Liz Clark - The Future of IHRSA

Hey everybody, welcome to the Future of Fitness, a top-rated fitness industry podcast for over two years and running. It is 2021, and I am your host, Eric Malzone. I have the absolute pleasure of talking to entrepreneurs, innovators, and cutting-edge technology experts within the fast-paced industries of fitness, wellness, and health sciences. Stop by futurefitness.co to subscribe and learn more. Insight Tracker can help. Insight Tracker was founded in 2009 by leading scientists in aging, genetics, and biometrics. Using their patented algorithm, Insight Tracker analyzes your body's data to provide you with a clear picture of what's going on inside you while offering highly personalized, science-backed recommendations for positive diet and lifestyle changes. Okay, time for straight talk. It's time that each single one of us takes responsibility for our own health. Personally, given the results of my Insight Tracker DNA and blood tests, I now have a clear and simple game plan to lower my cholesterol and stave off my family's genetic history of heart disease. The best part is that the plan doesn't include any kind of pharmaceuticals, just personalized nutrition and natural supplementation. Possibly, my favorite feature of Insight Tracker is the inner age score, a singular metric that shows me how my biological age compares to my chronological age. They just gamify longevity. It's crazy cool. For a limited time, you can get 25% off the entire Insight Tracker store. Just go to InsightTracker.com forward slash future. But wait, there is more. If you're a coach, trainer, registered dietitian, or any other health and wellness practitioner, you can now leverage Insight Tracker services to help your clients perform better than they ever have. And you can offer them discounts while you earn revenue. InsightTracker Pro is your gateway to offering your clients Insight Tracker, a science-backed, ultra-personalized performance platform trusted by elite athletes and top coaches. Just go to InsightTracker.com forward slash future to get more information and enjoy deep, deep discounts. That is insight tracker.com forward slash future. This episode of the Future of Fitness is presented to you by the Fit Tech Club, a business network run by the creators of the FitTech Summit, Europe's leading conference devoted to fitness and health technology. But friends, the fitness industry is changing faster than ever. The intersection of technology with fitness and health is growing bigger and more dynamic by the market. And their consecutive parts are ending up at home, outdoors, on your wrist, or in entirely new places with brilliantly new concepts. Investors are pumping astronomical amounts of money into the market like we've never seen before. The Fit Tech Club believes that collaboration is the advantage to these times of change. That's why the club aims to bring thought leaders together to inspire them by making the right contacts at the right time and giving insights on the industry's most relevant and current trends. Here's what Melanie Lauer, CEO of Kettler and TriSports, says about the Fit Tech Club.

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Hi, Eric. I'm so excited to be here.

Yeah, I'm excited to have you too. And uh I don't know how it made me feel when you said you got to be on the today show after this. I felt like, you know, like, wow, geez. Uh good company. Yeah, it's good company. Yeah. I was like, I'm gonna give you a nice warm-up here. But that's that within itself is probably a whole story that we can talk about. Uh, but you know, you are now the acting CEO for Ursa, right? Which has been um, you know, a very, very influential organization within the fitness and health industry for a very long time. And uh you have quite a job to do with uh with that role. So I guess let's just get right into it. Where, you know, maybe give us a little bit of your background, Liz, and then how you got to be the CEO and then and then we'll really kind of dive into the advocacy for gym owners and everything that's happened over the pandemic and and where things stand.

You bet, you bet. So my entire career I've uh spent in associations, actually. And so I came to Washington, D.C. and started in the chemical industry and went over to the US Chamber of Commerce, where I got a master's degree in international commerce and policy, and then has spent the last decade running government affairs for the candy industry. And a lot of people have found that sort of interesting, going from candy to fitness. But um, the reality is, you know, I've always enjoyed both, and that fitness has been a such a critical part of my entire life. So to have the opportunity to come and be the CEO of this organization was something that was very, very enticing to me. And it was a very deliberate decision, not only by myself, but the board and the the search committee, because what this organization wanted and needed was to pivot this organization where we have focused traditionally on running a trade show, running a magazine, both of those things are great, but not focused on advocacy. So it was how do we move an entire industry to focus on advocacy and communications and and still deliver these other great products that we do at our association, um, but do it in a way that can organize and unify our industry and really bring a voice to lawmakers. And unfortunately, you know, we felt the pain when the pandemic hit and we were not at the table to to receive relief. And um was a very deliberate decision to to make the future of the organization be focused on having that voice, being at the table, which is why they deliberately picked somebody that had a background like myself in advocacy and is located in Washington, DC.

