HEALTH & FITNESS ‘Anti-fitness’ campaign goes viral


A Youtube campaign highlighting the grim reality of inactivity has been launched to coincide with National Obesity Awareness Week. Lesley Miller – the fictional


crisp-chomping poster boy of inac- tivity – is the star of the short film. He urges a group of ailing onlook- ers to reject the fitness ‘myth’ and join his ‘herd’ of sofa slobs. “My name’s Lesley Miller, and I


haven’t been to a gym for five years,” he proudly tells his audience in a dark and dilapidated village hall. “I have chosen to enjoy, not ener-


Lesley Miller takes to the stage in his new anti-fitness video


gise. To wallow in the easy, rather than strive for so-called self improvement.” Te evocative video, which garnered 80,000


views in less than a week, has been produced by Les Mills as part of an innovative cam- paign to get Britons moving. At the end of the video, users are given two options to click on: ‘Choose the right to be active,’ which leads to a Les Mills promo video; or ‘Choose the right to do nothing,’ which leads to a clip of Lesley watching TV and eating junk food. Results from a recent Les Mills survey found


a fiſth of UK adults stated they rarely exercised, while eight per cent said they never exercised


at all. Lack of motivation and intimidation of the gym environment were the main reasons people gave for choosing inactivity, prompt- ing Les Mills to highlight the consequences. “Traditional marketing approaches promot-


ing a healthy lifestyle, such as archetypal gym videos and workout DVDs have failed to extin- guish the apathy of the masses. So we decided to change tact to get Britain moving,” said Les Mills UK head trainer Dave Kyle. “If we need to use shock tactics to make


people in Britain wake up, then we will.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=r6Z3V


65 per cent turn to food for comfort aſter abuse Next two years ‘crucial’ for low cost gyms


Competition in the low cost sector of the gym market will intensify over the next two years as operators grapple to sustain finite growth levels, predicts Jacques de Bruin, COO at Pure Gym. Speaking to Leisure Opportunities,


de Bruin pinpointed how lower financial outputs and operat- ing costs have eased entry into the affordable gym market, which in turn has rapidly increased the number of operators within this sector – and consequently competition levels as well. However, he believes the budget


Revealed: The vicious cycle of weight discrimination


Insults from shop assistants, jibes from passers-by and abuse from teenagers are just some of the humiliations that are plunging overweight people further into ill health, research has found. A Slimming World survey of 2,573 slim-


mers revealed as many as 40 per cent face some form of judgment, criticism or humiliation at least once a week. Te study found this weight discrimina-


Jacques de Bruin believes London will be a key battleground


sector cannot sustain this level of operator growth long-term, and therefore the next 12 to 24 months will be critical, as the affordable sec- tor begins to consolidate. During this period, de Bruin believes the success of businesses within the affordable sector will be determined by two factors: differentiation through innova- tion; and the successful entry into new markets and locations, specifically London. Meanwhile, microgyms that identify and meet the changes in consumer demand and


© CYBERTREK 2015


tailor a business model to meet such niche requirements will succeed more readily, says de Bruin, as they will allow financially via- ble diversification into markets that currently have no affordable operator presence. He foresees the mid-level and high-end sec-


tors of the market remaining fairly consistent in their current growth levels, with the poten- tial for a slight decline in membership numbers as the budget operators continue to grow. Details: http://lei.sr?a=P2d3R


Twitter: @leisureopps


tion doesn’t serve as motivation for weight loss, but merely exacerbates the issue. Te discrimination prompted 65 per cent to turn to food for comfort, while only two per cent said it gave them a kick-start to make long-term health changes. Instead, the behaviour leſt 47 per cent of respondents feeling ashamed, 41 per cent depressed and 30 per cent feeling like they were useless. Te research could provide key insights


for the wellness industry, which is well- placed to harness its knowledge to promote weight loss through dietary and lifestyle programmes – particularly this month as people bid to make good on New Year’s Resolutions. Details: http://lei.sr?a=q3D2b


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital 5


Rochdale’s Link4Life trust appoints permanent CEO


Link4Life, the cultural trust operating leisure services for Rochdale Borough Council, has appointed Gillian Bishop as chief executive on a permanent basis. Bishop, who has served as interim chief


executive at Link4Life since September 2013, will take up her new position from 1 April. She has a strong local authority back- ground, having previously worked at Wigan Council, as well as holding senior positions with Allerdale and Rossendale councils. “I have a strong belief that the social


enterprise model is the way forward in ensuring a secure future for publicly owned leisure and cultural services,” said Bishop. Details: http://lei.sr?a=x7h2D


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