All Things Fitness and Wellness

Health & Fitness Association: 2024 Wins & 2025 Industry Outlook with Mike Goscinski

• Krissy Vann

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In this episode of All Things Fitness and Wellness, Mike Goscinski, Vice President of Government Affairs with the Health and Fitness Association (formerly IHRSA), provides a detailed recap of the HFA’s accomplishments in 2024 and what’s ahead for the fitness industry in 2025.

Mike dives into key topics such as the potential impact of the Trump administration on fitness policy, the role of gyms in the GLP-1 conversation, and why investing in data and research is critical for unifying the industry. He also shares a preview of next year’s trade show and what it means for fitness businesses.

Stay tuned for valuable insights into advocacy, innovation, and the future of fitness!

#fitnessbusiness #fitnessindustry #fitnessnews 

Unknown:

The GLP one discussion, when we talk to policy makers, they think about it as a medical practitioner prescribing a drug and reporting back to them. What we do is we go in and make the case of you, what you are doing is you're presenting someone an opportunity at weight loss, but they don't have the tools for sustained success with the drug. What we offer as an industry that is on Main Street in every town in the United States is the opportunity to say, if you are focusing on prescribing these drugs and using them in an effective way, it needs to be done with that lifestyle change that allows the individual to feel confident that the transition that they are going through, through the use of the pharmaceutical intervention is accompanied with a lifestyle intervention that's setting them up for long term success.

Krissy Vann:

This is all things fitness and wellness, uniting industry thought leaders and fit influencers on the mission to inspire innovation and encourage people to live a life fit and well. On today's episode, we welcome back Mike krissynsky, Vice President of Government Affairs with the health and fitness Association. Mike shares a detailed update on what the HFA accomplished in 2024 and what's ahead for the new year. He also highlights what the Trump administration could mean for propelling the fitness industry forward, the role of fitness and gyms in the conversation around GLP ones why investing in data and research is crucial to unifying the industry and what to expect at next year's Trade Show. Before we get to it, be sure to hit like and subscribe. We have new podcast episodes weekly featuring industry thought leaders and influencers. I'm your host, Krissy Vann, and this is ATF W. I am so thrilled to have my kaczynskiy on the podcast, because it's hard to believe, at time of recording, we just kind of kicked off here pre recording to say, yeah, it's the holidays. We're wrapping up 2024 already. So thank you for making the time and space today. Yeah, thank you for having me. Well, we know that 2024 was a massive year for the health and fitness Association, and we look back to the trade show in March, doing the big announcement of the rebrand from Ursa to HFA, and there has been a lot of work taking place in between. So when we reflect on 2024 what were some of the big wins that the association had.

Unknown:

You know, you mentioned it in the beginning, but I think first and foremost, it's coming out of March when we were in Los Angeles and we announced our rebrand to the health and fitness Association. And that really set the groundwork for us to hit the ground running in 2024 and really establish who the association was, and what the association was under the new brand, the new name. So here in Washington, DC, I of course, lead our advocacy efforts of speaking on behalf of the work that I do, it was a great opportunity for us to head to Capitol Hill, talk about who we are, who we represent under the new brand, and really talk about what our goals are, and that is to position the industry to be a seat at the table. Have a seat at the table for all policy work around health, physical activity, mental and physical health, and make sure that policy makers understood the work that the industry does, to make sure that so many people, millions in America, and of course, millions across around the globe can stay and get physically healthy. So, you know, we really hit the ground running, working both on Capitol Hill, but then across the state houses, here in Washington in the United States, to make sure that we were positioning ourselves. We had 50 great wins at the state level, protecting the industry from policies that would have, you know, affected the way that they manage their membership bases or deal with their customers, working on requirements to change the way cancelation policies can work, you know, and across the board, running the gamut to sales tax and everything else that would impact the industry at the state and local level, which is really where the bread and butter of our work, of our work is. Yeah.

