Community Work and the Fitness Industry Should the Private Sector Be Doing More – and Can It Without Damaging Profit?

 

Community Work and the Fitness Industry

Should the Private Sector Be Doing More – and Can It Without Damaging Profit?

One of the most common justifications for public leisure centres receiving reduced tax status and ongoing funding is the community work they deliver.

And to be fair, many leisure centres do some genuinely good work.
They provide access to activity for older adults, support referral schemes, host community groups and offer initiatives that might not otherwise exist.

That deserves recognition.

But it also raises an important question.

Should community engagement be the sole domain of public leisure?
And if not, what role could the private fitness sector play without undermining its commercial sustainability?

Because the idea that community work and profitability are mutually exclusive is outdated.

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The Private Sector Is Already Embedded in Communities

Private gyms are often:

• Open longer hours

• More flexible in programming

• Faster to adapt

• Deeply rooted in local neighbourhoods

Many already support communities informally. Sponsoring a local team. Helping a school fundraiser. Giving space to a charity event. Offering advice to someone who needs it.

But most of this work is unstructured, under-communicated and undervalued.

The opportunity now is to be more intentional.

Not to replicate public leisure.
But to complement it.

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Community Initiatives That Don’t Destroy the Bottom Line

Community engagement does not have to mean free access for everyone or running at a loss.

Here are examples of initiatives private gyms can deliver with low financial impact and high community value.

Working with Local Charities

Partner with one or two local charities each year. Host fundraising events, awareness days or activity sessions. This builds trust, visibility and goodwill without ongoing cost.

Men’s and Women’s Support Groups

Offer space and light facilitation for mental health or support groups during off-peak hours. These groups value safe, neutral spaces and often lead to strong loyalty and advocacy.

Children’s Activities and Holiday Programmes

Short-term kids activity sessions, holiday clubs or school partnership programmes can run at break-even while introducing families to the facility and brand.

Blood Donation or Health Screening Events

Offering space for blood donation, health checks or mobile clinics brings footfall, credibility and positions the club as a health partner rather than just a gym.

First Aid and CPR Courses

Host paid or subsidised courses run by qualified providers. These are valuable to the community and can generate modest revenue while increasing engagement.

Daytime Studio Rental for Community Groups

Yoga groups, rehabilitation sessions, dance classes or local clubs often need space during off-peak hours. Renting studios at reduced daytime rates creates income from unused capacity.

GP and Health Referral Support

Working alongside GP referral schemes, social prescribers or wellbeing hubs can build long-term relationships and consistent attendance, even if margins are lower per head.

Targeted Community Discounts

Not blanket discounts, but structured programmes for:

• Unemployed individuals

• Disability groups

• Carers

• Veterans
  These can be time-limited, capacity-controlled and supported by external funding or partnerships.

Supporting Local Schools

Offer talks, activity days, work experience, or access to facilities during quiet periods. This builds long-term trust with families and local authorities.

Free or Low-Cost Body Composition Testing

Open days offering free health checks or body analysis bring people through the door in a non-threatening way and create conversations rather than sales pressure.

Education Seminars and Workshops

Nutrition, sleep, movement, menopause, stress management, ageing well. These position the gym as a knowledge hub, not just a place to train.

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Additional Opportunities Worth Considering

• Coffee mornings or walking groups for older adults

• Parent and toddler movement sessions

• Post-natal support partnerships

• Inclusive fitness days for disabled communities

• Cultural or faith-based activity sessions

• Collaboration with local employers on wellbeing initiatives

None of these require huge investment.
All of them create connection.

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Examples of What’s Already Working

Across the UK, there are strong examples of private operators doing this well:

• Independent gyms hosting daytime over-60s strength classes that later convert into paid memberships

• Boutique studios partnering with charities for awareness months, increasing footfall and brand trust

• Private clubs supporting social prescribing pathways and becoming recognised local health partners

• Facilities opening unused studio space to community groups and generating income from what was previously dead time

These businesses didn’t lose money.
They gained relevance.

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Why This Matters for Business, Not Just Community

Becoming a community hub creates tangible commercial benefits:

Trust and Credibility

People are far more likely to engage with a business they perceive as caring about more than profit.

Increased Reach Beyond the “17%”

Community initiatives introduce the gym to people who would never respond to traditional marketing.

Stronger Retention

Members are more loyal to businesses that feel embedded in their local area.

Better Staff Engagement

Teams take pride in working for a business that stands for something.

Reduced Reliance on Paid Marketing

Word of mouth and reputation become powerful drivers of growth.

New Partnerships and Funding Opportunities

Charities, employers, schools and health organisations open doors that pure commercial gyms rarely access.

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The Bigger Opportunity

Public leisure should not be the only vehicle for community health.

Private gyms already deliver the majority of engagement, innovation and daily contact with members. The idea that social value implies financial loss is a false narrative.

Community engagement does not weaken a business.
When done well, it strengthens it.

The future is not public versus private.

It is collaboration, integration and shared responsibility.

Private fitness businesses that embrace this will not only support healthier communities, but will also build stronger, more resilient and more trusted brands.

And that is good for everyone.

The Psychology Behind Why Most People Still Do Not Join a Gym

 

The Psychology Behind Why Most People Still Do Not Join a Gym

Every January, the fitness industry gears up for growth.

Campaigns launch. Offers go live. Social feeds fill with motivation, transformation stories and fresh starts. And yet, beneath all of this activity sits a statistic we rarely confront honestly.

In the UK, fewer than 1 in 5 people are members of a gym.

That means more than 80% of the population still do not engage with our services, despite widespread awareness that being active improves health, confidence and quality of life.

So the real question is not why people cancel their memberships.

It’s why the majority never join in the first place.

