Mike McSweeney - Fitness Legend And Difference Maker

Heading back to the U.S. today from China but not before getting to visit with one of the world's great ambassadors of fitness - Michael McSweeney. My partner Robert Dyer, and I have gotten to know Michael over the past few years in our work with Les Mills, which we distribute through Fitmarc in 12 states in the south central U.S.

Michael was an early creator of the BODYPUMP program, he also helped to create RPM and BODYATTACK, among many other accomplishments. The man was behind training and inspiring tens of thousands of people who now spread a fitness and healthy living philosophy around the world. More than that Michael is a great person. He, his wife Mary and two sons live in Hong Kong and he remains active in the health and fitness community. Follow Michael McSweeney on twitter if you can.

The health and fitness industry is made up of many people like Mike McSweeney, although not all of them as accomplished. They made and make a difference in so many people's lives. This leads me to a question.

If you are in the health and fitness business who was your Michael McSweeney ? Contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and share your story. Who inspired you and made a difference in your career in health and fitness or in your regime to become healthier ? Let me know and thanks Michael for taking time out to say hello.

PS: I want thank Michael Bruno who contacted Carlo from Isola and insisted McSweeney and I visit him for dinner. Isola is the best Italian restaurant in all of Hong Kong. Thanks again Michael Bruno - Carlo Speranza was terrific and the great fresh Italian food at Isola's in Hong Kong was outstanding !

Michael Bruno - The Man Behind Star Trac's Future

It was a pleasant evening in Chicago at Club Industry last year when an associate asked me to join him for dinner; he wanted to introduce me to someone. At the time I wasn’t certain who I’d be meeting but it turned out to be Michael Bruno, the recent acquirer of Star Trac and as I later discovered a legend in the fitness industry.

Early in my career I worked for Al Copeland, the Popeye’s Famous Fried Chicken founder and entrepreneur. He was a self-made, charming, street smart visionary. I had not met many like him before or after my nine year run as one of his key executives, that is until that night in October over dinner at Club Industry. Certain things about Michael reminded me of Al.

“You need to come see my factory in Xiamen”, Michael said to me, after explaining his thinking behind the Star Trac acquisition. I thought it a kind offer, one that some people might extend out of courtesy but not seriously. However, Michael Bruno isn’t “some people”. Months later, after learning of my plans to speak to his business development team, I got an email; “Bryan, I’ll be heading to Xiamen following the Star Trac meeting. Why don’t you tag along ?” True to his word he invited me to China to see his factory, and so in my quest to understand more about the global fitness business, I made the travel arrangements. Little did I know what I would find.

Michael's Company Land America

“Bryan, why don’t you get over to the hotel and clean up?”, Michael asked me after landing in Xiamen following eighteen hours in the air with a quick connection through Hong Kong. “I’m heading to the factory. Call me when your ready and I’ll have you picked up.” 

One thing I can say, having spent time with many accomplished business people, is that Michael is one of the most gracious. He proudly tells of his annual company party held at a stadium in Xiamen where thousands of his employees and their families celebrate each year. Michael calls it his birthday party. But today there wasn’t a party, his focus was getting to his factory, a huge nearly million square foot operation that he built from scratch.

I took Michael’s advice and after a shower met him at his offices where he was deeply engaged with his managers and engineers. He was working on innovation for his Star Trac line of cardio and strength equipment and the mantra, which I heard over and over again during my time with he and his team, was “quality”.

In the deepest and best sense Michael is old school.He believes quality in the long run is the greatest competitive advantage. I recall reading a quote from Power Plate International CEO Gregg Hammann in a Club Industry release. Hammann was the CEO of Nautilus in 2007 when he helped persuade the Nautilus board of directors to buy Land America for $72 million. That deal was terminated after Hammann left Nautilus, and Sherborne Investors took control of the Nautilus board. Here is what Greg shared with CBI:

“Michael's highly intelligent. He was always a guy that you could have very direct and frank conversations with. Michael doesn't pull punches with people. He's a man of high integrity. He does the right thing for the customer. The more he's involved in the fitness industry, the better it is for all of us. He's a not a public relations CEO. What you're going to see is him do the right thing for the business, the right thing for the industry, the right thing for customers.”

Greg was right and interestingly in January, my friend Stuart Goldman wrote an article, “Nautilus Commercial Buyer Remains A Mystery To The Fitness Industry”. Indeed Michael and his companies were not known to many, except those in the highest posts of the global fitness equipment business.

