HALO Talks: Elevating Wellness

"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 world training trainers. On her return, she began (and ran) the highly regarded Pilates program at the former Printing House Fitness for 8 years. She recently went "back to her roots" in the Azores and established Liquid Roots, running sold out retreats biannually for the past 5 years. Listen now to learn more from this experienced industry veteran!

"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-profit, 1houraday. This wide ranging discussion focuses on the critical importance of fitness for children . . . and (unfortunately) how we're failing as a country. Lee gives his thoughts on what can be done. . .everything from working with public education officials, to how parents can assist, to what vendors (and fitness facilities) can do is touched on. This is a must listen for anyone who wants to help (hopefully) reverse a dire issue in our country.

"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 investors, their impressive roll out to a paid, digital revenue stream, maintaining quality control around franchising, the benefits of having "patient capital" support your brand, and more!

"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 his plans to start working with top athletes, and much more. This is a fantastic brand who, while clearly not taking themselves too seriously, are posting up impressive numbers in a short period of time. Listen now to this wide ranging discussion!

"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, Way 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 first business called "Rent-A-Coach." He has seen the HALO sector evolve over 20+ years and in this wide ranging discussion, chats about training athletes, where the sector is going next, and much more!