Chief Executive Officer Edge: Costs McMenamy on Reconstructing New York City Sports Club


Under McMenamy’s watch, New york city Sports Club has actually started a major rebrand, that includes altering the name of lots of places

Costs McMenamy isn’t precisely a complete stranger to the physical fitness sector, having actually offered a short job as chief executive officer people Physical Fitness Holdings LLC, yet his history is mainly as an exec with leading retail brand names consisting of Space, 5 Below and Adidas.

In February 2022, McMenamy took control of as chief executive officer of New York City Sports Club, entrusted with reviving the 50-year-old brand name which is enjoyed amongst New Yorkers yet additionally runs a network of over 50 clubs throughout 6 states and 2 nations (united state and Switzerland).

In an initiative to profit from its solid connections to New York City, previously this year, NYSC rebranded almost all of its clubs, including its health clubs in Philly, Washington, D.C., and Boston, under the “New York City Sports Club” name. That indicated rejecting names like “Boston Sports Club,” which had actually been made use of at local centers.

In addition to the rebrand, under McMenamy’s watch, NYSC has actually additionally struck collaborations with Garmin and Under Armour, and obtained Fhitting Area, an NYC-based store physical fitness idea, which has actually been included right into NYSC’s Upper East Side area and will certainly be presented in various other centers.

McMenamy spoke to Athletech Information concerning the rebranding initiative, his approach to make NYSC a lot more attractive to modern-day physical fitness customers and what remains in shop for the future.

The complying with discussion has actually been gently modified for quality and size

Athletech Information: Your history is mainly as an exec with leading retail firms. What is it concerning New York City Sports Club that persuaded you to return right into the physical fitness sector?

Costs McMenamy: Wellness and health is an enthusiasm. When the New Sports Club chance came my method, I was exceptionally interested. The New York City Sports Club brand name has actually been a legendary wordmark in the physical fitness sector for half a century, and like lots of brand names, there have actually been ups and downs. Nevertheless, as I began reviewing the brand name and this chance with others, it was clear that although there were obstacles, the majority of people desired this brand name to win.

One of the most crucial variables that attracted attention to me were the group and the clubs. We have an outstanding group, with lots of staff member having actually been with us for 20-plus years. When I at first approved this difficulty, I invested a lot of my time in clubs paying attention and finding out. Our group is extraordinary, and they are worthy of to see this brand name achieve success once again.

ATN: What have your very early top priorities been as chief executive officer of NYSC?

BM: Practically absolutely nothing had actually altered in New york city Sports Clubs in years, so we started by altering the method we work, and in a brief quantity of time we took a hostile strategy to reimagine this famous brand name. We bought our physical rooms, rejuvenating and refurbishing clubs to consist of brand-new tools and boosted experiences, such as healing lounges, increased practical training and weights locations, and specialized efficiency laboratories for individual training sessions. To day, we have actually boosted practically fifty percent of our clubs. We updated our participant monitoring system, presented a member-facing mobile application and are introducing a brand-new internet site following month. Along with carrying out member-friendly month-to-month subscription choices, we additionally put a big concentrate on area structure and participant interaction. Our “MY Sports Club” project, as an example, highlights at the very least one participant or employee in our regular monthly participant e-newsletter, on our social feed and in our clubs.

In an initiative to speed up the brand name turn-around, we additionally obtained leading NYC-based store physical fitness brand name Fhitting Area. We intended to bring a brand-new NYSC idea to our participants, one that focuses about high efficiency and social physical fitness, and we saw Fhitting Area as a crucial part as they use among the most effective store ideas with a gifted group that is unequaled in the store physical fitness sector.

ATN: Why did NYSC determine to rebrand a lot of its clubs around the nation under the “New York City Sports Club” name?

BM: The New York City Sports Club brand name is famous, no matter where we take a trip. Every person recognizes NYSC either with having a subscription or recognizing a person that was a participant, so the wordmark is solid in the physical fitness sector. At one factor we were taking care of 6 various brand names with various operating versions, and in a globe of electronic advertising and economic climates of range, it came to be extremely tough to take care of. It truly didn’t make much feeling to not take advantage of our dimension and range and bring every one of our brand names under the New york city Sports Club banner.

