The Conveners Podcast

In this episode of The Conveners Podcast, host Andy King is joined by Duncan Wood-Allum, Managing Director of SLC, to discuss his newly revised industry blueprint for the UK leisure, sport, and physical activity sector.

Duncan shares personal reflections from the past year, including a health scare and his ongoing community mentoring work, before diving into critical sector updates. The conversation tackles the evolution from traditional leisure facilities to place-based active wellbeing hubs, pressing workforce challenges such as low pay and career pathways, and the systemic disconnect between strategic place partnerships and public leisure operations.

They also explore the unrealised potential of health partnerships, data collection hurdles, and the vital role grassroots sports must play alongside active wellbeing initiatives. Finally, Duncan issues a direct call to action for industry professionals to collaborate on a practical roadmap for the next decade.

Listen to the full episode to discover how the sector can drive meaningful change, and visit the SLC website to read the revised blueprint. Don't forget to follow and share the podcast!

Andy chats with 4Global Managing Director Jack Shakespeare about his career background, family life, and the evolution of Moving Communities, a data program powered by Sport England. They explore how modern data platforms, place-based networks, and integrated utility and participation tracking are helping leisure operators and public health decision-makers measure true social value and tackle local inequalities.

In this episode, host Andy speaks with Becky Cox, interim Chief Executive of Swim England, about her 25-year career in leisure and the evolving role of aquatics in public health. They dive into the "One Swim England Strategy," which aims to unite the aquatics community and broaden the NGB’s scope beyond competitive swimming to include place-based initiatives, school swimming accessibility, and open water safety. The conversation touches on operational friction between operators and swimming clubs, as well as the disparity in school swimming funding between Wales and England. Looking forward, Becky emphasizes the untapped potential of aquatics in health and wellbeing—particularly for individuals using weight management medications (GLP-1s) or seeking low-impact resistance exercise—and calls for greater integration between traditional fitness operations and aquatic programs.

In this episode, host Andy sits down with Jon Keating from GM Active and Graeme Hindes from LFX to reflect on the insights and success of their joint two-day conference on exercise referral and movement for health. The conversation explores why exercise should be viewed as a tool while long-term behavior change and community engagement serve as the true interventions. They highlight national takeaways regarding consistency, evaluation, and standards from initiatives across Scotland, Wales, Blackpool, and Greater Manchester's Prehab for Cancer program. Finally, the trio discusses the future of physical activity in healthcare, addressing workforce skill development, embedding leisure directly into NHS care pathways, utilizing AI for data synthesis, and launching a new joint virtual club to keep the cross-sector collaboration going.

This episode of The Conveners Podcast features Andrew Terry, co-founder of Link Golf, sharing the remarkable journey from taking over a struggling municipal golf course in Rochdale to building a growing portfolio of golf facilities across the UK.

Andrew discusses how a focus on accessibility, community engagement, operational discipline, and targeted investment has helped revive golf courses that were at risk of decline or closure. The conversation explores the challenges facing both publicly owned and private members' golf clubs, the importance of creating welcoming environments for new players, and how innovative management approaches can protect and grow local sporting assets.

A fascinating discussion for leisure operators, local authorities, sports organisations, and anyone interested in sustainable facility management, community sport, and the future of golf.

This episode of The Convenience Podcast brings together industry insights from Elevate 2026, exploring innovative ways the UK leisure and fitness sectors are collaborating to tackle health inequalities.

First, Justine Davies from Les Mills discusses the surge of "Gen Alpha" engaging in physical activity, driven by their millennial parents' fitness habits. She highlights the need for youth-focused approaches that avoid patronizing branding or scaled-down adult routines. Highlighting initiatives like Les Mills' "Born to Move" and successful partnerships with operators like Serco and Freedom Leisure, Justine outlines how bridging outreach programs between schools and leisure facilities successfully builds confidence and transforms youth participation.

Next, Guy Griffiths introduces the "Health Seekers Accelerator Program," designed to target the 66% of the population who want to be healthier but are hesitant to join a gym. Utilizing the "Daily 100" self-assessment tool, operators like Active Devon and Dragonfly Leisure provide tailored health checks and ongoing coaching rather than standard memberships. By prioritizing meaningful conversations over sales, this commercial model successfully expands leisure centers' community reach and establishes sustained, long-term health habits.

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At Elevate 2026, Conveners Podcast host Andy King spoke with four influential guests from across the sport, leisure and wellbeing sector: Duncan Wood-Allum, Ian Braid, Tim Rees and Libby Kirkley-Brian. Together, they explored some of the sector’s most important opportunities and challenges,including local government reorganisation, duty of care in sport, the power of group-based physical activity, and leadership development.