Yeah. How how did they find you, Liz? Did you get headhunted? Did you like how did this? I mean, it's just it's such a like you said, the background just doesn't seem to match the role. I mean, it does when you talk about it, it makes sense the advocacy side of things and living in DC, but you know, the from the the candy industry into the health industry, how did they how did someone connect the dots there?

Yeah, you're right. It was a headhunter. Um, and you know, what I had said is I was I was happy as a clam over there in the candy industry, and we were doing great things. I I built that program, I started that program, we had a huge pack, uh, great members, great industry. Um, but so they, you know, recruited me and it was very enticing again because this is an even better industry and even more opportunity. And um I just fell in love with the board, I fell in love with the search committee, and you know, meeting these members that I that I meet every day on this listening and learning tour has have been just absolutely inspiring. So for me, definitely ended up being um a good match, and I hope I hope the industry and the board feel the same way.

Yeah.

Wait, tell me about this listening and learning tour. What was that all about?

Well, so I think that there, you know, Earth's been an organization that's been around for 40 years and it's done things one way, and there are definitely, I would say, an old guard of people that are okay with that, but way more folks in this space want to be more progressive and more front-footed as an organization. So it's important to me that I am listening and learning from folks that are in the industry, maybe people that have been a little disenfranchised and left the industry, have been frustrated, have wanted to go in a different direction for a long time. And so I have a vision of, you know, where I want to take us and what I want to do, but I want to do that together. And I want to do that um, you know, with the people that have been in the tent that have been our biggest supporters, and then with the ones that have have left and said, maybe I don't see the value of the organization. We're gonna bring the value back and we're gonna um we're gonna do it together.

Yeah. Yeah, it's it's um, and these are my words, you're not yours. But you know, I think when people look at the fitness industry and been around it for a while, they kind of look at the old boys network, right? And seeing like obviously you're a fresh face here, you're doing these tours, you're listening to people. And, you know, I think I've been in the industry for 15 years uh prior to the pandemic. So three years ago, I was like, you know what, I think it's time I'm gonna go get out of the industry and go try something new. And then to be really honest, as like the pandemic started, I was like, whoa, things are getting really interesting now. Like, you know, all this technology rolled in and things were changing so fast. And when there's that kind of shifting of consumer behavior, there's opportunities that pop up everywhere. So it became really exciting. And then, you know, I just double down on this podcast and getting to know what was going on, it was really exciting. So it's it's good to have you there. But when you talk, when you hear people, I'm sure you've heard it, but when people talk about the old boys network or the old guard, um, you know, what how how do you address that that the change is coming?

Well, first I say bring it. Uh, but no, listen, the reality is like the old boys network, that's not just this industry, that's uh the reality of a lot of industries. And so, and it's been the industries that I've been in and been a part of. Um, but we are evolving and we are changing, and we are seeing more and more studios um that are women-owned and minority-owned. And so for me, that's really exciting. Um, and to be able to look at what does that mean for the future and how do we make sure that we have the most um diverse and representative board that's um you know reflective of the industry of where we are today and where we want to go in the future. So um so I think that it's important to bring all of those networks together.

Awesome. Well, let's let's get into the the meat of this, Liz. I think, you know, over the last two years, however long we've been doing in this pandemic, um I have seen three years now.

I write, I mean technically, and that's nuts.

That's bananas. It it uh so I I was a facility owner for nine years. I owned a few of them, and I sold those in 2017. And, you know, personally, I'm very happy I did. Um, but a lot of my friends and colleagues and some of the best like gyms I in in the world, like I came from the CrossFit space and the functional fitness space and the boutique space, and you know, like uh, you know, Kelly and Juliet Starrett closed their gym in San Francisco, right? Just to no one's fault, right? These are great community-based gyms that were, you know, just cornerstones of of their area and and health and fitness of so many, so many people, and just got wiped out. Right? They just they're like, it doesn't make sense for us to to do this anymore. We can't carry on. Um, when you look back over the last two or three years of the pandemic, what what went wrong? How do we go wrong as an industry when we just weren't protected or advocated for um at the legislative level?