Few people make lasting impressions on me but as I followed him along on the factory floor I recalled my days with my former boss Al Copeland. Michael knew the names of many of the 1,400 workers in the plant, who greeted him with affection. It became apparent that the man has a deep understanding of all aspects of manufacturing as he personally inspected equipment and queried his team on various procedures and process improvements. The factory employs 90 engineers and applies state of the art manufacturing equipment and practices: from automated robotic welders to intense quality systems (the facility is ISO, ETL, CE, ECI and FDA certified). Strength equipment, treadmills, aircraft components and medical equipment devices, Land America builds them all and has got to be one of the finest manufacturing companies in the world. You have to see it to believe it. Now I knew why he was so proud and now I think I understand what Greg Hammann was talking about.

Like most successful entrepreneurs, Michael knows what he’s doing and it comes from well over twenty years experience. He had a string of business relationships that involved producing for many well known brands - he just didn’t own the brands himself. He was and remains a major manufacturer for Nautilus among others and has been courted by several well known fitness equipment suppliers at one point or another. He more boldly and strategically entered the fitness business by acquiring the StairMaster and Schwinn brands from Nautilus Inc. earlier in 2010. His more recent acquisition of Star Trac was another aggressive move, as Michael had increasingly and strategically upgraded the innovative capabilities of his team over the years, providing him with a unique global position to achieve vertical integration. The hard work seems poised to pay off. Now not only does Michael Bruno make the product, he owns the brands as well.

Star Trac

When you spend time with a person like Michael, one raised as the son of a police chief in Youngstown, Ohio, whose first job was in the concrete business and ultimately made his way to live in China for over twenty years building a huge company from scratch, you might hear a good story or two. So when we visited about his acquisition of Star Trac Michael asked me, “Have I told you about the fortune cookie?” Apparently, when evaluating the Star Trac opportunity, Michael reached out to speak with Jim Doody, Star Trac’s former CEO and owner. He arranged to meet Jim in San Francisco to discuss a potential transaction. The next day Michael had Dim Sum with his family, whom he took along for the trip. “It was the best Dim Sum I ever had and that's saying something”, Michael said referring to his long history in China. “The funny thing was they brought out these fortune cookies after the meal. Its amazing how good the food was, but ironically there aren’t fortune cookies in China Bryan”, he laughed. Out of his wallet Michael pulled out the fortune, which he keeps laminated to one of his business cards. It said: “The next few days are a lucky time for you. You can take a chance.” With that Michael took the chance and structured the business deal which added another valuable brand, Star Trac, to his portfolio. Indeed, a great story and one of several I was able to hear.

Star Trac has had a bold and progressive past that hit a speed bump in 2010 under its previous leadership. The business had been undercapitalized and was loosing money amid tough economic times.  Michael was one of a few strategic industry players capable of pulling off the deal. Now a lot of work is going into Star Trac’s offering and it is a big focus of the organization. In inspecting the factory and meeting the man who is now behind the business I am thinking that the Star Trac organization has been acquired by someone who can make good on its future. Over dinner in Xiamen one evening watching Michael interact and catch up with his Vice President Luca Tonarini, assistant Leon Chen and friends and associates I felt pretty certain about Star Trac and from what I’ve learned, I’ll pay closer attention to my fortune cookie when I next dine on Chinese.

Please contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and tell me what you think. I'll be sharing another post on my trip to China later in the week. Thanks for reading and following along !

The Fitness Equipment Business - Where Is It Headed ?

I’ve been researching the fitness equipment business, which led me to this post and a request for your thoughts. I’m traveling at this moment on a direct flight from LAX to Hong Kong and then onto Xiamen with entrepreneur Michael Bruno, owner of the New Star Trac. We are going to visit his Land America plant in China - more details in posts to come soon.

When my colleague Sal Pellegrino was hired by Star Trac in 2010 he introduced me to Larry Domingo and others in the organization. At the time I relished the chance to learn more about their business. I'm trying to understand: “where is the fitness and wellness industry headed ?” Learning more about the equipment part of this equation is to say the least fascinating. Getting the perspective now from Michael Bruno, a true visionary in the fitness equipment world, was unexpected and a really invaluable opportunity.

