Product & Services Episodes

Keith began his career in the HALO sector from the ground up working as a commission-only salesman at a Powerhouse Gym in Augusta, GA. He slowly became interested in the tech side of the business as well--which was "pre-Windows" era when you had to connect computers with coaxial cables! Trawick became an evangelist for technology in the sector as the years went on. He states, "Tech companies now are trying to be too many things to too many people . . . Organizations should be allowed to have ...

In his second appearance on HALO Talks, 38 year industry veteran Frank Ancharski discusses his current role as COO of leading RaaS ("rewards as a service") gift card provider, Promotion Vault. "People really still don't get that 'free' and 'discounted' dues don't work. It erodes your revenue stream and EBITDA. We're on a Mission to let people know there are far better options than discounting memberships and dues . . . this isn't a gimmicky thing or tchotchke, we're a real life behavioral chang...

Lynn Cherry picked up a pickleball racquet about three years ago and, a month later, she got hooked and quickly started the Pickleball Fire podcast and website. Pickleball started back in the 60's, and is now one of the fastest growing sports in the United States. "Anyone can get on the court and play immediately! I've met so many people who've never played any other sport in their life, but they get on the court and can get started easily!" she states. We are still in the "top of the first" wh...

As a "typical entrepreneur" who dives head first into everything, Dan did the same with CrossFit, ". . . after doing nothing for 10 years. I went down the rabbit hole, realized the software in the space was sub-par. Now, here I am 10 years later!" he jokes. He discusses how PushPress differentiates itself in a very crowded field ("We built it on the concept of integrations & expandability like the concept of app store, so you can make it your own") and more. PushPress also tends to focus on t...

Bob began his career with Healthtrax in 1980. Due to his strong science background, they were one of the first to get into company healthcare. "I was a company intrapreneur," he states. "Starting divisions, selling some off, and keeping others. I forged a lot of relationships with hospitals like John's Hopkins as well." In this wide ranging discussion, Bob offers his thoughts on the corporate wellness market, ACO's (accountable care organizations) the continuum of "upstream and "downstream" care...

Going from a former insurance agent to a successful entrepreneur with a Shark Tank appearance under his belt (January 2020,) Genius Juice Founder Alex Bayer has quite the story! Genius Juice makes the purest coconut smoothie on the market, and produces over 20,000 coconuts per day and brings in several containers per month. They use less than 10 ingredients per bottle, their top seller has 2 ingredients and their number 2 seller has only 5 ingredients. "We pride ourselves on simplicity, taste...

Ian Mullane is the Founder of keepme.ai. With a strong background in finance, predictive analytics, and the fitness industry (he owned Vanda.fit in Singapore) Ian related, "I asked myself if I could possibly utilize the data within my organization to predict whether or not a member will stay or go? That's how Keepme came about . . . if you're going to build a platform of substance, it helps to have had the problem yourself." He and Pete chat about the importance of retention in the industry, ...

With a challenging history of severe autoimmune disease, Shauna Reiter's journey to eventually founding Alaya Naturals has been a long, but rewarding one. Alaya's annual revenue is $6 million with over 100,000+ customers and a team size of 5! On evaluating other products, she states, "You have to ask whose agenda is it? What's their Mission and purpose? Who are they associated with? If there's a big profit to be gained, then sometimes quality can be overlooked, and there's plenty of marketing g...

A former NHL Hall of Famer, (Top 100 all time NHL), Stanley Cup Champion, NHL MVP and 2x Olympic Gold Medalist (4x Olympian,) and now President of Well Inspired Travels, Chris has gone "all in" on his strong beliefs around the "healing power of travel, and how it can take your personal and professional life to that next level." A family owned business, their agency caters to elite athletes, entertainers, C-level executives and business owners. It's been a ". . .passion project for my wife Lauren...

Sal has been in the industry since 1979, first as a club owner and then in 1984 when he moved to selling equipment. "You have to put yourself in the position of the customer . . . you have to see what's happening in the field and need boots on the ground. You need to see what customers are doing!" he states. He recently returned from his first 6 day road trip post-COVID and brings good news! He gives his take on the current "temperature" of the industry, some positives that have resulted from th...

Eleiko is a Swedish based, 60+ year, family owned, seminal brand in the HALO sector founded in 1920's which has a massive following among strength athletes globally. "Quality has always been at the core of what we do," states Erik Blomberg, CEO. "We want to bring design into strength equipment, an area that's been lacking for many years . . . We're looking to create the ultimate lifting experience for people that feels as if it's part of your body." Pete chats with brothers Erik and Rickard on t...

"Exercising at home is unstructured. As great as it is . . . there's nothing more beneficial than being in a gym with a good personal trainer . . . clarifying that what you've read online is what you should (or shouldn't!) be doing . . . I don't buy into the idea that gyms and health clubs are dead," says Dr. Reardon, Founder of FitnessGenes and long time fan of the industry. In this provocative, wide-ranging chat with Pete, they discuss his experience on the front lines battling COVID, the need...

