Tweet: Clubs and Social Networking

I just want to start this post with the following link to a recent article on Bloomberg.com: Crunch Bankruptcy Shows the Limits of Pole Dancing.

OK. I'm done now.

On to a new topic. Specifically, social networking.

Facebook and Twitter are part of the general vernacular, and I’ve been thinking about how a fitness facility can harness them. Then I read an article that made me consider that the fitness club experience may be the anti Facebook and Twitter experience. Instead of virtually connecting to everyone you may be connected to, however tenuously, Form & Fitness owner Ben Quist, Mequon, Wis., says his fitness facility is the place people can actually connect.

Member Georgia Rapkin said, “You can't see anybody on Twitter. You need that human connection to inspire you toward new ideas or new ways to market your business." I’m not sure people who tweet incessantly are looking for human connection, exactly, but I do think she’s right. After all, I’ve never been inspired by someone’s updated Facebook status.

Making a fitness facility into a social networking venue is no easy task. Quist says his studio’s layout encourages interaction between members. A bustling front desk area with complimentary coffee may accomplish the same atmosphere in a more traditionally designed club.

Is your club a social networking space? Do you want it to be?

Fitness or Fetish?

I’ve always thought “stripper fitness” was less of a trend and more of a gimmick. But the promoters of a recent event in Utah apparently disagree.

The first pole fitness competition in Utah took place in Davis County, and the resulting controversy served up a bit of media attention. Not surprisingly, the event promoters are claiming that not only is this a legitimate fitness activity, but they hope it will one day become an Olympic sport, much like gymnastics.

Really?

I think media-savvy promoters hijacked the word “fitness” to give this event legitimacy it does not deserve. And here’s why:

1. The event is officially called Pole Fetish 2009. Not "Pole Fitness," but "Pole Fetish." If the promoters were trying to keep the event out of the gutter, right off the bat it’s an epic fail.
2. The event is co-sponsored by Ogden Adult Dance & Fitness. If their services are for “adults only,” as is stated in the business’ name, it implies that it isn’t appropriate for children. And while all fitness pursuits are not safe for children due to muscle and bone development, we all know physical fitness is appropriate at any age.
3. The event rules state that, “Performers were required to keep on the same clothes from start to finish, as well as wear something that covered breasts and buttocks.” Last I checked, I don’t recall seeing similar rules in the sport to which the promoters keep trying to compare it. Shawn Johnston never got a .10-point deduction for tossing her leotard at the judges.

Maybe I’m a fitness purist. Maybe I’m being puritanical about the whole thing. But I stand by my belief that “fitness” and “fetish” are not interchangeable terms.

Abs Save the Day

Usually, upon reading an article about a dishonorable fitness facility owner fleecing his clients, I’d write a blog post about it.

Same thing with reports of more clubs closing.

And the disturbing news that one of the most innovative fitness businesses in the industry has filed for bankruptcy protection.

But I’m sick of bad news, so I’m staying with the positive. Did you hear about the woman who’s life was saved in a horrific paragliding accident by … wait for it … her abs?

Peggy Williams, a bodacious-looking 47-year-old, spent weeks in the hospital but is alive not because of a helmet or body armor, but due to her fitness. The Telegraph reports that “experts said her life was saved by her high level of fitness, which meant her stomach muscles acted as a ‘girdle’ to protect her other vital organs.”

Yeah, man. Forget the bad news. For a brief moment, revel in this undeniable fact: Fitness is awesome.

Weird, Weirder, Weirdest

What’s the weirdest thing that’s ever happened at your fitness facility?

I mean really weird. Weirder than the time your boss got tired of the club’s name and held an Internet contest to change it. Weirder than the time a member died in the sauna and no one found him until the next morning. Weirder than the time a Hazmat team stormed the pool deck and carted lifeguards off to the hospital after a chemical leak. Even weirder than the time a member grunted so loud it made national news.

Garden Fitness, Monterey, Calif., may just have your story beat. One gorgeous California afternoon a member drove her BMW into the club’s swimming pool. Luckily, it was unoccupied at the time and the driver was unhurt. Damage to the clubs aquatic facility and its surrounding fence was unreported.

Beat that.

So, does Garden Fitness take the prize? Or do you have a story that makes a car in the pool look as normal as a club dedicated to the American Gladiators television show?

Spill it — what is the weirdest thing that has happened at your club?