Welcome to the Fit Tech Plus Podcast

Pretty excited to blog about the launch of the Fit Tech Plus Podcast. It's hosted by the founder of Wellness Force Josh Trent. It’s on iTunes here, and you can leave a review here. Please do.

At this point early in December, Fit Tech Plus Podcast has done two episodes. I’ve been honored to appear on both. In Episode 1 (here), we discussed a common theme around our industry. Notably, there will be 1 billion health club members globally by 2025 — plus millions more on digital apps. What does that mean for the future of our health and fitness? We bring in the 2017 FIT-C Technology Trends Report in this premiere episode, as well as a presentation I gave in London entitled “Poised For Growth: The Future Of The Health Club Industry’s Rapid Expansion.” We try to provide some context on this idea of “The Fourth Industrial Revolution,” discuss the work of Steven Kotler and how it applies to health and fitness, and wrestle with the idea that some of the greatest products of the next 20 years haven’t even been created yet.

Episode 2 is about this era of experiential technology, and some of the key takeaways include:

• The one thing that club operators, owners, and fitness professionals must do in 2017 is get clear on what type of business and delivery model they really want to execute on in order to successfully ride this wave of technology and change in the industry.
• The human mind is running on old software. To succeed in the new era, we all need to adopt exponential thinking and rise above the reptilian brain.
• The landscape of the personal trainer and the delivery models of training services are changing in both pure digital and hybrid. Successful trainers, club owners, and operators need to explore the impact today for the future of fitness.

One of the big themes of Episode II is how we think about technology and apps, and how some of it is a little bit misguided. I love technology and what it’s empowering, but the greatest app in human history (for me) is the human spirit. When you start thinking that way, you see that technology actually emerges out of humanity. It’s an extension of our own biology. This is important to think about right now, especially with all the recent discussion of Silicon Valley’s empathy vacuum.

I realize almost everyone under the sun seemingly produces a podcast these days, and I also know you have dozens of options to listen to whenever you have those 20-minute pockets and want some infotainment. I hope you choose ours from time-to-time. I think it will be an interesting exploration of business growth, the health and fitness industry, how technology empowers (and sometimes harms) our greater goals, and some cool trend-line discussions around general business, innovation, and latest research. I can promise you it will never be boring, so definitely check it out.

Finally, 9 Partnership Principles (a book by Robert Dyer and myself, who are beautifully pictured above), which has contributions from ten others in the fitness industry, including my son William O’Rourke will hopefully launch in late January. We’ve had some publishing delays so please stay tuned.

See the original LinkedIn blog post here.

Bryan O’Rourke is an entrepreneur, consultant, speaker, author, executive and investor, who has successfully advised and driven global brands for over 30 years. He has presented as a keynote speaker at industry and corporate conferences on four continents. You can hire him to speak at your next event or facilitate your organization’s strategic meetings. He is widely published and quoted in periodicals like Inc. Magazine, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times and is CSO of a well known Houston based health club chain. Bryan along with the Fitness Industry Technology Council (fittechcouncil.org) and other leading health club and industry brands are underwriting the Fitness Tech Podcast hosted by Josh Trent. He and his partners are launching Vedere Ventures, a boutique private equity firm investing in and advising various health and fitness business models around the globe. To learn more visit bryankorourke.com or follow him @bryankorourke.