Fitness + Technology

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes Monique Nadeau to the show. Monique is the founder of EatLove, a San Francisco based digital health company specializing in personalized nutrition. Prior, Monique was an investment banker, the youngest Managing Director globally at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein and did political work including advising on presidential campaigns and for other national leaders, developing moderate, results driven economic policies. Today, Monique joins Bryan in a conversation on EatLove and the intriguing technology behind it for personalizing nutrition.  To learn more about IHRSA 2022 in Miami, visit the registration page here:  https://hub.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-2022-request One Powerful Quote: 23:56: “I see the continuation of several of these trends only magnified where personalization is table-stakes.”  4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed: 3:33: Bryan opens the show by asking Monique why she started EatLove.  5:26: Mon

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes Allison Rand to the podcast. Allison is a digital marketing and content executive who has worked with a variety of brands on creative campaign development, content creation and distribution, social media, product development, and design. She is currently the VP of Marketing for YouFit Gyms, and today, Bryan discusses with her the principles of marketing and understanding its practicality in today’s business world.  To learn more about IHRSA 2022 in Miami, visit the registration page here:  https://hub.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-2022-request One Powerful Quote: 6:53: “Everything’s changed, but nothing’s changed because, while the mediums have become more sophisticated and the content is allowed to be more sort of casual, we still yearn for community at home and in club. The way we create and the way we publish has completely evolved, but we’re still all looking for the exact same thing.”  4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key top

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke announces the Innovation Award Winners for Most Innovating Fitness Pro, Fitness Facility, and Fitness Supplier! Bryan is joined by the Accenture Team who selected the winners as they discuss each unique candidate and how they demonstrated using new, innovative technology solutions to serve others in unique and better ways. Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud, and security. Accenture offers strategy and consulting, interactive, technology, and operations services and delivers on the promise of technology and human ingenuity. We sincerely thank the Accenture team in helping us in our selection process and award presentations.  To learn more about IHRSA 2022 in Miami, visit the registration page here:  https://hub.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-2022-request One Powerful Quote: 8:11: “The purpose of this is to help people think about innovation and be motivated by the stories around these successes tha

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes Annette Franz to the show. Annette Franz has 30 years of experience helping companies understand their employees and customers, identifying what drives retention, satisfaction, engagement, the overall experience, and designing customer experience strategies to deliver a better experience for all constituents. She is the Founder & CEO of CX Journey, a global customer experience consulting firm that specializes in laying the groundwork required to establish a CX roadmap and strategy to drive culture transformation efforts. Today, Annette discusses with Bryan about the principles of user and membership experience and how organizations should reorient themselves on this focus.  One Powerful Quote: 20:57: “Just get started. Take the time to really educate yourself on what that means but get started. There are little things you can do that don’t cost a lot of money that you can do to improve the experience.”  4-10 Bullet Points (w/ tim

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes Marcel Boots to the show. Marcel is the Digital Fitness & Innovation Director at Basic-Fit, one of the fastest growing European market leaders in fitness with more than 1000 clubs and over 2 million members. Today, Marcel discusses with Bryan about Basic-Fit’s successful operation and how they have automated their business with an omni channel experience that is one of the best in the industry.   One Powerful Quote: 27:03: “Don’t think everything is already known in our industry. You have to look outside as well.” 4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed: 2:48: Marcel describes the background of Basic-Fit and where the brand is today.  7:43: Bryan asks Marcel how he at Basic-Fit approached technology, innovation, and the challenges and opportunities that they faced when getting it done.  10:34: Marcel shares about Basic-Fit’s automation platform as a central command center for overseeing their physic

