Sibec Americas wrapped its 2023 event on May 10 after two full days of one-on-one meetings that drew a sold-out crowd of 225 buyers and vendors to the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, according to Questex, the media and event company that owns Sibec.
“For Sibec Americas 2023, we hosted club, fitness and wellness organizational leaders from across the United States, Canada and for the first time Latin America,” said Global Director of Sibec Events Rob Shannon.
The event included more than 2,000 pre-scheduled meetings in two days.
“This does not include the hundreds of impromptu side meetings that always take place at Sibec,” Shannon said.
Several networking opportunities were scheduled, including the opening night reception where buyers and suppliers were split into 22 teams to create specialty cocktail sandwiches and drinks.
Attendees also could network each day at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Prior to the opening night reception, 72 of the attendees were matched into 18 groups for a shotgun scramble golf tournament, which was sponsored by GymRevenue. The beverage cart was sponsored by FUJIMI.
Winners were as follows:
Long Drive – Jaclyn Madill
Closest to the Hole – Mike Mills
Most Honest – Hakeem Clark, Bethany Fentress, Krzysztof Blah (score 82)
First Place – Alec Salzman, Matt Clifford, Sheldon McBee, Brent Frueh (score 62)
This year’s event also included several educational opportunities. During the breakfast on the first day, Dr. Jason Wersland, inventor of Theragun and founder of Therabody, spoke about the importance of the body's parasympathetic state to ensure optimal benefits from recovery therapy, and how club and studio operators can set up an easy-to-use, state-of-the-art recovery station for clients.
After breakfast, attendees heard from a panel of club operators who shared what they see ahead for the industry. The panelists were Laurie Smith, COO, acac Fitness and Wellness Center; Mike Feeney, executive vice president, NEV; Christopher Montoya, CEO, Valley Fitness; and Josh Rider, chief revenue officer, YouFit Gyms.
At lunch, Jarrod Saracco, CEO of Health Club Doctor, offered insights on how to not let the mess and obstacles that surround you in business cause you to stumble.
The breakfast speaker for the second day was Shon Harker, founder and CEO of Stroops. He recounted how Stroops started, got its name, the benefits of the product and some of the other products he has created.
After breakfast, four suppliers took the stage to discuss what club and studio operators should know about working with vendors, how technology in the form of artificial intelligence is impacting the industry, and whether Apple is a threat to health clubs. Panelists were Erin Oncken, vice president of sales and marketing, Vi Acquire; Erwin Korst, CRO, Funxtion; Mike Leveque, CEO Americas and Group COO, Myzone; and Jeff Esswein, vice president of strategic accounts and digital marketing, Freemotion.
The event capped off Tuesday night with a closing reception.
In 2024, Sibec Americas will occur May 19-22 at the Langham Huntington in Los Angeles.
“Registration for this event has already been very brisk,” Shannon said.
Interested buyers can apply by going here.
Interested suppliers can get more details by going here.
Two more Sibec events will be held in 2023. Sibec will occur Oct. 16-18 in Dallas, and Sibec EMEA will occur Sept. 26-29 in Sorrento, Italy.