LIFTS Episode 141 – The YMCA Is Over 180 Years Old. How Have Its Gyms Stayed So Relevant?

0:01Matthew Januszek:Welcome to this week's special episode of Lifts, recorded live at the Life Fitness and Hammer Strength YMCA Innovation Summit. We spoke with four YMCA leaders about the ideas and strategies shaping the future of fitness. Many of the organizations they represent have existed for more than 100 years, offering powerful lessons for operators in any sector about focus, discipline, leadership and continuing to innovate without losing sight of their purpose. So I hope you enjoy this week's episode of LIFS.

0:35We're here with Boyd Williams. You're the CEO of Pikes Peak, actually. The YMC of the Pikes Peak region. I think to start, for the audience, what is and where is the Pikes Peak region? Yeah, so it's America's Mountain. Pikes Peak is in Colorado Springs. And so Colorado Springs sits right below the mountain. and our Y has been there 148 years. Our state's only 150 years old this year and we've been around serving that community for a long time. And is it just one location that you have? No, we have a total of about 18 different locations, but we have seven true membership full facilities. Okay, and I guess for a lot of people who might be listening who might not be familiar with how Y's are set up, what's the difference between your facilities versus membership-based locations?

1:26Yeah, so we operate in conjunction with several partnerships, HOAs and metro districts. We may operate their rec centers. We operate all the city, the senior center, the outdoor pools, things like that. We have a 300-acre resident camp up in the mountains. And then our seven true membership facilities are on top of that as well.

1:47Matthew Januszek:So we had a session this morning where we were talking about the future of fitness and wellness. And there's a lot happening in the space. for an organization that's been around for almost 150 years. How are you thinking about and approaching some of these changes that are likely to impact many of the people that are coming through the doors of your facilities? Yeah, it's definitely, you know, I've been in Hawaii for 32 years and I look back and it's just night and day difference, right? And so it is about relationships, you know, and we're seeing more and more competition. You know, we talked about it this morning.

2:22there are more and more like providers that do a part of what we do in their space fitness that, you know, kind of challenge us to stay competitive. We have to stay on our game. And it's not just about shiny objects. Like we have that. And I would put our healthy living centers up against any organization or any business in our community, including Lifetime Fitness and some of the big boys. We invest in that, but it's not about the equipment. You know, I always tell my team, you know, these facilities, 100 years from now, it's just going to be, you know, sand. They're brick and mortar. It really just serves as a conduit for us to connect with people, to build community, and really to help enhance the individual's lifestyle, build healthier lifestyles.

3:04And for, you know, hopefully a longer period of time, we're trying to increase the longevity of our, you know, members in our community.

3:10Matthew Januszek:You're talking about shiny objects and certainly some of the things we spoke about this morning. People could easily get distracted with a lot of the things that are out there that you feel as though you need to be involved with. What would you say for, you know, just for an organization to be around for that amount of time is quite impressive. So there's obviously some fundamentals that you continue to do. There's obviously a North Star that is relatively timeless. just talk a little bit about those timeless principles that have really got you through all of the different recessions and everything that have come along during that period yeah you know it's easy to get off target right mission creep you know I mean it seems like every other day I have opportunities for us to get involved in something that maybe we shouldn't sometimes it's okay to be in the driver's seat sometimes maybe the passenger seat or in the back seat sometimes we got to say no it's going to take away from you know really where we need to be So I think our North Star is just about community.

4:03It truly is. Back in 1878, think about our communities and our society at the time. We didn't have big fitness centers. We, at the time, didn't even have females allowed in our organization. And so we've evolved over the 150 years and we've stayed relevant in our community. So we aim to meet the needs in our community. And they vary from childcare to seniors to you name it. But we do know that people want to live healthier lives. And we have the capacity to change their lives in that mindset. And so we have to utilize our skills or utilize our facilities and equipment. But really, it's our people and empowering our people to do what we need to do to meet the people where they're, meet our members where they're at.

