Episode #587: Exploring GLP-1 Integration and Fitness Industry Innovation with David Appel of Korb Health

0:01 This is Pete Moore on Halo Talks NYC. I have the pleasure of bringing straight out of Austin, Texas, David Apple at Korbe Health. We're gonna talk about the convergence of GLPs. We're gonna talk about fitness, clinical care, and what he's doing to reshape the industry and make sure we could get the right products and services in front. Of all of your members. So, Dave, Welcome to the show. Thank you very much, Pete. Looking forward to it. Awesome. So in your collateral material, it talks about you being a longtime coach turned operator. So tell us what the genesis was of starting the business, and we'll talk about some of the steps you've taken to broaden this telehealth platform out to the masses. So yeah, originally from Chicago, and Started off as a physical education teacher, pivoted pretty quickly out of that, went to work for Polar Electro in the early 2000s.

1:03 And, at the time that I was there, we were really, at that time, heart rate monitors hadn't— everybody kind of knew what they were for, but they thought they were either for elite athletes or cardiac rehab. And, I was on the sales team there as we were integrating heart rate into health clubs and and the why and all of that stuff. So it's pretty awesome 20 years later to come back in and this market really sits kind of at that same position. How do— Gotcha. Okay, everybody's talking about it. Well, how do we integrate it? Right. And then, you know, what are some of the steps that you take into, you know, kind of say, hey, you know, all these things should naturally be converging. However, you know, the industry is somewhat siloed. And maybe, maybe more apt to do partnerships now than they were before. But it's still got to be an education process. So talk about how that's gone. Definitely. You know, so we've been at this for about 3 years.

2:03 2025, I think, was a lot of the— 2024, people thought it was going to destroy their business. 2025, people started to think, well, maybe this could enhance our business. And I think in 2026, it's really like, okay, we have a couple partners, we're showing them and working with them to integrate this. And I think more people now are trying to figure out, okay, you know, what does this look like? What does this integration look like? And I think a big part of it, as we continue to do these and just talking and having new people come into the ecosystem, it's like One of the apprehensive parts, I, I believe a little bit of this is that they're trying to market to a demographic they've never marketed to before.

2:50 So it's— the GLPs are in the space already, people are on them, right? But the integration of how do we get that person to join a specific workout that's designed for those people without making them feel like ostracizing them or something, you know, it's it's a big pivot, I believe. And are you actually providing them with the programming related to the GLP, or are you trying to increase the number of people that are on GLPs that are in their member base, or both? Both. You know, I'm as much as the sales side of this as a consultant in it, in a sense that So we have two pretty, pretty big players in the game right now. InShape Family Fitness in California, 80 clubs. They have all the programs kind of in place. They have— they already had a program that worked with people after GLP-1s. They have specific groups for 50+. So it's like looking at these programs that they have and then saying, hey, how could we integrate these two things?

3:58 Because more than likely this is the demographic they're looking for it. But wouldn't you rather have them a part of the ecosystem, of your ecosystem? You've already vetted where they're going to get the medication from. So it's kind of a, it's a win-win on the journey for the end user. Now let me ask you a question about the marketing of GLP workouts. And before you answer that, you know, you can put up on the door and says, "Hey, if you're on a GLP weight loss drug, like take this class." And then people might feel like, "Ah, shit, dude, I don't really want everyone to know that I'm actually on this stuff," right? Kind of like between me, myself, and I. I just want them to think like I'm working out without any assistance. And then there are other people who say, well, turn it into low-impact intensity programs designed for this demographic without actually calling out the use of the acronym GLP. So what have you learned from what the market wants and what they're willing to put themselves into that doesn't make them feel like, dude, I don't even really need people to know I'm doing this, or I want to brag about it. I mean, some people brag about it. Yeah, we're not definitively there yet. I will say that I've worked with quite a few different folks and a couple that I've befriended, Ann Gilbert, who's been in the industry for a long time, has a women's-only club in Florida, and then Bob Esqueri, who's been around forever. He's He just kind of got out of retirement to go work at a gym in

