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INTERVIEW


Downsize Fitness focuses on creating a community of like-minded people who support and train with each other


I wish more mainstream facilities would focus on sensible eating – getting away from supplements and just teaching people to eat clean and whole


overweight, for example. They have to be able to understand where our members are coming from. Our trainers have to be certifi ed through a national accredited association, but once that box is ticked it’s the least important thing – it’s about understanding the members’ mindset. “Importantly though, that doesn’t


mean we’re a pushover. It can be a double-edged sword for members, because they can’t look at the trainer and say ‘I can’t do this, you don’t know what it’s like for me to try and do this push-up’ – because we do know. So while we have empathy because we’ve all been there, it’s not a ‘get out of jail free’ card for members. In fact, it allows us to be a little tougher, to push members a little harder. In a sense we’ve earned the right to hold them accountable.” That accountability extends to


attendance too: “If you don’t turn up to a class you’ve booked into, we’ll call you. We’ll check fi rst of all that you’re OK, but if you are then we’ll discuss the reasons for your non-attendance. “For those who fi nd it hard to get to


all their sessions, we do offer Downsize at Home – live classes streamed into your home. That’s available both as a complement to club visits and as a


standalone membership for those who don’t have a local Downsize club. We still call people if they don’t turn up to online classes – they’re still held to account in that respect. But I don’t even mention Downsize at Home if people live near one of our clubs, as nothing takes the place of walking into a facility and having those personal, one-on-one interactions. “Once you get that group camaraderie


going, that’s what keeps you coming back. Members have each others’ phone numbers and they text each other, decide what time they want to come to class, and they come as a group.”


Expansion plans So could mainstream health clubs apply this same framework and cater for the obese market? “Maybe, and there are some smaller chains trying, but it will only work if operators’ mindset changes. It can’t just be about revenue and getting as many members to sign up as possible. You have to actually care about getting members healthy – and healthy enough whereby they might eventually leave. “Because although we love our


members to stay with us when they hit their goals, if they walk out of the door 150lbs lighter, infinitely healthier and


48 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital


with smiles on their faces, we’re happy. We did our job. We saved a life. And we now have a spot for another person. “There’s always going to be a segment


of the population that feels insecure about walking into a gym facility because of their size, and I don’t think the mainstream clubs will ever get around that, but if they can change their mindset it will be a great start. I also wish more mainstream facilities would focus on sensible eating, nutrition, the importance of food diaries – getting away from supplements and just teaching people to eat clean and whole.” In the meantime, Downsize has its own


plans to reach more of the people who would benefi t from its services. “Our goal is to have 20–25 franchises by the end of 2015. We think that’s aggressive but not too aggressive. Those sites will be in the US and Canada, but we’d love to launch in the UK too, and in fact we have interest being shown around the world – Qatar, Australia, Europe… “Long term, it would be great to have


thousands of locations, because we could reach so many more people. We’d need the right, genuinely passionate franchisees on board, but if we can do that I’d say the sky’s the limit.” ●


January 2015 © Cybertrek 2015


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