"We've seen an incredible amount of growth in the HALO (Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoor) sector for the past 10-15 years. I love the space, the industry, and its passion and energy!" states Barry Herbst from The Elliott Group where he's been for 5 years. Founded 38 years ago (and now with 18 search consultants and 20 analysts!) Pete and Barry chat about job hunting, the benefits of using a recruiting firm, why private equity groups depend on the Elliott Group for C-suite hires, the critical im...

A former Wall Street executive, Rick caught the entrepreneur bug and for the past 10 years has been running Wash Club, now in 75 cities and 4 countries. "COVID took a bite out of us, but on the upside we're definitely starting to see things trickle back in to place." Rick and Pete chat about the the pros and cons of providing towels internally versus externally. ("Stick to what you're good at and what your Mission is! -Pete) Rick brings up some anecdotal experiences of what happens if you take a...

Live Oak is a niche lender in 30 different industries. "We're niche lenders within a niche space. . . focusing more on tried and true, well rounded fitness concepts and established, multi-unit borrowers and providing them with a debt platform to allow them to grow," states Aaron DiGregorio who focuses on the HALO sector. Learn more about tranche financing, leverage ratios ("we don't like to go beyond 4x") and how its changed during COVID, his thoughts on boutiques versus the larger facilities, h...

"I'm a lifer!" states Frank Ancharski, industry veteran and owner of Club Coach Services. "I've been in it since leg warmers were around, The Step® was just coming out, StairMaster wasn't a reality yet, and there was the duo-chest from Nautilus," he jokes. Frank is bullish on an "epic comeback" and in this chat with Pete, they discuss the reopening of the industry and how to manage it, customer service ("You shrink your market more by the way you treat someone on the way out, then you do based o...

"For every W2 employee you have, you could be eligible for up to $5,000 per employee depending on your particular fact pattern. This is not a loan. You don't have to pay it back. It's not income tax. It's a payroll tax credit. It's above the line," states Adam Taplinger from Tax Credit Co. Adam and Pete chat about the critical Employee Retention Credit (that you need to know about!) how to use it, how it's different from the PPP, the two paths to eligibility for the ERC, and more. Adam is ...

"Brands are very powerful. It is the ultimate moat. When someone has built something that resonates with a lot of consumers and drives passion, that's when something is investible," states Jon Canarick. North Castle is one of the first, and most highly regarded private equity investors in the HALO sector. Pete and Jon discuss how North Castle evaluates a company, what they track, how to approach, criteria, why valuations these days tend to be very overblown, some fundamentals of finance, and mor...

On what ShapeLog can do for your club, Co-Founder & CEO Bryan O'Rear states, "Imagine user behavior is something that you know well in half of your facility, but that journey falls off very quickly as they traverse over into the strength and functional areas. There is now a chance for you to really understand that user behavior that otherwise was just dark. How do you plug yourself into their journey at the right time and make sure they're well aware of the complete offerings at your facility?" ...

"There is a need for personal, human connection that will never go away, no matter how good our garage gyms get, no matter how good the technology gets, people still want to work out together. If you've been in gyms recently as I have, the places are packed," states Hillis Lake of Eleiko. Hillis has been in the HALO sector since 1979 and started his career with Joe Cirulli. He discusses how free weights have done a complete full circle, shares his incredible come back story after being told he'd...

"I put it away and then I went back to doing my thing. I didn't realize it was going to be useful!" laughs Dr. Jason Wersland, Founder of the Theragun when asked how he got started early on. (Like most great ideas, it was born of a personal frustration.) Five different versions later (created between 2008 - 2015) Jason met experienced angel investor Ben Nazarian, now the CEO. Learn more about what an investor mulls over when thinking about whether to back someone, the evolution of the product, w...

Primo Fitness is a 20+ year company in the refurbished equipment space representing multiple brands and works with top chains internationally and domestically. A former pro Australian footballer and coach, Cam took his extensive background in fitness and is now their Western Sale Manager. Here he discusses the current state of the industry, what he sees happening in the next few months, what goes into refurbishing equipment, discussions of margins, buying "as is," and more. This is a must listen...

Denise founded Muscle Mixes in 1988 and was selling cassettes back then. "We were pioneers because nobody was doing it legally at the time!" she jokes. This is an extremely timely discussion considering what's been going on with Peloton and as more fit pros use music for online workouts. It's critical to know what "royalty free music" is, how it's used, the differences in license types, the needed convergence of fitness and the music industry, what the easiest and most cost effective ways are to...

"How do we make the gyms useful for building health in the de-conditioned population? It's a hard problem to solve, and that's what the majority of our resources are aimed at . . . we want everybody--but especially beginners--to succeed at exercise," states John Ford, CEO of eGym USA. A long time industry veteran, John started Virtual Active which was later sold to NetPulse, the company responsible for the mobile apps behind Planet Fitness, 24 Hour, and hundreds of others. This comprehensive dis...