5:31 Omaha under Genesis to just to specifically try to integrate this in. So they're doing a lot of pool. Work. You know, they— and he's like, he told me, hey, if you have a pool in your gym, more than anything, it loses money than makes money. Yeah. So if we, if we start to integrate something that's low impact, they're coming in, you know, they can wear whatever they want. So the psychological benefit of being in the pool helps to draw them in. On the, on the flip side of that, I think it's in— if you don't have a pool, how are you going to market to them? What is it going to look like? And a lot of the— when I'm kind of sitting down and talking to them as well, just because I do a lot of the education here at KORB, these folks aren't— an hour of personal training is— that's— they're not ready for that, right? But what, what if you sold a 4-pack of 15 minutes? And I get a lot of people going, well, 15 minutes, what are you going to do in 15 minutes? It's like you've gotta strip everything away from what you're normally working with and really start to think about somebody, they've never been in this place. Put 'em on the treadmill and talk to 'em 15 minutes. Get 'em in the gym 4 times in 1 week for 15 minutes, that's a win. Yeah. When you take a look at, well, tell a quick story. So a couple years ago I was at a wedding and there's a guy talking to me, he knew I was in the fitness industry and he's like, "Hey, I'm on Ozempic." Yeah, I lost 28 pounds, but I also lost 28 yards on my golf drive. So have you seen results

7:02 where somebody drops— let's just use my example— drops 28 pounds and their golf drive is the same? Like, have you been able to see that I could sustain your strength at the same time that you take these drugs, or is it inevitable that you're going to lose a certain amount of strength? Let's bell curve it. Bell curve it for me. The, the highly motivated person that's going to be working out 2 to 3 times a week, that's part of their routine. They get on this, they're eating enough protein, they're probably going to gain a little bit of muscle. Okay, that's good to hear. But on the flip side, over here on the other side of the curve, I'm coming in and I'm not going to change anything, and I'm expecting the, the drug to do all the work. You're going to lose. You're going to come out of it worse than when you started because now, just like you said, you lost the weight and the muscle. And we all know muscle is way harder to gain back than fat is. So it might not be even able to, right? I mean, like, once it's gone, it's kind of gone almost. And especially as we're aging, you know, most of the people that are really on these are trending 40+.

8:15 This is Pete Moore. I want to let you in on a little secret. There's this company called Promotion Vault, and what they do is they give out rewards from retailers that allow you to incentivize your members without having to do zero down and one month free or giving away shakes or giving away t-shirts. What you want to do is build a rewards program that lasts, that people value, and that doesn't discount your own products and services. So here's the deal. There's something called Rewards Vault. The Rewards Vault is going to allow a member to set up their own profile. They are going to answer questions. You are going to get those answers. You're going to be able to target those members and you're going to reward them inside your club, inside your spa, and outside of the club and outside of the spa to get them to become loyal, to get them to pay their monthly dues and to be rewarded properly.

9:08 For the actions. A lot of companies are cutting back on rewards. You shouldn't be. Promotion Vault's your answer. Trust me, this is real. In a lot of retail plazas right now, you see a lot of health club operators that have their established, you know, 500 to 1,000 check-ins per day. And then you see a med spa or you see, you know, some kind of anti-aging longevity center that's opened up and they're specifically opening up because they know that there's traffic flow in that shopping plaza or in that mall or what have you, lifestyle center that is attracting those people.

9:50 What's your kind of call to action to the health club operator to say, look, I don't actually need space? Maybe some people will over time put like a Korb or like a Serotonin Center, like inside is like a mini physical bricks and mortar sublease inside of that club. How are you guys integrating this in and how are you actually getting the mindshare and market share? And the reason why I ask that is because a lot of people get excited about going into a health club chain and it's like, dude, I spent all this time working on a deal with you. Now you're not marketing as for me properly. So what are you guys doing to like actually like intertwine yourself into the business model?