Krissy Vann:

I mean, obviously, when you're speaking to the time on Capitol Hill, the Fit Act, or personal health investment today act is what gets a lot of focus at the forefront. But there are so many different things to your point that you are advocating for in that really have a huge impact. To the bottom of line. I know, I think it would have been late summer when the click to cancel conversation was back at the forefront. And there was definitely a win in that space, also a little bit of difficulties for smaller business. So talk to me a little bit about that, because, I mean, that was a huge topic of conversation in the LinkedIn sphere as it came to the forefront. Yeah.

Unknown:

And you know you met, you mentioned that the Fit act is something that the industry has been pushing for so long since, you know, since way before I've been here and we're what better position now than ever before. It just shows the slow process that it takes to actually get something across the finish line in Washington, DC politics, especially today, the way that the political system operates. But that's not our. Focus, as you mentioned, what, what we're really working to do is build a foundational advocacy program in Washington, DC, that allows us to have a seat at every table. So you mentioned the FTC click to cancel when the Federal Trade Commission released its its proposal on click to cancel requirements for the industry back in March of 2023 we immediately engaged the public comment period, engaged with the the the Commission, in person, and, you know, on behalf of the industry, to make sure that they understood how their draft proposal would have impacted the industry, far and above just providing a simple means of for Americans to cancel their gym memberships. And through that process, we were able to, you know, make the case. So when the FTC finally released its its final rule a few months ago, they were able to take a lot of the work that we put in those comments into their consideration, and we were able to chalk up a few good wins for you know, most importantly, we saved the save option, which many in the industry may not be aware. But when FTC initially released their proposed rule, they did so by saying that also you weren't allowed to engage your customers in the simple customer service that the industry lives in and breathes by. So if a member came to you and said they wanted to cancel your membership, but that they were doing so because they were injured and they weren't going to be able to recover for three months, you weren't even under the proposal, allowed to tell them that they had the option to free their freeze their membership so they wouldn't have to go through the challenges of re signing up when they were able to come back into the facility and get physically active again. So we made the case to FTC that that should be removed, and they hurt. He did our call, and we're able to do that. So we, you know, we that's just the little ways that we're engaging that's much different than the way the industry has ever seen before. It's not just about, you know, what is so front of mind, like the Fit act, where we're pursuing a policy change that's going to take a long time, and it's with one single vote in the House and Senate and then signed by the President, and we've made sweeping changes to policy. It's about making sure that we have eyes on everything that's being done at every level of government that may impact the industry and engaging where we need to now, you know, FTC and the click to cancel provision is a pretty unique situation, because now, after November 6 with the President, the change in the presidential party, change in Washington, DC, that's going to look a little bit different. So we're here and ready to engage at that and see how we can really make sure that we're protecting the industry at every

Krissy Vann:

turn well, and in this reflection of 2024 to your point with this rebrand, I think it really emphasizes, especially in the name about being unified as an industry, and the more that people unify under the same messaging, the easier it becomes for yourselves as an association to help propel those messages forward. But I'm curious to know what were kind of the biggest challenges that you faced at the HFA that perhaps you're going to be continuing to work toward in 2025

Unknown:

you know, I don't, I don't see it at all as challenges. I think one of the things that we see as an opportunity is really in that unified voice messaging. When we're talking to policy makers at all levels of government, what we constantly hear is that they want a unified voice talking to them about what not only the industry needs, but what the physical activity community needs, right there's we're not the only ones. HFA may be the only one speaking on behalf of the health and fitness industry here in Washington, DC, and making sure that we're protecting the fitness facility businesses throughout the United States, but there's different organizations that are, all you know, working towards the same goal of making physical activity a part of the preventive health continuum, and making sure that we're all working towards the goal of having Physical Activity be able to, you know, be assessed, referred, and ultimately reimbursed one day, so that everyone can get healthy and be the CEO over their own health. So as we're looking to that, I see the that's where the opera the challenges have, you know, been is making sure that we're connecting with those in town, and we're making the case that we need to be all singing off the same song sheet, to be taken seriously at the policy table, because that's ultimately what it's all about, is that when we are communicating with policy makers, that unified voice signals to them that we're serious players, and that would you know, we aren't just out there working towards a goal that's going to Be self fulfilling for the industry. It's really about connecting the dots that we are out there advancing health policies that will impact and benefit everyday Americans and their voting constituents. So as we, you know, as we come out of 2024 I think the foundational building that we were able to do. Has really positioned us in the best position that I can imagine for going into 2025 to be able to really make some serious changes, really make some serious move plays downfield, to finally get some success on the table well.

