John Mickelson's Soap Box

June 2015

Special Two Part Edition: “Drought Mandates” in California and Nevada, tips in dealing with Pool/SPA Water Loss Reduction and Cost Savings

Drought warnings in California have turned into costly fines and steep restrictions. Nevada and Oregon may not be soon behind. These changes are necessary for us to do our part for statewide water conservation. It is up to us to rise to the challenge of meeting these reduction goals while maintaining member satisfaction in a cost effective manner. But the time is now.

The next two editions of the SoapBox are offering you free consulting tools to help you meet water conservation requirements through cost saving measures. This will be information for you to take to an upcoming planning meeting. It is our goal to help help spark conversation and build community by offering in depth information and opportunities to ask questions about what usage and facility management. Ask us your questions here and we will answer them in our next edition.

Until next time…John & Katy

Exclusive Petra-EcoLab Partnership Pricing Sneak Peak!

Fitness Clubs with 40-50,000 gal pools can reduce water evaporation and save thousands of gallons of water each year on a newly released water evaporation prevention product for only $50/month! Stay tuned next month for details!

Our Water Savings Expert…

“From conserving to reusing and recycling, we’re safeguarding the world’s most precious resources.” Justin Jones, West Regional Sales Manager (Email)

Q&A: Water Reduction and ROI

Soapbox: I know I need to start saving more water, butTotal Dissolved Solids (TDS) buildup occurs naturally! What can I do?

Justin: TDS do buildup naturally. All dissolved matter added to Pool/Spa water contribute to the increase in TDS, including salt, user waste, wind-borne debris and all balancing chemicals from chlorine to clarifiers. These dissolved solids do not evaporate so naturally will increase in concentration over time. After TDS levels reach 1500 ppm higher than the TDS when the pool or spa was started up, the water will start to look dull or show poor clarity. The only option at that point would be to drain or extremely dilute your pool or spa. By maintaining a balanced pool with the right program and staff training, the time it takes to build up these levels can be greatly extended conserving large amounts of water.

S: I’ve implemented new cost-saving measures into day-to-day pool maintenance operations, but not all my staff seem to understand the process or the importance. How can Certified Pool Operator (CPO) Certifications help?

J: The CPO Certification is a great way to improve knowledge and is required by most health departments for any staff that has responsibly over pool and spa operations. These courses are an in-person class that educates. Combining that with ongoing training and measurement of results, you can easily increase the efficiencies of your operation.

S: What is the best way to test the effectiveness of my facility’s water use reduction plan?

J: Each facility is different in what opportunities may be available to reduce water use. To truly know how effective your plan is, it is very important to understand how to measure water consumption prior to implementing any new procedures. This will give you a base line to come back to and know if your efforts are paying off. Please contact me to hear how similar facilities have improved their bottom line.

S: What are the elements to pool and spa sustainability?

J: That is a good question that I get all of the time. It comes down to reducing your carbon footprint. When I consult with operators, I look at all aspects from water use and waste to the types of chemicals they use. If sustainability is a main focus for someone and let’s say they are using Sodium Hypochlorite (Bleach) as their main sanitizer, by changing to a solid Chlorine, we can lower their carbon footprint because we aren’t shipping a product that is 85% water.

S: When will I start to see a ROI?

J: Again, that depends on the type of improvements you are making but some can yield an ROI in the first month. This is mainly due to technology getting cheaper and best practices are more readily available for research.

Please feel free to reach out to Justin for answers to any questions you may have in regards to cost saving pool maintenance procedures or protocols.

Email: justin.jones@ecolab.com
Phone: 208.640.1377

Industry Leaders, Operations

May 2015

Welcome to May Edition of the SoapBox!

Last month, we were able to enrich the lives of many people (and animals!) thanks to your Donation Nominations!

All our winners received the $500 donations made in their nominators’ names. The surprise and joy on the other end of the telephone was what made this experience truly special. But there are more Donation Nominations to be made! Make your submission today by using the form at the bottom of this post.

Our guest today is Dr. Stacey Naito, a truly remarkable woman who has dedicated the last 25 years of her life to health and fitness. Dr. Naito is offering valuable tips for the special needs of women so health club and fitness facility owners can provide this powerful demographic with the support they need to meet their health and wellness goals. Until next time…John & Katy

Meet Our Contributing Author Dr. Stacey Naito

Dr. Naito is the Medical Director for Urban Med, a company she has been with for the last 4 years. She has 11 years of experience in medicine and 25 years in fitness/health. You can email Stacey at in2neuro [at] yahoo.com

Favorite Quote…”Real success is finding your lifework in the work that you love.” ~ David McCullough

Women’s Health & Fitness:

Relationship-based solutions for female clientele of any age

By Dr. Stacey Naito

Many women can often be intimidated by health club or gym environments for a multitude of reasons. Women who don’t have a clue how to use unfamiliar exercise machines may find the experience of navigating through a whole collection of them rather terrifying.

As if that isn’t enough, some women question their ability to perform exercises with the necessary degree of coordination, balance and strength. Other women may hold onto the common misconception that lifting weights will make them extremely muscular and masculine, so they will shy away from free weights and weight machines, opting instead for more aerobic style activities. What is remarkable is that once these women are educated on the importance of regular exercise and proper nutrition, they experience profound health benefits which impact every aspect of their lives.

Gym owners who are willing to make an effort to address the unique concerns of women have a wonderful opportunity to build trust in their female clients, while also potentially increasing revenue by offering classes, training packages, classes, supplements and apparel which are designed for women.