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O'Rourke invites listeners to participate in FIT-C’s 2022 Fitness Technology Innovation Awards. This award will be going to the most innovative and technologically progressive fitness professional, supplier, and facility in response to overcoming and innovating as a result of the pandemic. We encourage our members to apply and nominate those who have demonstrated new solutions to serve their clients in unique and better ways. Winners will receive special awards and recognition for their efforts.   If you are interested in participating, please visit our website at: http://www.fittechcouncil.org/fitc-innovation-award-2021. Self and third party nominations are both accepted. Nominations are due by January 31st.  You can reach out to Bryan at bryankorourke@gmail.com if you have any questions.  Guest Contact Information: 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 Carrie Kepple Styles to the show. Bryan and Carrie have known each other for over 15 years, most notably working together on the IHRSA Board of Directors. Carrie is part of an elite group of senior leaders, working with clubs all over the world including Gold’s Gym International and Les Mills. Her experience is in club operations where she most recently developed Styles Studios, a new, pioneering fitness brand that offers four boutique studio classes all in one place. Today, Bryan and Carrie have a discussion on technology and what’s happening in club industry.  The IHRSA convention in October: http://hub.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-2021-request IHRSA SMART Summit in November: https://www.ihrsa.org/improve-your-club/industry-news/inaugural-ihrsa-smart-summit-heading-to-munich/ Subscribe to the FITC newsletter here: http://www.fittechcouncil.org/contact One Powerful Quote:  34:57: “So I think it’s about being disciplined with your ego like being

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes Mark Notton, Senior Director of IM Category Management at Samsung. As the leader of Samsung's mobile product and commercial operations in Europe, Mark’s position is at the forefront of cutting-edge innovation and product strategy. He joins Bryan today in a discussion on this and why Samsung is pursuing these endeavors to better serve their customers.  The IHRSA convention in October: http://hub.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-2021-request IHRSA SMART Summit in November: https://www.ihrsa.org/improve-your-club/industry-news/inaugural-ihrsa-smart-summit-heading-to-munich/ Subscribe to the FITC newsletter here: http://www.fittechcouncil.org/contact One Powerful Quote:  22:49: “I think anyone who is working in the fitness and health space has a really important role. That health, the quality of health of many consumers around the world is lower than it use to be…You have a really important role to play in improving that…We are not able to build all the

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes Leon Rudge, Director of Digital Experience at Life Fitness, to the show. Today, Bryan and Leon share their thoughts together on innovation with the challenges and opportunities that encompass them particularly in delivering value and discarding assumptions on what technology means. The IHRSA convention in October: http://hub.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-2021-request IHRSA SMART Summit in November: https://www.ihrsa.org/improve-your-club/industry-news/inaugural-ihrsa-smart-summit-heading-to-munich/ Bryan mentions the upcoming EGYM Series August 17th at 2pm EST on Data: https://egym.zoom.us/webinar/register/3816212736990/WN_3vwlrhDwQ4KpQBE2HZi3Zg Subscribe to the FITC newsletter here: http://www.fittechcouncil.org/contact One Powerful Quote:  8:26: “The one thing we have as a sector over technology is people, places, and equipment, and we’ve got to figure out where that sits in this and how those things play nicely together.” 4-10 Bullet Points (

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes Elisabeth Bohlmann to the show. Elisabeth is the VP of Client Strategy for December Labs where she drives expansion strategy and accompanies up-and-coming startups and enterprise companies as a product strategist towards scalable and continuous growth. As an executive in emerging technologies, Liz joins Bryan in a conversation around the challenges of successfully developing technologies in business.  Bryan mentions the upcoming EGYM Series August 17th at 2pm EST on Data The IHRSA convention in October: http://hub.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-2021-request Subscribe to the FITC newsletter here: http://www.fittechcouncil.org/contact One Powerful Quote:  31:35: “Always put the user first at the center of everything…It sounds lame sometimes and so easy but you would be surprised how many people don’t put the user in the center of everything, and they’re going to be the ones that either you know make or break your product.” 4-10 Bullet Points (w/ time