Krissy Vann:

And on that note, of changes, there is a big change afoot in DC. So I'm curious, with the Trump administration coming into play, what do you predict that could mean for some of the initiatives that the fitness industry is fighting for? Is this an advantage? A disadvantage? How are what's the temperature check? Yeah.

Unknown:

See, we go into every election season as as an advocate in Washington, DC, with the same mindset, is that I have to be prepared for whoever is going to win that election. And so we were, I can, I won't hold back the excitement that I have about what you are facing in 2025 and what even just the preliminary conversations around the transition and nominations of individuals has presented to HFA and to the industry, we are in a great position to really make the case, like I mentioned, what our ultimate goal is, is having that seat at the table and making sure that we're shifting towards a prevention mindset in the way that the American policy system looks at how Americans should be Taking care of their health and health care. And you know, I'm really excited about some of the conversations that have been had around nominations of individuals and to say, Health and Human Services with Robert F Kennedy or others, where they have repeatedly, in their conversations, talked about the importance of exercise, the importance of physical activity. So we know we're going in with a, you know, a receptive voice to and we have the data, the, you know, the talking points and the position that we've always known and that we've been talking about forever, but now we're talking about it with a receptive audience that is talking about it in the same format. So I'm very excited about the opportunities that we have, not only for the Fit act, but for other items above and beyond that, health event, association, you know, Liz Clark, our CEO and I and our board, we we're charged with thinking big, and that's what we're doing. We're thinking about, you know, what can we do above and beyond what we've been talking about doing so looking at the fit act. What's the positioning for that? But where do we go next? Can we look at things like Medicare and Medicaid and have those pay for direct gym memberships directly? That's something that RFK has talked about previously, looking at different areas of the say, support the armed forces with military readiness, recruitment and retention. How do we position the industry to help? Because I think at the end of the day, what the elections in 2025 signal signaled is that things need to be done a little bit differently. And we've been saying that for a long time. We know the industry is well positioned to help in every aspects of American life, and so that's what we're here to do, and that's what we're going to make sure we're having the conversations with the transition team, the administration and the elected officials now in a Republican House of Representatives and Republican Senate to finally move the needle in that direction. Well,

Krissy Vann:

and on the Medicare and Medicaid, no, obviously there was the press release earlier with the Biden Harris administration in regards to GLP one. So how do you anticipate that conversation going as we head into 2025 because as an industry, no matter how you feel about GLP ones, we know it doesn't present an opportunity within the market share that we could potentially have walking in the door exactly

Unknown:

and that. And that's where we need to be focused. We need to be focused and making sure that in these discussions, right the GLP, one discussion, when we talk to policymakers, they think about it as a medical you know, a medical practitioner prescribing a drug and reporting back to them. What we do is we go in and make the case of you, what you are doing is you're presenting someone an opportunity at weight loss in a significant way that they are able to see results in a faster notion. But they don't have the tools for sustained success with the drug. They don't have the tools. These may be people that may not have the experience in a gym, or may not know how you know, the weight loss or without the building of muscle strength, or the building, you know, protection of of of their joints, etc, is going to impact them. What we offer as an industry that is on Main Street in every town in the United States is the opportunity to say, if you are focusing on prescribing these drugs and using them in an effective way. It needs to be done with that lifestyle change that allows the individual to feel confident that the transition that they are going through through the use of the pharmaceutical intervention is accompanied with a lifestyle intervention that's setting. Them up for long term success and long term confidence in that success, and so What? What? Again, going back to the foundation of what we're doing here in town, we're making sure we're a part of every conversation around this. A few months back, the house, Ways and Means Committee passed a similar bill to what the Biden administration was proposing that would allow Medicare and Medicaid to pay for GLP one interventions for individuals that were already on the drug and transitioning out of private health care onto Medicare. And we made the case back then that that we support, you know, any opportunity for Congress to be engaged in focusing on policies around obesity and chronic disease management and but we again made the case that through pharmaceutical interventions alone, it's not necessarily the best path, and they should be doing so with understanding the need for physical activity first and foremost, well, and when

Krissy Vann:

it comes to the face of it, the HFA, obviously, you did do that huge branding and change, and the ultimate goal is to attract more people to be members. And so could you elaborate a little bit about what you may be working on in 2025 and what the benefit is of being a member of the HFA and really being part of the conversation?

