What were you doing in June 2002? To refresh your memory, that month, the United States was still reeling from the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Then-President George W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security to help fight terrorism threats to the country. The U.S. withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
The International Criminal Court was established with the purpose of prosecuting people for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.
The United States was riveted by the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart in Utah.
In the sports world, Serena Williams won her first French open, beating her sister, Venus Williams. Tiger Woods won his second U.S. Open. The Los Angeles Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets to take the NBA title. And the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup.
In the entertainment world, “The Bourne Identity,” starring Matt Damon, premiered while TV shows “American Idol” and “The Wire” debuted.
Internationally, a 6.5 earthquake devastated part of western Iran, a train accident in Tanzania killed 281 people, and a 10-meter in diameter asteroid exploded over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya.
But something else happened in June 2002 that was much less significant to the world but a turning point in my life. I joined the staff of Club Industry as a writer.
I was green, and after covering the electric, gas, water and telecom industries for several years, I questioned why I was being moved to a brand that covered the health club industry, an industry that I and many others took less seriously (at least at that time). I had been covering issues such as nuclear waste storage issues, the fall of Enron, natural gas pipeline explosions and the regulatory power of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
What issues in the health club industry could even compare to those, I thought?
Well, I soon found out. The obesity rate was soaring even 20 years ago. I soon realized that this industry was the front line, along with the medical community, in stopping this affront to the health of America. Unfortunately, I saw that the industry was not succeeding in curtailing obesity rate increases.
I came to believe that by covering the successes and challenges the industry faced, I could play a small role in guiding the industry on its journey to improve the country’s health—and I would be a record keeper of the history of the industry for future generations. That meant covering the good and the bad news—sometimes to the chagrin of people in the fitness industry.
Back then, the big brand was Bally Total Fitness. And if you’ve been in the industry for as long or longer than I have, you know the trials and tribulations related to Bally.
24 Hour Fitness and LA Fitness were also major brands but with less baggage. 24 Hour had its own drama in the exit of its founder, and LA Fitness has always been a bit of an enigma due to the brand’s executives (and by extension its marketing department) preferring to keep silent.
In 2002, I didn’t know much about Planet Fitness, but Life Time was a brand I knew I should watch. And watch it I did from its steady growth to its first stab at being a public company to its decision to sell and become private again to its recent return to a public brand.
The first year I started, I heard about this concept called “wellness” and integrating with the medical community. It sounded like a smart idea, but it was a vague concept that few brands embraced, perhaps because it was so vague. I mean, what exactly did wellness mean? I asked that question of many people, and their definitions ranged all over the place.
I watched the industry as it remained more resilient than some industries during the 2008-2009 recession. And I watched it bounce back.
I took over the gathering of data for the Top 100 Health Clubs list for much of the past 20 years, which is one of my favorite annual projects because it helps tell the health of the industry and I look forward to seeing the changes in the list as some brands rise and others fall or even disappear altogether from the list.
I eventually took on the editor-in-chief role and a few years later, the role of director of content, which meant I was not only in charge of the written content but also the conference program content.
I had a great team of people to work with from my former publishers to my current managing director, Marty McCallen, and my current integrated sales rep, Crystal Wheeler. I have been grateful to work with some really good marketing people, including our last marketing manager, Tina Beebe, and our current marketing director, Jennifer Rosen.
The conference managers I have worked with have been too many to name, but they have all been just as dedicated as Kendra Counts, our current director of operations, conferences in our event performance group, and Maly DeJesus, our current virtual events program specialist.
Just as important for me have been the amazing people I have met in the fitness industry. I've had the pleasure of meeting well-known industry icons, including Jack LaLanne, fitness advocate, and his wife Elaine LaLanne; Richard Simmons, TV exercise personality; Dr. Kenneth Cooper, founder of Cooper Aerobics Center; and Judi Sheppard Missett, founder of Jazzercise.
I've gotten to know the fitness professionals who invest in attending many of the annual conferences and trade shows and the speakers who make up the speaking circuit. They are a family that I initially stood on the outside of looking in, but their arms soon reached out to me and welcomed me into that circle. And I hope I have helped to bring a more diverse group of people into the circle by reaching out to new speakers, being open to publishing articles by new writers and welcoming in attendees at our events.
The people who helped “school” me in the industry are numerous, but at the risk of incurring the wrath of those I forget to name, I’d like to name a few: Rick Caro, president of Management Vision; the late Michael Scott Scudder, former consultant and speaker at our events; Sandy Coffman, former consultant with Programming For Profit; Casey Conrad, president of Communications Consultants; Karen Woodard, president of Premium Performance Training; Steve Schwartz, CEO of Midtown Athletic Clubs; Gale Landers, CEO of Fitness Formula Clubs; Al Noshirvani, founder of Motionsoft and CEO of Fitness Club Management; Allison Flatley, president of Allison Flatley Consulting; Bill McBride, CEO of Active Wellness and BMC3 Consulting; Chris Stevenson, founder of The Empower Group; Marisa Hoff, director of operations for The Empower Group, and Eddie Tock and Brent Darden of REX Roundtables. I know I’m forgetting many people, but my thanks goes out to all of these people and anyone who has ever helped to enlighten me.
So 20 years have come and gone. I’m older, wiser, grayer than when I began with Club Industry in June 2002. I’ve seen a growth in the use of technology, the rise of HVLP brands, the rise and fall of some brands, the expansion in the number of public club brands, the challenges COVID posed on the industry and more.
What have I been proudest of? Seeing how the industry came together during the past two years, a sign of maturity and altruism--and a necessity for survival. Operators of commercial clubs, studios, parks and recs, YMCAs, JCCs and medical wellness centers seem to understand that the mission of each segment of the industry is the same, and for that reason, the voice we use to speak to legislators and the public must be unified. We must tell the same story. We must work together. And for the majority of the industry, that is happening.
My hope is that as more people have realized the importance of their health and now seek assistance for their mental and physical wellbeing, they will find that from our industry. But that will require the fitness industry to become the health and wellness industry. It will require operators in all segments to continue to work together. It will require that wellness programming—in the form of stress reduction, physical recovery, nutritional guidance, sleep help, mental health and more—becomes as much a part of our facilities as group training or the cardio floor.
I may not be around in 20 years to see if this all happens, but based on my experience in the industry so far, I have faith that it will.