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes founders Ben Brand & Chris Windram of Quoox to the show. Ben has over 25-years as a facility owner & trainer, and Chris has over 25-years experience in architecting leading cloud-based CRM and business management systems. Ben and Chris have consolidated their expertise to develop a product that would meet the needs of training gym and studio owners both for now and the future. Quoox is designed to meet the needs of the modern training gym/studio, delivering a single, cohesive platform upon which facility owners can effectively and efficiently run their fitness businesses. Quoox is built upon the bedrock of using technology to deliver the very best in customer service and quality of product to members and to provide facility owners with effective tools and workflows where they can efficiently & profitably operate their business, all in one place. Today, Bryan, Ben, & Chris discuss the challenges in software technology

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes colleague and newest FITC member Annie Fältman to the show. Annie is the owner of 360 Träningscenter in Sweden. Within the last year, technology has always played an important role in their clubs with memberships, onboarding, and stay connected through the member journey. They recently joined FIT-C to get the inspiration they need to keep staying relevant and to be part of a great network of best practice. Today, Annie joins Bryan to discuss all things related to inventful solutions, retention, and the customer journey. One Powerful Quote:  6:20: “The challenge has been to be very inventful in many ways…you’re forced to invent something to make it work there and then. And there’s no room for thinking about it, and trying it, and testing it. And you just push it out there.”  4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed: 4:30: Bryan opens the show by asking Annie on her background and how 360 Träningscenter wa

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes Nick Hahn to the show. Nick is the VP of Product for ASF Payment Solutions and Club OS. ASF Payment Solutions is a technology company that provides software, complete payment solutions, and customer support to the fitness industry. By offering integrated software services, as well as flexible payment options, ASF gives clients the ability to generate more revenue through member engagement and grow their business. ASF and Club OS have recently joined FIT-C as part of a commitment to delivering on the needs of the fitness industry and developing products that will help their clients be more successful. Today, Nick joins Bryan in a great conversation on healthcare and the parallels on data, marketing, and automation.  One Powerful Quote:  15:50: “You need technology that’s going to show you the relevant comparisons, not just the random, agnostic comparisons.” 4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed: 3:42:

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O'Rourke welcomes Mike Kelly to the show. Mike is the Director of Distribution Partnerships at Atmosphere TV. Atmosphere is a streaming TV service for businesses that offers original, audio-optional TV channels that fill the void for businesses in a world dominated by linear cable TV. With Atmosphere TV, businesses can run their own marketing promotions and house ads by utilizing a simple digital signage feature and keep the content fresh with custom playlists. Today, Mike joins Bryan in a fascinating discussion around distributing content as a point of differentiation for brand experience.  If you would like to learn more, visit their website at: https://atmosphere.tv. For those interested in signing up with Atmosphere TV, use code: FITTECH to have your setup fee waived.  For more information on the IHRSA 2021 Convention, visit their website at: http://hub.ihrsa.org/ihrsa-2021-request One Powerful Quote:  11:52: “You want to show that when people com

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O’Rourke welcomes back Tom Johnston to the show. Tom is currently the CEO of TJ Coaching & Consulting which helps leaders align business strategy with people strategy to build high performance teams, increase employee engagement, and grow revenue. Today, Tom joins Bryan in a conversation around human capital and aligning organizational leadership with people’s strategy.  One Powerful Quote:  8:09: “Even the term leader is probably becoming one of the most overused business nomenclature terms today.” 4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed: 5:28: Bryan opens the show by asking Tom what he is seeing in the realm of organizational leadership and culture today.  8:09: Bryan and Tom discuss the notion of leadership and what it means to be in command. 11:30: Bryan inquires with Tom about hard skills in legacy organizations and the heightened problem of job protection. 13:49: Bryan and Tom talk about the inefficiency of hum

