|
|
|
|
|
|
| The tennis legend intends to spread his message about the critical importance of exercise in partnership with 24 Hour Fitness |
By Jon Feld |
|
CBI: You’re one of the winning-est and wealthiest tennis players in the world. What prompted you to get involved in the club business?
Andre Agassi: Health and fitness have been the foundation—the backbone, if you will—of my life and career. They’re something that I believe in strongly, and I wanted to share their benefits with others.
CBI: Why did you decide to partner with 24 Hour Fitness in this venture?
AA: Needless to say, over the years, as I’ve traveled, I’ve had a lot of experience training at different facilities, and I’ve always been impressed by 24 Fitness’ commitment to making fitness an integral part of people’s lives. The company has always gone above and beyond in its attempt to offer its members the information, equipment, and services they need to fashion a healthy rewarding lifestyle. Its mission meshed well with my own goals.
CBI: How did this particular deal happen to come together? Did 24 Hour approach you, or did you solicit 24 Hour?
AA: I met Mark Mastrov, the founder, chairman, and CEO of 24 Hour Fitness through Ivan Blumberg (a manager at SFX Sports Group, the U.K.-based agency that represents Agassi). Both of us, I think, were quite impressed by the other’s dedication to exercise, health, and fitness. For me to be playing tennis, at the highest level, in my 30s was, for Mark, the proof of my own commitment; and I have tremendous respect for his clubs and the impressive growth of his business. The agreement, I think, just sort of evolved naturally.
CBI: What sort of due diligence did you do before signing with 24 Hour? The company, obviously, has a similar arrangement with Magic Johnson (the 24 Hour Magic Johnson Sport Clubs). Did you check in with him about his experiences with the chain?
AA: I never spoke to Magic personally, but as I said, training is something that I take very seriously; it’s something that, whenever possible, I do every day, in whatever city I happen to be in. During my travels, I’ve worked out at a number of 24 Hour Fitness locations, and, invariably, I’ve been overwhelmed by their product—that, ultimately, is what I have to believe in. I could get involved with someone simply for the sake of a business opportunity, but I’ve always prided myself on picking partners who have a great product in line with my own goals. This seemed like a perfect marriage. It was authentic—which is what every good relationship has to be.
CBI: How many 24 Hour Agassi Super-Sport Clubs do you and Mastrov plan to open? Are you targeting specific markets?
AA: We hope to open a total of five facilities. The first one, the one that we opened three months ago, is located in Las Vegas, my hometown—it’s in the Summerlin community, close to where I live. It’s the site that I’ll be focusing on first. If I find that we’re having an impact, making a real difference, then we’ll continue to grow the brand.
CBI: Have you established any benchmarks to determine whether or not you’re successful?
AA: Not in the sense that you’re suggesting. I’ll base that decision on my own involvement and personal experience with the club. It’s not just about number of sales, number of dollars . . . It’s about getting people to come to the club, showing them how we can help them utilize exercise to enhance their lives, and getting them to keep coming back—that’s the key in this business. My goal is to make regular physical activity a way of life for all our members.
CBI: In terms of potential members, are you targeting particular demographics?
AA: One of the things that I respect so much about 24 Hour Fitness is that it attempts to provide people—all sorts of people—with a solid health baseline so they can lead productive lives. My experience in athletics, as well as in my personal life, has convinced me that working on one’s health is always a good thing—regardless of who you are, how old you are, what you do for a living, or what other demographic subsets you may belong to. Exercise is something that can enhance every person’s life, so, demographically, our target is huge. 24 Hour’s mission statement sums it up nicely; the company’s objective, it says, is 'to make fitness a way of life for everyone.’
CBI: Have you identified specific performance and financial goals for each club?
AA: As I said, for me, it’s really more a matter of whether members begin to adopt the way of life—the more active lifestyle—that we believe in, practice, preach, and do our best to teach to them. My commitment is simply to make the clubs that I’m involved with the best in the world. The responsibility for the financial goals and overall business plan rests with 24 Hour.
CBI: How does the arrangement with 24 Hour work financially? Are you simply paid a fee for promoting the clubs, share in the profits, or something else?
AA:We’ve created a partnership that couldn’t work better for me. It provides both inspiration and healthy incentives. I don’t like to waste time or energy, so my goal is to be a true, active, partner. My ownership position will also permit me to adopt a very hands-on approach. It’s a rather unique relationship. Like any other club owner, I experience success only if our clubs are successful in delivering the right product to the public.
