Blog
MINDFUL LEADERSHIP AND WELLNESSInspiring conscious leaders to mindfully build successful wellness-oriented companies that serve, synchronize, and integrate the best interests of all stakeholders to bring about positive local, national and global impact.
2025 Wellness, Fitness, and Health Forecast: Progressive Trends Shaping a New Era of Personalized Well-being
As we usher in 2025, the wellness, fitness, and health industries are at the cusp of a significant transformation. This year, a kaleidoscope of emerging trends promises to redefine our approach to personal and communal well-being. From cutting-edge biotechnologies to the resurgence of holistic practices, these trends not only aim to enhance individual health but also integrate deeply with our daily lives to foster a culture of wellness that is more accessible, personalized, and interconnected than ever before. Join us as we explore how these innovative trends are set to reshape our perspectives on wellness, fitness and health and offer unprecedented opportunities for growth and engagement in the year ahead.
Is Elon Musk Wrong?
Elon Musk famously said, “Empathy is not an asset”.
Musk learned this from the video game Polytopia, which he played with his brother, coworkers, and partners. He made a list of life lessons from the game, which he calls Polytopia Life Lessons.
Musk’s indifference to empathy is not isolated when you look at notoriously ruthless business leaders such as Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs. They have all had difficulties with interpersonal dynamics and yet been incredibly successful by the mainstream’s definition of success.
Embrace Workplace Wellbeing: Navigate Stress, Anxiety, Overwhelm and Burnout with AFFINITY OS’s™ NEW Psychosocial Risk (PSR) Management Tool
A state of stress, anxiety, overwhelm and burnout feels almost endemic these days. I hear it from friends, family members, work mates and peers. The pressures seem to come from all directions—work, media, global events, and personal life demands. Everywhere you turn, there’s more information, more conflict, more polarization, more uncertainty and it feels as if it’s escalating, relentlessly. This growing sense of overwhelm isn’t just affecting individuals; it’s affecting entire organizations, from the mental wellbeing of team members and tenure to overall workplace productivity.
Why Sales May Seem Easier Than Retention in the Fitness Industry
In the fitness industry, sales often grab the spotlight due to their immediate results and clear metrics, like quick sign-ups and instant revenue boosts. However, as industry leaders, it’s crucial to understand why retention might seem less controllable but is equally vital for sustainable success.
Addressing Loneliness and Depression in our Communities
Interestingly in the last 60 plus years, where we have been more closely monitoring loneliness and depression, there has consistently been a large percentage of the population dealing with these mental health challenges.
More recently, social media has been blamed for the epidemic of loneliness and depression and I think it is fair to associate the profound decline in our mental and physical health in part to the digital divide.
Who Wins When BI (Business Intelligence) meets AI
The business world is abuzz with all things AI (Artificial Intelligence). But, what does it mean for jobs? How can it be leveraged? What should we be wary of when implementing AI? How does AI relate to what we do? And more importantly how do we apply AI to what we do?
All these and more questions abound. Having been in the AI space for over three years now, I have grown an appreciation of how powerful AI can be, but I have also come to recognize the importance of integrating BI (Business Intelligence) with AI to leverage insights AI can bring to light.
Dashboards are Dead. AI-Driven Business Intelligence is the Future.
When I read “Dashboards are Dead”, a recent ThoughtSpot headline, it made me cringe.
Our product, AFFINITY OS™, uses dashboards to visualize the data our AI engine collects from customers/members and team members of our clients’ businesses. Did this mean we needed to rethink the UX, and/or the BI (Business Intelligence) that brings our data into focus?
As ThoughtSpot said in their opening paragraph, “For more than 20 years, dashboards served as a foundational element of business intelligence, helping leaders visualize and share valuable data across their organization.”
How to Win the America’s Cup of Fitness Business
Team New Zealand’s innovative application of digital technology in yacht racing contributed significantly to its back-to-back victories in the America’s Cup races of 2017 and 2021. The team had a thorough understanding of the performance of its 75-foot AC75 monohull even before its launch in 2021, thanks to an AI-powered simulation tool. This tool enabled the team to conduct virtual races across numerous prototypes, honing their skills to navigate at speeds of 50 knots on meticulously refined hydrofoils under challenging conditions.
Fitness Industry Boom Amid a Significant Decline in Online Search for Fitness?
There is, seemingly, a health and fitness club or a boutique offering on every street corner today. And yet online searches for health and fitness clubs have diminished significantly. IBISWorld reports over 6,466 Gyms and Fitness Centres in Australia in 2024, and that does not include many outlier categories. And yet, online searches for these facilities have diminished by almost 10%!
Member Referrals are Like a Box of Chocolates…Or are They?
Referrals are the No.1 source of Members in the Fitness and Wellness Industry!
Some facts:
Referrals are the number one source of new members across the fitness and wellness sector.
$ROI is highest on Referrals when compared to all other marketing sources
Three quarters of all referrals come from ‘Promoters’ (high NPS* score) in the fitness and wellness sector.
The avg. referral rate for Promoters = 58% when offered a referral opportunity.
Prospective members are 4x more likely to join a gym if they were referred by a friend.
In the fitness industry, referred members have historically had a 37% higher retention rate as opposed to non-referred members.**
AI’s Role in Enhancing Wellbeing In the Workplace and Beyond
AI is playing an increasingly significant role in enhancing general wellbeing and specifically impacting workplace wellbeing through various innovative applications and platforms. By leveraging AI technologies, it’s possible to create more personalized, scalable and accessible solutions for health and wellness. Equally AI comes with some compromise and risks. Here are some places AI is contributing to wellbeing in both general and workplace contexts, and some concerns we should consider.
2024 Global and Regional Fitness Industry Trends
2024 Global and Regional Fitness and Wellness Industry Trends Grant Ian Gamble is a best-selling mindful leadership author and speaker. He has over 30 years of experience in leading teams to create innovative customer experiences, building engaged workforces, and...
Let's Connect!
CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE & TEAM ENGAGEMENT: AFFINITY OS™ | WELLNESS INTEGRATION | MINDFUL LEADERSHIP: "THE AFFINITY PRINCIPLE"
0475 866 592
The Affinity Principle™ by Grant Gamble presents a formula for business success through a people-centric, mindful leadership approach.
PEOPLE FIRST, ALWAYS.
