Ep 134 - Herman Rutgers: How to adapt and thrive.

How to be adaptable to new market conditions in fitness after the pandemic. On this episode of the Escape Your Limits podcast, we meet Herman Rutgers, co-founder and ambassador of EuropeActive. With a who's who of the fitness industry on his job experience list, including positions at FIBO, IHRSA, Life Fitness and SATS (part of Health and Fitness Nordic), there's nobody better suited to preparing us for life after the coronavirus. For more information on the Escape Your Limits podcast visit https://escapefitness.com/podcast Video – https://youtu.be/bKp-9wJ0laA Escape Your Limits homepage – https://escapefitness.com/podcast Herman Rutgers is the co-founder and currently Ambassador of EuropeActive. He's also an international ambassador for Reed Exhibitions, consulting to support the global growth of FIBO, and has held influential or top level positions in an exhaustive list of fitness industry companies, both on the supplier and operator side. For two decades his own company, Global Growth Partners, has consulted and provided support, from corporate strategy to marketing and sales. Global Growth Partners (GGP) is a full service boutique investment banking firm providing hands-on strategic advisory services including mergers and acquisitions (buy-side and sell-side), capital-raising services (senior debt, minority and majority common equity and hybrid forms of capital such as mezzanine financing and preferred equity), business valuations and consulting to middle market companies and entrepreneurs across all industries. With a rich global network and expansive reach, GGP delivers boutique investment banking advisory and consulting services on a bespoke, individual level. For more visit globalgrowthpartners.com     Episode highlights -  How coronavirus has affected businesses and sectors differently in countries around the world, and what we can learn from different approaches and results. Why in many cases the lockdowns in place were started in order to protect the hospitals, due to high demand from people that got ill. Why it's more sensible in the case of the pandemic to be cautious and open a week too late instead of risking opening a week too early. How a membership system will protect the fitness industry compared with other sectors such as restaurants or retail, but there will still be casualties in business. What areas of the fitness industry is going to be hardest hit by the financial effects of the coronavirus, and how many are likely to close after the lockdowns are lifted from statistics in countries around the world. How the coronavirus could reinforce fitness as a healthcare system to raise the sector's position with governments for the future. Why changing behaviour, in any sense, is always about three things: the mind, the mouth and the muscle. Why we still need to find a way to appeal to the majority of populations that don't like to exercise, and why even fitness success stories such as Peloton are preaching to the converted. How partnerships will be key to moving forward for anyone in fitness to engage more people that are currently not self motivated or exercising. What Google, Facebook, Apple and other tech companies are planning for the future of fitness and wellness offerings. What the past 10 years can tell us about predicting trends for the future and which companies – both supplier and operator – will be still be around. How digital solutions can make or break a company depending on size of the company, development capability, quality of white labelled off-the-shelf solutions, or pricing plan. Will members and customers stop going to gyms now that they've experienced home fitness through digital offerings? What does the future hold for trade shows now that so many events and exhibitions have been cancelled and we're facing months without attendance, and how social distancing will be implemented for visitor safety. How camaraderie has grown since we've been locked down around the world, and why this will only go to strengthen the industry when we're facing business as normal again post-pandemic.     Join Matthew Januszek in conversation with Herman Rutgers…