Changing lives for the better & becoming truly accessible to everyone within local communities.

We often hear only 15% of the UK Population, are a member of the gym and whilst this may be true, in terms of activity, it is misleading, as we know millions will pursue other interests.

That said, there is a huge market out there, where the masses have little desire of becoming a traditional gym member, yet long for a specialised, tailored solution to their individual wellbeing and mental health and of course, it will deliver a significant income stream into the business, a potential lifeline for many public operators.

It's a golden opportunity for our industry to become an effective partner to the NHS, where we can support with early intervention and diagnosis. Think of it, as an entry-level towards preventative health, utilising existing leisure facilities to act as wellness hubs, and existing staff, who have been up skilled to deliver a vast array of programmes.

At KA Leisure , as part of our Wellness Boost Subscription, we have identified a number of subscribers who may be at risk of High Cholesterol or Blood Sugar levels. This isn't to terrify them, far from it, it is to empower them to take ownership of their health and wellbeing (after all, we can only take the horse to the water...).

When you launch a new product, you have to know who your target audience is. It's my view, that everyone we see in the gym, are all part of the '15% UK Gym Club', and whilst some will definitely come on board, it's everybody else sat at home, who we need to get in front of. This is the holy grail of our subscription platform.

Why call it a subscription? It's the everyday language we are all accustomed to and being contract free, it offers complete flexibility but not only that, it deserves it's own identity, for the reason stated above, it is something very different from your typical membership.

Moving forward, we will transition our subscription to a 'standalone' platform, and by removing the current shackles where you need to be a 'member' to gain access, this will undoubtedly appeal to more people across our local communities. Achieve this and that's when you truly become an accessible and inclusive leisure operator.

When you have internal stakeholders, all very passionate about their individual roles, you have to encourage collaboration, a joined up approach and for everyone to buy into the long term vision (of course, it's a fine line between 'here and now' and '12 months time').

What do they get for their money, Jim? I get asked this a lot by colleagues. Value for money means different things to different people, so we must continue to focus on 'adding value' and to encourage a shift in subscriber mindset. When people say something is too expensive, they often really mean 'it's not high on my current list of priorities', so if we can move health and wellbeing up a notch, and perhaps booze & fags down a notch, well that can only be a huge step in the right direction.

It's been terrific to hear from all those, who have been watching our journey as Scotland's first public leisure operator to roll out such a platform and who are now looking to make their own move into the wellbeing sector. Without doubt, this is a game changer for the UK Health and Fitness industry and respective local health authorities.

If anyone needs any guidance, I'm happy to share a few thoughts.

All the best,

Jim