Mike Goscinski - The Future of the Health & Fitness Association

[00:00:00] Hi everybody. Welcome to the Future of Fitness, a top rated fitness industry podcast for over

[00:00:07] four years and running. I'm your host Eric Malzone and I have the absolute pleasure of

[00:00:12] talking to entrepreneurs, executives, thought leaders and cutting edge technology experts

[00:00:17] within the extremely fast paced industries of fitness, wellness and health sciences.

[00:00:23] Please stop by futureoffitness.co to subscribe and get our interviews with summaries

[00:00:28] delivered straight to your inbox. You'll also find our free industry report on artificial

[00:00:33] intelligence, five industry experts, five different opinions and tons of valuable insights

[00:00:39] for free at futureoffitness.co. Thanks for listening and onto the show.

[00:00:44] Hey friends, Eric Malzone here. I've had the honor of interviewing over 750 professionals

[00:00:54] across the fitness, health and wellness industries. There's one thing I know for sure. Without

[00:00:58] a doubt there is a tremendous opportunity to leverage a highly valuable and relatively

[00:01:03] untapped network of independent podcasters and content creators. Traditional advertising

[00:01:08] isn't what it used to be. Costs are high, consumer trust is low. I've seen the results

[00:01:13] firsthand and can assure you there's a much better way to connect with your

[00:01:17] target audience and emerge as a thought leader in our industry. That's exactly

[00:01:21] why I've launched the podcast collective. The ultimate solution designed to empower

[00:01:25] executives, founders and thought leaders in the fitness, health and wellness sectors.

[00:01:30] Our mission? To help you leverage the extraordinary opportunities within our handpicked network

[00:01:35] of independent podcasts. We don't just place you on podcasts. We make you unforgettable.

[00:01:40] One-on-one coaching ensures that you show up with the right message for the right

[00:01:43] audience with confidence and swagger. We create eye popping digital assets and social

[00:01:48] media overhauls to ensure that you are optimizing each and every appearance. Key introductions

[00:01:54] to strategic partners and potential enterprise clients provide unparalleled value that only

[00:01:59] a professional network like ours can offer. We work with a very limited number of clients

[00:02:04] to ensure the highest level of service. So please don't hesitate to reach out,

[00:02:08] learn more. Go to podcast collective dot I O to learn more and contact me directly.

[00:02:14] That's podcast collective dot I O.

[00:02:18] Here live, Mike Kozinski. Welcome to the future of fitness.

[00:02:22] Hey, thanks for having me.

[00:02:24] Yeah, my pleasure, man. I have enjoyed our conversations over the past month or two.

[00:02:29] Somewhat fresh off the health and fitness association conference about a month ago.

[00:02:36] Of course, formerly URSA, which you're going to explain a lot about here in a minute.

[00:02:40] But it's going to be great to get some insights on what you guys are up to now,

[00:02:44] what the vision is, what advocacy means for the industry. I think there's so much that

[00:02:48] people just don't understand about your association that is really important because

[00:02:53] the work that you guys are doing on the Hill affects everyone in our industry.

[00:02:57] And that's not just, you know, from a business perspective, but from our clients

[00:03:00] and consumers and members and families, really. So it's important. That's what I'm trying to

[00:03:05] say. So Mike, let's start with this as usual. If you don't mind, just give us a little of

[00:03:09] your background, set the table and we'll take it from there.

[00:03:12] Yeah, absolutely, Eric. And thanks for having me on today. I really appreciate the opportunity.

[00:03:17] So my name is Mike Gzynski. I'm the vice president of government affairs for the health

[00:03:21] and fitness association, the newly branded health and fitness association. And I come to the health

[00:03:26] and fitness industry previously serving in a similar role, but always for food and beverage

[00:03:32] and retail industries prior to this. I was born and raised in New Jersey,

[00:03:38] moved down to Washington DC in the chart of the economic process and worked for

[00:03:44] New Jersey and took months off the Hill to work for 501 CZX trade associations,

[00:03:53] presenting industries and being able to share their voice with elected officials,

[00:03:58] policymakers and influencers in Washington DC to try and connect the dots between how policy

[00:04:05] and the work that is happening here and in state capitals across the country actually

[00:04:09] impacts those businesses trying to operate on the ground across the country.

[00:04:15] So I've been doing this in DC now for about 15 years. It's an exciting time. The industry

[00:04:22] is the energy as I imagine always been this exciting, but it just feels new to me,

[00:04:26] exciting to me and I think the excitement, the focused on I can see public policy and really

[00:04:35] helping move the needle has been showing trend well since I've joined formally in December of 23.

[00:04:44] So I came in the pandemic and I'm just excited that is behind us. The future is in front of

[00:04:50] us and it's exciting new and we can really help chart a new path.

[00:04:54] Adam Backer Right on, right on. And one of the things

[00:04:58] we will cover too, which is to mention it here in the forefront is the play-in event.

[00:05:03] When is that again, Mike?

[00:05:04] Mike Yes, we have our what I'm dubbing our inaugural

[00:05:08] Health and Fitness Association flying in the summit in Washington DC, May 7th and 8th. Yeah,

[00:05:14] excited to share more on that. But we have done two previously since I've come on board

[00:05:19] under with EIRSA and then in partnership with Al Nakhchivanian in the FIT Tech Summit this

[00:05:25] past October. So it's been exciting. We've been helping to niche voices heard in the

[00:05:31] nation's capital and people are starting to listen.

[00:05:33] Adam Yeah, right on. Great. Well, we'll get into that a little bit more and all the details about

[00:05:37] it. But yeah, I guess the first question I had is when Liz you've known Liz for a while. Is

[00:05:42] that right? You've worked with her for a little bit.