Well, yeah, I mean, Eric, those stories are terrible. And I think that we're seeing so many of those. And you look to see how we got where we're at, and you know, what went wrong is that while we were one of the first industries to be shut down and one of the last ones to be allowed to open. And throughout all of that, we weren't given any of the monetary relief that we needed to survive, and we still haven't received any relief today. We know that 22% of gyms have gone out of business permanently. But when we get our new numbers, our end of the year numbers, we think it's gonna be closer to 30%. So, in other words, that's you know, 40,000 clubs across the country, and we're looking to be more like 30,000 across the country, and that's devastating. We've lost 30 billion dollars in revenue. But for me, you know, where I think we're the hardest hit is that these are small businesses that you just talked about in San Francisco, and 80% of our members are small businesses, and these are people that are passionate people that have started these businesses because they want to have a healthier world, and they have mortgaged their houses, they've put up their big life savings, you know, they are minority owned, women-owned. I mean, just the salt of the earth, you know, cornerstone of what we would want out of an industry, and they've been hit the hardest. And so why did that happen? It was because we weren't organized to be able to advocate for ourselves. We didn't have a unified voice together, we didn't have relationships with the lawmakers that we needed to have. You know, it's like when you are in a relationship, you you know, you don't make a relationship overnight. It takes time. And so we we organized as sort of quickly as we could, but it was too late at that point, unfortunately. And so here we are continuing to push, um, you know, at the end here, and we we'll sort of we'll see where we go and where if we are able to squeeze a little bit more relief, um, you know, some federal dollars to to help us because we know that with this variant things are you know knocking us down again. And I think what's really scary is you know, we've been knocked down and we get up, but every time we get up, there's fewer people getting up. And so it's important that we that we stay unified, that we stay together, but what we create this voice and we create these relationships with the people that have the power to help us.

Yeah, it's it's uh if anyone, I mean, there's a lot of people listening to the show who you know are probably gym owners. Um one location, maybe two location independents, and they probably figured out by now that we're not in it for the money. I mean, it's it's uh you know, very, a very, very small percentage of these gyms make a million or over, right? Um you're right. Most of them are usually like I think the large majority, you probably know better than I do, are women-owned and women-run. Um, so it's been a great access point for you know small business and you know, people have an entrepreneurial itch to kind of get into that world because the barrier to entry is is generally pretty low unless you go, you know, franchising, which can be really expensive. Uh, but for the most part, you know, it's it's been an easy access. And, you know, during the pandemic, I always kind of explained to friends and family, like, you guys don't understand. Like when these small businesses go away, they don't just sprout back up again. Like, if they've been around for five plus years, it's because it's been a hard five plus years and they they beat the odds. So when these things just go out of business, they're not just gonna pop up next week under new ownership, you know, not not in the fitness world. So um, yeah, I'm kind of rambling on my own soapbox here, but when you when you see uh when you what can you give us as far as optimism moving forward? Where where do you think the opportunities are and how have things changed so far under your your watch? People age at different speeds, and the date on your license may not represent your inner biological age at all. If you're looking for ways to extend your health span and slow down the aging process, the keys to health and longevity run in your blood. That's why Insight Tracker provides you with a personalized plan to boost your metabolism, reduce stress, improve sleep, and optimize your health for the long haul. Created by leading scientists and aging, genetics, and biometrics. Inside tracker analyzes your blood, DNA, and fitness tracking data to identify where you're optimized, and more importantly, where you're not. You'll get a daily action plan with personalized guidance on the right exercise, nutrition, and supplementation for your body. Add inner age 2.0 to any plan for definitive calculation of your true biological age to see how you're aging from the inside out. I was proud to find out I'm a few years younger than I thought I was. For a limited time, you can get 20% off the entire Inside Tracker store. Just go to insight tracker.com forward slash future to check it out, learn more, and get your own. It's insight tracker.com forward slash future. On to the show.

Well, listen, I think that in every crisis there's an opportunity, right? And so one thing that we have learned through this pandemic is that unfortunately, you know, and the CDC has said it, that we know that people with diabetes and people that are obese are the people that have the highest risk of dying from from COVID and frankly many other diseases. And so how do we change that narrative? How do we, as the fitness industry, plug more in into exercise being medicine? And and how do we marry those two things together? I mean, we know that one in eight Americans have type 2 diabetes, one in four are considered obese, one in four are having anxiety and depression, but we know that if you exercise, you can feel good immediately. So, what an opportunity we have to tie that together and to change the narrative of what we are really doing for people and how we are really impacting the communities in this country uh in a positive way that we are preventative medicine. We are taking the burden off of healthcare systems. You know, this country spends somewhere between two and three trillion dollars on healthcare, but yet we spend sixty billion on incentives to exercise. It's um there's such an opportunity to to you know marry those issues together and create the narrative that we are making this world healthier and we're gonna make people live longer.

