幾年前,畢業后的邁克·摩瑞爾斯一直在為自己的專業橄欖球夢想而打拼。他在成長期間經常出入健身房,后來自己也開了一家。
摩瑞爾斯說:“指導人們實現自己的目標十分有意思,而且頗有成就感。我從沒把這當成一項工作。”
一開始,摩瑞爾斯在當地的訓練營幫忙,訓練青年運動員。但最終,這家開啟其執教生涯的這健身房倒閉了。該健身房位于加州的圣卡洛斯,距離舊金山約30分鐘車程。
因此,他孤注一擲,把所有家當用于投資收購以及購買設備、續租場地、添置新系統,并將這家健身房更名為Advanced Sports Performance & Fitness,于2013年開始營業。如今,新健身房提供團體健身課程和私教陪練服務,同時,他還繼續從事著青年運動員的培訓工作。
近期,《財富》雜志采訪了摩瑞爾斯,詢問了有關新冠病毒對其所處行業以及未來規劃的影響,并了解了他在面對疫情時如何管理自身情緒和財務狀況。
為簡明起見,以下對話內容有所刪改。
《財富》:你是什么時候意識到新冠疫情會對自己的健身房產生影響的?到目前為止影響有多大?
摩瑞爾斯:我在3月9日便知道,疫情將會影響我的健身房。當天,鄰縣頒發了禁止千人以上聚會的禁令,健身房中的每個人都在談論這個事情。
當時我就想,應該非常謹慎地對待這件事情,我們開始每天對健身房進行深度清掃,并改變了健身計劃安排,這樣每個人都能夠在健身時保持較遠的距離,且無需再共用同一個設備。我們的教練負責叮囑每個人使用高樂士消毒巾擦拭他們接觸過的任何事物。當州長紐薩姆頻頻發布各項聲明時,我們依然十分樂觀,因為我們的團隊已經在實施政府強制推行的一些舉措。
但一切都在3月16日那天發生了改變。那個周一是我人生中最短暫,也是最漫長的一天。我了解到,我們的一名會員確診感染了新冠病毒,我們隨即關閉了健身房。而后,隨著我們起草會員和員工通知,州長紐薩姆宣布了一項指令,像健身房這樣的業務必須關停,解禁日期待定。
接下來的12小時可謂是轉瞬即逝。我們向會員告知了確定病例(包括他們最近一次什么時候來的健身房),并宣布我們將通過Zoom推出虛擬課程,也邀請那些不介意的會員前來拿取或借用健身房設備,以便在可預見的未來使用。在隔離命令即將生效之前,健身房就已變得空空如也。但仍有50多人過來拿走了設備,而且我們收到100多條會員的回復,他們表示將盡可能地保留其會員。我們的成年人會員并沒有拋棄我們,到目前為止,我們僅失去了4名月度會員。
我們并非技術專家,但獨立健身房所有者們迅速進行了溝通,并分享了在Zoom課程設置方面的最佳實踐,而且除了日常存在的帶寬問題之外,我覺得我們已經摸索出了會員喜聞樂見的絕佳虛擬體驗。我們有點播視頻劇集、健身效果對話、快樂時光,甚至還有一個4月月度挑戰賽,每周的獎品是廁紙。
但我依然沒有找到青年培訓項目以及私教培訓課程方面的收入維持方法,所以要說我的健身房一定能挺過去,那就是一種不負責任的表現。但會員的任何積極反饋都會使我們的團隊對健身房的回歸充滿信心。會員完全與我們同舟共濟,而且不得不承認,每當有人告訴我要續費時,我都會流淚,當然是高興的淚水。
你的健身房推出了每日視頻播客《隔離日志》。你希望你的會員從中獲得什么,他們對此是否有反饋意見?