[00:05:43] Mike It's about 15 years at a shocking

[00:05:46] league at this point. But we both we both formally came from the food world. She was

[00:05:50] with candy. I was with bread. It's a match made in heaven. But we were we talked about

[00:05:54] a lot of issues on the hill together. I like to joke that we went from we both came from

[00:05:59] calories in and went to calories out. That's just me. But it works on the hill. It works

[00:06:03] with legislators.

[00:06:04] Adam Yeah, that's funny. Very memorable. The when you when you guys first came to this

[00:06:11] industry, was there anything that you thought like immediately you're like, Whoa, okay,

[00:06:17] there's there's some major issues here? Like, or things are like, Wow, they're

[00:06:21] actually doing some things right. Like, what was your first impression?

[00:06:23] Mike The industry just so much right, right?

[00:06:27] The industry itself is built upon doing what is right. It's helping people have access to

[00:06:32] physical activity, having access to staying fit, staying healthy, taking care of their

[00:06:36] mental and physical health, the entire industry itself revolves around doing and being what is

[00:06:42] right. Where we saw that where I know listen, when she came on board, hiring me, we saw

[00:06:49] an absent building a strong advocacy program, it really the recognition and the reputation

[00:06:54] with lawmakers. You know, what this likes to say, if you don't see that the table you're

[00:07:00] on the menu. And that is true in the industry saw it during the times in Washington, DC,

[00:07:06] industry after industry was clamping talking with policymakers about being the industry

[00:07:10] deemed essential. And we know this industry is extremely essential. Americans know this

[00:07:15] industry is extremely something everyone around the world knows that the industry is

[00:07:18] extremely essential to the mental and physical health and well being. But making that case

[00:07:23] policymakers reads required having someone here to share that voice. And that was where the gap

[00:07:31] was and that's what we're trying to fix. And doing a good job of it, if I can say so myself,

[00:07:37] since we've been here, right? We're building the relationships, we're having the conversations

[00:07:41] were connecting elected officials directly businesses within their districts in the

[00:07:46] communities that they serve. And the constituents that utilize all of the businesses

[00:07:52] that this industry is comprised of take care of their health. And so that's the immediate gap

[00:07:58] that we've been working to fix. And it's all about consistent drumbeat of having conversations,

[00:08:04] building relationships, you know, walking through some of the hard conversations, right?

[00:08:10] Everybody wants to bring up the bad attributes of an industry, right? Everybody brings up the

[00:08:16] one time they couldn't get out of a gym membership or the horrible problems that

[00:08:21] they've experienced at one location or the one spin instructor that they couldn't stand, right?

[00:08:26] You'll always hear that. But at the end of the day, we have a huge beneficial springboard in

[00:08:32] the conversation because I'm no longer talking about donuts. I'm out there talking about people

[00:08:38] staying physically active and getting healthy, which is a huge bonus. Yeah. And no knock to

[00:08:44] donuts. No, not so much donuts at all. Listen, I love them though. And it's why I work out as

[00:08:51] frequently as I do. So I think I had Liz on about two and a half years ago now from the

[00:09:00] when this will probably be published. So back then we were just talking, she was talking

[00:09:05] about the rebrand was coming. Avokski was definitely the primary focus. So that was the

[00:09:10] two things rebrand and advocacy, right? Over the last two years specifically,

[00:09:14] like give us some ideas of what have been some of the bigger wins that you guys have gotten

[00:09:19] since that time. Well, first and foremost, I'm here talking to you today as an employee

[00:09:23] of the health and fitness association, which I think is an evolution that has been a long time

[00:09:28] in being particularly from the advocacy side, being able to talk to a lawmaker and say,

[00:09:33] hi, I'm Mike Gzezinski with health and fitness as opposed to hi, I'm Mike Gzezinski

[00:09:37] with Earth and then having them come back and say, okay, well, what does Earth stand for? And

[00:09:41] then discussion. It's a huge win with the director is really a long time coming in a very

[00:09:53] exciting new future. So that's first and foremost number one. We've also been able to

[00:09:59] really start to hone our focus. The association today is really focusing on three main

[00:10:05] pillars, like what we're what and how we're going to service the health and fitness industry.

[00:10:10] And then just through like you see on a global scale, right? Making sure that we are

[00:10:16] A, on the ground here in Washington DC throughout state capitals, being that direct lobbying

[00:10:21] voice talking directly to lawmakers. But on the global scale, making sure that we're working

[00:10:25] with our federation partners, working with organizations and others throughout the global

[00:10:30] scene to make sure that the industry is all speaking from the same song sheet, talking about

[00:10:35] the same items and making sure that everybody is hearing the same message that physical activity

[00:10:41] is not just a hobby, but preventive health and learning and understanding why at all policy turns

[00:10:48] we should be considered as such. And then the second pillar that we're focusing on is our

[00:10:52] education. That is where the trade show comes in, making sure that everybody is understanding

[00:10:57] what is going on in the industry, being on the forefront and making sure that we're

[00:11:01] delivering the tools and resources that fitness facilities need around the globe in order for

[00:11:07] their businesses to be successful, but also making sure that they understand the complexities

[00:11:11] of the world that they're living in and making sure that they're prepared

[00:11:14] for any changes that may be coming down the pipe. The last of those three pillars is our

[00:11:18] research arm. And that's something that we've the industry and the association has always

[00:11:23] been proud of. We continue to strive to meet that and bring out some new products that

[00:11:29] the industry can rely on, but also think about looking at different avenues such as

[00:11:35] other communities that may not be thinking about the industry and utilization of the industry in

[00:11:39] a way that it can be utilized. So looking at the investment communities and others to make

[00:11:44] sure that we really like there are, we're putting together, but B is driving all of the

[00:11:50] ways that we're working in the industry. Yeah, interesting. I want to definitely get a

[00:11:56] little bit more into the research. I think that's something a lot of people don't know about.

