HALO Talks

Sal has been in the industry since 1979, first as a club owner and then in 1984 when he moved to selling equipment. "You have to put yourself in the position of the customer . . . you have to see what's happening in the field and need boots on the ground. You need to see what customers are doing!" he states. He recently returned from his first 6 day road trip post-COVID and brings good news! He gives his take on the current "temperature" of the industry, some positives that have resulted from the pandemic (adaptation to tech/virtual), and reports on trends emerging inside the clubs. In a notable positive development, many of his customers are raising their prices as "the race to the bottom doesn't do anybody any good." He chats about his excitement around the sale of Precor to Peloton, opines on where the industry is heading, and more! This timely, bullish podcast from an industry veteran is a must listen--especially now as things continue to open up! Click here to view transcript. 

A former investment banker for almost 24 years with entrepreneurship in his DNA, Todd is the CEO of Title Boxing Club and Co-Founder of Box Union. He chats with Pete about his experiences going from banking into the entrepreneurial world of building a brick and mortar business from the ground up. On the parallels (and differences) between the two, he jokes, "Investment banking is an unbelievable training ground . . . we're not going deal to deal, but rather within the company, topic to topic so it's kind of similar. It works well with my A.D.D!" For anyone considering buying into a franchise, this episode in particular provides some fantastic takeaways and questions to ask. Click here to view transcript. 

"We're going into these deals with the intent of partnering with Founders, that they're going to continue to be involved, and the last thing we want or need is for them to be surprised or disappointed with something along the way," states Rob Fioretti, Managing Director of Palladin Consumer Retail Partners. Rob has been in the private equity space for more than 25 years and in this chat with Pete, he provides extremely valuable information on what Palladin looks for in companies as well as the benefits of partnering with institutional partners versus using personal capital. He and Pete shed important light on the "business" of raising capital, why a firm may say no, some "behind the scenes" thoughts on valuations, what questions to ask before deciding to partner with a venture capital or private equity firm, the return of the studio model, and more! Click here to view transcript.

"We do not have any tech available that's better than our ears and our mouths . . . we've spent 300,000 years becoming the best communicators this planet has ever seen using our voices and our ears," states Celeste Headlee, a journalist for over 20 years, author and TED Talk speaker whose video hit over 24 million views. "Email is not faster, is more prone to miscommunication, and makes people more prone to irritation . . . all of the assumptions we make to avoid actual conversations are just flat out wrong," she continues. Learn more about why it's not wise to just "trust your gut," the most effective ways to get members back after the pandemic, thoughts on Town Halls, surveys, the one unique phrase everyone from every culture responds to, how to become a more caring organization, examples of brands that were "rehabilitated," and more! This is a must listen to anyone in the HALO sector, especially now as it continues to open back up. Click here to view transcript.

Eleiko is a Swedish based, 60+ year, family owned, seminal brand in the HALO sector founded in 1920's which has a massive following among strength athletes globally. "Quality has always been at the core of what we do," states Erik Blomberg, CEO. "We want to bring design into strength equipment, an area that's been lacking for many years . . . We're looking to create the ultimate lifting experience for people that feels as if it's part of your body." Pete chats with brothers Erik and Rickard on the increased use of technology for retail purchases (in-club and corporate wellness) forthcoming products, processes behind the development and rollout of new products ("speed is fun!"), where to allocate dollars inside a company, and more. 

Praveen Kashyap is the CEO of Smart Health Clubs and a self- professed, "Born inventor, engineer, and now entrepreneur!" He came to the USA in 1987, did his Ph.D in Computer Science, and among his many other achievements, led the Samsung digital R&D group for the very first smart TV. He partnered with Mike Alpert, COO, and a 20+ year industry veteran. "We took the vision Mike had of single platform that does everything and would be member facing . . . and that's what we built." They chat about the response of the industry when promised an "all in one" solution, how they were able to grow their customer base in the middle of COVID (30 locations to over 100, increased customer acquisition 19%, and revenue growth 34%.), how to prioritize updates to a SaaS product while balancing consumer demand, and more.

