HALO Talks

"We're a platform for a life well lived . . . being a big, multipurpose facility you're always trying to reinvent yourselves and stay relevant," states CEO Frank Lawrence of the Little Rock Athletic Club. With 25+ years in banking, and having entered the HALO sector 10 years ago, Frank knows the "realities" of running a club versus "just looking at spreadsheets." Here he talks about rebranding during COVID, the positives (and challenges!) of running a larger facility, what's been occurring with their membership base during these challenging times, and more! 

"You can't just plug someone in to a vacuum. You've got to think about how they fit into a bigger picture," states Pete Leibman, author of Work Stronger, and founder of his recently launched executive search firm specializing in the HALO sector, Stronger Talent. This wide ranging chat touches on the latest in executive search and how the profession has changed, the positives that carry over from athletics into the workplace, what Pete took away from his time at the NBA working with the Washington Wizards, the problems that result from a bad hire, and more!  

"Many entrepreneurs--especially returning entrepreneurs--want investors focused on what's best for the company, not what's best for the VC's portfolio . . .they don't want the goat rodeo, as I call it," states Geoff Schneider, Founder of Cava Capital. As an investor and operator for the past 30 years in the HALO sector, Geoff is also the Founder of Lymbr and investor in Fit Lab. Cava is currently raising a $40m pooled early stage capital fund. Pete and Geoff chat about the direction of fund, what they look for in new companies and entrepreneurs, why the typical VC "shoot the moon" strategy is problematic, different funding strategies in the VC world, and more. This is a must listen for any entrepreneur looking to learn more about early stage funding. 

"The first time I went to an Orange Theory, it was amazing! It was really inspiring!" says Mike Lewis. Mike and his son Jake own the Tuckahoe Area Developer license and are currently searching for their second location in Yonkers. With an impressive history of sports running through the Lewis family, Jake and his Dad discuss why they decided move forward with a smaller studio versus a big box facility, how Jake worked in two other OTF's prior to them opening their own studios (and the significant advantages that offered,) why OTF is such a great franchisee to consider, and much more!

After 20 years serving as a Fortune 500 executive in various public companies, Joe Burton founded Whil, the leading enterprise digital solution for training mindfulness, stress resilience, well being, sleep and performance. "I didn't build this company to flip it, I built it to help people . . . What if someone found out I was meditating? That wouldn't go down well with a Board back then!" he states. "Fast forward 10 years . . . mindfulness is now in the conversation." Whil has deals with CVS, Magellan Health, SABA, Cornerstone On Demand, Virgin Pulse, and many others. The importance of employee's physical and mental health is something all employers know is important, but many take far too long to do anything about. Listen now to learn more. 

Denise founded Muscle Mixes in 1988 and was selling cassettes back then. "We were pioneers because nobody was doing it legally at the time!" she jokes. This is an extremely timely discussion considering what's been going on with Peloton and as more fit pros use music for online workouts. It's critical to know what "royalty free music" is, how it's used, the differences in license types, the needed convergence of fitness and the music industry, what the easiest and most cost effective ways are to legally use music and more!  

"Most people back their way into the insurance business . . . but I got into it on purpose," jokes Lester Morales, Founder of Next Impact. Lester's family was one of the 67% of bankruptcies caused by healthcare expenses. "We were a normal, middle class, family. We were there. This shouldn't have happened. It's absolutely a broken system and I played at the highest levels," he continues. In this wide ranging discussion on the "misalignment of incentives" that pervades the industry, Lester talks about how things can change, what his firm does to save employers and employees hundreds of thousands of dollars while still getting the best care, and much more. This is a must listen for anyone concerned about healthcare costs for themselves, or for their employees. 

"A lot of people . . . just look for a platform. We say, pause a second, think about what's your content strategy and what you're trying to achieve . . . Once you're set on content, the platform and tools are just the delivery mechanism," states Mike Hanson, Managing Partner of Endorphinz.  Mike & Ann Marie discuss the push toward omni channel marketing (now more important than ever), thoughts fitness pros should consider before they go into video, the relationship between the studio and the instructors, revenue sharing models, brands establishing a "digital footprint" and more!

ReWire is a full neuro-performance solution that's not just for professional athletes, but definitely for amateurs as well . . .a hardware/software combo that allows you to workout while layering on additional mental load," states Co-Founder, Sun Sachs. Along with his fellow Co-Founder (and Scientific Advisor) Walter Staiano, this next generation technology is currently seeing impressive results with Division 2 and 3 Italian soccer players, Olympic badminton athletes from the Danish Olympic team, and more. ReWire aids in boosting your resilience to fatigue, as well as monitoring actual fatigue and cognitive load. The "price to value" is quite high and the possibilities for this type of training in a variety of verticals down the road is extremely compelling. 

"It's not about the Men's Health, 'be jacked' model as much anymore . . .  it's more about community, it's more about the social hour. . .but doing it in a healthy way . . . it's the accountability and engagement that's going to last long term," says Anthony Vennare, Co-Founder of Fitt Insider when asked about how fitness has evolved. A former Marine, Anthony returned to Pittsburgh, opened a gym, and with his brother launched Made in Pittsburgh, a portal for local, health and fitness lifestyle events. Listen now to this broad discussion on fitness professionals, selling to gyms, the pivot to digital models, and more! 