Yeah. And when you look, just give it a time frame for let's say two years from now in the future, if if you considered your endeavors successful, right, with what you're doing, what what what are some of the cornerstones that you would deem as success?

Well, one of the things that we are beginning to to work on this year is rebranding the organization. I've said this for a long time that even the name URSA is pretty outdated. A lot of folks don't know what it stands for. And as as you do, you know, say what it stands for, the International Health Sport Racket Club Association, it's a mouthful. And uh and it's that was actually one of my questions, Liz. Yeah. And it's not as inclusive as we want it to be. I mean, it's frankly more exclusive when you when you say it that way. So it's been really important to me that we rebrand our organization in a way that is reflective of of not only where we are today, but where we want to be in the future. And that is a very deliberate exercise that you know that we were gonna that we're gonna bring some of that old guard that we talked about earlier and some of the you know, fresh faces and fresh thinking into that process and make sure that we get it right. So I will see that as a success if we, you know, can successfully rebrand ourselves. I also find success, and we've already seen it, by bringing some of these big uh clubs across the country that have left the membership. They've they've said for a long time, you know, they don't see the value, but they're but they are rejoining. And so that's been a very intentional mission for me is to go after some of these and to get them back in the tent and to get them in in a in a more powerful way. So I'm looking at restructuring our board and creating um even another committee, a strategic advisory committee that would be an opportunity for other members of our industry to participate and to have a say at the table. I really want to recognize our industry partners, and we've created an industry partner council for those that are maybe not necessarily brick and mortar clubs, but are providing technology, providing um equipment, all sorts of things to our industry that are critical players to us. And they need, you know, in my opinion, a seat on our board. So for me, I will see success when we have a new identity and we are structured a little bit differently. And then once all that happens, you know, we can arrive. Arrive on the scene in you know with lawmakers in a really cohesive, strong, powerful way that um that we're starting to do already. We've we've been doing it over the last few months that that we've been here or that I've been here, but but we're gonna do it in a much more deliberate, visible, strong way, and with new, with new partnerships and and new organizations that that need us and where we have the opportunity to lead.

When you said, Liz, that people had left, you know, large health club chains or you know, individual owners of maybe say multiple locations or big locations, and now they're coming back. Why are they coming back?

I think because they believe. I mean, everybody in this industry is so passionate and really wants the best for people and for their communities. But if people are gonna pay money to an organization, they want to believe in the mission and in the value that it's providing. And what I'm selling is is something different. You know, I'm selling more than a trade show, more than a magazine. I'm selling unity, I'm selling a narrative, and you know, we need everybody at the table for that. And um, and I in so far, so good. Uh, it's only been, I think, four months, but um, I've had some hard conversations with some people that have been really disenfranchised for a really long time, and that's fine. I'm not afraid of those conversations. They're some of the the first ones that I wanted to go out and have. And so um, I you know, I'm having them every day, and you know, we're gonna keep it up. And but they're coming back, which is exciting.

Good. When you uh you mentioned partnerships um that you guys are looking to establish and uh create. What would give us some insights on that for maybe people who are listening? What type of partnerships do you see valuable at this point?

I mean, it's alphabet soup of all these organizations that I've been meeting with, you know, but the American Council of Exercise, the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, the Sport Fitness Industry Association. So there's all these groups that are somehow, you know, have a role in, you know, what we're all trying to do, but but nobody has really been able to bring them together in a cohesive way as a really strong coalition together. And I've been building coalitions my entire time here in Washington, DC. And I think you're always stronger with more numbers and you know, more power, and that's really important. Um, another organization that that I'm not afraid of is the YMCA. And, you know, we've talked a long time this industry about about um you know JCCs and Ys and the benefits that they get, and that's great, but um, you know, we need to crack the code on what is it gonna be that we can advocate together, because when you look at those communities, our community together, we're I mean, we are in every congressional district across the country. And so where are you know where are the opportunities for us to be partnering together and and you know taking things further? And so I don't see I don't see things as competitors, I see I see things as opportunities. And so even I know there's been a lot of talk about Peloton, for example, and um you know what that means, a home gym versus you know, the gyms that we represent. But there are a lot of opportunities with companies like that that we can work together on music rights and um you know, licensing and all sorts of opportunities. And um, and when we realize the power and the leverage that we have, I mean, it's strong. And so the more of these voices and brands and organizations that we can get at the table, the stronger we'll be.