4:45As you think about your region, and I've been there many times, it's a beautiful part of the country. It is. But it's also transformed. I mean, I've been traveling to that part of Colorado for probably 25 years. And even in the last five years, the last 10 years, it's become a tech hub. There's a lot of tech people out there. It's become an endurance hub. So I think, you know, to me, that town has such an anchor in fitness and wellness. But you have a lot of new people coming in. So you've been around for 140 years, but your community is transforming. From your perspective, how do you change the needs of an evolving community?

5:23Well, I don't know if we change the needs. I think the needs are identified, but we support them. And, you know, we have to understand, right? We have to have conversations and we have to learn. We can't serve our community thinking we have all the answers. Typically, the answers come from the people that we're talking to. And so we try to engage with our members and engage with other community leaders, business owners, and individuals that can give us insight on what's going on throughout the community as those needs change. We have to stay nimble and relevant. And for organizations that don't, especially in today's world that we live in with technology moving as quickly as it is, even though that's not necessarily the driver, It's still part of what we have to stay current on what's going on with technology, AI.

6:01You know, we want to make sure that we can support people in their endeavors. But it goes back to the kind of that North Star, which is we are still a relationship driven. The AI is not going to support that. It's not going to replace that. Which is what you referenced. You referenced Lifetime Fitness. You definitely compete with traditional fitness facilities as well. However, these are national brands. You could be more community focused. So is that your secret power? Yeah, you know, I mean, like, we're a national brand, we're an international brand, right? I mean, third most recognized logo back in 2010 when we switched our logo across the world, only behind the Golden Arches and Coca-Cola.

6:39Now that's probably changed, you know, now with Under Armour, Nike, and, you know, all the other onset, Amazon, Google. But we're still a well-known brand, but we are locally focused, right? So we're autonomous, we're a federated system. So we're incorporated for the Pikes Peak region and we serve the needs of that community. That would be much different than, you know, our sister YMCA to the south in Pueblo or Denver or northern Colorado. So we have to understand what are the needs in our community that are not being addressed or that we can run alongside with somebody. Because we do offer a lot of, I think, a lot of opportunities for individuals to get healthier.

7:17And it just doesn't mean getting on a treadmill. It could be, you know, we are about spirit, mind and body. And so it could be social. It could be certainly coming out of COVID. You know, we all think, we all believe we have concerns with our young people and mental health. So how do we support them? Maybe working in a partnership with healthcare organizations, et cetera. So we don't try to do it all ourselves. We try to learn and then see where we fit. Sometimes we don't fit and we have to be okay with that.

7:42Matthew Januszek:I want to talk about leadership. You've been, from what I understand, 30 years with the organization. and I'm sure when you started, you have a slightly different view on leadership now than what you did when you came in. Tell us a few of the, I guess, leadership things that you found to be really important as you have evolved your role within the YMCA. So both aligning their long-term vision with what you need to do to adapt to many of the changes that you see. You know, Matt, at 32 and a half years, actually, in a way, not to correct you, but I'm proud of that fact. but you know I've gone to so many of leadership symposiums and listen to speakers and read books and podcasts but you know to me it still boils down to relationships you know I mean you know I ask and I support all of our staff over 1200 staff to build relationships with our members right one member at a time one family at a time and I have to do the same with our staff you know if we don't feed our staff they eat our members right and so I'm there to support I do believe in servant leadership.

8:44I do believe that I'm connected with our employees and our leaders and our senior leaders and that will translate into them being connected to our community and to the individuals that come into our buildings and outside the buildings depending on where we serve them. So for me, I think just the relationship transcends all other trends and everything else. I think it boils down to, especially in our world, it is about relationships. It's not a turn. We don't We want just that turn gate to, I mean, we want that to turn and we want our members to come in, but we want it to impact them. We want to see them use the facility and change their lives and the quality of their life.

