The End Or A New Beginning For The Health Club Industry ? Whether Its Good Or Bad All Depends On How You Look At It

"Change" the term is now cliche. I've touched on the topic of radical change in the fitness and health club industry since 2008, over 3 years actually. My recent post about "Digital Darwinism" and its implications to the health club and fitness business, calls for people to take notice as to what is really going on. Brian Solis , whom I credit with defining the term "Digital Darwinism", defines it as "the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than our ability to adapt."

Imagine this: At the current rate, over 70% of all Fortune 1000 companies in existence in 2003 will be gone by 2013. This according to Forbes Magazine. Do you think health club or fitness businesses will experience less turnover ? I don't.

So what does Digital Darwinism really mean ? Its survival of the fittest. If you follow technology closely, you'll admit that the degree of advancing technological change is unprecedented and nearly unimaginable. As this technology creeps into our lives and consumers begin to use it, fundamental behaviors start to change and that's when disruption takes hold. I won't even touch upon changes being brought on by globalism or shifting demographics. My hypothesis is that how people manage their health, and how they engage in fitness is shifting at a rate that is largely going unnoticed. Who will survive when many organizations wake up to late to react to this change ? Think I'm being overly dramatic ? I don't. Watch the video from Brian Solis below. How consumers ultimately manage their health and fitness is going through a seminal change just as it has in other industries. Are you prepared for the implications ? The end is rapidly approaching for many in the fitness and health club business but a new beginning is also emerging for others especially those that can adapt. Whether its good or bad depends on how you look at it. Tell me Bryan O'Rourke, do you think the health club and fitness industries are going through disruptive change and how ?

About the author Bryan O’Rourke:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, shareholder and executive in several fitness and health club business service companies. He is also a partner in The Health Club For Women and Chairman of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

Mobile Apps For Health & Fitness - We're Just Getting Started

Perhaps you finally got that smartphone you always wanted. I know I have. Now over half of all mobile phones in the US are "Smart" and internet connected. The number of US Smartphone users has exceeded 75 million and many, including me, think the future of mobile is the future of everything .

While there are no shortages of fitness apps , even ones that make your iPhone a personal trainer, I think the mobile app trend is just getting started. 500 Million people worldwide will be using mobile health apps by 2015 according to research2guidance.

A good example of newer apps that are doing a better job of including gaming and other social features is Fleetly .Check the video below that demonstrates the apps features and tell me Bryan O'Rourke, what do you think of mobile smartphone apps for health and fitness ? What are your favorite apps ? Check out my report on Mobility Trends And The Health Club Industry to learn more on this interesting topic.

About the author Bryan O’Rourke:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financeer, shareholder and executive in several fitness and health club business service companies. He is also a partner in The Health Club For Women and Chairman of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

Technology IS Changing Culture - See The Film Connected

It was 5:37 am on Sunday morning and I was doing the usual - working and preparing for a busy week ahead. As I checked a great source of content @BrianSolis and slurped down a Cafe Latte I uncovered another kindred spirit. God I love the Internet.

In one of Brian's latest Revolution posts (no I didn't steal the term from him) he shared an interview with Tiffany Shlain on her latest film Connected . Please watch the trailer below, (the film is in theaters in the Bay Area now and opening in LA (9/30), NYC (10/14) and across the country. The "Autoblogography about Love, Death & Technology" explores what it means to be connected in the 21st century. To Watch the Trailer and Find out about Cities, Tix &  & Updates: http://on.fb.me/nyj26j )

In my lastest presentation on technologies impact on the future of the fitness industry, I shared the 2010 google zeitgeist video and asked the question of the audience - is technology changing our culture - bringing humanity together or not ? Would the world be worse off without the Internet ?

Technology is changing culture, whether for good or bad. More importantly, it is helping humanity, I believe, become more aware of its interdependence. Have YOU snuck off to the bathroom to read your emails lately ?

This is what Tiffany is trying to share and more in her film Connected. I really love the trailer and look forward to seeing the film and want to personally thank @tiffanyshlain for reaching out and "connecting" with me during her film promotion - she is a smart and creative lady.

Tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, what do you think about humanity and technology ? Do you think we are becoming more or less connected and why ? I'd love to hear your view.

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financeer, shareholder and executive in several fitness and health club business service companies. He is also a partner in The Health Club For Women and Chairman of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

New York GGFA Convention Shines Light On Gold’s Brand & Franchise System

From Bryan O'Rourke - GGFA Conference In New York City - September 27, 2011 full disclosure - I sit on the GGFA Think Tank and Represent Star Trac and Michael Bruno personally.

Its been an interesting few weeks for me that's been steeped in the Gold’s Gym brand. After spending time with the GGI executive team in Dallas a few weeks ago and participating in a GGFA related diabetes golf benefit in New York with friends Bill Austin, Mike Epstein and his partner Art, among others, I arrived in New York last Sunday for the GGFA convention. Gold’s has been in the news lately and so it was fortuitous for me to hear from the brand’s leaders both on the franchise and company side.

As always Ginger Collins and the entire GGFA team put together a great show and I was thrilled to spend time with so many of our GGFA friends as well as Michael Bruno, owner of Star Trac, Stairmaster and Land America, my partner Robert Dyer and Sal Pellegrino of Star Trac, among many other wonderful health club industry leaders. (Let me put in a special mention for the “Godfather” and my friend Bill Austin).

Gold’s is facing a lot of changes but here is what I took away from the largely positive event:

GGI has a new sophisticated and impressive real estate location model for its system;
Financing prospects have improved and several franchisees are expanding;
While differences exist between GGI and GGFA meaningful dialogue is happening;
Upgrades are in the plans for many franchisees; and
GGI is very focused on the express model as part of its growth strategy.

With rumors of a possible Bally’s acquisition still heard faintly in the background, I wonder what the next few years holds for the Gold’s brand. Based on what I saw it could be very positive. So tell me, Bryan O’Rourke, what do you think about the Gold’s brand, the GGFA and the future for this storied health club chain ? I’d love to hear your feedback and thanks for reading the post !

About the author Bryan O’Rourke:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financeer, shareholder and executive in several fitness and health club business service companies. He is also a partner in The Health Club For Women and Chairman of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee. To learn more contact Bryan here today .

How Are Changing Consumers Impacting The Health Club Business ?

US Consumers have been going through a lot during the past few decades and namely this: the middle class is getting squeezed and the implications are significant. As a recent Deloitte Consulting Review, "Mind The Gap" noted, "Given the expectation of essentially two different types of consumers (affluent consumers with rising income versus low and middle income consumers with stagnant incomes), companies could target them separately." Indeed they could and that explains what's up in the health club biz.

A Wells Fargo Quick Market Update "Bifurcation Of The Consumer" by Matt Wittmer also recently reported: " ...while consumers in all income brackets remain cautious in their discretionary spending, the severity and persistence of spending habits between the two groups (low income and wealthy) continue to diverge. Furthermore, we are also observing a change among middle-income earners, who are becoming more value driven in their consumption patterns."

The bifurcation trend is here and its impacting every consumer sector. Therefore, it should be no surprise that Gold's Gym's Jim Snow is moving forward aggressively with the new Gold's Gym Express format , Equinox with Blink while Planet Fitness continues its aggressive growth plans. As Michael Scudder recently pointed out during our recent interview, there is a lot of change coming to the health club industry and I think the bifurcation trend is a KEY driver behind that change.

Do you understand what the bifurcation trend is ? Watch the interview below with Scott Galloway, a thought leader in consumer trends and digital innovation (he's with L2 Think Tank), as he explains the implications of bifurcation and please tell me, Bryan O'Rourke, what do you think of the bifurcation trend in the health club industry ? How do you think it is and will affect the health club industry ?

About the author:

Bryan O’Rourke is a health club industry expert, technologist, financier, and shareholder and executive in several fitness companies. He consults with global brands, serves as a member of the GGFA Think Tank is Chair of the Medical Fitness Association’s Education Committee, is President of the Fitness Industry Technology Council and a partner in Fitmarc, Integerus, Fitsomo and the Flywheel Group. To learn more contact Bryan here today .