從就地隔離命令頒布之日起,我們便開始拍攝錄制課程的短視頻,以便提供靈活、帶有喜劇感的持續健身方案。超過50%的會員都已經入會三年以上,而且他們習慣于觀看教練與個人互動,并相互打趣。
我們意識到,很大一部分會員都在公司身居要職,無法參加我們的Zoom現場訓練營。因此除了發布這些可供他們隨時觀看的視頻之外,我們還會提供上述較短的視頻以供他們選擇。這些視頻是免費的,而且我們也高興地看到,一些會員會在社交媒體上傳播這些視頻,并向其朋友和家人發出挑戰,完成這些視頻中的內容。我們獲得了有關這些健身內容的積極反饋,但大多數反饋都與我們的教練和健身房狗的互動有關,或是批評我們的健身著裝。
對于會員和非會員來說,自我隔離的人士如何在家進行一些鍛煉,你在這方面有什么建議?
在保持健康方面,最重要的就是為自己制定一個計劃,并從日程中抽出這部分時間用于鍛煉。如果自己一直以來并不怎么關注健身,那么每天至少應該抽出30分鐘的時間進行運動。
我們也知道,目前社交媒體上與健身相關的內容可謂是鋪天蓋地,最重要的一點在于找到適合自己的鍛煉方式,并持之以恒。可以簡單地選擇兩到四種鍛煉方式,每一種做10至20組,然后不斷重復,持續10分鐘。有時候越簡單越好。
除了健身房業務之外,在這個動蕩的時期,你平時在情緒和精神方面有沒有遇到什么問題?
情緒每一天都像過山車一樣,從閉店之后的“是戰是逃”心理斗爭,到學習和實施運營虛擬健身房所需的技術,還有安撫、平息會員和雇員的情緒。一切基本上都是從零開始。
毫無疑問的是,沒有會員的支持,我們的店無法活下去。就像我會盡力給會員和雇員加油打氣一樣,他們也給了我前行的動力。此外,我覺得可能就我有一條不怎么喜歡隔離的狗。通常,布蘭斯頓(健身房的狗)每天會在健身房遇到至少150人,它很納悶這段時間這些人都去哪了。(財富中文網)
譯者:Feb
幾年前,畢業后的邁克·摩瑞爾斯一直在為自己的專業橄欖球夢想而打拼。他在成長期間經常出入健身房,后來自己也開了一家。
摩瑞爾斯說:“指導人們實現自己的目標十分有意思,而且頗有成就感。我從沒把這當成一項工作。”
一開始,摩瑞爾斯在當地的訓練營幫忙,訓練青年運動員。但最終,這家開啟其執教生涯的這健身房倒閉了。該健身房位于加州的圣卡洛斯,距離舊金山約30分鐘車程。
因此,他孤注一擲,把所有家當用于投資收購以及購買設備、續租場地、添置新系統,并將這家健身房更名為Advanced Sports Performance & Fitness,于2013年開始營業。如今,新健身房提供團體健身課程和私教陪練服務,同時,他還繼續從事著青年運動員的培訓工作。
近期,《財富》雜志采訪了摩瑞爾斯,詢問了有關新冠病毒對其所處行業以及未來規劃的影響,并了解了他在面對疫情時如何管理自身情緒和財務狀況。
為簡明起見,以下對話內容有所刪改。
《財富》:你是什么時候意識到新冠疫情會對自己的健身房產生影響的?到目前為止影響有多大?