Unknown:

Yeah, and I think it's a matter of reframing what membership actually means, you know, there, there's an opportunity. I've worked in trade associations for a long time. The trade associations that I've worked in prior to coming on board with HFA had well established, long histories of advocacy work, advocacy, intervention and a well established program. Liz, when she came on board, she was charged, in her hire to really build out a program like we were used to at organizations that we worked at previously. And we're building that foundation, and we're getting there. With that comes an understanding for members in the United States that investing in membership is investing in an insurance program and the for the promotion and the protection of the industry. I talked a lot so far about the work that we're doing here in Washington. What I haven't talked about is really what's our bread and butter and probably 70% of our program, which is protecting the industry at the state level, in the states where individuals are actually operating their businesses and policy makers are actually changing laws and policies that would impact their businesses directly. So, you know, this past year, we were very successful. We had nearly 50 wins at the state level across the country, where we were protecting, really the bottom line of businesses in those communities. And that's where we see a lot of strength in our advocacy program, and we're continuing to build on so we're very excited. We just recently made some new investments to make sure that we're bulking up that program, and we can invest even stronger and provide even stronger protections, but not only protections, but promotion of the category in the industry across the states. So we recently worked with the California fitness alliance to take over the management and the ownership of the the the boots on the ground lobbying in Sacramento, with the hiring of Brownstein, which is a great, well established, you know, firm in in Sacramento, that's going to help us make the connections that we need to make sure that the industry is protected in a state that really leads the charge. And my apologies to everyone in California, but lack of better term bad policy, which usually spreads to the rest of the country. We also are investing in a new group that's really going to help us make the connections and build the relationships with governors across all 50 states. And what this is going to allow us to do is proactively build that relationship between the organization, the executives leading each state government, and then connecting the dots with the companies that are residing and operating in those states to help build the understanding of what everybody's doing, the great work that the industry provides, and then thus building those relationships for long term success and establishment of this program. So you know, it's it's going to be a great opportunity. But what I would say to our members and to the industry who's not yet a member, is you having a seat at the table. You investing in the health and fitness association is what allows us to do that work. It's, again, it's really an always a constant education campaign. We are the only nonprofit trade association representing this industry, and for for clarification on what that means, it's that every dollar that comes in through membership dues, we are putting back into the work that we're doing and providing on behalf of the industry. So when the when somebody joins as a member of HFA in the United States, they are investing and allowing me to do my job and giving me the resources to invest in making that case. Everything else you get, the benefits, the discounts, the programs that we have to make it cheaper for you to have music licensing or these different things, those are all benefits above and beyond. What I like to say is that you are investing in the success. Some growth of this industry by investing in membership of HFA well,

Krissy Vann:

and we know that it's not just work that's happening in the United States. The HFA internationally is making headway, and I had the opportunity to catch up with your chairman, Chris Smith, on the heels of the European Congress, but I'm curious to hear from you, what were some of the conversations like in that space, because the unification isn't just happening here in the US. I mean, I just joined the Fitness Industry Council of Canada just recently for one of their webinar webinars to do a year end. They have a lot of the similar challenges we see as well, and oz active and the rest. So talk to me a little bit about that global landscape.