9:19And that's really why I've been in a Y for, you know, going on four decades. Okay. Well, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you guys. Matt and Bo, man. Yeah. Hey, for you listeners, watch them once a week, right? Yeah. Every Sunday. Let's do it. All right, you guys. Thank you. Thanks for having me. We are here with Hodge Patterson, CEO of Santa Monica Family YMCA. thanks so much for being here thanks thanks for having me i i look forward to having a conversation and it was great to hear um your presentation earlier really learned a lot so thank you for

9:48Matthew Januszek:that thank you you're in santa monica um which is really the hub of fitness it's almost like you could in in some cases with um with the muscle beach it's like where the fitness industry started tell us a little bit about how your ymca survives in an area where there's constantly new studios and gyms popping up all over the place. Yeah, and that's a great point. I mean, the wellness and we serve, our association serves Santa Monica and Venice, which is the heart of the Muscle Beaches, right, and the history. The way I think we survive and we also thrive, our YMCA has been around for 99 years consistently serving the community.

10:26And I think the way we thrive is we don't just have the fitness piece, we also have the social responsibility side of it, where we do a lot of programs and services in the community. So I always look at it, you know, there's the people think of the Y as a swimming gym. That's what gets people in the doors. But then there's so much more. And so we have programs and services outside of that. So it but it is going back to your point. It is a fun place to be because there's a lot of innovation and creativity happening. And there's a lot of boutiques that come and go. But with us, the longevity of like a legacy business in the community that long, you know, we take pride in the reputation that we have.

11:02of being a part of the social infrastructure of Santa Monica in that coastal community. And so that's, to us, that's a big responsibility that we have. And we want to make sure, and especially over the last few years, that we're reinvesting into our facilities to stay current and relevant with those trends. A lot of things change for us, and we're not trying to be everything for everyone, but we want to make sure we're offering something for every age and every stage that comes through our doors. so it's a challenge but it's it's exciting that you know we've been around and I call it we have 85 ,000 square feet of opportunities in a downtown you know setting and so there's not a lot of real estate like that when we do have you know these other gyms that do come in you know space is a premium and so for us we've had closed spaces that we've been reimagining over the last three years just how do we make more connections for our community which that's why I thought it was so relevant the way you guys were talking about how do we build community and connections.

12:03I think for us, we've had closed spaces. And so a part of our Rise and Thrive Together strategic plan is how do we open up the doors for the community to come in? And we're doing it by reimagining spaces that have been underutilized or closed and reinvesting in those for these, you know, aplaudis or recovery space, or is there, you know, we have some smart fit technology that is here for our youth and our seniors. So I think that's how we stay relevant is look at the trends and then know our role in the community and how do we step up and provide the gaps that are out there. When I think about Venice and Santa Monica, even over the last decade, it really is a tale of, I think, two stories.

12:48On one hand, you've got a real premium organization of those two communities, both with people moving in that are ultra high net worth. At the same time, and I love to run right along the water there. It's such a beautiful part of the country. But you also see a lot of homelessness. You also see a lot of people who could really use the community services that you provide. When you talk about the boutique and fitness coming into the area, more often than not, it is on the premium segment and it's serving a very limited part of the population. So do you view a sense of responsibility to say, we want to serve everyone else?

13:29Yeah, I think we have to. I think that's why nonprofits exist is to, if there's gaps, we should be plugging those gaps and supporting. And so I think for us, it's a it's a they're small coastal communities, like you said, and they're very diverse and international and, you know, different classes. And, yeah, I mean, we have, you know, I think for us, it's you know, we have we have members that are unhoused. We have members that may be celebrities and everything in between. And I think for us that we should be a reflection of the community that we serve. Our membership base should look at that and we kind of look at some of our numbers and say, like, how how are we moving the Neville?

14:06Are we supporting when you see the top three issues in your community? Can we see a reflection of us meeting those needs? And it's, you know, how do we provide the access and opportunities for, you know, somebody that can afford it or somebody that needs financial assistance or program scholarships? That's what excites me about the why work. And that's what's different from when you talk about a gym versus, you know, a why. I really don't view the competition side of it because our business model is different. Now, we're still a business, but we get to focus on the social services, the support, and also your health journey too, which is really fun.

