In this week’s episode of Industry Change Richard speaks with Barrie Elvish the CEO of Fitness Australia. Appointed at the beginning of 2019, Barrie is striving to empower and build healthier communities alongside the fitness industry. 

Despite coming from outside the fitness industry, Barrie has set a number of goals to entice Australians to live healthier, more active lives. Barrie discussed with us that 20% of Australian’s have a gym membership but only 6% are active with their memberships. This means that 94% of Australian’s are not active in gyms! Fitness Australia is now restructuring to align with more gyms and personal trainers, to encourage Australian’s to go to gyms while removing the stigma that ‘only men with six packs to go to the gym’.  Fitness Australia’s goal is to get 15% of Australians more active by 2030, and it’s up to those in the fitness industry to align with Fitness Australia to make this happen. 

The problem that stops growth in the industry is perception! 

So many people are intimidated by gyms, assuming they are only for people who are already fit, but that is because they have never been to one. They don’t know that gyms cater to a diverse range of people. If people aren’t intimidated by gyms the membership levels will increase, however it starts with people in the industry creating a welcoming atmosphere for new clients. Fitness instructors need to remember that everyone is different, and this is where Fitness Australia comes in. Fitness Australia wants to work with partnered gyms to break this down to bring in the 80% of people who aren’t attending gyms. 

Why should you join Fitness Australia? 

Fitness Australia is not only the largest industry association but it is the most reputable, with ongoing accreditation, education services and high professional standards. This gives people in the fitness industry credibility by being apart of the leading industry association, along with many other benefits. Fitness Australia is the association that government turn to to create regulations that affect the fitness industry, hence joining them gives you a competitive advantage within the industry. 

Fitness Australia has recently renewed their partnership with us to assist better lead generation for personal trainers and to help  positioning and branding within the fitness industry. Together this partnership strives to make people healthier and happier. Watch the full episode to hear it all! 

To learn more about Fitness Australia or to become a member click here.