Across our industry space, we're well aware that new technologies including wearables, SaaS platforms, and connected fitness devices found across the world are collecting billions of data points. But the real question that is top of mind for operators, owners, and the industry as a whole, is what we do with all this data?
Specifically, how do we plug-in actionable coaching, marketing, and touch points to millions of health club members across the globe that will actually elicit sustainable behavior change?
This is one of my favorite episodes we've had on the podcast, and I know you're going to love the insight and expertise of today's guest Jan Middelkamp from Europe Active. If you've been curious or hungry for the information that's going to impact your fitness business from a virtual or face-to-face coaching standpoint, this is going to be a powerful episode for you because were diving into the topics and coaching models that will impact both your ROI and club operations.
Jan Middelkamp is Development Director at HDD Group and the CEO of BlackBoxPublishers. With over 35 years of high level experience in the fitness industry, Jan is now working on a PhD in exercise behavior of members in fitness clubs at the Behavioral Science Institute of the Radboud University in the Netherlands.
He also is a board member of EuropeActive in Brussels and the author of over 10 books, including The state of research in the global fitness industry (2012); Member retention in fitness clubs (2013); EuropeActive retention reports (2013, 2014, and 2015); Essentials of motivation and behavior change (2015).
"Technology is great for measuring the base situation and in measuring a client's current status. However, I see a huge advantage of measuring something that is out of your sight as a coach. If you're a trainer working with the client a couple times a week and you also want to positively impact their other lifestyle factors, there are now many wearable technologies to monitor them which I strongly believe in." - Jan Middelkamp on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
"People are not only going to a gym, so if you are a health club owner or operator, we believe at Europe Active that the health club should be the hub of fitness technology. From there, you can coach people in different settings which becomes pivotal. If you only want to pull members into the club you are missing a big part of the health and fitness picture." - Jan Middelkamp on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
Bryan O’Rourke and his family of companies including Vedere Ventures, Integerus Advisors, and many more. If you are looking for unmatched guidance, capital, insights or a great speaker or facilitator, Bryan and his partners are the go to resource for your organization. To learn more visit bryankorourke.com
The Fitness Industry Technology Council, your non-profit resource for reliable technology information supported by forward looking brands who are seeking to drive increased technology adoption in the fitness industry. Make a difference and join FIT-C at fittechcouncil.org today
Check out Bryan and his partner Robert Dyer's recent book "9 Partnership Principles: A Story of Life Lessons" which is available now on Amazon.com
For the second half of our featured series "LIVE from IHRSA 2017," we're learning from two fitness technology professionals in different parts of our industry spectrum. In this doubleheader episode recorded live after the FIT-C roundtable session, we explore two important topics that make a direct impact to your fitness business.
First up is Geoffrey Little, President of GSL Consulting, to learn about the fast growing segments in both group and boutique fitness operations; specifically the opportunities for monetization and service in the youth market and sports performance.
Geoffrey worked at MINDBODY for 11 years, from early days through the 2015 IPO and is now a consultant to both vendors and operators in the fitness, wellness and education sectors and works with clients such as Virtuagym, who are exhibiting here at IHRSA.
Prior to MINDBODY, he worked in television documentary and media, covering naGo eight sorting out 50ture, science and technology, working with Time magazine, National Geographic, IMAX, and public TV.
"In the FIT-C Roundtable, I shared how I've been waiting for over a decade to see this growth. I've been anticipating some of the giants to come into the business, which is going to continue to grow in both the studio and boutique, and this has now picked up the attention of Google and other big players. They are going to make the ground shake." - Geoffrey Little on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
"The youth market is almost completely separate from the health club market, however, health clubs could benefit with younger children as members. When we look across the data, a youth market that's really booming and getting the investment money right now is sports performance." - Geoffrey Little on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
With the mass of technology solutions now available for clubs, what customized software solutions will really help fitness facilities maximize the use of applications and mobile in both new member integration and in providing unforgettable member experiences?
In supporting and servicing over 4000 facilities, Kalen Pino, the US Sales Manager of VirtuaGym, unpacks the common approaches, best practices, and experience from thousands of conversations with club owners about what’s really working from a technology perspective. He also shares how to create the right ecosystem that incorporates both a real benefit for the club while taking into account the functionality that the member actually wants.