CBI: What’s your impression of Mark Mastrov? Have you played tennis with him yet?
AA: Mark’s a great guy. He’s very passionate about fitness, exercise, and everything he does. I think that’s why we’ve hit it off so well. No, we haven’t gotten out onto the court yet, but I’m looking forward to putting his skills to the test.
CBI: Are there any plans to develop Agassi-branded club products, such as dietary supplements or proprietary tennis programs?
AA: No, not for the time being. I’m a firm believer in focusing intensely on what I’m doing at the moment—it’s obviously essential when you’re playing tennis. Right now, my goal is to make the new club a successful business that delivers exceptional service to the people of the Summerlin community. What I love about this project—and this isn’t self-serving PR—is that our dream is to introduce fitness to everybody, people of all ages, shapes, and sizes, and, thereby, improve the well-being of the entire community. If we attend to that, if we accomplish that first, we’ll see where it all leads.
CBI: You’ve talked about a ‘hands-on’ involvement. Will you be making any suggestions about the design or layout of the clubs?
AA: God, no. One of the things I’ve learned in life is that you leave things like that to the people who know how to do them. I don’t think of myself as a smart person, but I’m smart enough to surround myself with smart people. I don’t have any doubt that 24 Hour is an expert at what it does—I’ve seen it firsthand when I’ve worked out at the clubs. So I’ll leave issues like design and layout to them—the people at 24 Hour who do it so well.
CBI: What about general management? Do you intend to get involved in that?
AA: Again, as with your question about design, I’ll be leaving the day-to-day management decisions to 24 Hour—that’s what it excels at. My assignment, my job, will be to do whatever I can to enhance the brand. I’ll be working out in the clubs, offering my input, sharing my experiences—doing anything I can think of that will pull people through our doors and put them on track to succeed at exercising for life.
CBI: Before the new club opened, did you belong to some other fitness facility?
AA: I was never very satisfied with the offerings at other clubs, so, for the most part, I worked out at a small gym that my trainer set up for me in Las Vegas. Our club in Summerlin, however, has given me a fresh perspective on how fitness should be presented, and how it can be delivered, effectively, to an entire community.
CBI: Does the fact that the clubs won’t offer tennis pose any sort of a problem for you? Doesn’t it seem, at the very least, supremely ironic?
AA:Absolutely not. These clubs aren’t designed to turn out professional athletes in a given sport. They’re designed to show people that by training, working out, they can improve their health and lead richer more rewarding lives. Playing tennis is just what I happen to do, and, in order to do it better, I have to train harder. The same is true of just about everything: if a person wants to ski better, perform better at work, play harder with their grandchildren . . . they have to train harder. I’m convinced that, in the same way that exercise helps improve my game, it can help anyone attain their goals.
CBI: You’ve said that you intend to put your own ‘spin’ on the clubs. How so?
AA: I want to bring my own experience to bear on the operation of these clubs—I’m going to try to put a very personal, authentic, spin on the ball. As far as I’m concerned, it’s all about providing people with a health and fitness foundation—offering them a place and a process that convince them that working out can be an enjoyable and valuable asset in their lives. If, when members leave the club, they’re looking forward to their next visit—then I’ll feel as though I’ve been successful.
CBI: When 24 Hour launched its Magic Johnson clubs, one of its goals was to make fitness facilities available to inner-city residents. Do you have any similar ‘grand’ goals for your clubs?
AA: My mission is quite simple: to share my belief that fitness is important, critical, for everyone, whether they’re a child, a young married couple, a grandparent, a busy executive who spends his life behind a desk and doesn’t think he has the time to exercise . . . or, as in my case, a tennis professional. The goal is to introduce exercise into their lives in such a way that they enjoy, profit from, and, therefore, appreciate it.
CBI: 24 Hour now has two ‘celebrity’ brands. Has it demonstrated, to its own satisfaction, that such partnerships pay dividends?
AA: I wouldn’t want to speculate, or draw any conclusions, about the company’s approach to business. In this case, however, I don’t think of myself as a celebrity—I’m a fitness resource. I’ve had a tremendous amount of experience training, preparing myself to be stronger and fitter, and that’s what I bring to the table. My life and the success that I’ve enjoyed are a tribute, a testament, to the positive impact that exercise can have on a person’s life and career. For me, this venture is not about the connection between celebrity and fitness.
Jon Feld is a contributing editor for CBI and can be reached at kjfeld@rcn.com.
|
|
|