14:47And I think there's never a dull day in a YMCA, but to your point of the communities that we serve, we should be connecting in those gaps. And I'm proud of what we've been doing over the last few years to really open up our doors and make sure, you know, that we're supporting people. I mean, the Palisades Fire is a perfect example. You know, we had a fire that, you know, we were two blocks away from an evacuation, you know, zone where we were warning. And so there's a lot of support that, you know, we opened up our community room a day after. Once we realized that, you know, the smoke was going a different direction, the fire, we felt we got advice on that.

15:26we opened it up so members could come in and we had members coming in in our community room and we just opened it up and people started donating resources were coming in families were sitting in the spaces trying to figure out what what they're you know going to do and um you know we had a couple members that said when we were our we were leaving we were driving both of our cars and we said meet you at the y like that's that's what's unique about the y is um it's more than a gym um We are a place for community. And no matter what walk of life you're in, what stage you're in, what's your social status, our doors should be open.

16:04And that's exciting stuff.

16:06Matthew Januszek:So for people like myself that don't understand how the YMCA's work, you mentioned it's a non-for-profit, but it's an organization and a business that's been going for 90 years. We just spoke to a gentleman that's been going for around about 150. That's a long period of time. And clearly there's some clear objectives that you need to continue to meet for that, to continue to make sense and to be part of the community. So for people who don't know, when you're looking at your business and where you're going and how you add value, what are some of the key things that are important that you have to meet for you to continue to be successful?

16:49Yeah, I think it goes back to the swim and gym, why people show up. It's earned revenue. Right. We're still a nonprofit. We need earned revenue because if you look at our main expenses, it's the people. It's to staff staff, you know, the facility. It's the capital improvements to keep the lights on. So we're still a business. So we we have to focus on being fundamentally sound on earned revenue. Right. And that's your membership dues. That's your program fees. So those are things that we like fundamentals one on one. We have to be good at that. We have to be solid. And I think the indicators are obviously you can look at your membership units.

17:26But it's really are we listening, are we adapting? They'll tell you if they cancel. They're going to tell you why they're canceling. So we should be taking that information and doing something with it. So for me, it's an annual rhythm. And I love the Y work is very cyclical as far as we have an annual calendar. And right now we're finishing summer camp, so we're going back to school. So day camps will be out, after school pickups will be coming in, we bring kids on site, and families fall into this rhythm. So there's a nice rhythm to the why work. For me, it's how do we keep a pulse on it. We should be surveying our staff, we should survey our members, we should be surveying our volunteers and community partners to say, what are we doing well?

18:07Let's keep doing that. What are we not doing well? How do we build that next annual plan to focus on those? So I think you've got to keep your facility clean, staged, up to date. And then you've got to provide quality, you know, member experience. And, you know, when you walk in, we have the equipment you need. The pool is open. You know, we have the, you know, the fundamentals of the swim and gym that people come to the Y. And then when you get in, it's, oh, by the way, there's so much more that we offer. And I think those are the supplemental things that we have to, that's the innovative part, that like adding the Pilates or a recovery space or a smart fit technology like brain health.

18:47Those are the supplemental things, but the core of the membership and your program revenue, that's to me what makes a healthy Y. And it also allows us to reinvest in professional development for our team, reinvest in the facilities, and then expand our reach to get outside of our walls and start serving in new ways. But you have to be sound at that. And ROI, like I said, has done that for 99 years. And, you know, that's the exciting stuff that, you know, I think it's an annual approach. But you can get complacent if you're not listening for the feedback and then not applying it to that next budget season or whatever.

19:24And I think that's how, you know, you guys were talking about the stats of memberships. You know, membership numbers are a little bit down on the trend. The facility usage is up. And I think it's true. our our trends we're trending both ways which is really nice place to be right now and that's because of our strategic plan that we reinvested in our facility which gets people excited and and taking care and adding more staff to provide more services but yeah our gate scans have doubled over the last uh three uh three years since we've started this you know so our monthly gate scans have doubled so we feel that facility usage you know we've got to reinvest in areas because they're getting used more and the equipment, those pads, those replacements.