And if we’re honest, much of the responsibility sits with us as an industry.

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This is not a motivation problem. It is a psychology problem.

Most non-members are not anti-fitness.

They don’t wake up thinking, “I don’t want to feel better, live longer or have more energy.”

What they think is:

• “I’ll feel stupid.”

• “I won’t belong.”

• “I won’t know what I’m doing.”

• “Everyone will be fitter than me.”

• “I’ll start and then fail again.”

• “It’s not for people like me.”

These are not practical objections. They are emotional ones.

And gyms, often unintentionally, reinforce them.

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Intimidation and fear of judgement are far more common than we admit

The fitness industry forgets how intimidating gyms can be because many of us are desensitised to them.

If you are carrying extra weight, self-conscious, new to exercise or returning after a long break, walking into a gym can feel like stepping onto a stage. Bright lights. Mirrors. Noise. People who look like they know exactly what they’re doing.

What’s important to recognise is that this isn’t just a beginner issue.

Even people who have been gym members before, or who have spent years working in the industry, can feel intimidated by certain gym environments.

I’ve worked in this industry for over 25 years. I understand how gyms work. I’ve trained in hundreds of facilities. And even I can walk into some gyms and immediately feel uncomfortable or out of place.

If that can happen to someone who knows the industry inside out, imagine how it feels for someone walking in from the outside. Someone who doesn’t understand the equipment, the culture, the unspoken rules or where they fit.

This isn’t weakness. It’s psychology.

And environment matters.

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People don’t fear hard work. They fear embarrassment.

Most non-members are not afraid of exercise.

They are afraid of:

• Doing something wrong

• Being watched

• Being corrected publicly

• Feeling exposed

• Looking foolish

Gyms are one of the few environments where adults are expected to perform physically, in public, without knowing the rules.

For many people, the safest option is not to enter at all.

A tour doesn’t fix this.
A welcome email doesn’t fix this.
A free trial often makes it worse.

Throwing someone into a space that confirms their fears is not onboarding. It’s proof that their internal story was right.

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Belonging beats motivation every time

Humans are wired for belonging.

If people do not feel they belong somewhere, they will not stay. And in many cases, they won’t even start.

This is why leisure centres often see strong engagement among older adults during the daytime. The environment feels familiar, routine-driven and socially safe.

Private gyms can create the same sense of belonging, but many leave it to chance.

When “community” relies on confident members welcoming new ones, it excludes the very people who need support the most.

Belonging must be designed. It does not happen accidentally.

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Safety and comfort are not optional extras

For many people, especially women, the question is not “Will this work?”

It’s “Will I feel safe?”

Lighting, layout, staff behaviour, tolerance of poor conduct, and how concerns are handled all shape perception. If someone feels uncomfortable or exposed, no amount of programming or technology will keep them.

If your environment does not actively communicate safety, warmth and respect, people will choose not to return.

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Cost is rarely the real objection. Trust is.

Cost is often used as the reason people don’t join, but it’s usually not the truth.

People spend money on things they believe will work for them.

What non-members often believe is:
“I’ll join, go a few times, feel out of place, then cancel. I’ll waste money again.”

That is not a pricing problem. It’s a trust problem.

Access is what gyms sell. Outcomes are what people want.

And outcomes require guidance, reassurance and support.

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We have normalised complexity and called it innovation

The industry loves innovation.

Apps. Wearables. Zones. Metrics. Programmes. Challenges. Integrations.

But complexity does not excite beginners. It paralyses them.

Choice overload leads to inaction.

Most people don’t join because they can’t answer one simple question:

“What do I actually do when I get there?”

If that answer is unclear, the safest decision is to do nothing.

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Underrepresented groups remain under-served

If we want mass engagement, we must be honest about who we are not serving well.

This includes:

• Older adults, especially those in their 60s and 70s

• People with obesity or very low confidence

• Those with long-term health conditions

• Disabled people, including blind and deaf communities

• People who have had negative gym experiences before

• Communities where gym culture feels unfamiliar or exclusive

• People who are nervous, anxious or overwhelmed

If only around 17% of the population uses gyms, we cannot claim we are the first line of defence for national health while designing services primarily for the confident minority.

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This is our responsibility as an industry

If more than 80% of people do not engage with us, the issue is not personal motivation.

It is friction.

Too many gyms still rely on:

• Self-confidence

• Self-navigation

• Self-education

• Self-motivation

That works for the minority.

It fails the majority.

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What needs to change if we want to reach the 83%

If we are serious about mass engagement, we need to redesign for real people, not ideal members.

That starts with:

Confidence-first onboarding

The first 30 to 90 days should reduce fear, not increase it. Clear guidance, check-ins and reassurance matter more than intensity.

Beginner pathways that feel normal

Not “beginner only” in a way that feels isolating, but clear starting points that remove uncertainty.

Staff trained in psychology, not just programming

Warmth, eye contact, reassurance and consistency reduce threat and build trust.

Language that reduces fear

Sell feelings, not physiques. Energy, confidence, sleep, movement and support matter more than results photos.

Environments built for inclusion

Design, signage, staff behaviour and culture must actively welcome those who feel least confident.

Intentional community building

Buddy systems, group starts, staff-led introductions and small wins create connection.

Measuring what actually matters

Track first 30-day attendance, early drop-off reasons, confidence levels and support interactions, not just leads and conversions.

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The opportunity is enormous if we accept accountability

The fitness industry has huge potential to improve health, wellbeing and quality of life.

But that will not happen by serving the same 17% better.

It happens when we design for the people we have unintentionally excluded.

If we want to reach the 83%, we must stop blaming them for not joining and start asking a harder question:

What have we done to make joining feel safe, simple and genuinely for them?

Until we answer that honestly, the numbers won’t change.