INTERVIEW
McPhail (above) introduced anti-gravity equipment (right) to help attract larger individuals to engage in ºexercise
operator in the country, whether public or private sector. The model can also be made to work using sport. Life Leisure itself is now looking to
mirror the success of actiLife in a new pilot, actiSport, which takes the same walking-based approach but as a re-entry point into sport rather than gym-based activity. Supported with new funding from Sport England, it’s currently also offered through Avondale, which has introduced sessions such as walking football as a way to bridge the gap between inactivity and full-blown sport for sedentary people. “One of the things that came through
the consultations we did with individuals through actiLife was that sport was at the heart of what they wanted to do," says McPhail. "Sport and recreation has lost a lot of ground to health and fitness, a lot of people who were playing five-a-side and badminton have come round to the thinking that there is greater benefits by using their energy in health and fitness. So the health and fitness market to a certain extent has gained at the expense of the sport and recreation market.” Going forward, the aim is for the full
package – the actiLife and actiSport programmes, new software being developed to support them, and advice on the physical offering – to be made available to other Life Leisure sites, as well as to new contracts beyond Stockport. The decision is yet to be made if this will be offered on a franchise basis or as a commissionable package.
PERSONAL JOURNEY Besides the commercial rationale, McPhail also has a very personal reason for
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Sport and recreation has lost a lot of ground to health and fitness, so the fitness market has gained at the expense of sport. The actiSport programme will redress this balance
broadening the reach of his centres. He may now be a CEO who has successfully grown his business from a turnover of £3.5m when he joined in 2007 to £11.5m in 2013, but his childhood was a tough one. “I came from a single parent family, I
spent some time in care, my father was an alcoholic, I used to stand in free school meal queues being identified as poor and different from everyone else. "When I questioned this, I was always told ‘that’s just the way it is’, and I developed a hatred for that statement even as a child. Even today, it drives me to challenge tradition and conventionalism. For me, ‘that’s the way it is’ isn’t acceptable as an answer to anything. Fortunately for me, I was also a reasonable athlete: I was British Counties Champion and held numerous Scottish titles at
400m and the 400m hurdles. Sport gave me the discipline and focus to be able to make my life what I wanted it to be. “So now I’m in a position where I can
make a difference, although it sounds a cliché, that’s what I want to do. I don’t want to just provide sport and fitness only for the people who can afford it. I also want to give opportunities to people like myself. “In any case, at some point everybody
in the sector has to get sick and tired of fighting over the same people – the same 13 per cent. In a way I’m now glad the budget operators came along and forced us to rethink our model, because they can have the fit, healthy 16- to 25-year-olds. Their arrival has forced me into making steps to go after the other percentage of the population, the silent majority, and I’m over the moon about it.” l
sportsmanagement.co.uk issue 3 2014 © Cybertrek 2014
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