[00:12:00] Mike, give us some insights into, because I don't really know, so I'm guessing most people

[00:12:04] listening don't really know, but the organization itself, right? It's nonprofit, right? Like how

[00:12:08] do you guys get your money? How do you get your funding? Like where do you make money?

[00:12:11] Where do people provide funding for you? Where does all that come from?

[00:12:17] Right. Yeah. We are a, to take the walk out of it, simplest terms, we are a

[00:12:22] not-for-profit trade association. We are set on a way that we are a membership-duest organization.

[00:12:31] So all of the work that we do and the product that we produce is done by the generous

[00:12:38] membership of members in the industry and the generous contributions of the industry through

[00:12:45] sponsorship, purchasing of products, et cetera. Again, we are a not-for-profit organization.

[00:12:52] So everything that we do on behalf of the industry is made possible by the commitment

[00:12:57] of the industry being members of our organization and taking advantage of the resources that we have.

[00:13:04] Awesome. And if someone becomes a member of the health and fitness association, what does

[00:13:10] that look like? As far as I'm sure there's various investor levels, but what do they get

[00:13:15] in return for being part of the team? Yeah. No, absolutely. You get access. So

[00:13:20] we do have different options of membership, but first and foremost, our main membership program

[00:13:26] provides you with the education, that research and those advocacy tools. And of course, if you're

[00:13:32] a United States-based member, that direct advocacy and sharing your voice, it also gives

[00:13:38] you the opportunity to engage across all three of those opportunities. So from the advocacy

[00:13:43] perspective, which I'm the most equipped to speak about is you can engage with us in terms

[00:13:48] of being a member and those who help shape our advocacy voice. We have produced policy positions

[00:13:56] that guide our principles over the year, but also we have the opportunity to have a grassroots

[00:14:02] advocacy network that helps us communicate with members of Congress and staff. We're able to

[00:14:07] help you with that, but there's also resources that are delivered from the advocacy program that

[00:14:11] help you run your business. So take for instance, as an example, if you live in the

[00:14:16] state of Maryland, we just had really successful policy with the state of Maryland. Their state

[00:14:22] legislature was looking to eliminate the usage of liability waivers by fitness clubs and fitness

[00:14:28] facilities in their business, which as we know are pivotal to have in place in order to get

[00:14:34] affordable liability insurance and to be able to make sure that you're operating safely

[00:14:39] and not at risk of undue litigation. We've been fighting this bill for two years and

[00:14:46] the trial lawyer community and those who are advocating on behalf of removing liability

[00:14:50] waivers has been in our face pushing back and in legislators face pushing backs.

[00:14:57] They should not be exempt from this. Thankfully, as of yesterday, there's a bill on

[00:15:02] it's heading to the Governor Moore's desk in Maryland that incorporated amendment in West

[00:15:08] to fully exempt the health and fitness industry. We are the only industry fully

[00:15:13] exempted thanks to our engagement other than the hotel industry, which utilized our messaging

[00:15:18] of saying we need to be exempt because we had fitness centers and they piggybacked off and

[00:15:23] were the only two exempt industries in the entire state that's now allowed to legally

[00:15:28] there. That's now allowed to continue utilization of liability waivers for adults usage of clubs

[00:15:34] and facilities. So I use as an example to say in our minds and some of the stuff

[00:15:39] we were preparing is we're working fighting like hell to make sure that the industry is protected

[00:15:45] first and foremost gaining those amendments stopping the legislation. But at the same time

[00:15:50] working to make sure that the education and tools are there for our members to understand

[00:15:56] what happens if it happens, if it's happening when it happens and what they need to do within

[00:16:01] their business to make sure that they're not only in compliance but protecting themselves

[00:16:06] now that new laws are going into place. So that's a little bit of some of the resources

[00:16:11] that we provide. Also you have access to the research as I mentioned earlier, our premium

[00:16:16] members all receive that free of charge. It's an access to all of our issue products and

[00:16:23] anything that can help not only drive your business to be successful but help protect it

[00:16:29] in the long run as you're looking to navigate the world of your own businesses.

[00:16:34] Yeah. Why would, I guess I kind of get it but in that Maryland case,

[00:16:41] why would they want to get rid of waivers? Is it just so that the businesses are more liable

[00:16:47] for injury? Is that really kind of fundamental?

[00:16:51] I can give you my cynical answer but V, because you never want to

[00:16:58] guess someone's ulterior motives. The rationale that they were utilizing is they

[00:17:02] were utilizing the child's case or the case of children where a parent goes to a trampoline

[00:17:08] park or an amusement park and they sign a waiver to sign the life away of their child.

[00:17:13] And look, we have no skin in that game. We have no objections to why and the motives

[00:17:20] of doing that. And we frankly said, and that's why we crafted the amendment language

[00:17:25] that we were working with, we understand why Marylanders and the Maryland legislature wants

[00:17:30] to protect children. Nobody disagrees with that but by doing a broad sweeping build that encompasses

[00:17:37] the industry which comes with the assumed risk that everybody knows when you, like if you walk

[00:17:42] into a regular gym, you understand the assumed risk of picking up iron and putting it back

[00:17:47] down. People understand the assumed risk of cardiovascular exercise, et cetera, et cetera,

[00:17:52] et cetera. So conflating a piece of legislation aimed at protecting children to something that

[00:17:59] then exposes so many in the business community to sue and settle litigation or undo litigation threat

[00:18:08] is where my cynical view, Kathy said and I'll leave it at that. But thankfully we were able

[00:18:16] to make that case. We were able to talk to the lawmakers and say, nobody is standing in

[00:18:20] the way of protecting children. What we're doing is protecting our industry and trying to

[00:18:24] protect the ability for our industry to be able to continue offering affordable access

[00:18:32] to men, women and everybody in the state to have access to physical activity.