10:36 So we— it is a marketing agreement really that is how it works. So that, um, through SMS campaigns, email campaigns, signage inside, and, and this also, I think the— what it— we kind of prefaced here a few minutes ago the more things that you have that kind of, maybe they don't speak GLP, this is a GLP-1 class, but if you go in and somebody is guiding you in, hey, oh, we know that you're on a GLP program, okay, fantastic. Here's some classes that we recommend because we understand what you need probably more than you do, which, you know, the 80% of the population isn't going to the gym, They really, I would say most of them don't have a clue.

11:26 You only get the education if you dig into it. And then what do you guys— give me a couple success stories, whether that's with HVLp actual brands or how many people have you been able to get onboarded as a percentage of their health club population or you know, what— or any kind of revenue that they're sharing that's material, if that— yes. So we do, you know, a rev share. And kind of referencing back with InShape again, for, for them, we penetrated about 3% of their entire population. Okay. They have, let's say, 300,000 to 500,000, and Through that, that was a, for them, that was a very successful campaign as well. Because email, I think, in the health club system is, nobody pays attention to it. You go in, so they were really excited about that. Once that kind of, they saw that the potential there, it really led to a more, let's ingrain this. How do we really get our personal trainers involved in this? How do we get the front desk people, the places where there's the touch and, you know, being able to hand out the information in a way that isn't, oh hey, I'm interested in GLP-1s. It's like, nah, I'm interested in the programs Korb's offering. Well, hey, here you go.

12:56 You know, and it's, we do a lot of education with them as much as they'll let me. I will work with the trainers, the staff, you know, we've part, not really partnered, but I will put them in front of other different organizations that are providing GLP-1 certifications, I really feel like the trainers right now that take this on and just add it to their repertoire of information that they're able to divulge to their clientele, there's a huge gap because it was a fear that they're going to lose all their customers. But from what we're seeing, people get excited. You lose 30, 35 pounds you never thought you could. They're not thinking, well, I'm just going to add it back on. They're thinking, all right, I want to keep heading down this path. Now, again, it's not everybody, but the ones that do— again, if we're looking for 3, 4, 5% swing in an industry that hasn't seen that kind of a boost in, in a while, that's a, that's a big tide. I think to, to look at these folks as a whole new potential market. Gotcha.

14:04 And then explain to the, the audience here, you know, when you say you're doing telehealth, what's the intensity? And they, you know, do you set up weekly calls with people? Is it more of like a hotline? Is it a drop ship of, of products? Obviously I looked on your website, so you got other services and treatments related to hair growth and erectile dysfunction, all those types of things. So are you leading in the clubs with the GLP? And then once somebody becomes, quote unquote, a member of KORB or a client of KORB, what does that look like? Yeah. So one of the things, I think the differentiating factors, there's a bunch of them out there and you referenced at the beginning, the Hims and Hers and the Rows and the big dogs in the park. We don't have contracts, no membership fees, so you're on a month-to-month.

15:01 The first time when you come in, you do a 30-minute consultation with one of our providers. So on intake, they're gonna qualify you to be on or off the program. So they do all virtual, like what we're doing, so they can actually kind of see the person. It isn't done through kind of a text or, yeah, I weigh this and this and send me the drug, and I've never seen anybody. So that's really one of the things that I feel makes us very strong in this marketplace is that our patients stay around 10 to 12 months. And that isn't necessarily because we're wanting them to, it's that the quality of care around it is leading them to the weight loss in the right way. You know, when you're meeting with a provider, just like if I, I would call you every month, Pete. We'd have our, our check-in. Hey, how are things going? A lot of people, again, do think, hey, I just— the drug isn't working. Well, hey, have you changed your eating habits? Are you doing any movement?

