HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

An industry veteran in the sector since the early 90's, Paula Neubert has been with Club Greenwood for 19 years. A high end, massive, 150,000+ sq foot fitness resort in business for 34 years, Paula and her team have built something extremely unique in the HALO space.

"We look at the competition as ways to make us better. I can say with 100% certainty that our club is built on referrals . . . it's like a family," states Neubert. She continues and discusses the critical importance of marketing messages and why, for example, they use words like "resort" or "club" versus "gym." With regards to expanding and remaining "small" she states, "Know what you do well. The more locations you have, the more opportunities you have to spread things thin, and mess up."

Club Greenwood is very well known in the space, and Neubert continues to be a critical player in making that happen. This is a must-listen for anyone looking to take their facility-regardless of size-to the next level.

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Pete Moore appeared on Matt's podcast in August, and we're excited to introduce him to the HALO Talks audience if you're not already familiar.

Co-Founder of Escape Fitness and host of the excellent, Escape Your Limits podcast, Matt's company started in the UK, progressed into Poland, Germany, and 10 years ago came to the states. He trades stories with Pete about his early trade show days and how to stand out. (Hint: clothes from The Prodigy!)

"We always asked ourselves how can we continue to innovate, move our company forward, and help the people we're working with? . . . The more value you continue to provide, the more likely you're going to be the obvious choice," he states.

They continue on and discuss why receiving a large capital infusion too early on could be a big mistake in your company's growth, the significant challenges and differences doing business in multiple countries, where Escape is heading in the future, and more!

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Petra Robinson (aka "Mama ZUMBA!") got into the HALO sector while living abroad because of her passion and desire to help others. She studied with industry pioneers Jacki Sorensen & Judi Sheppard- Missett, became certified by AFAA in 1986, and eventually became their VP and ran their convention for 10 years!

Now with ZUMBA since 2005, Robinson runs 100-120 tradeshows a year for them. She and Pete chat about how ZUMBA became one of the most successful companies in the HALO space, and why it continues to thrive and grow. "The DNA is all about joy. The philosophy is to just wiggle and giggle. It doesn't matter if you can do the moves or not! You have to have an easy, basic entry point where people can come in, feel somewhat successful, and then you can keep training and grooming them," she states.

The nuggets of wisdom uncovered from this 30+ year industry veteran make this a must listen for anyone in the HALO sector!

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Robert's first HALO Talks was in 2019 where he chatted with Pete about the up's and down's of scaling a business-to-business software company. "A B2B SaaS business caught me completely off guard. It's a different totally different ballgame from running a gym!" he jokes. (Jackson also owns the high end Forma Gym in San Francisco.)

Since then, he's sold Fitness BI (which he started with only $100,000!) to ABC Fitness, and chats with Pete about the process of exiting / valuations, working through his deal with ABC, what's involved when going through due diligence, scaling a company, the exciting plans they're cooking up at ABC for the future, having private equity inside the HALO sector, predictions for the future of the industry post-COVID, and more!

Any entrepreneur who is building a company (or is at the stage where they're considering selling!) will find fantastic insights here.

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As the CEO & Founder of KickHouse, a new boutique franchise currently with 35 open locations, Jessica Yarmey started the company in July 2020 (right in the middle of the pandemic!) She states, "The value add of the boutique fitness experience is real, and it's priceless to people have that guided experience." A former D1 soccer player, lifelong athlete, and 10+ year industry veteran, Yarmey has always been a bit contrarian.

In this wide ranging conversation with Pete, she offers thoughts on the trajectory of the boutique space, pricing, how starting her business during a crisis was actually a positive, and more. She continues, "There's no semi-absentee model now! You've got to be in, fighting, and know your business inside and out!"

This is a must listen for anyone in the HALO sector!

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Recorded live at the 2021 IHRSA convention in Dallas, Brent has been in the HALO sector his entire career. With degrees in both exercise physiology and exercise science, he's served as the VP of Cooper Aerobic Center, (see Dr. Cooper's HALO Talks here,) owned TELOS Fitness Center, and is recently coming off of a fantastic job having served as the interim CEO of IHRSA prior to Liz Clark's appointment as the new CEO. (HALO Talks here.)

"Crisis breeds progress, inventiveness, and creativity," he states. "Clubs are recovering slowly, but well and will be healthier in the long term." Darden also heads up a few REX Roundtables and has his ear to the ground when it comes to what's going on granularly.

He chats about what they've been doing to help get the industry get through the pandemic, how clubs have learned to do more with less, thoughts on institutional capital, the increased advocacy efforts of IHRSA, the changing climate in DC around the HALO space, what needs to be done to keep momentum going, a bit about the NHFA, and more. This is an absolute must-listen for anyone in the sector!

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A passionate and driven voice for the industry, Andrew Wall states, "For me, being on the front lines in helping to support and to bring education to the industry is one of my passions. It's a dream job, and everyday I get to wake up and do what I like." Wall is the Director of International Business Development for the American Council on Exercise, a long time, industry leader in education for fitness professionals whose Mission is, "to get people moving."

Andrew and Pete discuss the current challenges facing the industry, what is next for ACE, ("It's not just a certification. It's about having the education and then getting the experience"), career paths for fitness pros, the business of running a nonprofit, how they're amplifying their Mission in other parts of the world, navigating the pandemic, and more.

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"You have to crock pot a manager, you can't microwave one," is a quote Terry offered in his first appearance on HALO Talks - which subsequently made an indelible mark on a good number of people, including ClearLight partners, the firm Terry partnered with. He initially had 18 Orange Theory Fitness stores and, in Sept 2018 after completing the deal and doing a number of acquisitions, now have 135 stores in 6 different states. Currently, they're the second largest OTF group in the country. Terry has a lot to teach. He chats with Pete about his experiences with private equity, how he thinks about growth, managing and nurturing staff, technology (both pros and cons) and much more!

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A 30 year veteran in the HALO sector, Doug Katona has been the CEO of American Barbell for almost two years. AB is a Las Vegas based company where everything is manufactured by hand! ("It's a Ferrari with a BMW price!")

Doug studied exercise science, was a college athlete, with a partner they began the first personal training organization in Newport Beach, and more. He started at the front desk and worked his way up. "Fitness chose me, I didn't choose it!" he joked. "I continue to gravitate towards being a coach, leader, and building teams."

Doug's non-apologetic attitude of "working out versus training," his resolute belief in the importance of fitness and lifting ("You have to train hard, move fast, lift heavy. Sorry! Otherwise, life's gonna get 'ya!"), and emphasis on putting people first ("Put people before profits, and profits will follow"), will serve to catapult this already extremely well known brand to the next level.

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As former college athlete, Peter brings his many lessons learned on the field into all top companies he works with. He currently serves as an Advisor, Board Member, CEO and Investor. Having worked at Fortune 100 companies in the past, he now works with Xponential Brands, Yoga6, was the former CEO of Velocity Sports, is a Senior Advisor to Athletic Republic, Chairman of UpperHand, and others.

In this wide ranging conversation with Pete, Peter discusses the top three things an executive must consider if asked to serve on a board, plans for the Xponential XPASS, how he thinks through looking at a new business ("The key thing is it's always about the people. I only get involved with really good people. I genuinely like the people and groups I'm involved in.") and more.

Peter's breath & depth of experience in the HALO sector at all levels makes this podcast a must-listen for not only seasoned executives, but those who want to take their skills to the next level as well.

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