HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

Originally from the finance and wealth management world, Physique 57 Founder Jennifer Maanavi states, "I always wanted to get into the business world, and I was always a dancer growing up . . . I never thought I could combine both!"  After purchasing the well known Lottie Berk Method studio on the Upper East Side, Jennifer brought things to another level. She discusses their (very careful) expansi...

"If you ask my parents, they'd still say I'm crazy--jumping from banking to an early start up!" laughs Kal Jamshidi, former investment banker turned entrepreneur. Kam formed onPodio 15 months ago out of a personal frustration experienced at Equinox. onPodio is for independent fitness pros to give them all the tools they need to get online quickly and easily. He provides an "insiders"view on the nu...

Primo Fitness is a 20+ year company in the refurbished equipment space representing multiple brands and works with top chains internationally and domestically. A former pro Australian footballer and coach, Cam took his extensive background in fitness and is now their Western Sale Manager. Here he discusses the current state of the industry, what he sees happening in the next few months, what goes...

"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 du...

"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...

"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...

"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 faci...

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 stat...

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...

"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 w...

"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 fi...

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 w...

"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,...

"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...

"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...

"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 comp...

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 f...

"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...

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, emot...

"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 responsib...

"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 p...

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, les...

"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...

"The fitness industry is notorious for having terrible retention rates. New leads are the lifeblood of any business," states Patrick Cundiff of Loud Rumor . Having worked with over 2,000 fitness studios in the past 5 years, their agency is well positioned to know what works and what doesn't. This discussion focuses on why it's necessary to consider pivoting part of your business online, retargetin...

"Everybody moves and everybody wears socks! It's what we call the movement cycle. . . and there's an entry point for everyone and that's a great opportunity," states Jared Verteramo, President of Lasso Gear . Lasso is a highly unique, patented sock in the "hybrid sports with medical benefits" space. This wide ranging discussion covers how to compete with other, huge companies in your space, dealin...