16:06 Well, no. So through this provider relationship, you know, they're not going to ramp up the drug just to get the weight loss if you're not doing any of the other parts to help with it, because otherwise you're just going to end up feeling sick, 'cause you have too much of the medication going on, your body isn't going to be able to adapt. So there's a personal relationship, again, which for me, coming from the fitness industry, it's just like that personal trainer. You build a relationship with them, you're able to share, you meet with the same provider month to month, so the guidance is really there. Yeah, and how much of this is being reimbursed by their health insurance plans? So we're cash pay. Um, okay. And because of that, you know, we do compound, we do the name brand if you want it, but just to kind of stay out of the stickiness of insurances dealing with this, we have come out on this and we, you know, we're very competitive on the pricing and we do deals and contracts with our large corporate partners to be able to handle this. You know, we also kind of work in other verticals as well, so we within education and schools. You know, they just— first of the year, an article came out that all insurance companies were removing weight loss drugs from insurance.

17:24 And it's like, if you've been on it for 6, 8 months and now all of a sudden you don't have access to it, that's a pretty big bind to be in. Yeah. And how are you dealing with— look, the market's kind of like the Wild West, it feels like, when it— when, you know, going online to say like, hims and hers, we could drop ship. GOP, there are guys out there doing all sorts of ED drugs that I'm seeing, like $7 a pill or I don't even— $0.70. I don't even fucking know. I don't even know what country the shit comes from or where they're drop shipping from. But how do you kind of maintain— you're not in the market to be necessarily the low-cost I'm not just dropshipping you pills. I'm actually like, we got a relationship here and I'm investing in that relationship. So how are you feeling about the price point and the margin and the level of care and kind of cascading that into getting results and not just getting like a drop shipment in your mail? That's a solid point. And I think in a lot of these, I joke because I'm on a Facebook group, there's like 60,000 people on it for GLP-1s. And it blows my mind what people will shoot into themselves because it was cheaper, right? $50, $60. I'm like, because that, that scorpion on the bottle would be the first reason I would probably not use it, you know? I'm like, where are you getting this stuff from? So we, you know, we've partnered with two of the largest,

18:59 um, pharmacies, compounding pharmacies in the country. They're vetted, they've been around for a long time. And I think that's one of the biggest misconceptions that's out there. Compounding has been around for a very long time. And it was very, very popular when the drug wasn't the number one selling drug in the world. You know, I think penicillin at one time, they ran out and they had to go to compounders to help make sure they had enough to be able to get it. So it's been around, but now because I think of the volatility of the pricing and all this stuff, it— they were able to turn it into a negative instead of a positive. So where the drug's coming from is definitely a big reason of you need to vet out who you're getting this stuff from. But also, you know, we've done that, and that's again where I think the bigger players in this game are doing it the right way. But there are a lot that, that aren't. And you're right, man, you— your feed You talk about it for 5 minutes and then you get 700 posts a day on all the different things you should be taking.

20:08 This is Pete Moore. Here's the last tip for you of the podcast. We are partnered up with a company called HigherDOSE, higherdose.com. They are the leader in workout recovery products, infrared technology, LED light masks, neck enhancers, and other products such as PEMF mats and sauna blankets. If you have not gotten on the workout recovery train yet, your time and your stop is now. You gotta get these products in there before these workout recovery and spas end up saturating your market, having your members. Walk outta the club and going into. One of their locations for $200 per month. Whether they're paying $39 to you, let's become an expert in workout recovery. If we are already an authority in workouts, HigherDOSE, check it out. There's a wholesale code and we look forward to helping you augment your products and services to meet the demands of your members. And hey, let's get people happy, healthy, and sweating, and the recovery should be just as good as the workout.

21:20 And then what's your thoughts on some of these, you know, oral intake of GLP pills? Do you see those being— the efficacy of those? Do you think that that's the same efficacy, or do you think that that has some shortcomings to it? People are going to want it because they don't want to take shots. That, that is the number one. And right now it's so muddy that nobody really knows what works. We, we do know that the, the low dose that you kind of start on with the, the name brand drugs that are out there, you're not going to have any weight loss even though you're getting it at a dirt cheap $45 a month. I think I see it, you know, but it goes up incrementally month to month. But by the time you get to the dose that you're actually going to lose weight from, you're back at $300, $400 a month because they know what it takes to get there. And, you know, oral, you're going to lose a lot of, a lot of the, the drug through as it processes its way through the system. So yeah, it got you. I definitely was joking around about 5 years ago and I'm like, I think everybody eventually will be shooting themselves with something because needles are around way more than they ever have been before.