Yeah, you uh you alluded to it earlier, and it's it's a carrot that's been dangled in the the fitness industry for a long time, is making the fitness industry kind of primary healthcare or a version of it, which generally means tying into insurance. Like I know the Fit Act has been around for a while. You know, I don't know to what level of success they've seen, but you know, I first heard about it eight years ago. And I haven't heard anything solid about it. So, you know, when you look at that type of opportunity, do you think that is possible? Do you think insurance could cover gym memberships and health coaches and things like that? Or do you think we have a long way to go on that?

You know, Eric, it's so funny you say that just earlier this morning, I was talking to an operator who is doing this. He's he's a club up in Maine, and he is an accredited provider of medical nutrition therapy, which is something that is part of the Affordable Care Act, and they are charging insurance companies to, you know, to use their gym memberships and to talk to their registered dietitians. So it's a model that is in use right now. Now, was it easy to do that? Absolutely not. Um, but what can we learn from clubs that have figured out how to do that? You mentioned fit, and that is that is the type of area where I want to go in the future. I will say the FIT Act, which for those that followed it or not, but it was an opportunity to use health savings account dollars toward gym memberships. And actually, um it made it through the House and it was scheduled to get um, you know, some time in the Senate, but then that all happened. It was the time of um the Kavanaugh hearings and everything sort of blew up and and then we lost, and then you know, Congress adjourned, and so we weren't able to get it done at the time, and then the pandemic hits. So there was actually quite a bit of positive momentum around fit um, you know, coming into you know, days before the the pandemic. So I do think that there are opportunities like that, opportunities to incentivize exercise, uh, opportunities to work with the medical community to prescribe exercise. You know, I mean, how do how do we make that a real thing? Not just your doctor saying, you know, go exercise. How do we, how do we, you know, how how do we have the rubber meet the road there on that one? So I do think there are lots of opportunities on all of those, all of those areas and where we need to go in the future because the dollars are running out on for gyms relief. Um, you know, there is COVID fatigue from from legislators on the hill, you know, doling out money. So we're gonna continue to push for the GIMS Act and to push for relief. Uh, but what's next and what's over the horizon? And it's something in the incentivizing exercise and in sort of health coalition space, I know it.

Yeah. Yeah, it's and and for people who want to look it up, I believe the FIT Act is P-H-I-T-T, if you want to Google it, if I'm correct. Um when you when you look at this, like what you're talking about, that's really rescribing where you know fitness can be prescribed, right? And health insurance, HSAs can be involved in that. What do you think it'll take? Like, what are the hot buttons on the legislative level? Like, what is it that people when you look at it in cold hard truth, like what is it that you think would motivate them to do that? Is it you know, reductions in healthcare costs? Is it um you know, there's gotta be something. When I like corporate health and wellness, just for example, like the ones I've seen that have been massively successful, it's like they actually address um, you know, the the bottom line, right? That's that's what motivates corporations. That's just the truth of the thing. And you know, from healthcare, paid sick time, um, you know, productivity, all of that. And generally we're not talking like you can't just offer someone a gym membership because all it's gonna happen is the same 10% of people who go to gyms before are just gonna go to that gym anyway. So there's this there's this world of people we call them the 80%, and whether that number is correct or right, if you just aren't motivated or maybe they're not ready to raise their hand, and you know, that seems to be always the challenge, and I'm kind of going a circle here, but what what do you think it's gonna take to get people on the hill to understand this, these are the group of people, we need to find ways to get to them.