[00:18:36] Adam Foss Awesome. Yeah, you know, this reminds me of an example I had in my gym

[00:18:41] operator time where advocacy or collectively getting together as an organization is super

[00:18:46] valuable. So CrossFit, R-E-R-G, I don't know if they're still around if you're familiar with

[00:18:49] them, but as a CrossFit gym owner, there's started to get, a lot of media started surrounding

[00:18:55] right around 2010 of rhabdomyolysis being a case where people are doing CrossFit. So

[00:19:01] what happens is you start to get these copycat cases of people going to CrossFit gyms,

[00:19:05] working out exceptionally hard, dropping in, intentionally getting some level of rhabdomyolysis

[00:19:11] and suing crap out of these little gyms. And that's how the organization started. It was

[00:19:17] very predatory. And it was pretty nasty, but I'm glad they came and kind of pulled everything

[00:19:22] together. So hopefully they're still around or I'm sure they are in some way, but it was,

[00:19:27] that was a direct benefit to me as a gym owner. I think this is the kind of stuff

[00:19:30] that people need to start paying attention because it's hard. Like as a gym owner or

[00:19:34] operators, a million things you have to worry about. Like the last thing you want to think

[00:19:37] about is what's going on around you legally or what's going on on the Hill, right?

[00:19:41] Well, and that's exactly it. That's exactly why we're here. I take pleasure in reading

[00:19:47] legislation, going line by line, the wonk of it all. But fitness facility operators and owners

[00:19:56] don't have the time to do that or run a business as well. So what I like to do is

[00:20:00] talk about advocacy from the insurance policy perspective. You wouldn't open your business

[00:20:05] doors if you didn't have strong insurance to protect your business, protect your employees

[00:20:11] and protect your livelihood. Why wouldn't you consider advocacy on behalf of the industry

[00:20:18] a part of that policy? And when I say that, I say in terms of membership with an organization

[00:20:23] like the health of fitness association, where my sole responsibility is to pay attention

[00:20:29] to all of the threats that are coming at the state and local level and make sure that

[00:20:33] somebody is talking about that with those lawmakers, that is an insurance policy that

[00:20:38] the industry itself doesn't need to worry about, but can engage in and learn about

[00:20:43] and understand more about the work that we're doing and how it's helping the business.

[00:20:49] Mike, what do you, if you look at like the next year or two, I don't know how far your

[00:20:54] horizon goes here, but, or how long these things take, what do you think are some of

[00:20:58] the most significant challenges and opportunities that we're looking at as an industry right now?

[00:21:03] What are you guys really focused on? Yeah. I don't see any of them particularly

[00:21:09] as a challenge. I see them as an opportunity. And what I mean by that is if you asked us,

[00:21:14] you know, at Convection Trade Show, I was doing an onstage interview with Mark Manstroth

[00:21:22] and everybody in the industry. And he talked about his big, very ambitious goal.

[00:21:28] And I just had an article in our most recent edition of Club Business International, which

[00:21:35] is a publication that also as a member you receive if you're with us, but it just talks

[00:21:38] about all of the things that we're focused on. And I have an article in this month's

[00:21:42] edition that talks about, you know, what is my BF, which is my big, very ambitious goal.

[00:21:47] And that is, you know, a revolution of the healthcare industry, that physical activity

[00:21:54] is seen as a preventive health measure across all aspects of product disease and not

[00:21:59] computer goal diseases. And what that means is there, you know, the industry itself

[00:22:04] is seen as a valuable resource to public health, as opposed to just a hobby or something about

[00:22:13] for individuals to get bigger or get smaller depending on what their goal is.

[00:22:17] But so when you look at the public policy landscape and everything that comes with it,

[00:22:22] there's opportunities for us across the board to continue to build around that goal and

[00:22:28] continue to show value. Right? We have a huge weighing mental health crisis in the United

[00:22:34] States, and we all know that physical activity in the simplest of going out and having a,

[00:22:40] you know, spirited walk for 10 minutes can help lower your blood pressure, help calm you

[00:22:45] down and help a lot with mental wellbeing. We need to be a part of those discussions.

[00:22:52] And so there's a lot of policy threats out there, but being a part of the discussion

[00:22:56] and making sure that they understand that the industry again is not just

[00:23:01] a single location on Main Street that someone goes to work out, but as a part of the overall

[00:23:05] healthcare continuum, a part of making sure that Americans stay and get physically healthy

[00:23:11] and mentally healthy is I think, again, there's an opportunity in every single piece

[00:23:17] of legislation that's introduced and every regulation that they try and push out.

[00:23:22] This episode of the Future of Fitness is brought to you by our friends at Wodify.

[00:23:26] I own gyms for the better part of a decade. There are a lot of options when it comes to

[00:23:30] gym management softwares and the cost and stress of migrating from one to another is

[00:23:35] tremendous. Trust me, I get it. That's why making the switch needs to be an absolute

[00:23:40] no brainer. Wodify's free unlimited tier offers all their premium features for zero

[00:23:46] monthly fees. Now that is compelling. No membership caps, no hidden costs,

[00:23:52] just pure value. With Wodify's free unlimited tier, you can increase your profit by 25%

[00:23:58] tomorrow at 25%. Their all-in-one customer retention platform is designed to help you

[00:24:04] keep your members engaged and coming back for more. In fact, Wodify run businesses have

[00:24:10] an average retention rate of 96%. Join over 5,000 businesses that trust Wodify to

[00:24:16] revolutionize their fitness operations and create state-of-the-art fitness experiences.

