Through the EVOLVE movement, Leisure DB aims to catalyse conversation, collaboration and change across the UK’s physical activity sector. COO Heidi Blackburn speaks to Kate Cracknell.
What is EVOLVE?
EVOLVE is a movement for industry transformation that was conceived by Leisure DB and Pocket Rocket in 2021, with Active IQ, Willmott Dixon and Taylor Wessing also coming onboard as partners to help us launch it that same year.
Most people in our sector will be most familiar with EVOLVE’s annual conference – the event at which we unveil the findings of our flagship State of the UK Fitness Industry Report and host thought-provoking speakers to stimulate discussion. This began life as an online event in 2021, moving to both in-person and online in 2022 and 2023; this year it took place at Red Bull’s London HQ on 7 June.
But EVOLVE is far more than just an event, conceived as a year-round movement, catalyst and platform for conversation, collaboration and change within our sector. Bringing together the industry’s disrupters and thought leaders, it aims to inspire new thinking in the human experiences our sector delivers, encourage diversification into untapped markets and stimulate growth.
That’s why this year, we wanted to deliver really strong takeaways from the event, as well as inspire further action off the back of the day’s discussions. Change will never happen if we only get together once a year.
It’s also why we gave such careful thought to our guest list – because transformational conversations require the right people to be in the room. The approach we took, having carefully selected our partners, was to ask those partners to invite the approximately 140 delegates themselves. It ensured a good blend of voices in the room, who between them brought the full, collective energy of the sector.
The room needed to be full of people who were ready to take action, and it was great to see how many put their hands up to make their pledges to the agenda, committing to actions they would take. That momentum has continued in the weeks since the event.
Tell us about the takeaways
A full round-up of takeaways from 7 June can be downloaded here, but let me share a handful of themes that mostly strongly resonated with me.
The first is the need to move our sector into health, while at the same time still catering for the 15% who are already using our products and services. The 15-point manifesto shared by MCR Active’s Andy King was hugely powerful and I urge everyone to watch – or even re-watch – that session, with a full recording of the day available on the EVOLVE page of our website.
To achieve this, we must look at our workforce, how well they represent the other 85 per cent, and the qualifications they hold. Compared to those held by the likes of physiotherapists, the bar is simply too low. We will never be seen as credible if you can become a PT in a weekend.
Another key takeaway from the day is the importance of embracing broader wellness, from sleep to menopause to resilience and everything in between. I’ll come back to that in a minute.
The need to move away from silo thinking and work collaboratively also emerged strongly, which I wholeheartedly agree with. I genuinely believe that if someone would step in and help all 7,000 facilities across the UK, regardless of which sector they operate in, we would attract good numbers of people who’ve never used our facilities before.
Linked to that is the need to help every operator understand how to access the funding, support and guidance that’s available. It’s too complex and too restrictive at the moment.
Changing the language we use is also hugely important. Fitness and leisure are both arguably the wrong words to be using to describe what we do, both in terms of potential new customers and in the eyes of those we aspire to work with, such as GPs and the broader NHS.
The last takeaway I’d like to mention, which I’ll come back to in a moment, is the pressing need for good data if we want to forge a path to government.
Underpinning all of this is the notion of ‘no egos’. With EVOLVE, you leave your name badge at the door. We’re all just people in a room trying to look collectively at how to inspire change.
What comes next?
Since our event in June, a number of conversations have been actively progressed.
CIMSPA has already committed to hosting three events this year, to continue the conversation around topics such as data and language. This is exactly the sort of thing we need to happen; it isn’t our intention that Leisure DB controls and organises everything. If EVOLVE is to succeed, it needs to be widely embraced and actioned, sparking debate, collaboration and conversation across the sector.
We’re also kicking off what will be a series of roundtables with a Workforce Roundtable on 26 September, led by Active IQ. Future roundtable themes are likely to include: vocabulary and narrative; education and qualifications; wellness; sustainable business models; the eco-agenda; and data.
We’re certainly pushing the wellness agenda, already planning a new Leisure DB report and actively looking to create a wellness academy: a flagship facility that will provide data and best practice to shape case studies and assist the future development of wellness hubs across the UK.
We’re also in conversation with Active Insights – formerly Leisure-net – about incorporating NPS into our reports, to provide evidence around the human experience that EVOLVE aims to positively influence.
The last two points are essentially about data, which is something we’ve always been passionate about at Leisure DB. We want to champion data sharing across the sector, to in turn drive better, more informed business decisions that will better serve the end consumer.
How will you do this?
At the moment, you look across our sector and most operators have no usage data, no real understanding of who’s doing what or why customers behave as they do.
This is something we’re keen to address, and our intention is to enhance every one of Leisure DB’s suite of reports to include not just statistics and topline analysis, but in-depth narrative and exploration of solutions. Our State of the UK Swimming Industry Report 2023, coming out at the end of this month, is our first step towards this, but we want to go further still.
We want to be the independent voice that draws sector-wide data into one place and then uses it to drive learnings and implementable, unbiased advice. Our goal: for our reports to become toolkits that drive best practice, whether you’re setting up a new health club and have questions on how best to staff it, an existing operator looking to refine your product offering, or an equipment supplier seeking to better serve the end user by understanding workout behaviours. In time, we’d also like to explore not just what happens, but why it happens.
We’ve already had some great conversations with forward-looking suppliers such as Life Fitness, Pulse, Technogym, Xplor, Membr, ClubRight, MyZone and Huumans. We will continue to explore best practice ways to share data across the entire physical activity sector, putting aside silos and egos to simply get more people active and enjoying the journey.
Can I be part of EVOLVE?
Absolutely: we welcome all those willing to actively participate in shaping a bright future for our sector. Get in touch to find out more: www.leisuredb.com/contact
Read the full published article in SportsNation
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The State of the UK Fitness Industry Report 2023 includes full details of club numbers, member counts, growth sectors, average fees, operator rankings, openings and closures and more.
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