Leisure Industry Week

For those of you who didn’t attend Leisure Industry (LIW) Week shame on you! For those of you who did a huge well done. LIW is an annual three-day event where the leisure industry comes together with over 300+ exhibitors showcasing their products and services. There’s also an Education Village where a series of expert-led seminars were held.

At LIW I was running the Nutrition Complete stand, Nutrition Complete is an Australian company that offers fast-clinicalonline meal planning software. My role is to bring Nutrition Complete further into the UK market after the company’s success in Asia and America. The company received lots of genuine interest at LIW and this has given us a strong platform to build on. I would strongly suggest others look to get involved with LIW next year, you will definitely see me there!!

Lastly the atmosphere at LIW was one of optimism and looking towards the future of the fitness industry, which was brilliant. With this 20% VAT rise being imposed on fitness products its paramount that we all look at innovative ways to make ourselves appeal to the end user.

Posted By Gavin Townsend

VAT Increase on Sports Nutrition

When I first heard about the proposed VAT increase on some sports nutrition products I was genuinely appalled , 5 months on and sadly all attempts to fight this change have failed. This is going to happen and it will affect every individual in our marketplace at every level, we all need to [excuse the pun] muscle this one out!!

Below are some reason why this insanity is wrong.

      1.  The bodybuilding market is growing year on year, so why punish a market that is still in its development cycle?

2.  This year has seen the summer of sport do wonders for our nation and this can act as a catalyst for    righting so many wrongs that have crept into our culture. One of these being the increase of obesity and an   unhealthy lifestyle. So again I ask, why is there going to be a VAT increase on a key industry that’s encouraging physical fitness which can massively bring down costs for the NHS and improve a nation as a whole?

      3.   Regular gym users see nutritional supplements as a fundamental part of their lifestyle, surely we should be encouraging people to spend their money on healthy products rather than cheap junk.

4.  With high under 25 unemployment and a national debt that needs two generations to pay it off we should be encouraging youngsters to get out the house and get active, instead of making a healthy lifestyle even more expensive.  

Sorry to reiterate one of my points again, but I CANNOT understand the timing of this VAT increase.

Why not delay it a year so that the industry can brace itself, and the government can see what effect this Summer of Sport has had on our national as a whole.

Posted by Gavin Townsend

Back To Work

The summer of sport is coming to an end, for some this will be a sad moment which signals dark rainy days and traffic jams. For others this signals the beginning of a new business cycle and an opportunity to get the ball rolling again.

With so much happening this summer many brits have either escaped abroad or been super glued to their sofas giving hard up businesses an even greater challenge to entice people out of their homes and spending money again.

This is not the time to wallow in self-pity wrapped up in your coat waiting for that first inevitable cold school run. This is the time to act , reinvent yourself, build your portfolio, roll your sleeves up and get stuck in there are many willing clients out there.

GT personal training are here to help you, with advice on marketing, public relations and business planning.

Get ahead of your rivals and make this run up to Christmas the first quarter of your successful rising business.

Team GB Paralympians on course to better medal target

Before the games, anyone seeing the 103 medal target for Team GB would be allowed to think that was a tad optimistic. Although just 5 days into the Paralympics and this target is definitely in real danger of not only being achieved, but even bettered.  

The power of home advantage has never been so evident, with records being smashed, stadiums sold out and beaming smiles everywhere this again turning into a truly unforgettable few weeks for Britain as a whole.

The Team GB athletes recently won seven gold’s [“The Magnificent seven”] on what some are calling “Superb Sunday”. One of these gold’s was a truly sensational victory for wheelchair racer David Weir who lit up the Olympic Stadium with a dramatic last gasp win in the 5,000 meter race. Which was every bit as eventful as Mo Farah's win over the same distance.

The first few days were challenging for Team GB as they were battling for second spot with a resurgent Australia, with tougher competition they’ve done brilliantly to come out on top. An example in the raise in standards came last night when we saw Oscar Pistorius beaten in the 200m, which was a complete and utter shock. This acts as a fantastic statement of how much Paralympic sport has improved.

The Paralympians are a credit to themselves and their country so let’s all get behind the team for remaining days!

Posted by

Gavin Townsend