Gym owners,personal trainers,fitness instructors etc. attention

[Zarkov]

Is anyone here working in the industry?
As I said in my intro I have just gained my Gym/fitness instructors cert. and plan on doing personal trainer and beyond, maybe sports science or medicine eventually.Quite a few years ago in uni I studied nutrition,biology and other related subjects and also studied massage therapies part time which I have various qualifications in.
My plan now is to seriously start my own business,probably a gym but with more of a personal training studio angle to it along with other services (sports injury treatment,massage etc).
I`m interested to hear from anyone working in the health and fitness industry,either self employed or as an employee.Gym,massage,physio, coaching,nutrionalists whatever.
Hoping to hear and share stories,advice,experiences to get a bit of insight into the world.
Thanks in advance.

 

[The Hulk]

I have a business related to the industry.
We sell gym equipment, mostly strength training equipment.

 

[Zarkov]

Cool.Is it possible to get a link?(If you are in Oz)
I`m in Japan at the mo` but trying to decide whether to move back home or stay but if I go home I may be looking for a supplier.
How`s the industry there?Generally healthy or is it a struggle with all the competition?
In your own experience are gyms generally doing well?

 

[breebreerocks]

Hi Zarkov. I work in a gym, and I would say that its getting tough at the moment. Just need to read the papers to see what is happening with the world financial crisis. I'm located in one of the most affluent areas of Sydney and ever since the stock market crash, we have seen many people not renewing, giving up their PTs, etc. Will get better though!

 

[Shrek]

What do you do in the gym BBR?
I hope you aren't giving advice about Protein Powders...LOL

 

[Stellar]

Hi Zarkov. I work in a gym, and I would say that its getting tough at the moment. Just need to read the papers to see what is happening with the world financial crisis. I'm located in one of the most affluent areas of Sydney and ever since the stock market crash, we have seen many people not renewing, giving up their PTs, etc. Will get better though!

That's a shame.. keeping up your health is the first thing they should be keeping, since their hearts are probably in their mouths at the moment.

 

[breebreerocks]

I'm in Sales and Marketing- so I have REALLY seem the affects of the financial crisis. The yummy mummies aren't as plentiful as they were 8 weeks ago!

And yes, my name is Breebreerocks and I'm a protein shake idiot. And I work in a women's gym. Protein + weights = dirty words in our place- since women think they'll end up looking like He-man.

 

[Zarkov]

Hi Zarkov. I work in a gym, and I would say that its getting tough at the moment. Just need to read the papers to see what is happening with the world financial crisis. I'm located in one of the most affluent areas of Sydney and ever since the stock market crash, we have seen many people not renewing, giving up their PTs, etc. Will get better though!

I was thinking about that and people cutting back on non-essentials etc.
I have a few locations in mind.One is in a relatively lower class area that has a lot of CUB`s (cashed up bogans) with money to burn.Maybe being in a more affluent area you can`t answer this question but would you expect to see many bogans in the gym there?I`ve been out of the country for close to eleven years so my observations of gyms there are very limited

 

[breebreerocks]

Here in Sydney the CUBs are all having their houses repossessed.

Reckon if you look to the more stable states- QLD, WA and SA- where there are resources, mining and relatively affordable housing (except in WA- prices are crazy- but heaps of mining $$$), you would have more luck with the CUBS. Sydney is just really struggling at the moment.

Look into a guy who runs a gym at Salisbury called Zone Health and Fitness- doing well with this group.

 

[Zarkov]

If it isn`t prying too much to ask, what are your quals. and where/when/how did you gain them?I am looking far into the future,possible even uni again (correspondence).Can you recommend any schools/unis/courses etc.
Thanks in advance.

 

[breebreerocks]

My experience is just in sales and my own training.

To be honest, I've seen trainers with some amazing knowledge and quals fail. Those who succeed are necessarily good trainers, but have good sales and marketing skills and are filled with confidence.

You need to have the balls to chase people for money, cold call clients and the budgeting skills to make it through quiet times like school holidays and Xmas when your clientele go away.

Rather than looking at a heap of courses, the best thing you can do is get hands on experience. Try and get some work experience with people you want to emulate. This way you can learn from them, find out what gaps in your experience you need to fill and can test if this really is the career path that you want.

 

[Zarkov]

I hear you and largely agree with you but if I decide to stay in Japan for at least the immediate future I need the bit of paper.It is a strange place here sometimes - a degree is needed for so many jobs but what is even stranger is that in many cases any degree will do and then the company will give you full training.In the case of gyms etc. they are a bit more picky as to the type of degree you have.
As well as that I would love to get into development in the future and work with sporting clubs and groups and community sport and fitness.
Thanks for the feedback mate.