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O'Rourke welcomes Ian Mullane to the show. Ian is the Chairman and CEO of KeepMe AI, an AI-powered sales and marketing CRM platform for the fitness industry. Today, Bryan and Ian discuss the latest publication, The Fitness Future: Rules of Engagement as overarching trends reshape the way modern consumers approach to health and fitness, along with six essential rules that operators must abide by to not only survive, but thrive, in the fitness future. If you are interested in downloading a copy, you can do so here:                                                            https://www.keepme.ai/blog/six-essential-rules-for-operators-in-new-white-paper-the-fitness-future-rules-of-engagement/ One Powerful Quote:  6:49: “I’m not suggesting that the increase in digital aspect or the arrival of the digital players is detrimental for our market or likely to decrease it. I think that there’re going to increase the opportunity because they’re going to bring th

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O'Rourke welcomes Paul Bowman to the show. Paul is the CEO of Wexer, which combines leading content and technology to make world-class exercise accessible to more people by providing a convenient and non-intimidating way to exercise. Today, Bryan and Paul discuss interesting subjects that are quite to germane to what is happening today.  One Powerful Quote:  32:02: “You have to own your own platform… listen to the members, and listen to the data.” 4-10 Bullet Points (w/ Timestamps) - Highlighting Key Topics Discussed: 2:26: Bryan opens the show and welcomes Paul to the podcast.  4:54: Bryan asks Paul about dispersion and what he thinks about brands extending their digital presence. 8:09: Bryan and Paul discuss the bigger challenges of adoption and execution of digital technology as a function of culture and mindset. 14:23: Paul articulates on Bryan’s thoughts around why brands feel their digital content strategy has to be perfect.  19:17: Bryan and Pa

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O'Rourke welcomes Natalia Karbasova to the show. Natalia is the founder of the FitTech Summit, the leading conference in Europe devoted to fitness technology, wellbeing, and active lifestyle attracting many high-ranking industry executives, investors, and startups. Today, Bryan and Natalia discuss cutting edge technology that she is involved in and what’s to come from these emerging platforms.   One Powerful Quote:  30:03: “I believe this is now is the good time for it to understand where your assets are as a club for example or as a personal trainer of course as well and to understand how you can create a hybrid business models because just going to the digital space is super difficult. The willingness to be there is not as high or sometimes non-existent on this level, so I think the clubs have just to understand what the unique selling proposition is.” 4-10 Bullet Points (w/ Timestamps) - Highlighting Key Topics Discussed: 4:10: Bryan asks Natalia a

As mentioned in the podcast, we encourage listeners to submit their nominees to the 2020 Fitness Technology Innovation Award. We encourage everyone to apply and nominate those who have demonstrated new solutions to serve their clients in unique and better ways. You can do so here: http://www.fittechcouncil.org/fits-innovation-award-2020 This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, host Bryan O'Rourke welcomes Shay Amir, Founder & CEO of Spivi. Spivi is an interactive fitness tracking and streaming platform made for gyms to track performance and motivate members both in-studio and at-home. Spivi’s performance tracking, gamification, and visuals help keep engagement and motivation at the forefront of every workout delivered. Today, Bryan and Shay converse on the idea behind omni-presence and some of the things Spivi is doing with their technology.  One Powerful Quote:  26:45: “If you haven’t moved yet, move. Don’t wait. You cannot. You’re not allowed to wait.” 4-10 Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlig

This week, on the Fitness + Technology podcast, Bryan O'Rourke welcomes strategic adviser Pete Moore to the show. Pete is the managing partner at Integrity Square, which specializes in advising passionate entrepreneurs, fast-growing companies, and seasoned executives with the right sources of capital where Pete advises the health, active lifestyle, and outdoor sector of the firm. Today, Bryan and Pete share their insights on the financial market and what firms are doing in the industry now. As a reminder, we encourage all our listeners to participate in   FIT-C’s inaugural 2020 Fitness Technology Innovation Award. This award will be going to the most innovative and technologically progressive fitness professional, supplier, and facility in response to overcoming and innovating as a result of the pandemic. We encourage everyone to apply and nominate those who have demonstrated new solutions to serve their clients in unique and better ways. Winners will receive special awards and recognition for their efforts.