HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

"You can get great experience working with other companies, but you always have to have something bubbling . . . if you want to create your own thing. You have to be ready to take the risk," states Isaac Calpito on how his super popular workout, Torch'd , got started. Isaac came to NYC the day after high school graduation, lived on his friend's floor while auditioning, and eventually ended up on B...

As the Managing Director and Founder of Exaltare Capital, Omar's group was one of the first inside the Planet Fitness network.  He was able to "see around the corner" and jump in very early. With his background in consulting and private equity (he worked on the highly successful 24 Hour deal among many others) he states,  "I enjoyed being close to the portfolio companies and really wanted to be mo...

"The level of conviction has to be high enough even if it seems to be insane by everybody," states Alex Plonsker of SplitGym , referring to how crazy it can be as an entrepreneur. In essence, SplitGym is becoming a, "StubHub for the fitness industry. People can sell unused classes or days for cashback and more or less creating a secondary market." SplitGym is fully integrated with MindBody, so it'...

"Two of the most important elements in the golf swing are your glute strength and hip mobility," states Trillium Rose . Trillium is recognized as a Top 50 Teacher by Golf Digest and the LPGA and honored as the 2017 Middle Atlantic PGA "Teacher of the Year." Trillium dives into the latest in golf tech, training and education. Her area of expertise is in helping golfers develop their skills as quick...

"Just move! It doesn't have to be about how many sets, reps, and time. There is no magic pill. We are the magic pill!" states entrepreneur Joana Meneses. Founder of BodyRoots , Joana has been in the HALO sector since 1999. She dove into Pilates head first just as it was gaining in popularity and quickly became one of the top Stott Pilates Master Trainers in the early days, travelling all over the...

"Kids who exercise up to an hour a day will do up to 40% better on tests in school," states Lee Spieker a 30+ year industry veteran. Lee has done it all! From everything to working for Weider in the early days, to selling Universal equipment (remember those?) to owning health clubs, to producing the well known Buns of Steel workouts, and eventually starting Railyard Fitness as well as the non-prof...

"We need to accommodate people who have low ability levels, while also not limiting what we offer to those who have high performance abilities," states Mike Donnelly, Director of Fitness for Greco Fitness . With plans to be the largest boutique facility in Canada, Jenna York, Director of Operations and Mike chat about Greco's quick rise, Greco's strong reputation in the market, working with invest...

"You've got to build a business model before you build a product!" states Colin McIntosh, CEO. Sheets & Giggles began in October 2017 with an initial raise of $284,000 through crowd funding. Currently at a $5M per year run rate after only approximately 17 months of sales, Colin reviews everything from his revenue funded business model, to marketing, to how and why he choose eucalyptus sheets, to h...

"We can control our efforts in life, we cannot control the outcomes," states Dan Millman, a former world champion athlete, gymnastics coach, martial arts instructor, and college professor--has authored 17 books published in 29 languages. His best-known, W ay of the Peaceful Warrior, was adapted to film in 2006 starring Nick Nolte. Dan was way ahead of the curve when, in the 1970's, he had his firs...

"If you do it because you see value or you do it because it's intrinsic . . . it's sustainable. If you do it because you feel guilty, obligated, for the reward or the  money, or you're coerced, it ends as soon as that reinforcer goes away," states Matt Richter , 25+ year management consultant, industry expert, keynote speaker and author of The Leadership Story. Why do some go to the gym and others...

"I want to be the first globally recognized, fully franchisable corporation owned by a woman of color," states Hodges (an incredible entrepreneurial powerhouse!) when asked about future plans. As a seasoned fitness entrepreneur and global learning manager, she created her first class in her grandmother's backyard in June 2016. Classes are a mix of HITT, traditional aerobics, and ZUMBA to trap musi...

"If you govern your decisions by what's in the best interest of your members, while it may more difficult in the near term, I fundamentally believe it'll benefit you in the longer term," states CEO Bill Davis. With 38 years in business, ABC Financial supports nearly 40% of all fitness clubs in the USA. Now owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, Bill discusses the role of ABC in the HALO sector,...

