Fitness + Technology – Details, episodes & analysis

This week on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes Mike Arce to the show. Mike is the CEO & Founder of Loud Rumor, which helps fitness studios dramatically increase membership by improving their marketing strategies through consulting. Today, Mike joins Bryan to talk about his business, lead generation marketing, implemented technology, and other implications around fitness operations.  

One Powerful Quote:

34:57: “If you gamble, you’re just playing off feeling, but if you play the game, you do the right moves, and you live with the results.”

4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:

3:11: Bryan opens the show with Mike talking about his work experience.

7:31: Bryan and Mike talk about technology tools, changes in business development, and defining successful marketing.

30:37: Mike shares his thoughts on understanding contextual data for your business.

Bullet List of Resources:

https://www.loudrumor.com/

Guest Contact Information:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikearcelive/

https://x.com/MikeArceLive

https://www.bryankorourke.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryankorourke/

http://www.fittechcouncil.org/

https://www.youtube.com/user/bko61163

This week on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes back Hans Muench to the show. As the Director of International Development at FIT-C, he leads the council's efforts to grow the fitness industry, improve fitness user experience, and mature the collection of real-time wellness data through the creation of interoperability standards for technology-based fitness devices. With over 35 years of experience in the health and fitness sector, Hans has a deep understanding of the global trends, challenges, and opportunities in this dynamic and evolving industry. Today, Hans joins Bryan to talk about the industry’s upcoming events, European fitness trends, and using AI tools for presenting truthful information.

One Powerful Quote:

14:36: “Truth is much more difficult to present than fact and information in general because so much of it is junk.”

4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:

3:00: Bryan and Hans talk about upcoming industry events happening.

6:48: Hans shares his observations on European fitness trends. Bryan comments on the top operators marrying technology integration with super talent. 

9:00: Hans shares an example on tech integration best serving customers, and Bryan gives his thoughts. 

11:33: Bryan inquires with Hans about Google’s NotebookLM and other AI tools.

14:25: Bryan and Hans talk about using information networks to discern truth. 

Bullet List of Resources:

https://hub.healthandfitness.org/hfa-show

https://www.fibo.com

https://www.europeactive.eu/ehff

https://fitchandfameetup.rsvpify.com

https://notebooklm.google/

Guest Contact Information:

https://www.hans-muench.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-muench-653346a/

https://x.com/Lazarusmunich

https://www.bryankorourke.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryankorourke/

http://www.fittechcouncil.org/

https://www.youtube.com/user/bko61163

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, Bryan O’Rourke shares his presentation live from Beyond Activ in New York. Beyond Activ is a leadership, investment, and business development event for owners, managers, and investors of health, wellness, fitness, and hospitality brands. Bryan was invited to present and host a panel on franchise innovation and growth with Emily Seaman, Head of Marketing from Momence, Bradford Smith, Chief Development Officer from PureGym, Eric Keller, VP of Support at Self Esteem Brands, and Justin Vartanian, Senior VP of International Division at Planet Fitness.

You can access Bryan's presentation deck here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vSI72UFIcTKyT8G7yZ8jskOJaEknXvc6/view

Recap of presentation is as follows: Key Drivers of Future Growth and Innovation (GII): Globalism, Demographics, Values, Technologies, and Economics are identified as the five mega-trend drivers of GII.

Customer Spending and Attitudes: Younger generations (Gen Z and Millennials) are spending more on health and wellness than older generations. U.S. consumers consider going to the gym a core part of their fitness routine.

Five Trends Impacting Businesses:

Declining customer satisfaction due to cuts in customer service.

Generative AI is shifting the internet experience from transactional to personal.

Lack of differentiation and creativity in app and brand design.

People feel overwhelmed by technology and desire more control and human connection.

Traditional life paths and values are shifting, leading to uncertainty and a search for trust.

2024 Edelman Trust Barometer: Innovation and technology offer promise but also risk exacerbating trust issues and societal instability. CEOs are expected to address societal changes and lead on issues like job skills, technology ethics, and automation.

Franchising and Competition: The International Franchise Association (IFA) tracks 9,000 brands in the U.S. alone, indicating high competition. There's also increasing cross-border competition for brands globally.

Key Opportunities for Businesses:

Prioritize the customer experience and personalization at scale.

Differentiate through authentic branding and humanized technology.

Embrace long-term thinking, adaptability, and a focus on human values and trust.

CEOs should address societal impacts of innovation and lead on key issues.

Overall, the presentation emphasizes the need for businesses to adapt to evolving consumer trends, technological advancements, and societal changes to drive future growth and innovation. please send podcast link asap ty

One Powerful Quote:

9:45: “What this leads to inevitably for all firms and franchising is the balancing of humanizing their brands while futurizing their organizations.”

