IHRSA 2021 - OBSERVATIONS

IHRSA 2021 - Everyone was happy to be back - all 4000 attendees in the room and the other 4000 watching with FOMO. This was the new start so many in fitness were looking for.? A new cowboy was in town and her name is Liz Clarke - an energetic Olympian of fitness advocacy having switched her allegiance from pumping candy to pumping Ybells - Advocacy"is the new black apart from “Meta”(which is another whole post).

?So I packed my vax paperwork no-one asked for. I wore a mask in cabs where 80% of the drivers didn't enforce it. Not a fist bump in sight on the trade floor with full double vaxxed body slams.??

Same faces, different badges - “Hi remember me John from Precor, then I went there and now I'm with this startup from Israel…” Everyone chiming "hybrid is here to stay" "supply chain is a nightmare" AND "we are holding on for dear life until January." No more teams of 12 walking the tradeshow floor – just a skeleton of 2 who get to haggle and then go home to do all the work.?

You can always pick the strategic players – Pete Moore from HALO Talks and Integrity Square plonking his podcast at the entrance of Ballroom A, hosting the pre-drinks and book launch straight after the trade show - smart man! Rickard from Eleiko taking meetings on the civilized second floor of the Omni in a quiet corner with a luxe couch far from the madding crowd. Swedes - always so stylish.??

Let's just say - Covid was kinder on some metabolisms than others.?

The first night’s dinner was a bunch of rowdy female colleagues from CA and NY – the entire bill was what we would usually play - EACH. That’s it – we’re packing up the factory with Elon and moving to Austin.

TRADESHOW TIPS

1. You’ll go all the way across the country to meet people from your zip code.
2. Wear slippers – I did and it was glorious. Every single man I passed came up to me and said I wish I had those on. In LA – they do.
3. Don’t trust the app or technology. The wifi never works at conferences and those are- two hours of my organizing life I'll never get back
4. Whatever your meeting schedule is double the time it’ll take to get from a to b. You’ll see 305 people on the way there you actually want to see.
5. Murphy's Law - there are three people you will see every single place you go and there are three people you desperately need to see but won’t. And you’ll find messages on LinkedIn later. Missed you.
6. Those who have yet to attend a big event - a CAVEAT – just like fitness - you move it or you lose it - I don’t have the convention endurance I used to – all that concrete, artificial light, people and technology is a lot after bunking down with your family and contemplating the wind for 20 months. Closing the bar and opening the trade show four days straight are behind - even me. You were warned.?

But ladies - is it good to be back.