IHRSA 2019 Thoughts From Deborah Goldberg

A total of  80K+ steps walked during IHRSA 2019, many hands shaken, lots of note taking, enjoying the many hours learning from the top business, marketing & technology leaders from our industry and of course, many parties attended.

1^st day of IHRSA starts bright and early with the Fitness Business Podcast Family Network walk, I always look forward to this event (maybe not the early rise) but you know you are going to meet with all our mates that you haven’t seen for almost 12 months, yes even the Aussie ones, and connect with key players of the industry.

One of the highlights for me on a personal level was to attend Mel Robbins’ Keynote session where she taught us The 5 second Rule – Achieve Breakthrough Performance in Your Career & Life.

I was 1^st row centre listening to Mel how through all the hardship she and her family was going through, including Alcoholism and almost declaring bankruptcy, Mel came up with a new habit, counting from 5 to 1 backwards. 5-4-3-2-1. This method disrupted the way her negative habits were engraved in her brain and she started to make better decisions, now becoming one of the top best selling authors, speakers and now launching a syndicate TV show in the USA.

 “There’s a window that defines your entire life and that window is 5 seconds long” @melrobbinslive

As a female tech-entrepreneur my purpose at IHRSA this year was to attend as many Technology driven sessions as possible where I could learn the latest trends and future implementations that will help my thriving company adapt and implement new strategies.

Below are the sessions where I felt I learnt the most and that have already impacted the vision of the brand I am building, I will share the top tips I learned from each session.

1. The 5 Drivers of Competitive Advantage for Health Club Business Models by Bryan O’Rourke : ‘

• To thrive we must shift
• If you don’t think of the future; you won’t be part of the future

This closing video was shared at IHRSA 2019 in San Diego by Bryan O’Rourke and reflects on a world full of risks and opportunities. We are responsible for our future and making certain technology serves humanity and not the other way around. Go digital stay human.

2. Future Customer 2020 (keynote Session) Chris Riddell

• Our Future-> Frictionless fast fluid
• Sharing Economy
• Block Chain
• AI (Augmented Intelligence)
• Internet of Things

3. Creating a Irresistibe Brand with Ron Selvey VP of Marketing MindBody

• You need a brand promise
• Be consistent
• Be accessible

4. The Fusion Formula : Brand + Culture = Results. Denise Lee Yohn

• Fusion Action plan -> Lead, Organize & Operate, Create
• Better is unsustainable; unique is unstoppable

The Australian & NZ forum was facilitated by Richard Beddie from Exercise NZ , on the panel Justin MacDonell (Fitness Australia) Stephen Gacsal (REPS NZ). The forum was attended by around 30 attendees and various topics were discussed including standards, the current situation of employment of fitness professionals in both countries. I personally suggested that a forum of this nature should be hosted locally in Australia.

Fun Facts:

Only 6% of the world has a gym membership
Australia is top 8 with 15%
New Zealand top 10 with 14%,
Top country is Sweden at 21%
Largest % growth of gym members (2018) based on IHRSA reports,
Philippines was top on the list with +33%
China top 2 +30%
Neither Australia or New Zealand were featured on this list.