Unknown:

Yeah, yeah. And I'll talk a little bit about the global membership and the work that we're doing around research and providing new research to make sure that we are consistently providing value outside of just the advocacy work that we do here in town in the United States, but also how it connects the dots and how the advocacy that we do will expand globally. So I actually just had the opportunity to return for Paris, where I represented the association at the OECD, which is the international community business operating forum. And it allowed us to talk about the prevalent need for physical activity to be a part of that healthcare discussion globally. And so it gave us the opportunity to discuss the positioning of the industry preventive health in front of a global audience, thus passing on the benefit advocacy benefit to everyone outside of the United States as well. We're also making significant investments in our research that we do to provide our foundation partner or Federation partners, and our partners at the national level throughout the world with the tools and resources to be able to advocate for the industry with their local governments the way that we are here in Washington, DC. We're very excited. I will, I will spoil it a little bit, but we're very excited to release a new study on January 7 that's going to provide the tools that shares with governments what exactly, providing funding and increased access for individuals and from government support does to increase, you know, utilization of the industry and public health, and so we're developing these new things. Folks may be familiar with, the global health and fitness Alliance the ghfa, which is a group within HFA. We have just recently formalized them as our Research Advisory Council under the leadership of Richard Betty, who's a board member of ours, but he's current chair of ghfa. And what that group is is that's helping us understand how all of the research that HFA provides can look out from a global lens and provide that value for the industry around the globe. And so we're super excited about the work that we're going to be doing, the the investments that we're going to be making in research, and how that can help, not only with the advocacy work that I'm doing here in Washington, DC and in the United States, but how we can help position the industry globally, to make sure that around the world, there's a unified voice talking about the importance of physical activity for mental and physical health. And that's super exciting, and that's something that I'm really happy about, because if we are working to make sure that everyone in the industry around the globe is singing from the same song sheet, as I said, you know, it's only going to advance our successes even more. So coming out of that OECD meeting, we developed a position paper, a policy position paper for OECD, with the help of our friends at wfsgi and some others that we partner with around the globe to make sure that we are positioning the industry and positioning physical activity as the preventive health benefit that we all know it is. So we're super excited about stuff like that

Krissy Vann:

well, and as you should be considering, when you look at the global conversation physical inactivity, the stats are like an echo chamber from destination to destination. And just speaking from the Canadian perspective, we have an organization called participation. They just released their change the pace report, and nowhere in that report, because I combed it, mentioned gyms or health clubs within it, which was quite disappointing to see, and they're trying to do a $500 million investment. And again, you're like, why are we not speaking about this industry that helps people move? So I think having these evidence based reports and investing in that research to your point is going to have an exponential difference, because I've joined you on Capitol Hill, and at the end of the day, it is those stats that propel the conversation, because when we look at who our competition is, sometimes it's sick care. And so I think the louder voice over prevention you need to have the evidence in order to get it over the line. Of course,

Unknown:

well. And if you and looking at another report that a white paper that just came out of the UK where same thing, a full report out of UK to try and get more Brits fit, you know, into the workforce through health and investments in health. And not a single place throughout it, did they mention the use of physical activity, and that's what we. Need to do and but to your point, we've been on the hill. We know the question that they asked, will this actually produce results? And so that's why we're investing in the tools and the data to actually show that it will, and that's what we're super excited about. So you know, as we're approaching all of these, we're doing so from a place of leading with the data, leading with the proof, and making sure that everybody is speaking the same, the same talking points about the benefits that we all know exist, and then, you know, hopefully proving the point and getting things across the finish

Krissy Vann:

line well, and I know that there's been discussions. Even earlier this year, there was a report released about the health of the industry and the economic injection that it has into the economy. So talk to me a little bit about the health check of the fitness industry as a whole as we're wrapping up 2024

Unknown:

Yeah. I mean, we're super excited. Over the last two years, we've released our consumer report in the United States and then our Global Report, and they consistently show that more and more individuals are getting gym memberships, taking classes, having personal training, participating in the activity that we all know to be beneficial, and we don't see that slowing down, you know, coming out of the pandemic, I think everybody had a sort of, you know, personal check in to say, I need to be investing in myself prior to sick care. And we're seeing the results of that coming out of the pandemic, with more and more individuals staying and get, getting and staying physically active. Our goal through the policy arm, the advocacy arm and the research arm is to make sure that we're providing ways that more and more can gain access in the market. And you know, I don't see that slowing down at all. I'm very excited to see what happens in January. We all know it's a huge time for New Year's resolute so I'm very excited about it, and we're coordinating some some messaging and key talking points with policymakers around that time when we know everybody's coming back from maybe having a few too many Christmas cookies and saying, I need to get back on track and invest in my health. So we're super excited about it. I bet I only see it continuing to grow. We're seeing, you know, the private equity market continuing to invest and continuing to see this industry as one it would like to invest in, because they see that the utilization is only continuing to increase. So again, you know, sky's the limit. We're just going to be here not only to protect the industry, promote the industry, but also provide the tools and resources that the industry needs to make sure that they're meeting customers where they are.

