Kevin Yates

In an exclusive interview, the newly appointed EMEA CEO for Lift Brands – whose franchised portfolio includes Snap Fitness, 9Rounds, Fitstop and Fitness On Demand – talks to WellNation about the company’s plans for the UK and beyond

evin Yates was named Lift Brands’ CEO for the EMEA region in late December 2023. His appointment was a promotion, after he had joined Lift Brands in September 2023 as chief operating officer. In his new role, he will be responsible for overseeing an ambitious international roll-out in the region, which covers key markets across EMEA. Lift Brands is the parent brand to Snap Fitness and FitnessOnDemand and minority partner in boutique combat fitness brand, 9Round, and Fitstop – one of Australia’s leading functional training studio operators.

Snap Fitness is currently the sixth largest fitness franchisor in the UK and Ireland with more than 120 gyms across EMEA – and over 1,000+ clubs globally.

As CEO you’ll lead Snap Fitness’ roll-out across the region, what are the plans there? A major focus will be on the UK and Ireland, which are key markets for us. In addition, we will be concentrating on countries where we’ve already got master franchise agreements or existing clubs in operation. These include The Netherlands, Belgium, Turkey, Spain Georgia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

We believe 2024 is going to be the greatest year for the market. We can see that from the data

The plan is, over the next 12 months, to solidify the markets that we’re already operating and make sure that we’re helping them grow and improve. From there, we will then assess the markets and identify those where we think there is an opportunity for expansion and further roll out opportunities.

How do you assess whether there’s space for growth - what do you look for in markets? I’ll give you an example. Starbucks tried to go into the Chinese market for more than 20 years and were unsuccessful. Coffee just wasn’t going to win over tea, which has a strong culture in China.

But suddenly, there was a shift in consumer demand. Youngsters began looking for new things – especially when it came to finding new tastes and experiences. That moment in time coincided with Howard Schultz returning to the Starbucks business and the rest is, as they say, history. Today, coffee consumption outstrips that of tea among certain age groups in China. You can witness this in most towns and cities – every corner seems to have a Starbucks.

So it’s no different with most other consumer products or services, such as gyms. What you need to do is look at the consumer demand, see what’s happening in the market and identify shifts and patterns.

We know, for example, that the Millennials spent more money on gym membership than Generation X (the one before them). But now we are seeing evidence that Gen Z, which is coming through with emerging spending power – as they are roughly aged 11 to 26 – will be even more health conscious. There’s a stat that Millennials and Gen Z now make up 80% of health club members. We are also seeing signs that they might want slightly different things from their workouts than Millennials.

In general terms, the gym market really is booming right now. We believe 2024 is going to be the greatest year for the market. We can see that from the data.

In the UK and Ireland, we’ve still only got around 15% of the population working out. But there is now a real movement to get that figure up

What can you tell us about the plans for Snap Fitness in the UK? Put simply – further growth. With 90 locations, we are already the sixth biggest operator in the UK – yet in some areas people might never have heard of Snap Fitness. So we have an opportunity for phenomenal growth. It’s already happening, too. We’ve been opening two or three locations every month.

The plan is to open 18 clubs in the UK this year and another 10 in Ireland on top of that.

Have you any particular geographical areas you will be targeting? As a 24/7 gym operator, our selling point is convenience, but we also deliver great service and a great gym product. We will be looking to go into areas where that combination will really be able to serve local communities. So we will be looking at locations which other operators might not. We are really excited to be able to offer that to more people this year.

I think the key stat is that, in the UK and Ireland, we’ve still only got around 16% of the population working out. But there is now a real movement to get that figure up – even the government has realised the power that exercise can have in helping the NHS, for example.

But for there to be real increase in that figure, people need places to exercise. And gyms – especially the convenient, accessible and affordable model we offer – has a huge role in helping with that. Not everyone lives in a big city or town either, so we do need that capacity everywhere.

What about the plans for Fitness On Demand? Fitness On Demand is a great product for us. There’s no doubt that the pandemic has changed the way people exercise – especially when it comes to the expectation of having a digital offer. So FOD is really important to us.

What makes FOD great is that the programming and content is exceptional. That’s why I can see it being a key offering for those communities that we will take Snap Fitness to – because with their Snap membership they also get FOD.

● Served in the British Army ● After leaving the Army, started his fitness career at Fitness First ● Has also worked at high-end club operator Esporta and in public leisure during a stint at leisure management company, Leisure Connection ● First became an entrepreneur with the launch of BX Fitness - a club operator with two sites ● Then co-founded boutique, industrial-luxe fitness franchise, TRIB3, in 2015 ● Joined Lift Brands in September 2023

Lift Brands Founded in the US in 2014 by Peter Taunton, who also founded Snap Fitness in 2003. The company specialises in fitness franchising and has four brands.

Snap Fitness 24/7

The 24/7 fi tness concept has more than 1,000 clubs across the globe and offers an “inclusive, empathetic and supportive” fi tness experience, with access to premium equipment, functional fi tness and group classes.

FitnessOnDemand

A premium digital fitness platform featuring some of the world’s leading names in personalised fitness – such as Jillian Michaels, Sweat Factor, SH1FT and Zumba. FOD provides an omnichannel service, meaning customers can experience branded content at the gym, via mobile app or smart device. FLEX by FitnessOnDemand allows clubs to offer their members the same library of content anywhere in the club, at home or on the go. This has been designed to allow clubs to build member loyalty and brand-affinity beyond the club walls.

9Round Kickboxing

9Round is a high-intensity, 30-minute full body workout which incorporates a mix of functional & kickboxing exercises. Lift Brands is the current Master Developer for 9Round in Australia & New Zealand. It is also a minority partner in the U.S. with founders Shannon & Heather Hudson.

Fitstop

A leading functional training group in Australia. Implementing the Fitstop Formula, members are taken through fit, fast and functional 45-minute sessions to reach full potential and progression. The Fitstop Franchise was created in 2017. The brand has grown into an Australian community with 137 opened locations and is expanding the concept into New Zealand, Asia and American markets.