"Exercising at home is unstructured. As great as it is . . . there's nothing more beneficial than being in a gym with a good personal trainer . . . clarifying that what you've read online is what you should (or shouldn't!) be doing . . . I don't buy into the idea that gyms and health clubs are dead," says Dr. Reardon, Founder of FitnessGenes and long time fan of the industry. In this provocative, wide-ranging chat with Pete, they discuss his experience on the front lines battling COVID, the need for an aggressive, new global focus on how people take care of themselves, the dangers of over pathologizing "medical conditions," the importance of building resilience, the dangers of loneliness, vaccines and the critical need to "lose the conspiracies" around them and more!

"bodyART comes from an understanding of Western science as well as Eastern philosophy to 'help bridge the gap' in movement," states former professional dancer and bodyART Training Studios Director and Owner, Ryan Beck. Ryan appeared often on stage, TV, and movies and eventually, dancing took its toll. He found his way to bodyART and was instrumental in establishing a variety of collaborations with medical institutions with this very powerful, and unique modality which has a strong following worldwide. He and Pete discuss the rise of virtual/digital fitness ( "The virtual space can serve as wonderful supplemental content"),  the synergistic and inextricable links between the performing arts and the fitness industry, his experiences with early stage investors, and more! 

"We've seen an incredible amount of growth in the HALO (Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoor) sector for the past 10-15 years. I love the space, the industry, and its passion and energy!" states Barry Herbst from The Elliott Group  where he's been for 5 years. Founded 38 years ago (and now with 18 search consultants and 20 analysts!) Pete and Barry chat about job hunting, the benefits of using a recruiting firm, why private equity groups depend on the Elliott Group for C-suite hires, the critical importance of patience when searching for the right candidates, pointers on job hunting post-COVID for executives who may have been furloughed, and more!

A former Wall Street executive, Rick caught the entrepreneur bug and for the past 10 years has been running Wash Club, now in 75 cities and 4 countries. "COVID took a bite out of us, but on the upside we're definitely starting to see things trickle back in to place." Rick and Pete chat about the the pros and cons of providing towels internally versus externally. ("Stick to what you're good at and what your Mission is! -Pete) Rick brings up some anecdotal experiences of what happens if you take away towel service (don't do it!), the advantages of using RFID technology, ("If you're a good operator, you should already be using technology as your friend!") and more. This is a must-listen for any club operator. 

Live Oak is a niche lender in 30 different industries. "We're niche lenders within a niche space. . . focusing more on tried and true, well rounded fitness concepts and established, multi-unit borrowers and providing them with a debt platform to allow them to grow," states Aaron DiGregorio who focuses on the HALO sector. Learn more about tranche financing, leverage ratios ("we don't like to go beyond 4x") and how its changed during COVID,  his thoughts on boutiques versus the larger facilities, how they think about debt and asset value, how a PPP loan ranks in the capital stack, financing criteria, and more!

Jim was a former "rainmaker" and partner at three different investment banks on Wall Street for most of his adult life. He's written 7 different books, has a documentary about fitness and aging well on PBS, and recently turned 80. He says he's now in the "inspiration business" after being, for years, a "certified couch potato!" The Wall Street Journal named his book Just Move, one of the 5 best books of 2017. He chats with Pete about how he completely turned his life around (at 70!) with fitness, provides valuable, actionable takeaways for gym owners on how to market to an older demographic, and more. This is a must listen for any professional in the HALO sector AND their members or clients. Please share and help us pass along his incredibly motivational message and story!

"The cool thing about dance as fitness is that you don't necessarily have to focus on what you look like doing it. . .you're just focusing on movement and the well-being of your body without having to worry as much about performing," states Andrea Fornarola, Founder of Elements Fitness Studio. Andrea was always a professional dancer, and she got her start on the fitness side at the well-known Physique 57 in their early days around 2005. She and Pete chat about the proliferation of dance-based exercise, thoughts on the pandemic and how group fitness will shift ("more appointment based, less drop-in model") the rise of the virtual studio model, her plans as things start to open back up, and more! 

