POWERING PUBLIC HEALTH

WellNation sat down with Mark Braithwaite, CEO of Sandwell Leisure Trust, to 󹀼nd out how an investment in EGYM technology is powering a transformation in public leisure

EGYM is proving that physical activity can drive effective, measurable, scalable health interventions

Mark Braithwaite, CEO of Sandwell Leisure Trust, has a clear view on how local authorities can navigate the huge economic pressures they are under, while still delivering high quality services. “If public leisure is to have a sustainable future, it needs to reimagine its purpose away from just a building where people get active to a vital community provision, working with the council and other community providers to close the gap on health inequalities and improve health span for everyone,” Braithwaite says. “This is exactly what we are doing in Sandwell.”

When did you first experience EGYM? “I first came across EGYM about ten years ago while I was Managing Director at 1Life. At the time, EGYM was the new kid on the block. I have kept a close eye on how EGYM is evolving, particularly how it is driving better engagement with user groups who traditionally struggle to engage with leisure facilities.

“I was also interested in EGYM’s data collection and application capabilities. Proving outcomes to our members, our community partners and our funders has always been a huge challenge. Data is the absolute DNA of the EGYM ecosystem, making it possible to prove the impact of our interventions easily and at scale. This is the game changer the industry has been waiting for.”

Why is all this so critical in Sandwell? “Sandwell is ranked as the 12th most deprived local authority in England. In Sandwell, life expectancy and healthy life expectancy sit well below national averages. People are spending a decade longer in ill health compared to other parts of the country. We have a responsibility to change that, and increasing physical activity is one of the most powerful levers we have.”

“The latest Active Lives data shows 37.6 per cent of adults in Sandwell are inactive, far higher than the national average of 25.1 per cent. Alongside this, over 70 per cent of adults are overweight or obese.

“Our mission to tackle inactivity, support healthy weight management and build healthier, more connected communities closely aligns with the council’s Community Health and Partnerships plan and the Government’s new NHS 10-year plan.”

How is EGYM helping you translate health improvement ambitions into action? “We installed the EGYM equipment, Fitness Hub, and the Trainer and Member apps at Portway Lifestyle Centre in December 2024. Since then, the EGYM ecosystem has become central to how we onboard and engage members, including those coming through exercise referral pathways.

“The EGYM equipment is located at the entrance to the gym, open yet slightly partitioned from the functional training space. This design helps remove potential intimidation barriers, supporting people to gradually build the confidence they need to be able to explore and utilise all areas of the gym.

“We’ve also just added the first EGYM Smart Squat in the UK to help manage peak-time demand and enhance our offering. This addition highlights our commitment to continually evolving our provision.”

What is the EGYM data telling you?

“The data is making it possible to evidence outputs rather than relying largely on gut feel and basic engagement statistics. Since December 2024, we’ve onboarded more than 1,500 users, representing 61 per cent of our core gym membership. EGYM users are averaging an incredible 4.1 visits per week, compared to 1-2 visits for other members. Retention has improved by 18 per cent.

“In terms of health outcomes, we’re seeing an 11.3 per cent average strength improvement across all users. Men aged 61 and over have improved strength by 24.9 per cent and women by 17.1 per cent. Overall BioAge reductions average 6 years across all ages, with women aged 61 and over reporting an average reduction of 14.2 years.”

How are you using this data?

“Historically, the fitness industry has struggled to provide data back to NHS and Public Health teams to evidence its impact. With EGYM, we can now track strength gains, BioAge reductions, and engagement metrics. This allows us to evidence, for example, that someone over 60 using EGYM twice a week is significantly stronger and therefore less likely to experience a fall, reducing pressure on social care and local NHS services.

“I believe this data-driven approach can be transformative in how physical activity is viewed and funded within public health frameworks, extending the role of public leisure as a key driver in the delivery of localised population health targets.”

BRIEFING

Data is the absolute DNA of the EGYM ecosystem, making it possible to prove the impact of our interventions easily and at scale

How does this align with your health pathways and partnerships? “Portway Lifestyle Centre co-locates a gym with a GP surgery and a hydrotherapy pool, allowing us to create seamless pathways from healthcare into activity. We offer traditional memberships, but we also run a subsidised exercise referral membership, allowing patients to continue accessing EGYM after completing their 12-week referral programmes at a heavily subsidised rate. We want people to engage with our services for the long term so we can provide long-term highly personalised support to ensure their training effort is being rewarded by the attainment of improved health.”

“We are working closely with NHS physiotherapists, adult social care teams, and the Sandwell Visually Impaired (SVI) group. The EGYM system’s ease of use means that even blind users can set themselves up independently, while automated adjustments accommodate special populations without requiring constant trainer intervention.”

EGYM powers an open, digital ecosystem. How are you leveraging that? “EGYM integrates with over 200 third-party providers. This enables operators to build unique environments based on equipment and software preferences. Recently, we installed Perfect Gym to provide our CRM, taking advantage of the ability to connect with EGYM.

Summary of outcomes at Port Way Lifestyle Centre Based on data and statistics downloaded from EGYM’s digital ecosystem

● 1,517 onboarded into the EGYM ecosystem since December 2024 ● EGYM users train 4.1 times per week compared to non-EGYM users who train 1-2 times per week ● 18% improvement in retention for members who had EGYM induction vs those who didn’t ● EGYM members stay on average, a month longer than non-EGYM users

● Overall average strength improvement of EGYM users is 11.3 per cent ● Men aged 61+ have registered an average strength improvement of 24.9 per cent ● Women aged 61+ have registered an average strength improvement of 17.1 per cent ● Overall, EGYM users have reduced their BioAge by an average of 6 years. ● 61+ year old females have registered an average BioAge reduction of 14.2 years ● 61 per cent of the membership base is now onboarded into the EGYM ecosystem

This is enabling the development of single sign-on capabilities to control EGYM circuit access based on membership type, ensuring flexibility and scalability.”

Are you using EGYM Genius and AI-driven plans? “Yes, and it’s made a significant difference to our ability to provide person-centred, progressive training plans at scale. Genius is enabling us to cater to the preferences of every member.“

What’s next for Sandwell Leisure and EGYM? We will be deploying EGYM in a second site as part of a new build, expanding our model across the borough while refining our approach to health pathway delivery.

“Without EGYM’s connected platform, AI-powered personalised programming and data application, we would not be able to scale our services in a way that would be meaningful in terms of making a difference to health on a whole-community level.”

Final thoughts?

“EGYM is proving that physical activity can drive effective, measurable, scalable health interventions. In Sandwell, EGYM is helping us build pathways that tackle inactivity, reduce health inequalities, and give people more years of healthy life. This is why we will be expanding EGYM’s integration at further sites, using the data it collects and applies to drive the case for embedding prescribed physical activity into health care plans. This is a critical part of our mission to improve health outcomes in Sandwell to create healthier, happier communities.”

To find out more about EGYM and how it is powering fully integrated lifelong fitness, health and wellbeing journeys for everyone, visit [https://egym.com/uk](https://egym.com/uk)