"Ours is truly a unique, and patented system . . . and that's really been our main selling point," says Founder Floery Mahoney. After rebranding the DaVinci Board (which began 6 years ago) into Board30 Global, Floery's group now has 6 studios open, another 10 coming, and are launching the mini-board in Korea with ActiveTV.  Floery chats about her pivot into the boutique studio model, selling as a licensee versus a franchise, gives insight into the sales cycle for launching new products and services into the HALO sector and more!

"SoulCycle really helped me own my voice. . . it allowed me to connect people that would have never met each other," says Jaidus Mondesir who also calls himself the "Non-Influencer." As a formally trained actor, dancer, and singer--after a 9 month lead role in a Las Vegas show--he started with SoulCycle and has touched the lives of thousands ever since--including HALO Talks host & Integrity Square Founder Pete Moore! Jadius offers valuable thoughts into their training process, the delicate balance between Instructors and brands, thoughts on the boutique market & the importance of instructors for the middle market, thoughts on the move towards digital, and more! 

"We have many hats, but not all hats fit!" states Tamika Harden when discussing entrepreneurship and starting out on your own. Tamika is an industry veteran with over 15 years experience. She has held nearly every position at all levels of club management. After catching COVID, Tamika chats about how she pivoted into digital, the critical importance fitness played in her recovery, thoughts on competing with online streaming channels, the benefits of starting a business under someone else's roof, and more. This is a must listen for any fitness professional considering striking out on their own!

They say truth is stranger than fiction, and Noa Shaw's incredible come back story certainly illustrates that. Noa grew up in NYC in the 70's, got involved with drugs, drug dealing, and eventually became a user himself. He ended up in rehab 13 times, survived 3 suicide attempts, contracts on his life, and more. "I was a crazy person. I don't know why I'm still here!" he says. After staying sober for 15 years, he slipped, spiraled again, recovered and became a rehab counselor . . . but his health began to suffer drastically. He walked into the first Soul Cycle in California, lost nearly 100lbs, and began teaching for them. His Mission is, "I'm here to help." Listen now to this incredible story! (Use the word HALO if you contact him and he'll give you 50% off his coaching rates.)  *Explicit content.*

"Everything stems from the mind . . . in order to change the way you feel, you have to change the way you think," states industry veteran,  Tony Greco. Tony is the Founder of Greco Fitness, the leading boutique fitness club in Canada. With over 22 years in the industry, Tony's recently been delving deep into the inextricable link (and importance!) the mind plays in exercise. He's published Strong Mind, Lean Body and in this broad chat discusses the latest findings in cognitive function, the importance of journaling, benefits of mindfulness, 'self-talk,' daily habits, and much more!

Brian was one of the first employees at Tough Mudder after graduating law school. Since then, his rather unique background eventually led to his starting Anckor. "I did what was expected of me but. . .after my wife and I experienced a few miscarriages . . . I didn't know how to tell my friends I wasn't ok." His time based, body weight workout focuses on not just the physical, but the mental, emotional, and social elements. He calls it a "mindful, social workout" and--not surprisingly--it's been finding a very enthusiastic audience. The science is clear that exercise is far more than just the physical, eating well and working out. Listen now to learn more about this fantastic new program!

"How do we make the gyms useful for building health in the de-conditioned population? It's a hard problem to solve, and that's what the majority of our resources are aimed at . . . we want everybody--but especially beginners--to succeed at exercise," states John Ford, CEO of eGym USA. A long time industry veteran, John started Virtual Active which was later sold to NetPulse, the company responsible for the mobile apps behind Planet Fitness, 24 Hour, and hundreds of others. This comprehensive discussion touches on the need for a "mobile first" strategy, what gyms and boutiques must do to stay ahead of the curve (especially now due to the Corona virus,) thoughts on what will happen when the industry re-opens, and more!

"I think Kobe turned his profession from what it was into a purpose. It's one of the reasons why people gravitated towards him . . . and I think it's also one of the reasons why his loss hit us so hard. He was there with a bigger point . . . and I think it was a wake up call for all of us," states industry veteran William Maloney.  Will's new company, Health Capital, helps people build a "health portfolio." Listen now to this wide ranging discussion on Will's extensive background with athletes of all levels, to how the industry has changed, the latest in health trends, technology, nutrition, and more!  

Rick Richey has been in the HALO sector since 2002. As the Owner of the Independent Training Spot, he's since gone on to start ReCOVER in 2018, the first facility of its kind in NYC dedicated strictly to recovery using modalities like air compression, CVAC, hydromassage, NuCalm, full spectrum infrared sauna and more. Rick discusses the challenges (and advantages!) of not being first to market, lessons learned from advertising in health clubs and how that carries over to ReCOVER, the importance of using surveys on a regular basis, what they would do differently if had to start up again, and more! 

"The strength coach is the ultimate fall guy in professional sports. It's almost like the more players are paid, the less accountable they became for their own behaviors. It's just sort of something that comes with it, but it makes you better!" laughs Coach Dana Cavalea, author of Habits of a Champion. As a performance coach with the NY Yankees from 2002-2014, Coach discusses his rather fortuitous entry into the field, to coaching elite athletes, challenges of working with management & players, and much more! Listen now for this insider's glance into elements of professional sports people rarely get to see!