continued from page 14


group  tness with about 160 - 190 classes and thousands of participants per week. We also have a strong aquatic schedule. Then, in our  tness center, we attempt to do two things: (1) We keep up in having them properly out tted with equipment and (2) We now have a good-sized functional training area in each club so that we can do small group training. The key here is we always try to add all this into to our memberships without an added fee. We do a lot of small group training, which is included in the monthly membership fee, where I believe other clubs would charge for it. We run TRX training and functional training in groups of six to eight people. Classes are also done on the cardio equipment as we mark off  ve or six pieces of equipment for members to do a class. So, as people are coming in, our


effort is to tell them, ‘We have all the facilities, we have all the equipment, but our obligation is to get you to use it and get the most out of membership.’ We are always looking for ways to lead exercise with our staff, as well as keep people connected. These concepts are embedded in our marketing. We do a lot of social media. Our posts on Facebook, Twitter and other mediums encourage conversation around small group training or group  tness classes. Finally, I will say this about


competition. As much as I, like anyone, would prefer to not have competitors because it is easier to not have them around, they do make you sharper. There is nothing better than somebody new in town to make you look at yourself and make sure you are making good on your promises.


C.I. - What are some of Club Fit’s methods for interacting with the community? BB - Any group or organization in the community that asks us for a donation, we try to  nd some way to help their charitable


cause and get involved with them. Sometimes, it is as simple as handing them a gift card to raf e off. More often than not, though, we try to sponsor events and be at those events so we can be in front of people and talk about what we do. Also, we do a lot of fundraising


and events in the club. The most recent I can think of was a local school-aged girl with cancer who was looking to raise funds. So, we did some cycling classes for her where people would come in, ‘buy’ a bike and we would donate the space and instructors. Then, afterwards, we had a social event with the participants where they could get together and raise additional money. We have done a lot of that type of activity over the years.


C.I. - Who are your key staff members? What are their roles and tenures? BB - We have a staff of about 600 people at any given time during the year. About 120 - 130 of them are full-time. We’ve been in business for a long time, and our success is a re ection of the effort of many people over that time. I’d like to thank all the staff, past and present, who have worked with us for helping us change people’s lives for the better in the communities we serve. We really couldn’t have gotten where we are today without the hard work and dedication to helping people that we’ve consistently seen in the staff members we’ve been lucky to work with. I’d love to individually mention every person who has ever worked with us in this article, but there really are just too many people to thank.


C.I. - What are some of the opportunities and challenges you have experienced in 2016 so far? What do you expect as the year progresses? BB - The challenge for us right now is, as I was saying earlier, the competition we are facing has never been stronger. New sales are really the challenge we face right now. The proliferation of real price pressure on


our community has just emerged in the last four or  ve years. So, it’s really diluting the sales numbers we are seeing in the community; only so many members can be served. I think some of that will fall out over time, but the current challenge is to get through that. I believe boutique operators are having an impact on the marketplace. In our market, they are not the same as you are seeing in the bigger cities where they are on every street corner, but in aggregate, they are making our sales efforts a challenge. We believe our product has the best chance to help people in the long run, and we work hard to convey that message to the community.


As far as opportunities, the sky


is the limit. We are living in a time in which market penetration is increasing every year. But, at the same time, we hear in the news that our population has never been more out of shape and at risk. So, if you mash those two counter-points together, we have a lot of work to do, and we haven’t unlocked the genie in the bottle, so to speak. We have to do a better job of helping people be active for the rest of their lives. There is more to it though. There is an activity component, a sleep component, a nutrition/diet component, a work/life balance component, etc. We can help people with those things. If we, as a club, can  nd a way to help the whole person, I believe there is a lot of opportunity there. If we think broader than just  tness, there is a lot of good that can be done.


C.I. - Longer term, what is your vision for Club Fit in the next 3 - 5 years? BB - We are de nitely going to spend time on our internal product. We know we need to spend time learning better techniques to help people succeed at living a healthier life. And, getting back to an earlier comment, we have to help the whole person, so we are going to do that work. And, of course, we will do facility improvements. We will do locker room renovations, provide new  tness equipment and things like that. We


have also always talked about adding more water to our model, so having another pool or two is likely.


As far as adding new clubs, it’s


not that it won’t happen, but a new club for us is just not on the radar. Our plan does not call for us having to add another club tomorrow. We want to make sure the product we provide in the two clubs we have is as good as it can get.


C.I. - Which Roundtable Group are you a member of? When did you join it and what have been the bene ts to date? BB - I’m a big supporter of roundtables, and I am in Rex Roundtable #2. I started in roundtables about 15 years ago, and I have been in a few different ones over the years. I was invited by a friend, Herb Redl of All Sport Health and Fitness in Fishkill, New York, into the one he was in. There’s nothing better than having friends in the industry that you can call when something comes up. Additionally, as part of the roundtables, you know you are going to go out and view other clubs and businesses, so the roundtables have been a valuable developmental tool for our business and for me, personally.


C.I. - As a member of IHRSA, please tell us about the bene ts and value you have received from IHRSA membership over the years. BB - IHRSA, for us, has always been an organization we could call with any question we had. Whether it’s legal, operational, legislative or really anything club related, they could always provide an answer or connect us with the people who could provide that answer. It’s an important Association for anyone in our industry. I tell people all the time that I can’t understand why anyone in this industry would not want to support this organization. They do a tremendous amount of good things for the industry that many just don’t know about. The conventions and trade shows (See Club Fit Page 17)


Functional Training at Club Fit


Kid’s Energy Center at Club Fit


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32