22:37 Gosh, maybe we should buy a needle company. That's not my thing. I used to need to get a gift from my mom after I got a shot on anything from Toys R Us. What's the genesis behind the Corb? C-O-R-B is the name of the company. You know, there isn't really an amazing— name behind it. They— so Brock Rush is the, the CEO of the company. This is his 7th venture in, in the pharma world. Um, they knew what they wanted to do but didn't have a name, and I'm not 100% sure where it came up, if it's an acronym, if it's his kids' names, or exactly how exactly they went about getting the name. But, uh, it's That, that's actually how I got involved in this, is that Brock was actually a client of mine at the CrossFit in Austin during COVID and I was already kind of into this stuff, the peptides. You know, I like to see what's out there, and I also like to be my own guinea pig. I'm not going to tell somebody to try something if I don't have a clue. So we talked about it a lot, and then he went away for a little bit, came back, and he's like, hey, I'm starting this medical wellness company.

23:55 It's got to be the reverse of his name, like B-R-O-K, and kind of somehow just the inverse of that. So that's why I asked if there was something behind it. Sometimes it's interesting. There was a guy I remember— just. As a quick story for our audience, there was an investment bank, and the name of the investment bank was started by a guy, last name was Goldsmith., and he didn't want people to think that it was his own firm, so he wanted to come up with another name. So he basically sat down, I think, with a bottle. The story goes he sat down with, like, a bottle of whiskey, and he started opening up the dictionary, and the first word that he came to that he really liked was agio. A-G-I-O. So the name of his investment bank was called Goldsmith Agio. There was no agio except from the encyclopedia, but I always thought that was a good name. Yeah, well, we came up with Integrity Square. I used to live in Union Square, and this girlfriend at the time had given me a rock that had the word integrity on it.

24:56 We used to say, yo, bro, I'll meet you at the square. So we just combined, combined the rock with the location. Now it's Integrity Square. So anyway, well, look, I love what you guys are up to. You know, I think it's going to take a lot of work to educate the consumer and to also have the health club operator, for all those health club operators that are listening, to really understand and digest the fact that you are the authority in your 20-minute radius. And you do have these relationships that could go very, very deep and impact your members to the point where they could get better results than they've ever gotten before if they're on a program. And partnering with guys like you is not a threat, it's an opportunity. And the more members you have that lost weight and that look good and feel good, you know, used to be you sat around the water cooler, you talked about what Netflix show you watched or, you know, what you did on spring break. And now I feel like the only thing that people do around their water cooler or have talking about is like, what workout program you doing? Or like, what, you know, what supplements you taking?

26:02 So, yeah, like the market's there and it's top of mind and that the referral network is going to be more and more robust. Of, hey, I want to look like you, or, hey, I want to get on your program. And that's where I think a lot of the growth of the industry is going to happen. So appreciate what you guys are doing. Yeah. So we'll get the show notes up. We'll get people access to what you're doing. And if we could be helpful in introductions or getting it out there, we're big proponents of trying to get people to live a Halo lifestyle. And I think this is definitely front and center in how to make that happen and fast-track it. So thanks for coming on, bro. Thank you guys, man. Really appreciate.

26:51 It. This is Pete Moore on Halo Talks, your captain speaking. I am the founder and managing partner at Integrity Square. We've been around now for 15 and one-half years. We have been helping people like yourselves get capital through mergers and acquisitions, consulting, strategic advice in the health, active lifestyle, and outdoor halo sector, trying to help as many entrepreneurs as possible get to the next level, take that inflection point, and be the force behind your growth. We are helping companies that have at. Least $3 million of EBITDA, around $10 million of revenue, and we are positioned to help you get institutional growth capital or to negotiate deals with strategic partners.

27:36 If you go to. Integritysq.Com/Isq, you can. See our capabilities deck. Happy to set up a consultation at any time. That is free of charge, and we look forward to helping solve obesity, loneliness, and diabetes. Go, Hayden!