the SECTOR UNITING

Returning as ukactive Chair, David Stalker says the physical activity sector has a generational opportunity to drive change together

When David Stalker talks about the physical activity sector, it’s with the perspective of someone who has lived through its every major evolution. Having started as a part-time fitness instructor at the Royal Berkshire Club in 1989, his 35-year career in the industry spans private operators, local authority leisure centres, global suppliers and policy bodies. He currently sits on a number of boards for a wide variety of businesses and was, until recently, also the president of EuropeActive. As the newly appointed Chair of ukactive, he returns to an organisation whose evolution he played a major role in. As CEO, in 2012 he led the transformation of the then Fitness Industry Association (FIA) into what ukactive is today – a broader, more inclusive voice for the entire activity sector. Since then, the organisation has evolved further and led the sector through a series of global crises, from the Covid pandemic to the energy crisis, with both the public and private sector sharing common challenges. Now, Stalker returns to help shape the next phase of its evolution. This time as Chair, he is armed with a clear message: it’s more important than ever for the industry to unite and work together.

“It feels a bit like coming home,” he tells WellNation . “I’ll always feel like a surrogate father to ukactive. I was CEO of the team that made the move from the FIA to ukactive, and I’ve always wanted to see it thrive. The people in this sector – whether they’re happy or frustrated – want the same thing: they want it to work. That excites me.”

Uniting the sector

For Stalker, the sense of unfinished business is strong. When he oversaw the FIA’s evolution more than a decade ago, the goal was to unite a fragmented sector. Then, the challenge was persuading fitness, leisure and sport organisations – many with their own associations, priorities, and politics – to speak with one voice. It was challenging and exciting work, but essential, he says, to gain influence in government.

“If four people are speaking separately, it’s easy to ignore them all,” he reflects. “But when one voice represents everyone, you have to listen. That was the whole point of ukactive: uniting behind a single message.”

Now, Stalker believes that unity will be crucial to capitalise on the generational opportunity the sector has to drive change. He says that while there has never been a stronger, shared belief in the industry’s importance to the nation’s health, in some quarters, there has been disagreement on how to best represent it. “Everyone wants ukactive to work,” he adds, “and if anyone feels their part of the sector isn’t being heard, we will change that.”

Consolidation, inclusion and unity While his predecessor, Mike Farrar – a former CEO of the NHS Confederation – brought deep expertise from the health sector, Stalker brings a lifetime within the industry itself. That experience, he says, will shape his priorities for the next chapter at ukactive.

“This is a very different moment,” he explains. “Mike and others before him had the right backgrounds for their time – opening doors in health and politics. Right now, the sector needs to come together. It’s not about personality; it’s about consolidation and focus.”

That means listening first. When asked what his priorities as Chair will be, Stalker is cautious not to determine priorities before consulting widely. His first task, he says, is to speak with stakeholders across all corners of the industry: private operators, trusts, suppliers, independents, training providers, policy partners and the workforce.

PEOPLE

Fitness’ can feel exclusive; ‘activity and health’ opens the door to everyone

“My first priority,” he says, “is to listen – and to listen to everyone. We need to identify three or four goals that everyone can unite behind. They need to be measurable, realistic and relevant across the whole sector. Once we have that, we can move forward together.”

These goals, he suggests, will likely centre around health, but their exact form will depend on the consultation process. “We might not hit them all,” he adds, “and that’s okay. What matters is openness – acknowledging where we are, what’s working and what isn’t. Transparency and honesty are the only ways we’ll build real unity.”

“I would, however, like to emphasise that an awful lot has happened at ukactive over recent years to drive the sector forward – from securing the £100m National Leisure Recovery Fund, to meeting the demand from operators for credible sector-wide market reporting and research and establishing The Active Standard.”

If there’s a theme running through Stalker’s comments, it’s the strength of the founding principles of ukactive – the reasons for rebranding from FIA.

“When we created ukactive,” he says, “we wanted to move from fitness to physical activity and health. ‘Fitness’ can feel exclusive to some people; ‘activity and health’ opens the door to everyone. We need to ensure that inclusivity and remember why we exist: to get more people more active.”