Krissy Vann:

Yeah, no doubt. And I feel like it'll be an exciting year as well, when it comes to that member retention aspect that does become a bit of a struggle out of that new year, new me rush, but the amount of technology that the fitness industry has adapted in regards to member retention, AI tools that are helping people engage further. So I think, to your point, that momentum is only going to continue to increase. And we already know Gen Z's love us because they understand the sins of our past, and then the alphas are going to come in behind. And I think it's just going to create tremendous opportunity. But to your point, it really is getting that the policy makers to understand that this isn't just about a shredded body. We've already really driven home that mental health aspect, but the preventative health care and really this expansion of the Halo industry, getting everybody on the same page, and when it comes to getting everyone on the same page every year, obviously known as Ursa before, but HFA, the community gathers together. So talk to me a little bit about what people can expect in March in Las Vegas this year. Yeah, we're

Unknown:

super excited. So it'll be the first time that we are meeting under the HFA show, which is a very exciting registration is open, so I hope everybody will take a look and join us in Las Vegas. Get Get in now before the price breaks change come January. But yeah, we're super excited about how things are shaping up. You know, we we have invested in making it, making sure it's a different experience than it's been before, look and feel. So there, you know, we're excited from the convention standpoint, the education standpoint, we are going through a track system now, so we've rolled out eight new tracks that that folks can really curate their time on the ground and make sure that it's the best use of their time, their their learning experience, and they're really hitting what they want to learn, to help impact and change their businesses. And then the show floor is going to look a little bit different too. There's going to be some new experience stages. There's going to be some new interactive engagements that I, I won't spill the beans on, but I'm very excited to see, you know, to see some change in that as well. Everybody has always seen Ursa, as I'll say, as as the real place to, you know, convene and network and see new products and everything. And we're taking that, but we're expanding on it, making it bigger, better, and something that the industry can look forward to in 2025 that's different, new and exciting. Well,

Krissy Vann:

Mike Kaczynski, I know that you have an incredibly busy schedule because you're doing all this work on behalf of the industry, so I appreciate you carving out the time and space. I know that people have a hunger to stay on the pulse of. What is happening on your end. And so before we close things out, a podcaster always loves another podcaster. So talk to me about the latest release of how people can stay in touch of what's happening at the HFA. Yeah. So

Unknown:

as always, there's some great ways to stay engaged with the work that we're doing. From the advocacy perspective, I have a monthly newsletter, the BPM that goes out the first Sunday of every month. So you can sign up to that. I can share, share links and ways to do so. But we have some new and exciting things coming out as well, or already out. My my boss, Liz, has created a podcast touch with Liz, which is a great opportunity for a bi weekly engagement on key impactful issues in things that are impacting the industry. She's bringing in some some folks who and some experts who can really help paint a picture and talk about some great topics. So so you can sign up for that wherever you get your podcasts, or on YouTube, directly, and then I just, I'll happily share some links with you to share, maybe in the show notes, about ways that we can sign up for all and stay engaged with all of the work that we're doing through sign up in our newsletters and everything across the board, and, of course, engage your membership. So yes, first and foremost, you're

Krissy Vann:

like, that's the key, and we will make sure that we have all the info in the show notes here, Mike, I appreciate your time so much, and we'll make sure to catch up for that January 7 report. Really looking forward to hearing what research has been found, because at the end of the day, this evidence based approach, being able to arm ourselves with that information is only going to make the message more powerful. And again, it's a global initiative at the end of the day. So thank you so much for the work that you're doing.

Unknown:

No thank you for giving me the opportunity to connect. I really appreciate it. You've just

Krissy Vann:

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