Yeah. Um, well, you know, I had an interesting conversation at our trade show in Dallas uh with a member, and he said, you know, we keep talking about the other 80%, but let's just talk about the next five percent. And I thought that was, you know, a good way to look at it. That's great. And, you know, um, because what is it that's gonna incentivize? And you have to measure it. Uh you you know, you and if you measure it and if you reward it, then people will do it. So, you know, where you know, the cold hard truth on things like on an HSA is you know, you have to look at, you know, there are two different, very different right schools of thoughts with legislators, right, between Republicans and and Democrats, and I don't wanna overgeneralize, um, you know, but one one side of the coin feels that it's really only wealthy people that have HSAs to begin with, and so why are we gonna allow wealthy people to, you know, use this to go to their gym membership and drink smoothies, right? Like that's their perspective is you know, on one side of the coin. Um, you know, the other is, you know, we want to be very fiscally conservative and we don't want to um, you know, just waste money on things that have no impact on, you know, in general. But to the point that you could tie it to healthcare savings is real. And that's part of the reason why I want to build out what I'm calling a health coalition right now. But I think insurance companies are gonna be people that are some of the first people that I meet with because insurance companies aren't battling us. I mean, for God's sakes, it would cost them, you know, a heck of a lot less money to help incentivize people to go exercise than to pay for a quadruple bypass. So I think, you know, insurance companies have a lot to gain from this. And so if we can match our points and our ask on that, I think that will be really compelling. Um, and it has to be broader than that, but it but it also has to be measurable. And, you know, then you get into HIPAA and all kinds of other, you know, challenges. But um but you know, we've seen people that that are really interested in this, and um, and so I think that that's something interesting where we could go and what you know what really might move the needle.

Yeah. Awesome. When you uh when you look at maybe some of the the better things that come out of the pandemic for the fitness and health industry, what what do you what do you see? Let's you know, kind of give an optimistic look. What would what have you seen so far?

Well, I love it that people are going outside more, I have to say. And you know, we've seen everybody um, you know, are they spending more time with their family, they're having a more balanced lifestyle in some instances, right? In other instances, people say, oh yeah, um, we're working from home, but really we're also many of us are living at work. So that's not necessarily, you know, a good thing that's come out of this. But uh, you know, I like it that you're seeing golf courses full, ski slopes full, lakes full of fishermen, the sidewalks full of people walking dogs. So people are getting out and and they're hopefully moving more. And and I think that that will be a trend, you know, that that's here to stay. And I think that that's been that's been a positive.

Yeah, awesome. Um, this is a question I love to ask people. I know you're you know still kind of getting your uh footing within the the fitness industry, but you mentioned Peloton, things like that. When you look at technology and its effect on the industry over the last few years moving forward, um, I guess two things. What has you most excited about technology? Um, and then uh how do you see like technological partners coming in for URSA and who who are you guys looking to partner with?

Yeah. Uh well listen, I mean, technology is here to stay. And in many instances, that's what saved us. And, you know, the the models of those that figured out either a hybrid situation of you know, offering, you know, trainers or classes and and whatnot in different formats, but but that's not going anywhere. And um, and I think that that's that's a good thing. I think that it will increase accessibility to to those that um maybe are not comfortable, you know, you know, physically going into a gym. Um those that don't have the means to, you know, get to a gym. So I think that there's a lot of great things and great opportunities in technology. Do I think it's going to replace old-fashioned uh exercising in a gym? I don't, but I do think that it has an important role um in being part of the solution. And and many of our people in this industry have figured that out uh to their credit and um and been able to offer very creative um, you know, opportunities and tracking and measuring that um is so exciting. And you know, and technologies or even some of those things that I just talked about, measuring, you know, your golf game, measuring your walks, measuring um, you know, what that means, your sleep patterns. So, so there's a lot of cool stuff happening, and I'm sure that uh, you know, that it's gonna be an area that that we're gonna continue to embrace.

Awesome. Uh, you know, kind of bringing it back to your experience so far personally, right? Like today, uh, we kind of joked you're gonna be, you know, within a few minutes here, you're gonna go on the today show. Um, and you're gonna, I'm curious, like what what are some things that you're planning on talking about for that? And then what other unexpected places have you found yourself uh since being the CEO of URSA?