4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:

2:42: Bryan kicks off his presentation with the five leading trends influencing the industry.

12:04: Bryan asks the panel regarding growth strategy for franchising.

16:14: Bryan asks the panel about growth focus by geography, demographics, franchisees, or mergers/acquisitions.

19:35: Bryan asks the panel about leveraging technology to enhance franchise operations. 

27:00: Bryan asks the panel about the challenge in executing innovation.

28:33: Bryan asks the panel about brand consistency and localization challenges for international brands.

32:59: Bryan asks the panel about low performing franchisees. 

38:15: Bryan asks the panel about franchise saturation in the marketplace. 

42:36: Bryan asks the panel about their personal slogans to business and life.

44:31: Bryan and the panel answer questions from the audience. 

Bullet List of Resources:

https://beyondactiv.com

https://momence.com/

https://www.puregym.com/

https://www.sebrands.com/

https://www.planetfitness.com/

Guest Contact Information:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-seaman/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradfordsmithfranchise/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-keller-cfe-6638a28/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinvartanian/

https://www.bryankorourke.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryankorourke/

http://www.fittechcouncil.org/

https://www.youtube.com/user/bko61163

On this week's Fitness + Technology Podcast, host Bryan O'Rourke shares a webinar he presented to the International Council on Active Aging: “What are the future trends and current possibilities in technology.” Regular listeners will remember a recent podcast with Colin Milner, founder and CEO of the ICAA. Bryan spends time discussing technological breakthroughs in robotics and artificial intelligence and describes not only how technology is more relevant and beneficial to active agers than most people might realize, but also how these technological developments will provide further business opportunities for entrepreneurs.

This week, on the Fitness + Technology Podcast, Host Bryan O'Rourke welcomes David Minton, founder and director of The Leisure Database Company, purveyors of customer profiles, market data and site analysis for the fitness industry . The pair speak to us from the Grand Majestic Hotel in Bologna, Italy, where they have just spoken on a panel at ForumClub entitled “New consumers, new tools, new businesses” with other industry leaders, and they share their key takeaways from this star-studded panel.

On this week's Fitness + Technology Podcast, Bryan discusses the Fitness Industry Technology Council's 2019 Tech Trend Report. Established in 2008 as a nonprofit membership organization, FIT-C's mission is to promote the responsible and effective adoption of technology in order to enhance user experience and improve business models for operators. Their annual trend report is a great way to keep an eye on the trends that will impact the market for years to come.

On this week's Fitness + Technology Podcast, Bryan welcomes veteran Australian fit-tech entrepreneur Deborah Goldberg to the podcast. Deborah came into the fitness industry ten years ago, with a focus of bringing Zumba to Australia, a nation with one of the world's worst obesity levels. Today, she works with AirFitness, designing tech products specifically for the fitness industry. She also launched Sub A Class, a free app that connects fitness instructors with one another to fill in or cover other instructor absences, as well as Morfis, an app that promotes business for fitness professionals.

This week, Bryan welcomes Australian fitness leader, Justin “JT” Tamsett, Managing Director of Active Management.  Bryan first interviewed JT seven and a half years ago, at the FILEX 2011 Fitness Convention in Sydney, Australia.  Despite the time that has elapsed, the pair find that many of the subjects they discussed then are still relevant today, from exploring ways to modernize the fitness industry, to how exercise can be used to tackle disease head-on, and why JT believes the fitness industry should come together to get people moving.

This week, Bryan welcomes to the podcast Sharad Mohan, co-founder and CEO of fitness company Trainerize. Founded in 2008 as a consumer fitness app, Trainerize has pivoted to become an industry
leader in fitness technology, allowing trainers to more easily find clients and provide them with custom meal plans, exercise routines, and much more. With three-hundred thousand active users and more than seventy-five thousand fitness businesses using Trainerize, Mohan shares his thoughts on what it takes to be successful and to truly engage with clients using technology in the fitness industry.

This week, Bryan serves as a panelist at CanFitPro's World Fitness Expo. He is joined by CEOs and other industry leaders to discuss the future of fitness technology. Discussion topics include how technology can be used to improve peoples’ lives and how it can be used to entice people to exercise and embrace wellness. The experts share their insights from decades of work in the field and what they believe the future holds for the industry.

Panelists include Bryan O'Rourke, CEO of Vedere Ventures and founder and CEO of Integerus;

Paul Bowman, CEO of Wexer Virtual; Mike Leveque, COO of MYZONE; John Ford, CEO of eGym North America; and Len Fridman, co-founder and CEO of WellnessLiving. Steve Groves, CIO & VP at GoodLife Fitness, hosts.