REX Roundtables to Host Leadership Academy & Fuel More Industry Growth
REX Roundtables’ new Leadership Academy is poised to extend the brand’s already substantial impact on industry development
REX Roundtables, the worldwide fitness communication and education organization, is a leader for leaders — and is taking a step forward in doing so this summer.
The collaborative network, which pulls in top industry players to share insights, strategies and best practices, is currently preparing to host the REX Leadership Academy from July 15-17th. The mid-summer experience is a reincarnation of the IHRSA (now HFA) Institute’s four day graduate class which also focused on leadership development.
“We just see a big black hole,” said Eddie Tock, CEO of REX Roundtables. “There’s not good leadership development going on in the industry and mostly it’s because global operators don’t have time to spend developing their leaders. There’s just not enough time to learn, grow and be a better leader — understanding the financials, culture, strategy, decisions and more. We think that’s where the opportunity is to help the industry and to do something a little different.”
An Ideal Successor
With a team carrying strong ties to IHRSA, there’s no better brand than REX Roundtables to repurpose the event’s most impactful principles into something relevant for today’s fitness leaders.
“Everybody from my team, and at least 90% of the faculty that’s going to be involved in this in July, has spent more than 10 years teaching at the IHRSA Institute,” said Tock. “We understand what it’s about — and what the value is.”
Tock added that some of REX Roundtables’ most successful members went through the institute themselves. As a result, they now feel compelled to help this “next generation of leaders.”
In doing so, the Leadership Academy will touch on a variety of subjects both directly and indirectly related to fitness. That includes one member, a former investment banker and current club operator, doing a session on financials. Another will feature a member doing a session on leadership and customer service. The academy also plans to facilitate a more hands-on and detailed approach to education and development — something the industry has quietly gone without for years.
“If you go to a conference, people throw around a lot of sound bites, but no one actually sits down and shows you how to do it, and I think that’s a difference,” said Tock. “You don’t get the game plan of what that looks like, and you don’t get the guidance to get you there. You get an idea, which is good, but it’s not enough. That’s the reason we think this is going to be a real asset to the industry.”
More than Just a Conference
This elevation from what a standard conference offers is visible at all REX Roundtable events, including the upcoming Leadership Academy. Part of that includes premium insight into the economy, which never loses its luster.
Three years ago, REX partnered with ITR Economics, which according to Tock, predicts the economy with 94% accuracy. REX takes that data from ITR, interprets and shares it with club operators, allowing them to make calculated decisions comfortably.
“That includes what’s going on right now,” said Tock. “They’re totally agnostic to politics. They don’t care who’s in office. Those are the things that are different with what we do compared to just going to a conference.”
REX Roundtables also differ from other events with its collaborative culture and welcoming of open dialogue. Much of that started with the brand’s inception in 1989, as REX’s founders all came from outside the industry, many being organizational and behavioral consultants. That foundation helped REX establish a culture built on constructive candor.
“Part of that challenge is to have brutal honesty and complete confidentiality within each group,” said Tock. “They weren’t there just to tell you nice things. They would tell you tough things sometimes — but in a good way — in a good caring way.”
Tock also added that the average REX member who joins stays in the organization until they leave the industry. They also meet three times a year in-person.
“Our retention rates are over 85 or 90%,” said Tock. “The average retention rate for any mastermind group is about 50%. We’ve developed a culture of vulnerability, community responsibility, doing what you say and supporting each other.
“We hold pretty true to those values,” he went on. “With one of our programs, we trusted suppliers to come in and make presentations, buy dinners and help support some of the education we do. Last year, I kicked out two companies for bad service; two club owners for not fitting the culture. When I do any of those things, I take a 100% financial hit. Other businesses would look at and say, ‘we can put up with this and that,’ and our answer is, ‘No.’ It’s not what’s good for the whole community. That’s what we’ve done differently to drive that culture.”
Proof in the Pudding
This uncommon culture has sparked wins of a similar nature for REX Roundtables and its members. In a recent study which the brand deemed the “largest retention study ever,” retention specialist Dr. Paul Beford looked at nearly 700,000 gym members. In doing so, he found that while the average retention rate for any club worldwide was about seven months, that of a REX member’s was 14 to 24 months.
“If you belong to a REX Roundtable, the odds are, your retention is going to be double what the rest of the industry is, which is pretty amazing,” said Tock. “Maybe it’s since we have the smartest people in the world, or we have some really smart operators who are always looking to get better, and sharing and helping each other has made that much of a difference.”
There’s also no shortage of REX members illustrating the impactfulness of the roundtables via their individual success. That includes Canadian fitness entrepreneur David ‘Patch’ Patchell-Evans and Geoff Dyer of CR Fitness, just to name a few.
“We have some amazing entrepreneurs,” said Tock. “If you look at the first roundtables, the names in there are icons of the industry. They’ve all been leaders not just in one or two clubs but in great organizations…And if you ask Patch what’s one of the best things he ever did, he’d say, “Join a REX Roundtable.’ He said it changed his life.”
Potential Expansion
Other industries are beginning to recognize the benefits brought on by REX Roundtables as well. Tock reports that REX has been approached by two industries outside of fitness about starting roundtables with their executives. REX is actively looking into those opportunities.
There are also plans to create more female leadership groups. Although REX already carries one, it aims to set up another while continuing its overall efforts to scale education and development.
“I have one women’s leadership group right now in the fitness industry,” said Tock. “We’d like to start a second one. That’s our short-term goal, a second women’s leadership roundtable, for sure, and then looking at possibly another industry, and still maintaining and expanding. We still think there’s more room for growth in our industry — definitely is.”