HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

"Exercising at home is unstructured. As great as it is . . . there's nothing more beneficial than being in a gym with a good personal trainer . . . clarifying that what you've read online is what you should (or shouldn't!) be doing . . . I don't buy into the idea that gyms and health clubs are dead," says Dr. Reardon, Founder of FitnessGenes and long time fan of the industry. In this provocative, wide-ranging chat with Pete, they discuss his experience on the front lines battling COVID, the need for an aggressive, new global focus on how people take care of themselves, the dangers of over pathologizing "medical conditions," the importance of building resilience, the dangers of loneliness, vaccines and the critical need to "lose the conspiracies" around them and more!

"Exercising at home is unstructured. As great as it is . . . there's nothing more beneficial than being in a gym with a good personal trainer . . . clarifying that what you've read online is what you should (or shouldn't!) be doing . . . I don't buy into the idea that gyms and health clubs are dead," says Dr. Reardon, Founder of FitnessGenes and long time fan of the industry. In this provocative, wide-ranging chat with Pete, they discuss his experience on the front lines battling COVID, the need for an aggressive, new global focus on how people take care of themselves, the dangers of over pathologizing "medical conditions," the importance of building resilience, the dangers of loneliness, vaccines and the critical need to "lose the conspiracies" around them and more!

"bodyART comes from an understanding of Western science as well as Eastern philosophy to 'help bridge the gap' in movement," states former professional dancer and bodyART Training Studios Director and Owner, Ryan Beck. Ryan appeared often on stage, TV, and movies and eventually, dancing took its toll. He found his way to bodyART and was instrumental in establishing a variety of collaborations with medical institutions with this very powerful, and unique modality which has a strong following worldwide. He and Pete discuss the rise of virtual/digital fitness ( "The virtual space can serve as wonderful supplemental content"), the synergistic and inextricable links between the performing arts and the fitness industry, his experiences with early stage investors, and more!

"bodyART comes from an understanding of Western science as well as Eastern philosophy to 'help bridge the gap' in movement," states former professional dancer and bodyART Training Studios Director and Owner, Ryan Beck. Ryan appeared often on stage, TV, and movies and eventually, dancing took its toll. He found his way to bodyART and was instrumental in establishing a variety of collaborations with medical institutions with this very powerful, and unique modality which has a strong following worldwide. He and Pete discuss the rise of virtual/digital fitness ( "The virtual space can serve as wonderful supplemental content"),  the synergistic and inextricable links between the performing arts and the fitness industry, his experiences with early stage investors, and more! 

"We've seen an incredible amount of growth in the HALO (Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoor) sector for the past 10-15 years. I love the space, the industry, and its passion and energy!" states Barry Herbst from The Elliott Group where he's been for 5 years. Founded 38 years ago (and now with 18 search consultants and 20 analysts!) Pete and Barry chat about job hunting, the benefits of using a recruiting firm, why private equity groups depend on the Elliott Group for C-suite hires, the critical importance of patience when searching for the right candidates, pointers on job hunting post-COVID for executives who may have been furloughed, and more!

"We've seen an incredible amount of growth in the HALO (Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoor) sector for the past 10-15 years. I love the space, the industry, and its passion and energy!" states Barry Herbst from The Elliott Group  where he's been for 5 years. Founded 38 years ago (and now with 18 search consultants and 20 analysts!) Pete and Barry chat about job hunting, the benefits of using a recruiting firm, why private equity groups depend on the Elliott Group for C-suite hires, the critical importance of patience when searching for the right candidates, pointers on job hunting post-COVID for executives who may have been furloughed, and more!

A former Wall Street executive, Rick caught the entrepreneur bug and for the past 10 years has been running Wash Club, now in 75 cities and 4 countries. "COVID took a bite out of us, but on the upside we're definitely starting to see things trickle back in to place." Rick and Pete chat about the the pros and cons of providing towels internally versus externally. ("Stick to what you're good at and what your Mission is! -Pete) Rick brings up some anecdotal experiences of what happens if you take away towel service (don't do it!), the advantages of using RFID technology, ("If you're a good operator, you should already be using technology as your friend!") and more. This is a must-listen for any club operator.

A former Wall Street executive, Rick caught the entrepreneur bug and for the past 10 years has been running Wash Club, now in 75 cities and 4 countries. "COVID took a bite out of us, but on the upside we're definitely starting to see things trickle back in to place." Rick and Pete chat about the the pros and cons of providing towels internally versus externally. ("Stick to what you're good at and what your Mission is! -Pete) Rick brings up some anecdotal experiences of what happens if you take away towel service (don't do it!), the advantages of using RFID technology, ("If you're a good operator, you should already be using technology as your friend!") and more. This is a must-listen for any club operator. 

Live Oak is a niche lender in 30 different industries. "We're niche lenders within a niche space. . . focusing more on tried and true, well rounded fitness concepts and established, multi-unit borrowers and providing them with a debt platform to allow them to grow," states Aaron DiGregorio who focuses on the HALO sector. Learn more about tranche financing, leverage ratios ("we don't like to go beyond 4x") and how its changed during COVID, his thoughts on boutiques versus the larger facilities, how they think about debt and asset value, how a PPP loan ranks in the capital stack, financing criteria, and more!

Live Oak is a niche lender in 30 different industries. "We're niche lenders within a niche space. . . focusing more on tried and true, well rounded fitness concepts and established, multi-unit borrowers and providing them with a debt platform to allow them to grow," states Aaron DiGregorio who focuses on the HALO sector. Learn more about tranche financing, leverage ratios ("we don't like to go beyond 4x") and how its changed during COVID,  his thoughts on boutiques versus the larger facilities, how they think about debt and asset value, how a PPP loan ranks in the capital stack, financing criteria, and more!