While I am a great proponent of quality group exercise, my company fitmarc is the largest U.S. distributor for Les Mills, fitness equipment has been central to servicing members and helping people get fit (after all even BODYPUMP requires barbells). In the realm of technological development equipment has seen innovation too. Now emerging technologies including mobility, socialization of the web and monitoring devices offer even greater innovation potential for equipment.

Michael Bruno, a self made gentleman and owner of Land America, an impressive ISO, ETL, CE, ECI  certified manufacturing operation in Xiamen, PRC (see my subsequent posts), has been designing and manufacturing fitness equipment for a long time. Its no surprise, given his entrepreneurial background, that he acquired Star Trac a few months back and has now recapitalized and is in the process of reenergizing the company. Michael also owns Nautilus, Schwinn Fitness and StairMaster, among other brands. His story is quite interesting.

I’ll be sharing my experience around equipment, Michael Bruno’s and his Land America facility in China. In the interim I need your help. Please contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and share your views. What do you think about equipment in the fitness industry ? Where has it come from and where is it going ? What is it that you think the industry is lacking or requires in fitness equipment that it does not have now ?

Thanks for your help and I look forward to sharing more details and thoughts on my trip.

Differentiation Strategies For Health Club Competitors

I get to speak with a lot of health club operators, along with other fitness participants, and a big question they ask is "how do I compete with budget competitors?" Concepts like Planet Fitness and others are offering memberships as low as $9.95 a month - this is concerning for many (see video below). I share the view that 80% of the U.S. market will be in the $19.95 monthly membership tier within a few years.

The Budget Gym trend is her to stay (check out How the Bricks and Mortar Fitness Business Is Changing), and therefore the issue of how to compete is an important one.

A key way to combat this price oriented competition is through a marketing differentiation strategy. A facility owner can create the perception of uniqueness in the minds of customers. Marketing differentiation strategies can be based on price, service, a unique focus or a different product mix. For more on being different check this out.

Differentiation marketing helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace. It can be an important strategy to implement, especially if there is a lot of similarities among competitors. An effective differentiation strategy gives customers a reason to choose your facility by pointing out subtle or less obvious differences or benefits that customers may not be aware of.

There are several types of marketing differentiation strategies. With a pricing strategy, you attempt to position your business as the low-price alternative - which is what the budget facilities are doing. A high-price strategy can also be used to create a perception of prestige. A product/service strategy emphasizes your program offering, outstanding group fitness via Les Mills is a good example of this. A customer service strategy points out your superior service. With a focused strategy, your marketing emphasizes a unique feature like a convenient location, or attempts to appeal to a specific market segment. But there is something even more important when it comes to differentiation for health clubs.

As Jonathan Fields recently commented with respect to health club differentiation:

It’s a clone club. And, that creates a big challenge for both the folks in marketing and sales. With a few exceptions, beyond the window-dressing, you could swap one brand for another fairly easily, leaving price and convenience as the primary selling points. In a market where there’s little competition, that’s survivable. But, as soon as more clubs with similar features arrive, you’re left with price as the primary differentiator and that’s a bad place to be. In an attempt to try to overcome clone club syndrome, club owners task marketers, advertising agencies and PR people with “positioning” their solution as bigger, better, cooler, cuter, edgier, hipper, funnier and different, when in reality it’s not.

Jonathan is right. Many clubs are very much the same so differentiation is difficult So what to do ? Why not focus your differentiation and marketing strategies on what prospects want - results. And by the way, why not utilize social media instead of high pressure sales tactics and old school direct mail ?

Watch the IHRSA Live Video below from IHRSA's Ask An Industry Leader Program. What do you think ? How should fitness facilities and health club operators use differentiation strategies to compete with low price budget gyms ? Contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and share your views and experiences.

Want To Reach Your Health Goals In 2011 ? Keep Them Quiet

As 2011 is here I am sure you've thought of making a list of new initiatives or goals - in fitness and wellness these are mostly "lose weight", "get fit", "stop smoking", etc. People often make a point of announcing their "New Years Resolutions", thinking friends will offer support. Isn't it good networking to tell people about your upcoming projects or goals ? Surprisingly its not a good idea.

Watch Derek Sivers reveal why you should keep your plans and goals for 2011 to yourself if you want to achieve them and please contact me, Bryan O'Rourke, and tell me what you think ? Do you intend to keep your goals to yourself this year in order to achieve them ? What do you think is best practice in health and fitness to achieve individual goals ?