摩瑞爾斯:我在3月9日便知道,疫情將會影響我的健身房。當天,鄰縣頒發了禁止千人以上聚會的禁令,健身房中的每個人都在談論這個事情。
當時我就想,應該非常謹慎地對待這件事情,我們開始每天對健身房進行深度清掃,并改變了健身計劃安排,這樣每個人都能夠在健身時保持較遠的距離,且無需再共用同一個設備。我們的教練負責叮囑每個人使用高樂士消毒巾擦拭他們接觸過的任何事物。當州長紐薩姆頻頻發布各項聲明時,我們依然十分樂觀,因為我們的團隊已經在實施政府強制推行的一些舉措。
但一切都在3月16日那天發生了改變。那個周一是我人生中最短暫,也是最漫長的一天。我了解到,我們的一名會員確診感染了新冠病毒,我們隨即關閉了健身房。而后,隨著我們起草會員和員工通知,州長紐薩姆宣布了一項指令,像健身房這樣的業務必須關停,解禁日期待定。
接下來的12小時可謂是轉瞬即逝。我們向會員告知了確定病例(包括他們最近一次什么時候來的健身房),并宣布我們將通過Zoom推出虛擬課程,也邀請那些不介意的會員前來拿取或借用健身房設備,以便在可預見的未來使用。在隔離命令即將生效之前,健身房就已變得空空如也。但仍有50多人過來拿走了設備,而且我們收到100多條會員的回復,他們表示將盡可能地保留其會員。我們的成年人會員并沒有拋棄我們,到目前為止,我們僅失去了4名月度會員。
我們并非技術專家,但獨立健身房所有者們迅速進行了溝通,并分享了在Zoom課程設置方面的最佳實踐,而且除了日常存在的帶寬問題之外,我覺得我們已經摸索出了會員喜聞樂見的絕佳虛擬體驗。我們有點播視頻劇集、健身效果對話、快樂時光,甚至還有一個4月月度挑戰賽,每周的獎品是廁紙。
但我依然沒有找到青年培訓項目以及私教培訓課程方面的收入維持方法,所以要說我的健身房一定能挺過去,那就是一種不負責任的表現。但會員的任何積極反饋都會使我們的團隊對健身房的回歸充滿信心。會員完全與我們同舟共濟,而且不得不承認,每當有人告訴我要續費時,我都會流淚,當然是高興的淚水。
你的健身房推出了每日視頻播客《隔離日志》。你希望你的會員從中獲得什么,他們對此是否有反饋意見?
從就地隔離命令頒布之日起,我們便開始拍攝錄制課程的短視頻,以便提供靈活、帶有喜劇感的持續健身方案。超過50%的會員都已經入會三年以上,而且他們習慣于觀看教練與個人互動,并相互打趣。
我們意識到,很大一部分會員都在公司身居要職,無法參加我們的Zoom現場訓練營。因此除了發布這些可供他們隨時觀看的視頻之外,我們還會提供上述較短的視頻以供他們選擇。這些視頻是免費的,而且我們也高興地看到,一些會員會在社交媒體上傳播這些視頻,并向其朋友和家人發出挑戰,完成這些視頻中的內容。我們獲得了有關這些健身內容的積極反饋,但大多數反饋都與我們的教練和健身房狗的互動有關,或是批評我們的健身著裝。
對于會員和非會員來說,自我隔離的人士如何在家進行一些鍛煉,你在這方面有什么建議?
在保持健康方面,最重要的就是為自己制定一個計劃,并從日程中抽出這部分時間用于鍛煉。如果自己一直以來并不怎么關注健身,那么每天至少應該抽出30分鐘的時間進行運動。
我們也知道,目前社交媒體上與健身相關的內容可謂是鋪天蓋地,最重要的一點在于找到適合自己的鍛煉方式,并持之以恒。可以簡單地選擇兩到四種鍛煉方式,每一種做10至20組,然后不斷重復,持續10分鐘。有時候越簡單越好。
除了健身房業務之外,在這個動蕩的時期,你平時在情緒和精神方面有沒有遇到什么問題?
情緒每一天都像過山車一樣,從閉店之后的“是戰是逃”心理斗爭,到學習和實施運營虛擬健身房所需的技術,還有安撫、平息會員和雇員的情緒。一切基本上都是從零開始。
毫無疑問的是,沒有會員的支持,我們的店無法活下去。就像我會盡力給會員和雇員加油打氣一樣,他們也給了我前行的動力。此外,我覺得可能就我有一條不怎么喜歡隔離的狗。通常,布蘭斯頓(健身房的狗)每天會在健身房遇到至少150人,它很納悶這段時間這些人都去哪了。(財富中文網)
譯者:Feb
While chasing his dream to play professional football after graduating college a few years prior, Mike Morales had spent a lot of time in gyms growing up before opening his own.
"Coaching people to achieve their goals was fun and rewarding," says Morales. "It never felt like work."
Morales started by helping out a local bootcamp class and training youth athletes. Eventually, the gym where he started coaching in San Carlos, Calif., approximately 30 minutes south of San Francisco, was going out of business.
So he took a leap of faith and decided to invest everything he had into buying the equipment, taking over the lease, putting new systems in place, and rebranding it as Advanced Sports Performance & Fitness when he opened in 2013. Today, the facility offers group fitness classes and personal training, and Morales continues to work with young athletes.