When asked about how the industry has been responding since COVID, Eddie Tock, CEO of REX Roundtables states, "I think it's great to see the industry coming together in a stronger way. I still think we have a long way to go outside of the traditional for-profit clubs to really make an impact on the national and state levels with the media, and with state legislations that are out there." He and Pete chat about how the industry will evolve, "how to partner with different aspects of the industry to deliver the best for our consumers, our market, and our future consumers," the three different types of business owners, the critical importance of listening to the customers (now more than ever!) and more.

"I'm a lifer!" states Frank Ancharski, industry veteran and owner of Club Coach Services. "I've been in it since leg warmers were around, The Step® was just coming out, StairMaster wasn't a reality yet, and there was the duo-chest from Nautilus," he jokes. Frank is bullish on an "epic comeback" and in this chat with Pete, they discuss the reopening of the industry and how to manage it, customer service ("You shrink your market more by the way you treat someone on the way out, then you do based on more competition."), pricing discussions, and more. 

Matt Richter is President of the Thiagi group and, in his second appearance on HALO Talks (first one here,) he and Pete continue their in depth conversation on learning, development, and training. With regards to COVID, Matt states, "We were able to share, and demonstrate that live online learning can be as effective as in person . . . If things are done and designed well, you get the same level of effectiveness, if not a bit better." They go on to discuss how this can benefit the HALO sector with the rise of "hybridization," some of the myths around online learning ("people don't focus as well,") and much more.

A long time industry veteran, Glenn states, "Neighborhood Trainers was meant to be kind of a combination of a dating site and real estate listings as a way to help people find the right trainer." He got the inspiration (a while back) when people were still posting flyers on bulletin boards. (They're still out there and they still work!) Pete and Glenn chat about how trainers were forced to evolve during COVID, how they moved from ZOOM to parks, the always-ongoing discussions on "who owns the member," thoughts on where personal training is going post COVID, and more. 

"For every W2 employee you have, you could be eligible for up to $5,000 per employee depending on your particular fact pattern. This is not a loan. You don't have to pay it back. It's not income tax. It's a payroll tax credit. It's above the line," states Adam Taplinger from Tax Credit Co. Adam and Pete chat about the critical Employee Retention Credit (that you need to know about!) how to use it, how it's different from the PPP, the two paths to eligibility for the ERC, and more. Adam is a former investment banker with deep experience in the space, and Tax Credit Co is a highly respected firm with over 25 years experience and 200 employees. They are responsible for helping get hundreds of millions of dollars for eligible businesses. This is a timely, critical "must listen" for any employer in the HALO sector. 

"The problem that trainers are looking to solve is finding and keeping new clients. For clients? They don't need another tool to find new content. They want the 'answer.' Jijo is a match.com for clients, and a Shopify on steroids for trainers," states Charles Friedberg, Founder & CEO. Charles has 25 years in financial services and as a (former) 'outsider' looking in to the HALO sector, he found a need that simply wasn't being addressed. He continues, "The problem isn't trainers not knowing how to post stuff on the Internet. It's how do they attract and keep clients? It's improving the LTV of the client, while simultaneously lowering the cost of acquisition." Charles and Pete chat about the digital landscape, the relationships between brands and the trainers, and more.

"The pandemic either will make you stronger, or will force you to get out of the way for new technology and new ideas. But I think a lot has been the same. Connecting with members in a deeper way is a big part of this. . . A huge portion of the value of a membership is the social experience. I can't see that ever really changing," states long time industry veteran, Rich Novelli. Pete and Rich touch on the many differences between High Volume Low Price (HVLP) business models versus a premium brand like Highpoint Sports and Wellness, and the effect COVID has had on both. As an example, Novelli continues, "A lot of our members continued to pay their dues. If you can't go to bat for people like that, what are you going to do?" It's about having a relationship with a 'human' versus having one with their credit card!