That mission, he insists, remains vital. “No one can deny that driving the health of the nation forward impacts everything – from the NHS to the armed forces. But we’ll only be listened to if we’re united behind that message.”

The evolution of an industry

Having spent almost 40 years in the sector, Stalker has witnessed its transformation firsthand. His own journey in the sector, however, was not planned. Born and raised in Kenya, he moved to the UK in the late 1980s with a passion for wildlife conservation.

“David Attenborough got my job, so I had to find something else,” he jokes. “My childhood, like many born and brought up in Kenya, was always outdoors – very active and full of sport. So when I moved to the UK, I naturally gravitated towards the emerging market of health and fitness and became a fitness instructor at the Royal Berkshire Club and discovered a new passion.

“I didn’t plan a career in this industry,” he says. “But I fell in love with it quickly. I’ve been lucky to experience the whole journey – from fitness to health, from gyms and leisure centres to wellness and prevention.”

That evolution, he says, has been dramatic. From the dominance of big-box gyms and public leisure centres in the 1990s and 2000s, the industry has since diversified, embracing affordable fitness, boutique studios, digital platforms and now hybrid wellness models.

“In the UK and Europe, we used to follow the US,” he says. “Now, we lead in many ways – in marketing, experience and innovation. The affordable sector has transformed access; younger generations see health as a priority, not a luxury. That’s a massive cultural shift.”

Technology, too, has reshaped the landscape. “When I started, the equipment consisted of lines of cardio and resistance machines. Now, you’ve got functional training, data tracking, recovery, nutrition, mental wellbeing – all integrated. It’s a different world.”

But he warns against being dazzled by data. “I’m wearing a Myzone belt, an Apple Watch and a data ring,” he laughs. “But at what point does the information stop being useful and start being noise? The challenge now is to make sure technology enhances behaviour, not replaces it.”

The next disruption: GLP-1 and beyond One of the sector’s biggest emerging challenges, Stalker says, is how to respond to the rise of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. He sees both threats and opportunities.

“For the sector, it’s potentially a Trojan horse,” he says, “an opportunity to connect with healthcare like never before – but only if we do it right.”

On the other hand, he worries about misuse and misinformation, particularly on social media.

“There’s a real risk that something developed for type 2 diabetes becomes another tool of vanity,” he cautions. “We’ve worked hard to promote positive body image and healthy living. We can’t let that be undone. But if we harness it correctly, this could be a gateway to engage millions more people in physical activity.”

Strengths, challenges – and a shared mission Stalker’s optimism about the sector’s potential is rooted in people. “Our biggest strength is our people,” he says without hesitation when asked about the industry’s strongest point. “At every level – receptionists, trainers, managers, CEOs – there’s a passion to make a difference. I don’t think any other industry cares as much.”

Stalker believes that the sector’s diversity can be its strength rather than a weakness. “Our challenge is that everyone’s driven by slightly different missions,” he explains. “A local authority operator wants to serve communities; a private club wants to serve its members and grow revenue; a supplier wants to innovate. None of those aims are wrong, but we need to see how they fit together. Like pieces of a jigsaw: individually they’re incomplete, but together they form a powerful picture.”

A Chair for the moment

Stalker is candid about his role. “In the future it might be right for a high-profile figure from health or politics to take the chair again. But for the foreseeable future, this is about building unity and focus. We need to do fewer things, better.”

He’s equally clear about ukactive’s place in the wider ecosystem. “We’re a small industry in geopolitical terms,” he says. “We can’t expect to be at the top of every government agenda overnight. But when we’re united, we have enormous influence. We proved that once, with the pandemic – and we can do it again.”

His leadership style, he says, will be pragmatic and inclusive. “I’m not here to be the loudest voice in the room,” he concludes. “I’m here to make sure everyone’s voice is heard and that we’re all speaking the same language.”

For those who know Stalker’s history in the sector, that may sound familiar. Thirteen years after helping create ukactive, he’s back to ensure it stays true to its founding purpose.

“We’ve come full circle,” he says. “Now it’s about focusing on that shared belief that we can deliver a healthier, happier nation by getting more people, more active, more often.”