Fortune spoke with Morales for a new series, The Coronavirus Economy, to ask about how COVID-19 has affected his business and his plans for the future, and to get a sense of how he has been handling this news, both emotionally and financially.
The following Q&A has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
Fortune: When did you realize that the outbreak of COVID-19 was going to affect your business? How has it so far?
Morales: I knew it was going to affect business on March 9. That day, our neighboring county banned gatherings of 1,000 people or more, and it was all anyone in the gym wanted to talk about.
In what I thought at the time was acting in an abundance of caution, we started deep cleaning the gym daily and changed our programming so everyone was working out far apart and stopped sharing equipment. Our coaches held everyone accountable for using Clorox wipes on everything they touched. As Governor Newsom’s announcements became more frequent, we maintained optimism as our team was already complying with what he was enforcing.
Then everything changed on March 16. That Monday was the shortest and longest day of my life. I learned that one of our members tested positive for COVID-19, and we began to shut the gym doors for two weeks. As we were drafting communication to our members and informing staff, Newsom announced a mandate that businesses like ours would need to close without an end date.
The next 12 hours happened in an instant. We informed members of the positive case (including when they were last in the gym), announced that we would be holding classes virtually via Zoom, and invited those who felt comfortable to pick-up and borrow equipment for the foreseeable future. By the midnight shelter-in-place deadline, the gym was empty. More than 50 people came by to grab equipment, and we had more than 100 responses from members committing to stick with us as long as they could. Our adult members have endured with us, and so far we have only lost four monthly memberships.
We are far from a technical team, but the independent gym owner community came together quickly to share best practices on Zoom set ups, and apart from my daily struggles with Comcast for bandwidth, I think we’ve figured out a great virtual experience that our members are enjoying. We have an on-demand video series, accountability sessions, happy hours, and even an April monthly challenge where the weekly prize is toilet paper.
I still haven’t figured out a way to maintain revenue streams from the youth programming or personal training sessions, so I’d be remiss if I said that I’m confident that the business will endure. Every bit of positive feedback from our members is keeping our team optimistic that we’ll have a business to come back to. Our members have completely rallied around us, and I have to admit that there are tears every time someone tells me to renew their subscription. Happy tears.
Your gym launched a daily video podcast, The Quarantine Chronicles. What do you want your members to get from it, and have they provided any feedback?
We started filming short, pre-recorded videos the same day shelter-in-place was ordered to provide flexible workouts with a sense of continuity and comedic relief. More than 50% of our members have been with us for more than three years, and they’re used to watching our coaches interact in-person and poke fun at each other.
We’ve come to learn that a good number of our members are essential employees and can’t make our live Zoom bootcamp workouts, so in addition to posting those for them to follow along with whenever they can, we have these shorter videos that they can choose instead. The videos are free, and it’s been fun to see our members post them to social media and challenge friends and family to complete them. We’ve gotten positive feedback on the content of the workouts, but the majority of feedback is related to the interaction between our coaches and gym dog—or their disapproval of our outfit choices.
For members and non-members alike, do you have any recommendations for how people in self-isolation can get in a bit of exercise while at home?
The biggest thing anyone can do to maintain their fitness is create a schedule for themselves. Commit to carving out that time in your schedule for exercise, and if working out hasn’t been a priority, then prioritizing at least 30 minutes a day to be active.
We understand that there is an overwhelming amount of fitness-related content flooding social media, and the most important thing is to find out what works for you and commit to it. It can be as simple as choosing two to four exercises, doing 10 to 20 repetitions of each, and repeating that over and over again for 10 minutes. Sometimes simple is best.
Aside from business, how have you been coping—emotionally, mentally—from day-to-day during this tumultuous time?
Every day is a rollercoaster of emotions. From the fight-or-flight aspect of shutting our doors, to learning and implementing the technology needed to run a virtual gym, while providing reassurance and a sense of calmness to members and employees. It’s basically starting all over again.
There isn’t a shred of doubt that we would be closed for good without the support of our members. As much as I hope we’ve been keeping their spirits high, they keep me going. Also, I think I have the only dog not enjoying quarantine. Branston (the gym dog) usually gets to greet at least 150 people a day at the gym, and he wants to know where everyone is.