Fitness Business Podcast: Leadership, Innovation, and Profit

Andrés Lopez-Varela is the Head of Strategy at Storyation, an award-winning content agency, working with brands such as Blackmores, Destination NSW, MetLife, City of Sydney and BHP. Andrés led the content program for Tourism Australia as the global content editor from 2014 to 2017 when he oversaw content produced for visitors to Australia from around the world.

Brook Dixon  lives and breathes smart cities. He is the Managing Director of Delos Delta, driving performance improvement, smart city and digital transformation for clients around the world. Brook is a Churchill Fellow, previous president of the Australian Smart Communities Association and previous Director of Smart City and Smart Regulation for ACT Government. 

Mark Schaefer is a globally-recognized author, speaker, podcaster, and business consultant who blogs at {grow} — one of the top five marketing blogs of the world. He teaches graduate marketing classes at Rutgers University and has written seven best-selling books. Mark 's new book Marketing Rebellion: The Most Human Company Wins has already hit number one in both the Marketing and Advertising cate...

Dave Flynt is the Vice President – Experience Design for Precor. Dave has spent over 11 years working with Precor, in roles including the Principal Interaction Designer, Director of User Experience and Director – Experience Development Centre. During this time, he has built a unique, design-led product development team and culture, who together, create innovative digital fitness experiences.

Dori Nugent the Membership Director at Club La Maison Health and Fitness Club Dori is a 15 year fitness industry veteran, she started out as an instructor, then later became a Group Fitness Director for 2 different privately owned health clubs. Dori currently serves on the Board of Directors for the mid-atlantic club management association and she is an educational presenter at IHRSA conferences.

Robert Barnes is the Country Manager - Asia Pacific for Higher Logic.  He has held Chief Executive roles in Australia and New Zealand over a 20 year period including CEO of Australian Canoeing and GM-Operations for Fitness Australia.

The issue of privacy around the use of data has become increasingly prevalent over the past 12 months.  We had the introduction of the GDPR in 2018 and more and more often we are seeing clubs and studios invest in new technology, including the use of biometrics.  For these reasons and more, it's essential that club operators have a good understanding of the privacy guidelines that affect the colle...

Gemma Anderson the Head of Performance and Growth at Deakin University.  She has a background as a digital strategist, working with brands such as Holden, Jetstar and Specsavers and her work has received global and local awards. In 2016 she was the recognised by B&T Magazine as the most Influential person in Marketing Under 30.  In this episode:  Common mistakes businesses make when using data for...

Jeb   Blount  is a sales acceleration specialist and the author of ten books including Fanatical Prospecting, Sales EQ, People Buy You, People Follow You, and Objections. He is among the world's most respected thought leaders on prospecting, sales, leadership, and customer experience. Through his global training organization, Sales Gravy,  Jeb  advises a who's who of the world's leading organizati...

Elias Scarr is the Membership Director for Results Fitness and the sales and communication coach for Results Fitness University, which is a consulting group for gyms world wide. Elias has over 20 years of sales experience in the service industry and has presented for many organizations including IHRSA the NSCA and Perform Better.

In The Shoes is a series where we chat to someone in a specific role within a club, from a Fitness manager to a Franchise Manager, Sales to Group fitness.  We will hear about their role, their biggest challenges, their KPIS and advice for others in a similar role.  In this episode, we step into the shoes of a Club Manager.

Tim Oberg  is the Founder and CEO of parkrun Australia, the largest participation event in Australia. From humble beginnings on the Gold Coast in April 2011, parkrun now operates in over 350 communities with 750,000 members. 

Andrea Hovell the co-owner of Healthier Bookkeeping,  an accounting business that caters specifically for the health and fitness industry.  In this weeks episode Andrea takes us through a quick Financial Health Check to ensure we are on top of the key metrics in our business and can be aware of any red flags to look out for.  

Julie Creffield, founder of the plus size fitness movement,  Too Fat to Run.  For over 25 years Julie worked with organizations, such as the London 2012 Olympics, to bring communities together, and it was when she found herself alone as a single mom, she decided to put her community-building skills to work for herself  - turning her blog into a 6-figure business.   

Steve Lesnard is an innovative marketing executive with 20+ years' experience leading high-profile business growth, global brand campaigns, revolutionary product launches and strategic partnerships across sports, technology and lifestyle. Steve is a creative and strategic brand leader with a proven track record of integrated marketing excellence and digital innovation in an ever-evolving consumer...

Kari Saitowitz is the Founder + CEO of Fhitting Room overseeing three Fhitting Room studios in NYC. Prior to creating Fhitting Room, Kari, was a marketing executive at Pepsi where she focused on building equity for powerhouse brands and launching new product innovations. She has an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she graduated with honors, and she graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Eco...

Andrea Vahl is a Social Media Consultant and Speaker and is the co-author of Facebook Marketing All-in-One for Dummies and her new book is Facebook Ads Made Simple. She was the Community Manager for Social Media Examiner for over 2 years and has appeared in top lists on Entrepreneur.com and Inc.com. This weeks episode is a little different to most, we have split this weeks show into two sections:...

Denise Lee Yohn is the go-to expert on brand leadership for national media outlets, an in-demand speaker and consultant, and an influential writer. She is the author of the bestselling book What Great Brands Do: The Seven Brand-Building Principles that Separate the Best from the Rest and the new book FUSION: How Integrating Brand and Culture Powers the World's Greatest Companies.  Not only is Deni...

Dr Paul Bedford has over 20 years experience working in the fitness industry, including role​s​ as a gym instructor, personal trainer, fitness manager and club manager. ​ ​He has a master's degree in exercise and health behaviours, and a PhD from the London Sports Institute. The aim of ​his​ PhD research was to identify interventions in a gym environment to increase adherence. The study increased...

If you have ever wanted to grow your fitness business, reach new markets or introduce new revenue streams – then this episode is a MUST Listen show for you. Trina Gray is the founder of Team Rock Star Fit and the owner of the award-winning Bay Athletic Club in Alpena Michigan. She is a seasoned presenter and writer for IDEA Health and Fitness Association. She designs and moderates the IDEA World C...

Dr Fiona Bull MBE, PhD, Msc. is our special guest for this report on The Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018–2030.  During the interview you will hear the 2 main goals of the plan, an overview of the 4 key pillars, we discuss the countries taking part and how fitness businesses and professionals can get involved.

Eric Hinderberger is the Director - Business Development for First Credit Services.  During the show, Eric shares 7 ways to turn around  sleeping members.  Specifically he shares: The definition of a sleeping member A 5 point check list for identifying them in your club  7 Ways to turn around your sleeping members

Sara Kooperman is the CEO of SCW Fitness Education and WATERinMOTION®, is a visionary leader that has launched nine successful MANIA® fitness-professional conventions, over 35 live and online certifications, and over 600 video & CEC projects. 

Erin Kelly is the Chief Strategy Officer for Brick Bodies . With more than thirty years in the fitness industry Erins career began as a fitness trainer and quickly progressed to group exercise instructor, personal trainer, group exercise director, general manager, VP, COO, & CEO with companies such as Brick Bodies, Star Trac, Schwinn and Les Mills.

Craig Weber is the author of the bestselling book, Conversational Capacity: The Key To Building Successful Teams That Perform When The Pressure Is On (McGraw-Hill, 2013). An expert on the subjects of conversational capacity and adaptive learning, he helps people, teams, and organizations dramatically improve their performance by treating dialogue as a discipline.