What do you love most about the sport and fitness industry?
I was sports mad from a young age and I always wanted to work in the sport industry to some capacity. My passion for sport means that I also had a good understanding of how to stay fit, so the two industries go hand in hand.
All the clients I work with are in some way trying to encourage people to get active and that is what is most rewarding about the job I am in.
2019 has been a breakout year for wearable technology, home workout sessions, niche gym chains, and wellness festivals. What do you expect to see boom in 2020?
Wearable tech and apps really have transformed the fitness space in recent years. We’re only at the start when it comes to technology influencing the way we keep fit and what I expect we will see in 2020 is advancing technology, an increase in data-driven groups and individual workouts and further customization of workouts brought about by having access to a larger and more varied data set. We are already seeing data on heart rate monitoring and sleep patterns being used to help us meet our fitness goals and as we move into 2020 and beyond, I predict we will come to rely more heavily on apps, sports tech and wearables to inform us in the short, and the long term, and to make exercise more personal.
You’ve been involved in working on some great accounts at The PHA Group, are there any highlights?
I think it would have to be going to Buckingham Palace to watch the first-ever football match take place on their grounds. Two of the oldest amateur league teams in the UK took part in an exhibition match to celebrate to mark the Football Association’s 150th anniversary.
I arranged for a client to be one of the shirt sponsors for the game which resulted in blanket global brand awareness for the brand. One of my oldest friends also scored the first goal in the game which made it even better!
What sets the sport and fitness department at The PHA Group apart from other agencies?
We have such a diverse range of clients and have built up an incredible knowledge of different sectors in the sport and fitness industry.
We are experts within the gym sector having worked with PureGym and Xercise4ess and have an incredibly diverse range of clients in the mass event industry such as Royal Parks Half Marathon, Spartan Race and Threshold Sports.
PHA are known as the go-to agency for Football Clubs and currently work with West Ham United and Crystal Palace and previously Manchester City. We have also built up a strong rapport within the rugby sector having worked with Harlequins, Barbarians and OPRO.
We have become experts across the whole fitness market, MMA, football and rugby sectors.
Finally, you were instrumental in showcasing Xercise4Less as the leading low-cost gym chain in the national media, if you could give one free piece of advice to a startup gym what would it be?
The market is incredibly crowded at the moment and you absolutely need one USP that differentiates yourself from the competition. I am seeing a lot of people open sites and they are not offering anything new. I was really impressed with the new concept “Rowbots” in London where they say it is the complete workout for body and mind. They are combining rowing, floor workouts with mindfulness so that you are getting the ultimate workout.
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