Additionally, the pandemic generated a generation of electronic wanderers in the work environment, and uniformity throughout markets supplies a large chance to offer participants throughout geographical limits. There was additionally an idea that we are more powerful with each other appearing of the pandemic and it seemed like a suitable time to bring all brand names with each other under the one name.

ATN: There’s a great deal of competitors in the fitness center and gym room, particularly in the Northeast. What divides NYSC from its rivals?

BM: Our objective is to supply one of the most worth to our participants. We provide every little thing participants require and absolutely nothing that they do not. We attempt to customize the club experience to the areas we offer to genuinely be your community fitness center. As we reimagined the brand name, we have actually produced set apart rooms within our 4 wall surfaces to enable the participants to discover their physical fitness trip on their terms.

As an example, post-pandemic, stamina training has actually risen in appeal. Stamina training with weights was the second fad (behind wearable modern technology) in the yearly ACSM Wellness & & Physical fitness Journal study for 2023, yet lots of gym do not supply weights over 50 extra pounds. At NYSC, we do supply weights over 50 extra pounds and have actually bought an area of our clubs we call the Weights Club along with our Useful Educating room. We comprehend that weight-lifting is a crucial attribute to our participants, and wish to remain to satisfy our participants’ requirements.

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ATN: NYSC has actually done some remarkable bargains under your watch, consisting of getting Fhitting Area and partnering with Garmin and Under Armour. What’s the approach behind those relocations?

BM: At the end of the day, this is a relationship-driven service and for us, it has to do with society and fit. We wish to companion with various other similar brand names that share our objective, which is to “Boost Lives Via Physical Fitness.”

Fhitting Area gave us a chance to companion with industry-best ability, filling up spaces and spaces we had, and, obviously, acquiring the most effective store physical fitness experience on the market today. Integrating the stamina of our brand names by leveraging our property profile and Fhitting Area’s experience in brand name structure, shows, area and fitness instructor advancement has actually enabled us to supply an engaging deal and attract attention in the physical fitness market.

Collaborations are necessary to us due to the fact that they are driven by the objective of area and participant interaction. Our collaboration with Garmin, as an example, was a “Summer season in the Fitness Center + Success” Obstacle that obtained participants associated with an enjoyable physical fitness difficulty with incredible Garmin rewards. Furthermore, collaborations have actually aided bring us right into retail. We partnered with Under Armour for our “Fit On The Yard” totally free exterior exercise collection in Boston, which was advertised inside their shop for extremely popular co-branding.

ATN: What’s the most significant difficulty encountering big health clubs and clubs today, and exactly how can you conquer it?

BM: For several years it sufficed to have great deals of cardio, selectorized tools and a team workout deal. Participants today are fluent in physical fitness and bought their general health and wellness and health, and we require to fulfill participants where they are. This needs us to develop, expect patterns, and comprehend not just where the participant is today, yet what they will certainly anticipate from us tomorrow. Via a varied item deal and a clear and succinct participant trip, we have actually had the ability to fulfill our participants’ requirements. That stated, we remain to rock the boat and press ourselves beyond our convenience area to guarantee we are fulfilling participants’ assumptions.

ATN: What are your crucial long-lasting objectives for NYSC over the following couple of years, and could growth be on the perspective?

BM: Primarily, we require to gain the right to service our participants and areas. If we do that well, there are a variety of intriguing markets that our company believe the New york city Sports Club brand name would certainly grow in.

Our objective is to supply worth to our participants, providing every little thing they require to attain their physical fitness objectives and absolutely nothing they do not so we can remain to be one of the most obtainable full-service offering on the market we offer. We wish to play an energetic function in assisting our participants and the areas we offer “Boost Their Lives Via Physical fitness.” If we achieve success at this streamlined job, our company believe there is extraordinary chance for New york city Sports Club.