Duncan Wood-Allum shared insights on how local government reorganisation is reshaping leisure and wellbeing services, highlighting North Yorkshire as a leading example of strategic transformation.

Ian Braid reflected on ten years of progress in sport’s duty of care agenda and discussed ongoing work to improve wellbeing, safeguarding and inclusion.

Professor Tim Rees introduced GroupWorks, a research-led initiative helping practitioners harness the power of group dynamics to improve participation, retention and healthoutcomes.

Finally, Libby Kirkley-Brian discussed the success of theInspirational Leader programme, which is helping current and future leaders develop the skills, confidence and networks needed to drive positive change across the sector.

Recorded live at Elevate, this special episode capturesfresh ideas, practical learning and inspiring stories from leaders helping to shape the future of sport, leisure and active wellbeing.

In this episode of The Conveners, Andy King sits down with Dr. Hannah to explore her inspiring journey from hospital medicine and geriatric care into the evolving world of lifestyle medicine and entrepreneurship. Drawing on years of experience working with older adults and individuals living with chronic conditions, Hannah reflects on the pivotal moments that led her to question whether traditional healthcare is doing enough to support long-term wellbeing.

Together, they unpack the growing importance of lifestyle medicine—focusing on exercise, nutrition, sleep, and behaviour change—and why these elements are often overlooked within conventional systems like the NHS. Hannah shares her candid perspective on the structural challenges facing institutional healthcare, and why meaningful change may need to happen beyond secondary care settings.

The conversation dives into the intersection between healthcare and the physical activity sector, exploring how collaboration across industries could better support healthier ageing. They also discuss wider influences such as social determinants of health, persistent inequalities, and the emerging role of GLP-1 medications in shaping weight management and behaviour.

Finally, Hannah offers insight into her entrepreneurial ambitions: creating scalable, affordable solutions that measurably improve people’s lives—while delivering broader societal value. This episode is a thoughtful and honest reflection on reinvention, purpose, and what it really means to live a “good life.”

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@futurefitforbusiness

Andy King chats with Tanya from eGym on the Conveners podcast, covering everything from her accidental start in fitness to where the industry is heading.

Tanya didn’t plan a career in fitness, she got into it after having her son, starting part-time at a local leisure centre and working her way through roles in membership, reception and swim school. The turning point came when an older member told her she’d managed to carry her shopping home on the bus for the first time. That moment stuck, and eventually led her to eGym, where she’s now spent about seven years leading their public leisure sales team.

They talk a lot about what makes eGym different, not just making strength training feel simple and accessible, but actually producing real health outcome data. Things like strength improvements or reduced HbA1c aren’t just nice-to-have stats; they’re helping operators unlock funding from public health and community sources, rather than relying purely on big upfront spend. Places like Blackpool, Plymouth, Corby and Pembrokeshire all come up as examples doing interesting things with it. There’s also some chat about Genius AI, which personalises workouts across the whole gym floor, even on kit that isn’t eGym.

The conversation gets more personal when they get into GLP-1s. Both Andy and Tanya have been on their own journeys for around two years. Tanya is really open about how tough the start was, side effects, hair loss, poor sleep, alongside losing six stone in under a year. She talks about the strange psychological side of that kind of change, briefly coming off the medication, regaining weight quickly, and moving onto Monjaro. They also touch on how people are figuring dosing out as they go, the likelihood this becomes a long-term thing, and what’s coming next, like retatrutide or oral versions.

From a sector point of view, Tanya’s take is pretty clear: the biggest opportunity is helping people who’d never normally step into a gym feel comfortable enough to do so. That means simple things, where equipment is placed, how staff show up, and recognising that fitness professionals aren’t therapists but still play a role in confidence and behaviour change. Her overall feeling is that GLP-1s could be huge for the industry, but only if it adapts instead of pushing back.

Forget chasing empty numbers. In this episode, Rhys reveals how genuine connection and relentless curiosity create real social change, from pioneering COVID health programs to leading Plymouth’s ambitious wellness agenda.

We break down how grassroots sports and marathon grit translate into system-wide leadership, and why authentic relationships will always outperform top-down mandates. You'll learn how Rhys uses deep self-awareness, coaching, and even AI experimentation to build resilient teams capable of busting through stubborn bureaucracy.

The Bottom Line: Leadership isn't just about results. It’s about the relentless pursuit of a difference.

Whether you’re a community champion or a seasoned executive, this conversation is your blueprint for turning big ambition into tangible action. Listen now and lead with purpose.