"Business within the fitness space is and always has been all about the people. The secret sauce of an organization and what they've done in order to be successful must now understand what new technology can amplify where they have already done an incredible job." - Kalen Pino on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
"It all comes down to creating the right ecosystem. Whatever it is that you choose as your technology strategy, you must make sure that it's part of who you are as an organization and part of your DNA." - Kalen Pino on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
Bryan O’Rourke and his family of companies including Vedere Ventures, Integerus Advisors, and many more. If you are looking for unmatched guidance, capital, insights or a great speaker or facilitator, Bryan and his partners are the go to resource for your organization. To learn more visit bryankorourke.com
The Fitness Industry Technology Council, your non-profit resource for reliable technology information supported by forward looking brands who are seeking to drive increased technology adoption in the fitness industry. Make a difference and join FIT-C at fittechcouncil.org today
Check out Bryan and his partner Robert Dyer's recent book "9 Partnership Principles: A Story of Life Lessons" which is available now on Amazon.com
On episode 21 we're spotlighting a few exceptional conversations with some of the top influencers at the crossroads of fitness and technology, live after the FIT-C roundtable meeting during IHRSA 2017 in Los Angeles.
With the options and choices of club software systems on the rise, how do APIs and the ability for cross communication between platforms benefit the health club?
In this first segment, were talking with fitness technology expert, Karl Etzel, about APIs (application program interfaces) and how they can help in both monetization and in serving the customer. For health club executives and owners, API functionality is an important topic to consider when purchasing technology systems.
Karl Etzel is a Transformation Catalyst, Strategic Decision-Maker, and Technical Expert in fitness technology known for his entrepreneurial drive in developing vision and setting strategic direction in the face of fast-changing technology and market dynamics through effectively aligning products/channels/end-users. With a deep background in health and fitness, cloud services / PaaS, online marketing, and SMB enablement, Karl brings a strong professional expertise to the industry space around program management and product management roles.
Karl is talking with us on the show about API's, or application program interfaces. Simply put, an application programming interface allows software systems to talk to one another. When you as a human being sit down to use a piece of software you use a user interface (UI), and when one piece of software wants to use another piece of software, they use an (API).
"For the club operator, the question you want to ask is, does your solution vendor have an API that makes it easier for me to integrate my system with other solutions? If you are a technology company executive, you should be thinking about how APIs plug into your business at the strategy level. APIs are not just a technical detail that you can leave to engineering." - Karl Etzel on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
"APIs make it really easy to innovate and build things quickly. The old-school engineering model of software development is gone and agile development, two week release cycles, live beta testing and rapid iteration are now the norm. For the club owner, you don't necessarily want to share your data outward, but you do want to share it among your own systems until you get to a certain scale where population data could make things interesting. The real key with API integrations is to understand your segment in entirety and have a clear picture of what problem you're trying to solve." - Karl Etzel on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
In this featured segment we're talking with the Owner of GIVE Fitness in Atascadero, CA Josh Donovan about technology focused member sales and engagement approaches that are changing the way for-profit and nonprofit businesses interact in health and fitness.
Josh is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and 13-year fitness industry professional who years ago was looking for a way to use his experience and understanding of the fitness industry to “create a different type of fitness product” with a focus on using technology. After meeting Matt Holguin, the founder of Working to Give (WTG), a for-profit company with a singular purpose-driven business model, together, Donovan and Holguin created WTG’s Fitness Division and in 2013, launched GIVE Fitness.
With Working To Give, 50% of its profits are reinvested in the firm to sustain growth, and the other 50% is contributed to the local community. Since its opening, the GIVE Fitness club has acquired over 3,000 members and donated more than $50,000 to Atascadero-area initiatives. A member of the Fitness Industry Technology Council, Josh Donovan believes it’s important for the industry to integrate technology into the prospect and member experience to truly connect with consumers to understand them at their deepest needs and desires.
"The heart of our business at GIVE Fitness is giving. We give 50% of our profits back to the community where we do business, so in order for that to happen we have to be a profitable fitness center first. Hitting member expectations and exceeding them becomes paramount because that has to happen before we have any funds to give. The obesity epidemic is real and it's something that I'm really passionate about. This is why I want to provide an accessible fitness center for people to better their lives, add years to their lives, and truly participate." - Josh Donovan on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
"In using new technologies, we had the unique opportunity in starting from the ground up to be intentional around creating our culture and to have it be something very specific. We all live in a world that's real time, so if I post something on Facebook about the gym and then post something about my personal life, our members don't see any differentiation around that." - Josh Donovan on the Fitness + Technology Podcast
Bryan O’Rourke and his family of companies including Vedere Ventures, Integerus Advisors, and many more. If you are looking for unmatched guidance, capital, insights or a great speaker or facilitator, Bryan and his partners are the go to resource for your organization. To learn more visit bryankorourke.com
The Fitness Industry Technology Council, your non-profit resource for reliable technology information supported by forward looking brands who are seeking to drive increased technology adoption in the fitness industry. Make a difference and join FIT-C at fittechcouncil.org today
Check out Bryan and his partner Robert Dyer's recent book "9 Partnership Principles: A Story of Life Lessons" which is available now on Amazon.com
021 #IHRSA2017 LIVE: The Importance of APIs, Using Fitness Technology To Give