, recording executive, actress, film director and producer, fashion designer, and children’s book author. Now, Madonna, long known for her commit-


ment to fitness, has channeled her passion into yet another professional endeavor. Working with New Evolution Ventures (NeV), the private-equity firm based in Lafayette, California, she’s created a new club brand, Hard Candy Fitness, that’s designed to reflect her enthusiasm, energy, style, and artistic flair. “I’m involved in all of the creative details,” she told Contributing Editor Jon Feld.


The first Hard Candy facility opened in Mexico City in November,


and the second is scheduled to open in Moscow in mid-March. Industry veteran Phillip Mills, the chief executive of Les Mills


International (LMI), the Auckland, New Zealand-based producer of a wide range of prechoreographed group-exercise programs, also understands the value that music, dance, drama, and theatrical staging can confer on fitness activities. LMI’s classes are currently offered in some 13,000 clubs in more than 80 countries, and, in October, the company introduced a new high-energy dance routine, SH’BAM, that evokes an electric, nightclub-like atmosphere. But, like Madonna and other artists/entrepreneurs, Mills is


constantly on the lookout for the unique concept, the innovative idea, that will improve on what’s come before. At the moment, he’s conducting the Ultimate Studio Search, a competition to identify the best group-exercise studios in the world so he can share their best practices with the entire industry. (See “First Person,” pg. 31.) Some of the finalists will be profiled in the May issue of CBI, and the winners will be announced in June. Mills, Madonna, and others like them allow us—oblige us—to


reexamine all that we do with fresh eyes. —| – Craig R. Waters, c.waters@fit-etc.com


4 Club Business Internat ional | FEBRUARY 2011 | www. ihrsa.org


The mission of IHRSA is to grow, protect, and promote the industry, and to provide its members with benefits that will help them be more successful.


PUBLISHING Editor-In-Chief: Craig R. Waters Publisher: Jay M. Ablondi Managing Editor: Rebecca K. Maverick Editor: Jennifer H. McInerney Associate Editor: Patricia Glynn Associate Editor: Mia Coen


Contributing Editors: Dawn Allcot, Patricia Amend, Phoebe Anderson, Jon Feld, Julie M. King, Catherine Larner, Lesley Mahoney, Jean Suffin, Stephen Wallenfels, Kristen A. Walsh


ADVERTISING, www.cbimediakit.com


Vice President of Advertising & Membership Sales: Michele Eynon


Senior Account Manager: Jessica Gutstein


Advertising Sales Executive: Donna Garrity


Business Development Publications: Will Finn


Publications & Associate Coordinator: Meghan Burnham


Art Direction, Design, Production: Holland-Mark, Boston, MA


INTERNATIONAL HEALTH, RACQUET & SPORTSCLUB ASSOCIATION President & CEO: Joe Moore Chief Operating Officer: Anita Lawlor


Executive Vice President of Public Policy: Helen Durkin


Executive Vice President of Global Products: Jay Ablondi


CLUB BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL EDITORIAL & ADVERTISING OFFICES:


c/o IHRSA Seaport Center 70 Fargo Street, Boston, MA 02210 USA


800-228-4772 USA & Canada 617-951-0055 | 617-951-0056 FAX


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Club Business International (ISSN 1043-9692, USPS 766-570) is published monthly ©2011 by the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, Seaport Center 70 Fargo Street, Boston, MA 02210. All rights reserved. Periodicals postage paid at Boston, Massachusetts, and additional mailing offices. Canadian Sales Agreement #40767601.


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VOLUME 31, ISSUE 2


Kerry Brett


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