[00:24:21] Learn more and speak with the Wodify team. Go to wodify.com forward slash futureoffitness.

[00:24:28] That's w-o-d-i-f-y dot com forward slash futureoffitness. Now onto the show.

[00:24:36] That actually segues nice into something that I wanted to ask you about because it's come up on

[00:24:43] this talk on this podcast numerous times. I don't know how many times just in conversation

[00:24:48] between people in the industry with the FIT Act. What is going on with that thing?

[00:24:54] Well, it's still here and I say that jokingly because every time we talk about

[00:24:59] it within the industry, why are we still talking about it? Why we're still talking

[00:25:02] about it is because if you look at what I just mentioned, getting to a place where physical

[00:25:08] activity in the fitness, health and fitness industry can be assessed, prescribed, and then

[00:25:18] referred to locations where then somebody can come after a doctor says,

[00:25:22] you need to have a physical activity routine. And I can go to a yoga studio, a spin studio,

[00:25:28] or wherever I do of my choosing where I feel comfortable to get that physical activity,

[00:25:34] then there's a longer road to get there in a right way starting with the FIT Act.

[00:25:41] What the FIT Act does in the simplest of terms is it changes the treatment of physical

[00:25:47] activity. The term physical activity changes this treatment in the IRS code to make it

[00:25:53] considered preventive health. And if physical activity by the IRS is changed to mean preventive

[00:26:00] health, the dominoes start to fall in place for assessment, referral and utilization as a

[00:26:07] preventive health measure. And so yes, the FIT Act is great. We reintroduced it back in 2023

[00:26:13] with more support than ever before. It's currently sitting with 70 bipartisan co-sponsors

[00:26:18] in the House, 20 bipartisan co-sponsors in the Senate. Everyone loves it. Every time I have a

[00:26:23] conversation, members of Congress jump on board. I was with the sponsor of the bill yesterday,

[00:26:28] a member of Congress named Mike Kelly from Pennsylvania. And I was talking to him,

[00:26:32] he's a great champion of ours, great champion of the bill. But I was talking to him about

[00:26:36] it. And as an advocate pushing for the bill, I said every time I have this conversation,

[00:26:43] whether or not it's in a room with other lobbyists and a lawmaker, or just an office,

[00:26:48] a room full of people talking about what I'm working on. I gained so much support from within

[00:26:53] the room because I say we're working on a bill that makes it eligible to use your HSA and FSA

[00:26:58] funding, physical activity expenses and use force. And there's always the one person that

[00:27:02] says I would love to be able to pay for my gym membership with my FSA funds. And there's

[00:27:07] always the person in the room that says, wait, you mean to tell me that it's possible

[00:27:10] that I may one day be able to pay for my son's soccer with a mind, just say your FSA.

[00:27:16] And once they hear that, it creates the excitement in a bill that has been around

[00:27:23] for a long time because people see it as a gateway forward. Looking back at the pandemic,

[00:27:29] which I'm getting to the point where I'm really trying to do anymore. So I apologize

[00:27:34] for bringing it up, but kids were secluded. They were out of school, they weren't playing

[00:27:39] sports. They weren't playing with their friends. They were told to stay in the house. We all know

[00:27:43] what happened, but coming out of that, how many of those kids are out playing sports now?

[00:27:48] Or are they still on the computer? Are they still on the iPad? Are they still

[00:27:50] playing video games? How many of them are learning what many of us learn from ordinary

[00:27:57] sports? The team building, the bonding and just the general developmental training that came

[00:28:06] along with all of that. And so there's a lot of opportunity for us still. And it's just about

[00:28:12] telling the story the right way, talking to people the right way, and for lack of better

[00:28:17] terminology, playing the game appropriately. Liz and I collectively with Jeff Salisby,

[00:28:22] who's our senior vice president of communications, we bring nearly 55, 60 years of Washington,

[00:28:29] DC experience, which allows us to understand who the power players are, how a bill like this

[00:28:35] actually moves, and who we need to target in order to make sure that when the time comes,

[00:28:41] there's a vehicle for this to ride on or it gets passed out of committee. And the appropriate

[00:28:46] people are making the moves on the Capitol Hill to get it done. Awesome. One of the things that

[00:28:51] just popped into my head is who drove this? Obviously Liz got hired as CEO. That brought

[00:28:56] in a strong advocacy angle, but who was responsible for that? Who was the one within

[00:29:01] Ursa that was like, hey, we need to make a significant change of direction?

[00:29:05] Not the one. It's the industry, the industry itself. Right? If you look back,

[00:29:10] as I mentioned when you asked what is Health and Fitness Association, what is an association,

[00:29:15] we are here to serve the membership base. And so when coming out of 2020, realizing that

[00:29:27] there was whiteness in the voice in Washington, DC, right? The appropriate voice wasn't there to

[00:29:34] really get things done, make the changes, make sure that the industry's voice was heard.

[00:29:40] That's what led to it. And again, the board of directors, some who were serving them,

[00:29:46] and then those who continue to be here now, they really drove the change that they

[00:29:52] understood the membership wanted and needed. And the industry as a whole, right? It's not just

[00:29:57] about servicing the members. At the end of the day, everything we're doing benefits the industry

[00:30:01] as a whole. We're working to benefit the industry as a whole. And the board saw where

[00:30:06] the gaps were. The membership saw where the gaps were. And they sent a clear message that

[00:30:11] they wanted, this is where they wanted the industry to focus. So that's when Liz came on

[00:30:17] board and she's been continuing to reshape the way that we operate and what we're focused on and

[00:30:24] all the better. Yeah, we have an election year. We're in an election year, right?

[00:30:30] I'm not going to ask you who you're going to vote for. Don't worry. But yeah.

