HALO Talks

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!

 "Brands are very powerful. It is the ultimate moat. When someone has built something that resonates with a lot of consumers and drives passion, that's when something is investible," states Jon Canarick. North Castle is one of the first, and most highly regarded private equity investors in the HALO sector. Pete and Jon discuss how North Castle evaluates a company, what they track, how to approach, criteria, why valuations these days tend to be very overblown, some fundamentals of finance, and more! This highly educational session is a must listen for entrepreneurs and business owners at all levels.

"I'm very bullish on the return to boutique and studio in-person fitness," states Jack Thomas, Founder & CEO of the high end chain BASE out of Bangkok, Thailand. This discussion touches on the state of COVID in Thailand and its affect on the industry. They also chat about the cultural differences around Asia's handling of the pandemic versus the US and UK, how BASE created and leveraged a unique technology for group fitness classes, some lessons learned while visiting boutique facilities in New York, investor sentiment in the HALO sector in Asia, and more! 

"Part of our Mission is to conduct an amazing, two way, connected, live stream workout with coaches that see and care about you. . . and two-way is the word I want to repeat! We're one of the leaders in it, and it's what the Peloton's of the world simply aren't doing," states CEO and serial entrepreneur Kyle Bergman. A former lacrosse college athlete who went on to play on the Israeli national team, Kyle got his retail background at Bloomingdales, coached for 4 years at Orange Theory and Flywheel and founded Sweat From Home due to COVID. This wide ranging chat touches on the critical importance of focusing on hiring the right people for word-of-mouth growth, the importance of using breakout rooms in ZOOM, dealing with competitors, and how Five Guys Burgers are critical to the fitness industry! (Not a typo!) Listen now to learn more.

When asked about the digital "hybridization" of the industry, long time industry veteran Bill McBride states, "It's going to be like a swimming pool. Not all your members are going to use it, but when you sell a membership, everyone wants it! So you must have a strong virtual, digital program available, now more so then ever." This wide ranging discussion touches on the effects the pandemic had in our sector, the stronger footing we must gain in Washington to effect real change, the need for licensure and standards, thoughts on the next few months as things continue to open up, and more!

"One thing campus recruiters, athletes, and professionals don't have a lot of is time," states The Athlete Book Founder, Ryan Drummond. In this update, Ryan takes us through their new point-based system focused around consuming content and creation of a leaderboard which puts coaches on the map of an athlete's career path and development. "Nobody wants to be on the bottom," he says. Among many other advantages, this also provides the employer the opportunity to tell the story of what they're looking for. It puts education about the company and culture ahead of the application links. Perhaps most exciting is their new, full integration with Remo's incredible event planning software which Integrity Square will be utilizing for an event, March 2021. 

On what ShapeLog can do for your club, Co-Founder & CEO Bryan O'Rear states, "Imagine user behavior is something that you know well in half of your facility, but that journey falls off very quickly as they traverse over into the strength and functional areas. There is now a chance for you to really understand that user behavior that otherwise was just dark. How do you plug yourself into their journey at the right time and make sure they're well aware of the complete offerings at your facility?"  ShapeLog brings a connectivity to the strength world which was previously unavailable--and that opens up an exciting new realm of possibilities. Listen now to learn more about this game-changing technology!

"There are some basic table stakes today with respect to how a member wants and expects to interact with their brand, so the days of having an app just to say you have an app. . .are over," states Bryan O'Rourke, Founder of Vedere Ventures and long time HALO sector veteran. Bryan began as a technologist in the food and beverage industry in the early 80's and entered this space in the mid 90's. This broad discussion touches on some highlights and insights gleaned over the past few months, discussion on valuations, why letting "sleeping members lie" is a horrible idea, the forthcoming push toward hybridization, and more!

Marcus Johnson is a modern Renaissance Man! He's an independent Billboard-ranked musician and NAACP Image Award-nominated jazz keyboardist and pianist. Also the CEO and Founder of FLO ("For The Love Of") Brands, and more recently FLO Wine, he states, "My life motto is DEEPER: "Dream, Engage, Environment. Plan. Execute. Reflect. Entrepreneurs are very good at execution, but bad at reflection because reflection calls for vulnerability." This wide ranging discussion touches on points business owners (of all sizes) will relate to. Topics like why you should "love fear" and what that means, growing a business, why it may be ok to make a graceful exit, why making a plan can sometimes be a double edged sword, and more are touched on.

"There is a need for personal, human connection that will never go away, no matter how good our garage gyms get, no matter how good the technology gets, people still want to work out together. If you've been in gyms recently as I have, the places are packed," states Hillis Lake of Eleiko. Hillis has been in the HALO sector since 1979 and started his career with Joe Cirulli. He discusses how free weights have done a complete full circle, shares his incredible come back story after being told he'd never walk again, how the industry will actually improve as a result of the pandemic, how continuing to sell price and discounting is extremely detrimental and what to do instead, and much more!