A classically trained research scientist with a Doctorate in Motor Learning, Dr. Paul Juris is a seminal figure in the HALO sector. He was a Professor of Human Movement Studies at Columbia University and later went on to construct the (then new) Equinox Fitness Training Institute to a level never seen before. "We wanted to bring as much scientific rigor into the program as possible. . .I introduce...

"Our whole goal is to help build community within buildings, to help people get to know each other better, and to make the city feel a little smaller, and a little less lonely," states Ryan Freed. With hOM currently in over 100 buildings in NYC and Toronto, this life long entrepreneur started in the HALO sector by offering meditation classes in a residential building. He then pivoted into a much l...

"I always joke that every start up needs a crazy Israeli," laughs Kenny about his Co-Founder, Nadav. Currently approaching its sixth month, these two former attorneys discuss everything nearly any entrepreneur can relate to! From having to share a small studio apartment, to the need to to pivot due to manufacturing & hardware issues, to waking up at 4:30am, to ClassPass, to dealing with operations...

"The next thing I know, we have a pretty full gym, but I also didn't know what the heck I was doing," laughs Jared Stein. Currently at 5 CrossFit gyms plus a 30,000 sq ft big box space (all branded WILLYB) Jared shares his experiences from starting in the trenches, searching for space, opening the first two stores, how they expanded, what was involved with their first acquisition, and much more. A...

"A lot of these technologies and apps have yet to find a mainstream value proposition. I'd look at retention and engagement much more than purchase and initial transaction," states 25+ year consumer services veteran Gunjan Bhow. With the technology now available, opportunities are massive and Walgreen's is going far beyond just retail and pharmacy, as they are currently examining digital health an...

"If I owned a fitness facility and needed trainers, sales or membership staff, what better person would you want than a college (or former college) athlete?" states CEO & Founder, Ryan Drummond. One year later, progress has been phenomenal! With Crunch currently on a pilot program, The Athlete Book has Amazon, Tesla, Yelp, JP Morgan, Mass Mutual, and others on the platform. Hiring for fitness faci...

25 years after working incredibly hard to attempt to dance professionally in NYC, Ruth stepped into her first indoor cycling class at the Reebok Sports Club on the Upper West Side in NYC. Not long after that, an entire movement (and arguably a new sector of the fitness industry) was born.  Industry icon Ruth Zuckerman discusses everything from the instructor training, the initial hurdles of expans...

"You have to really learn how to manage yourself as an entrepreneur. . .nobody's coming to rescue you. It's consistency and persistence that makes the difference," states Deekron Krikorian, Founder of Sharp Body. Deekron founded RockitWave8 which later became MotionTraxx. . .still among the top 5 for running music on iTunes. They had over 100,000 steady subscribers and 1 million downloads in the f...

"We test where we know we can be true to ourselves. Where we don't test is to go trying to be everything to everybody else," states industry veteran Jay Wagnon. Jay owns Sky Fitness, 3 large clubs in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He later became an Area Developer for Orange Theory Fitness which he's since sold. This wide ranging conversation covers the pros and cons of becoming a franchisee versus building you...

Dr. Paulvin's practice is very highly regarded in NYC and on the leading edge of advances in science, tech, and personalized precision medicine. In this wide ranging conversation, he discusses his years of building out his practice geared toward the HALO sector. Topics touched on range from the increase in the recovery space, peptides, "peptide packs," Theragun, Hyperice, lymphatic massage, Copper...

"Once you learn how to build something and understand the fundamentals of keeping something going--and training people to do that--you can apply that model to many different settings," states Marc Cohen, long-time industry veteran. From serving as the VP of Training for David Barton (which he helped take nationally) to the Director of BFX Studios, Mark has worked with facilities of all sizes. This...

If you've been in the HALO space for any length of time, you've most certainly come across one of the icons in the industry--Rick Caro. Rick is one of the original founders of IHRSA and is now on his 46th year. In this comprehensive, wide ranging discussion, Rick takes us through some of the key markers in the business: EFT, rise of educational programs, the beginnings of HVLP facilities, rise of...

"When you start with dance, people aren't victims anymore. . .their full potential is reached," states Vandana Hart, creator of the highly regarded Netflix show, We Speak Dance. As a lifelong dancer trained with Alvin Ailey, Vandana's desire to effect greater change moved her into working with the UN on various humanitarian efforts all over the world, during which, her self-financed "Anthony Borda...