[00:30:36] It doesn't matter to me whoever's here I have to talk to. And we'll talk to you.

[00:30:40] That's the point, right? At the end of the day, it never makes a difference.

[00:30:43] What consequences or is there consequences for this year's election on our industry?

[00:30:48] Is there anything that people should be aware of when they're dropping their ballot?

[00:30:53] I think at the end of the day, it's more so not about who you work for or who you vote

[00:30:58] for, excuse me. It's how you engage with them. And so I think even as we're looking to the

[00:31:03] polls, think about the old saying law politics is local, right? As you're looking at your

[00:31:10] representative, think about who's going to represent your interests in the best way.

[00:31:13] Think about who you might be able to have a conversation with and express your interest

[00:31:18] to. Who's willing to talk to the industry? We had a lot of great information available to

[00:31:24] our members in the United States to learn about the candidate. But also at the end of

[00:31:28] the day, we've talked to a lot of them. So ask if the person who represents your district

[00:31:36] is a champion of our industry, I'll happily have those conversations.

[00:31:39] The one thing I will say about the election itself, not just the presidential, but the

[00:31:45] House and the Senate is regardless of what happens, we live in Washington DC on a two-year

[00:31:53] to four-year cycle depending, right? The House changes hands every two years, whether they

[00:31:58] change party hands or... But regardless, half of the people there, the faces change,

[00:32:03] the staffs change. Everything tends to be very cyclical here. And so regardless of

[00:32:10] how you look at who wins, know that we're here talking to them and there's a re-education,

[00:32:17] re-engagement and build off of a conversation that we are continuously having. And

[00:32:24] regardless of who wins, know that it does not matter. There's never a time that you

[00:32:30] in the industry, you as a leader or us as the association can ever be caught off guard again,

[00:32:36] could ever not be engaged. And we will be engaged at every level across the board to

[00:32:41] make sure that that doesn't happen or never. Yeah. Awesome. The fly-in. So May 7th, 8th.

[00:32:48] So pretty soon, as this will be published very quickly in time for that. But yeah,

[00:32:55] tell me about that. What is it? What's going on there? Yeah, it is. It's such an exciting event.

[00:33:00] And it's something different. I do this job for a living, but I always enjoy when I see people

[00:33:07] come to town and experience it because the excitement's there and everybody goes out of

[00:33:12] here fully energized and wants to be more and more engaged in the advocacy process.

[00:33:16] It's May 7th and 8th here in Washington, DC. It's a two-day event. The first day,

[00:33:20] May 7th on Tuesday is all about education. We bring in speakers to let you learn about the

[00:33:26] policies that we're working on and the background. So we're talking about the FIT Act up on Capitol

[00:33:31] Hill on Wednesday with members of Congress. On Tuesday, you'll hear from somebody who will focus

[00:33:35] on why physical inactivity is a detriment to the youth of our nature. What does it cause

[00:33:42] in terms of chronic disease, diabetes risks, mental health risks? And it's painted in a way

[00:33:47] that helps you understand and know those talking points when you're up on the Hill

[00:33:52] talking to legislators. There's some networking and fun in between. On Tuesday night, we're going

[00:33:57] to head down to Nats Park for the Nationals to Play the Orioles, generously sponsored by

[00:34:02] ABC Fitness, our lead sponsor on the program. And we'll be able to have 75 minutes of private

[00:34:09] food and beverage happy hour reception behind home plate. It's going to be a lot of fun.

[00:34:14] All attendees get to come as part of the program. And then we all get box seating with

[00:34:19] food and beverage for the game. Just a way to relax, network, meet your colleagues,

[00:34:23] meet everybody else who's interested and focused and enjoys being engaged in advocacy.

[00:34:28] And then on Wednesday, we take to Capitol Hill and we organize into groups based off of where

[00:34:33] you're from in the country. And those groups go around regionally to members of Congress,

[00:34:38] meet directly with members of Congress and staff are fully educated from us and on how the

[00:34:44] conversations, the talking points you need, etc. But they're really just relaxed ways for us

[00:34:49] to introduce business owners to the people who represent them and people that make policies

[00:34:54] that impact their business. And that's the name of the game, right? Is building that

[00:34:58] relationship, making those introductions, and then the follow up of making sure that we

[00:35:03] continue those conversations. Because then when Congressman X is voting on a piece of legislation

[00:35:08] or writing a piece of legislation, he'll say, oh, I wonder what that will mean for the Health

[00:35:13] and Fitness Club and wonder the impacts this will have on the health and fitness facility in

[00:35:17] my district, right? And that's the end goal. The end goal is to make sure that they're

[00:35:21] thinking about us before we're engaging with them. That way it makes my job easier. It makes

[00:35:27] your business a little bit more protected. And at the end of the day, it makes operating

[00:35:34] a little bit more tenable. So that two-day event, I apologize, it starts on Wednesday,

[00:35:41] Tuesday at noon in Washington, DC. It goes until 5pm on Wednesday. We do have a hotel

[00:35:48] room block. That is the one deadline that is actually coming up on April 15th. So we do have

[00:35:55] a reduced rate at two hotels in Washington, DC that are very convenient for all of our attendees.

[00:36:01] So if you're interested, please head to our website and check it out and look at the links.

[00:36:08] But I will say that deadline passing on April 15th does not preclude you from coming

[00:36:13] or engaging afterwards. If you're interested or if you have, you know, if you're a loyal,

[00:36:19] different chain, you can both come to register and join us in Washington, DC

[00:36:27] anytime before the event between now and May 6th.