20:05So I think that all factors into a successful operations. And you'll see it through that earned revenue will tell you you're doing well or not. Right. And that's, that's, that's how I kind of keep and build the annual rhythm. Is there something that you've done from an innovation standpoint recently in the last year that you think could benefit all wise? Benefit all wise? Just because wise is so regional. I think for me the strategy is value proposition over discounting. But that's my philosophy. I think it's really hard when you talk about benefiting all whys because the phrase is you've seen one why, you've seen one why.

20:47Every community is different. So what may work for us may not work in a community in a different location. But what I would say, my philosophy is the value proposition of let's create value. Let's not discount it. Don't give it away. And then we want people to be proud about coming to this Y versus discounting left and right. And you're always chasing this number and you're trying to get there through a discount when it's like let's focus on the fundamentals and create value so when people come in, there's a sense of pride that they're a part of and they want to be here and they want to bring people in.

21:26And I think that has created word of mouth in our community about what we've been doing. And so I think that's what I'm proud about. But again, that's philosophy. And every community is a little bit different. So it may not work in every community. Well, we definitely appreciate your time. Thanks so much for being on. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you. Yeah. Appreciate it. Yeah. Crystal Traywick, you're the vice president of health and aquatics from the greater Charlotte YMCA. That's correct. All right. Well, I got that right. I was concerned about it. Welcome to the podcast. We're excited to have you.

21:59Yeah, thank you all for having me. Looking forward to having a conversation with you guys. So what is it like running and working within a YMCA in such a fast-growing region of the country? Oh, fun stat. It actually just went down a little bit lower, but for a while we were averaging 167 people coming and moving to Charlotte a day. Oh, wow. But it's still going up. No, it went down a little bit. Okay. Just a few numbers, but I don't want to quote it because I don't know the exact number off the top of my head. But a lot of people are moving to Charlotte. It's definitely a melting pot for different cultures, different people from across the region and around the world.

22:40The unique thing about our association of YMCA of Greater Charlotte is that we serve 14 locations across two counties, really, in our city. And every single one of them has its own identity. Oh, wow. Okay. Yes. Lots of culture, again, kind of like melting pot going in. What people are wanting is vast. So we can't necessarily just be a one size fits all for those 14 locations. Like we have to identify what is the demographic of that community? What are their needs? And then how are we responding to that? so in some of our locations we you know we're starting things like recovery and Pilates reformer like we're adapting to the trends that our members won't but in some of our locations we're doing things like digital literacy for our seniors who have trouble like with technology and smartphones and iPads and laptops so we're definitely unique in that we're we're really just trying to serve that our communities based on these based on the demographics and just have that uniqueness and identity to each of our centers.

23:47Matthew Januszek:We've had two interviews so far. One gentleman, their organization is almost 150 years old. A gentleman who's in Santa Monica, 90 years old. How long is your organization? We're over 150. We celebrated two years ago, 150. Yeah. Incredible. We're old. And you mentioned that you really personalize. Everyone's different, got a different identity. And I guess thinking about regular fitness brands is it's all, you know, it's how do you have consistency and standardization in processes? How do you, you've obviously been doing something right because you've been going for such a long time. How do you meet the needs of so many individuals, continue to be able to deliver excellence from a process perspective and but also not go, you know, not not get too distracted with all of the small things that people are asking you.

24:42Matthew Januszek:Tell us a bit about that. I love this question. So if any of my staff team watches, they know that consistency is my favorite word. But being consistent really just means around the processes and the operations, not exactly or I mean, we still want to have a consistent, great experience, but that's still going to look different depending on who we're serving and how we're serving. And it's funny because I think, you know, we say innovation and we think flashy and big and expensive investment. I think innovation is just removing barriers to make things simpler, make them more efficient. And that can be processes for the member standpoint.

25:22It can be processes from a staff standpoint. I know you were talking about AI earlier and I was just like, did he write all my notes down that I was planning on talking about? Because we're using AI a lot of times just to streamline efficiencies and how our staff operate on an administrative standpoint. That way they can actually spend more time delivering that great member experience to our clients and our members because we are about community. And so the more that we can build that community, invest in things that make our staff's life simpler and more efficient, the better we're going to be, the more people feel belonging, connection, our communities grow.