Yeah, well, listen, so my message today is going to be first about the impact that the pandemic has had on our industry that's been devastating, and we talked all about that um you know at the beginning of this podcast. Next is that, you know, Omicron has knocked us down again. And so, you know, we need relief, and that this is one of the main reasons why. And then I want to tie it back to the you know, all of all the things that we're doing with with medicine and the medical community, and then hopefully wrap it up with a bow with some, you know, legislation that we're we're pushing here at the end. Of course, you never know how things are gonna go. Could be a you know, but that's that's my vision of how uh how I would like the conversation to go. Um you know, where have where have I found myself? Where have I unexpectedly found myself? That's a good question. Uh, you know, I I it's my first time as a CEO, and so that's been an interesting process. That the buck stops with me. You know, there's if there's a you know, a head to be taken off, it's mine. And um, if there's finances that aren't being taken care of and run appropriately, that's on me. And so it's been a pretty steep learning curve for somebody that came, you know, strictly from the government affairs space. Now I've been in association management for a long time, uh, but it's been pretty eye-opening as to what that means and um and to look at what kind of staff, you know, you you need and want around yourself and and you know, who are gonna be the team that you need on the you know, on the field moving forward. So it's been it's been an all-out sprint. You know, if somebody asked me, they said, How's it going? I'm like, I feel like I'm like sprinting a marathon. And uh, you know, I'm ready, I'm ready for some water, ready, you know, to take a nap. And uh, but that's what the holidays were for. And now, you know, here we are off to 2022, and um, you know, we're gonna we're gonna get sprinting again.

Yeah. What uh, and you know, I do want to respect your time here. So I guess one of the final questions I have for you, Liz, is um who who would you like to be hearing from? Like if people are listening to this, like what type of partnerships or outreach is interesting to you right now? And just for people to know, obviously they can tell from our conversation at dates, it is the 4th of January, 2022. Um, you know, what what kind of conversations are you looking to have with your limited time right now?

Um, you know, I'll tell you, Eric, it's kind of funny. I'm not doing a great job of deciphering uh that. I'm saying I want to hear from everybody that you know, I want to know the good, the bad, the ugly. Um, as long as my uh, you know, as long as my assistant can keep up. But she's got me on a pretty packed schedule because I learned something in every one of these conversations that I have. And so while I'm talking to members who have been long members that have a lot of learnings to share with us, and like I said, I'm talking to non-members and people that have been really frustrated. I'm talking to other organizations, I'm talking to other government affairs operations here in DC, I'm talking to lawmakers who are my friends and people that I've, you know, long-standing relationships with. I'm talking to other association CEOs. So it's one of those questions, um, you know, sometimes people ask you, like, oh, tell me about, you know, what's your typical day, and there is no typical day. So um I do want to, you know, I want to hear from as many people as I can and as many people as my as my schedule will allow. Uh it's why I am trying my best to get out and do as many sort of speaking engagements if as I can. So even in my first few months, I spoke at the technology summit, the fitness technology summit. I spoke at Club Industry. I am soon going to be speaking to Fitness Connected. Of course, we had our trade show. So any opportunities like that where um you know there are larger audiences, of course, that's better because you know, then the word gets you know out farther and wider. But anybody can reach out to me any anytime.

Awesome. Well, let's let's leave it at that then. Where where do people reach out to you if you want to send people online? Where's the best place?

Yeah, so I mean, check out our website, ursa.org, i-h-r-sa.org, and there is all kinds of great information on there, um, you know, webinars, research, data, you know, really, really great stuff. And then you can get all of our, you know, staff emails and see what we're doing there. But uh, you know, my email is lclark at ursa.org, and that's usually the best way to reach me is uh email. You might hear back from me at midnight. So, you know, I do have three kids, and I so I work all day, and then I've got to do a little bit of parenting, and then I, you know, tend to to get back on it and and work at night. So if you're getting an email from me uh, you know, late at night, that's not an abnormal thing.

That's awesome. You probably just got added to like a hundred different email lists. So hopefully that didn't happen. So uh thank you so much for spending some time with me. It was great to hear the vision of Ursa. And uh, you know, it's it's it's just good to see, you know, fresh face at the front of this thing and and seeing what you're doing. So uh keep up the great work. Let me know if I can help you with anything. And uh yeah, ladies and gentlemen, let's clerk.

Thank you so much, Eric. You have a great rest of your day. Thanks for having me on.

Oh, wait, don't leave yet. This is your host, Eric Melzo, and I hope you enjoyed this episode of Future of Minutes. If you did, I'm gonna ask you to do three simple things. It takes under five minutes, and it goes such a long way with number one. Please subscribe to our show where we'll iTunes, Spotify, chat box, whatever, and that's a favorable. Number three, talk about your friends and whatever maybe short episode because a lot of working to want to make the support value out of it. If you'd like to learn more, give us me at the Google feature of finished.co, you can subscribe to our newsletter there, or you can put the Ginet Tat with me as I love to check more website. So thank you so much for working on that and the feature of finished.