[00:36:31] Awesome. Yeah. I mean, hopefully this gets out by then as far as publishing. It's going to be

[00:36:35] cutting it close, but I think either way people will get the point. Who generally shows up to

[00:36:39] these things? I mean, well, I guess how many times have you guys done these? How often do

[00:36:43] you plan on doing them in the future? And who have you had so far and who would you like

[00:36:47] to see more of? Yeah. So it's an annual event we've done since I've come on board, we've done

[00:36:54] two of them. So our first one was in May of last year. We like to do it in May because May is

[00:36:58] physical activity month. The president signs a declaration. It's been historical. Governors,

[00:37:04] we're working that right now with governors across the states, side proclamations in each

[00:37:08] individual states that everybody is collectively recognizing it as physical activity month. But

[00:37:13] we've had so far two very successful ones. We've met with over 140 members of Congress and staff.

[00:37:20] We brought roughly about 130 individuals to Washington, DC. It tends to be folks who are

[00:37:28] at the executive level, council, marketing team, but it doesn't have to be. It could be

[00:37:34] anybody who is involved in your business that can tell your story because at the end of the

[00:37:38] day, that is the only reason why I love having folks come to town because I can talk all day

[00:37:45] till I'm blue in the face as I'm sure you and the listeners, I'm sure will realize as well.

[00:37:51] Policies about everything and about what we're working on. But the one thing I can't do

[00:37:56] is tell your story, tell why you're in this business, talk about your business,

[00:38:01] talk about the clients that you serve. I can allude to it. I can talk about the industry

[00:38:06] and marry broad strokes, but everyone coming in actually weighing in with the lawmaker,

[00:38:12] that is a real tangible story that they can understand. It's things that they can put

[00:38:17] with a name. Joe's rowing studio on 13th street and they now know who Joe is.

[00:38:26] Why should you attend? It's simple. We educate lawmakers on the mental and physical health,

[00:38:32] kinds of physical activity. We establish and strengthen those relationships with members

[00:38:36] of Congress, staff and the businesses within their districts. At the end of the day, we're

[00:38:43] all here to advance the reputation of the health of this industry and make sure that we

[00:38:48] are considered whatever and what we are. Awesome. I want to get your thoughts on this

[00:38:56] because I've talked about the pandemic and nauseam on this podcast as well, but that

[00:39:02] combined with the critical state of this country's health and all the projections

[00:39:07] for healthcare costs. As dismal as that looks, that's got to put some wind in the sales for

[00:39:15] our industry. Especially here's the thing that people are starting to realize too is

[00:39:22] we have very few young people in this country that are eligible for the military due to

[00:39:27] their physical status. That's a big deal to Washington DC. That's a big deal to the

[00:39:32] people who run this place. As these kind of like, fortunately negative things are starting

[00:39:37] to come about and just become squarely in our face as problems and issues that need to be

[00:39:41] dealt with. Is that putting a little bit of wind in sales as far as what we're trying

[00:39:44] to do as industry or what you guys are trying to do? It is. We're actually having

[00:39:47] that conversation. So you're right. 77% of the nation currently is eligible people in

[00:39:53] the United States currently. 11% of that is because they qualify as obese. Another 13%

[00:40:02] is because they have mental health issues that preclude them diagnosed. And so it's a real

[00:40:10] challenge. In the last two years, all I believe and I might be speaking at a turn here, but I

[00:40:18] believe all branches of the US Armed Services fail to reach their recruitment goals. And so

[00:40:26] members of Congress are extremely focused on this right now. How do they focus on recruitment,

[00:40:32] readiness and retention? Because at the same time you can be an enlisted member of the Armed

[00:40:39] Services. But if you get in fitness standing or you're not, right? If you look at the guard or

[00:40:44] the reserve, many of them are meeting the standards needed to pass the physical activity

[00:40:53] exams or stay healthy in between service. That's a real problem. So we're actually talking

[00:40:59] with Congress and we're working with them on a pilot program. Hopefully that will be included

[00:41:04] in this year's defense authorization budget. That would do just that and it would utilize the

[00:41:09] industry to say, hey, look at reservists and guardsmen and women across the country. Why

[00:41:14] would you require them to come on base to stay healthy rather than utilizing the industry

[00:41:19] within their own community? And then coming to duty in the shape that you need them to be.

[00:41:27] Right? So we've developed a pretty cool program, a pilot program that we're trying

[00:41:31] to run through the budget process here in Washington, DC that we'll be talking about

[00:41:36] to fly in. Just another item that we'll be sharing with members of Congress.

[00:41:40] But to your point, yeah, there's a lot of focus right now by members of Congress and

[00:41:46] particularly their staff about not only military retention or recruitment, but the entire

[00:41:51] health of our nation. The mental and physical health of our youth, our seniors and all

[00:41:57] of the impacts that happen is on the astronomical healthcare spending that we are required to,

[00:42:05] American government is required to take on year after year. So that's another way that

[00:42:09] we're looking to frame it and have the conversation is healthcare spending is astronomical.

[00:42:16] Why would we not shift focus to prevention and take away some of that cost on the back end?

[00:42:23] Yeah. Well, there's one answer to that question. There's some people who make

[00:42:28] money off of it and that's the cynical point of view on it, but it's just true. It really is.

[00:42:36] And projections that we've had, I've talked to people on this podcast about what's going

[00:42:39] to happen to the cost of health here and what that's going to do to our country in

[00:42:42] the next 10 to 20 years. It's horrifying, dude. Horrifying.

[00:42:46] Yeah. And, you know, well, and we'll be like, go ahead.

[00:42:50] I was going to say, and what we know from our data and our research is that for every $1

[00:42:55] spent on preventative health through physical activity, it saves the healthcare system $3.

[00:43:02] For every $1 invested in preventive health, $3 is saved. It's a no brainer, but again,

[00:43:08] to your point, it's about shifting the focus, the understanding and the way that

[00:43:13] folks are working on it. Yeah, cool. How are you guys getting all this information out there?

[00:43:18] I mean, there's a lot of stuff that you just said that people are quite aware of.

[00:43:22] Like I said, like understanding, clarity, transparency, full on like what the Health and

[00:43:27] Fitness Association is doing. What are the plans to get more information out there to

[00:43:32] the people who need to hear it? Yeah. So obviously please head over to

[00:43:37] the Health and Fitness Association website, subscribe to receive updates. I send out a monthly

[00:43:43] update that is everything in a nutshell of what we're working on some high level just to stay

[00:43:49] engaged in a very minimal way. You can engage with us on social media on LinkedIn. Our organization

[00:43:56] produces a lot of content on social media as well to keep everybody up to date.

[00:44:00] And then of course, you know, working with folks like you and making sure that

[00:44:04] we're sharing all of the work that we're doing is really helpful to reach a broader

[00:44:08] subset of the population in the industry. So we're really appreciative of that as well.

[00:44:14] But you know, it's a continued evolution and we're trying our best to continue to make sure

[00:44:20] that we're making the industry as informed as possible at all times.

[00:44:27] So bear with us because we have a lot of stuff in the pipeline and we're going to

[00:44:30] continue to make sure that your voice gets louder in Washington DC and in state town.

[00:44:36] I assume it goes around the world, but also that our voice gets the loudest that you're hearing

[00:44:40] what we're doing. Right on man. I'm really bummed that I can't make the the flying event

[00:44:45] next month. I'll be on my way back from Uzbekistan which is a whole other story

[00:44:49] for a whole other podcast. But it sounds like a great event. I would love to interact with

[00:44:54] people on the Hill. It just sounds like a really eye-opening experience and very valuable

[00:44:59] too. So yeah, I really urge people to check that out. Last question Mike is like kind of

[00:45:03] general, but you probably mentioned a bunch of this like what's your biggest challenge right now?

[00:45:08] How is an industry can we help Mike and then if people want to get in touch with you or

[00:45:13] learn more where would you love them to go? Yeah. My again, my biggest challenge is what

[00:45:18] you know I'm here to do and that is making sure that we're getting in front of as many

[00:45:22] people as possible both with the policy side and then also with people within the industry.

[00:45:28] So when it comes to engaging with the Health and Fitness Association, please please please

[00:45:33] consider membership. Consider engaging, consider joining us for the fly-in or joining at least

[00:45:40] to very least our newsletters to see the work that we're doing and taking part in the work

[00:45:45] and the transformation that's happening. As I mentioned you know folks lending their voice

[00:45:50] even if it's through email we have simple one-click campaigns on our website that you can weigh

[00:45:55] in with items like the bill that I talked about Maryland and with one click you can

[00:46:00] send a letter to the governor saying that you're a business owner in the state and disagree with it.

[00:46:04] We make all of that easy for you so please feel free to reach out to me and find out more about

[00:46:08] that as well because grassroots advocacy is the what's going to help us get this over

[00:46:14] the finish line and also consider that you know while you're my like while I consider

[00:46:20] the industry my grassroots army many so many as consumer based that's an advocate as well

[00:46:27] just as like the story that I told about talking to people in a room and people being excited

[00:46:31] about the possibilities of the FIT Act if your customers knew that the industry was working to

[00:46:36] get their HSA and FSA dollars eligible to pay for their membership or to pay for their classes

[00:46:42] they would be just as excited so sharing that and sharing the work the industry doing

[00:46:47] sharing the research sharing the points on social media that helps us build that that

[00:46:52] ground swell of support that lawmakers need and then in terms of you know what

[00:47:01] what else can do for help just see me as a resource if there's anybody that ever wants

[00:47:04] to connect and learn more about what we're doing or anything the health and fitness

[00:47:08] association is doing we're happy we have a great team on board to help have that conversation

[00:47:13] and and we're here. Cool and how do people get up with you personally like LinkedIn email

[00:47:18] yeah I'm on LinkedIn there's show notes or something that we can put links in our

[00:47:23] healthandfitness.org is the website I have contact information is on there for me my email

[00:47:29] is mydoc is msd at healthandfitness.org so feel free to reach out to me but linkedin is the

[00:47:35] best square I'm most active so if there's ever any questions feel free to contact me there.

[00:47:41] Right on well well done Mike obviously you you speak the language man I've had a lot of

[00:47:46] people in this industry don't so well script or at the end of the day I talk about it a lot so

[00:47:53] I appreciate it yeah I was gonna say it's all repetition right we'll really appreciate Mike

[00:47:57] and good luck at the event I'm sure you and I will be talking soon but uh yeah keep up the

[00:48:02] great work ladies and gentlemen Mike Kaczynski thank you hey wait don't leave yet this is

[00:48:07] your host Eric Malzone and I hope you enjoyed this episode of future of feminist if you did

[00:48:13] I'm gonna ask you to do three simple things it takes under five minutes and it goes such a long

[00:48:18] way we really appreciate it number one please subscribe to our show wherever you listen to it

[00:48:23] iTunes Spotify Castbox whatever it may be number two please leave us a favorable review

[00:48:30] number three share put it on social media talk about it to your friends send it in a text

[00:48:35] message whatever it may be please share this episode because we put a lot of work into and

[00:48:40] we want to make sure that as many people are getting value out of it as possible lastly if you

[00:48:45] like to learn more get in touch with me simply go to the futureoffitness.co you can subscribe

[00:48:50] to our newsletter there or you can simply get in touch with me as I love to hear from our

[00:48:54] listeners so thank you so much this is Eric Malzone and this is the future of fitness

[00:49:00] have a great day