If one-on-one training is offered at your facility, make sure to develop a group of trainers which can motivate female clients and address their unique concerns without making them feel inadequate or overwhelmed. Women also tend to have more questions about how to eat healthy, and often practice chronic caloric restriction which their bodies eventually adapt to, making it more difficult to drop those last few pounds, so it also makes sense to offer nutritional advice or refer female clients out to a dietician or nutritionist who is affiliated with your facility. Once the clients begin to experience physical and mental transformations, they become great cheerleaders for the gyms in which they train.

LegCurlNaito — One of Dr. Naito’s favorite exercises, the Leg Curl.

On a personal note, I am a proponent of weight training and supportive nutrition, especially in older individuals. One of the cruel consequences of aging is that a progressive loss of muscle occurs, beginning as early as one’s 20’s. I explain to clients that resistance training and an increase in protein intake are both critical for combating the insidious deflation of muscle and sagging skin which are the dreaded signs of advancing age.

It is important to make clients aware of the fact that resistance training will increase muscle-fiber diameter and overall strength, as well as naturally boost growth hormone and testosterone levels in the body.

Such hormonal and metabolic boosts can be incredible blessings for a menopausal woman who has been riding the unpredictable and often uncomfortable wave of hormonal decline, which is fraught with hot flashes, mood swings and, insomnia.

Basically, it is never too late to begin strength training!

For more information on age-related muscle loss in older women, please read my feature article in the September 2014 issue of Muscle & Body Magazine.

Make Your 2nd Quarter Donation Nomination!

Go back

Your message has been sent

Industry Leaders

April 2015

Welcome to April Edition of the SoapBox!

This month we have a lot of great fun to share with you. First, a real sweet treat: John Harrison, America’s Ice Cream Taster, has joined us to share some of the knowledge he’s learned from 30 years with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Company.

Disclaimer: LOTS of ice cream was devoured during the making of this newsletter

We’re also announcing our $500 donation nomination recipient…or should I say all three recipients!! We had so many wonderful submissions, John just couldn’t pick one.

As for the donation he made in my name, the Poppy Walk was a great success raising over $30,000!! We hope you are enjoying the SoapBox as much as we are. Until next time…Katy

Meet Our Contributing Author John Harrison…

“I had one of those unique positions that led to being the ‘national spokesman’ for America’s leading ice cream company. Like most things, it did not land in my lap overnight…” John Harrison (email)

5 Best Practices For Expertise in Any Field

Ice cream is in John Harrison’s blood: His Great Grandfather owned two candy and ice cream parlors, his grandfather started the first dairy co-op in Tennessee, and his father owned a dairy ingredient company.

If that wasn’t enough, his uncle owned a Wille Wanka ice cream factory in Memphis were he grew up spending the summer months making ice cream.

John’s taste buds have been insured for $1,000,000. He has done 17,300 interviews on ice cream: 10,000 radio interviews, 7,000 TV interviews, and 300 magazine and newspaper interviews.

Today, John is offering his best practices for expertise in any field.

I. Passion

A passion for the product is a must. In this case, a dairy science or food science degree is also needed in this mature US industry. My background is in colloidal chemistry, tree exudates, and water polymers such as sodium carboxymethel cellulose. Food grade ingredients that bind water and give viscosity. I traveled North and South America as a formulater, troubleshooter, and problem solver working with all the major ice cream manufacturing companies.

II. Focus

Always move forward. A set of circumstances took me away from the ice cream industry for a short period of time. I remained in the food industry as a head hunter. I consulted with a small ice cream company in the late 70’s which later became the largest company of its type in America. We got to know one another so I called them to see if they were looking for any key management personnel. Yes, there were looking for a Vice President level manager to oversee the corporate manufacturing operation. I filled the position with the person who later became my boss. Now, how often does that happen?

III. Flexibility

It was not long after this that I received a phone call from the Vice President of Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream Company in Oakland, CA offering me a position as Taster and Flavor Developer.

Over the next five years I developed 75 flavors that went to the marketplace. The most popular was Cookies N’ Cream, which soon became the fasted growing new flavor in the history of ice cream and is now in the top five selling flavors in the world! Not long after this, due to personnel changes, I was asked if I would, due to my product knowledge, be the “Corporate National Product Spokesman” for the Company where I spent the next twenty-five years.

Global Best Selling Top 5 Flavors:
1. 30% Vanilla
2. 10% Chocolate
3. 7% Neopolitan
4. 6% Butter Pecan
5. 5% Cookies ‘n Cream

The top 5 selling flavors represent 58% of the total volume sold.

IV. Creativity

I believe no one person has a “lock” on creative ideas. I do believe that new ideas are available for those who are open, expecting, and have a desire to see what is right before us that needs to be enhanced, changed or made simpler.

No matter the industry, good business practices will take you to the top. Ideas flow with an attitude of gratitude. I added the “gold spoon” to taste, the bow-tie, and the lab coat that set me apart (along with the million dollar taste buds) in a global industry.

Watch Mr. Harrison in action in this short video clip!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94VPe9qGrdQ&feature=youtu.be

V. Servant Leader

You are a business and you can go as far as you desire. Be a Servant Leader and see if you won’t go to the top when you encourage others along the way.
Our sincere thanks and appreciation to John H. for sharing his 5 tips for success. Again, if you wish to contact John you can email him here. Let’s all take an attitude of gratitude this week!

Thank you again for joining us. If you haven’t signed up for the SoapBox so you receive it in your inbox each month, sign up now!

Operations, Towel Service

March 2015

The California and Nevada drought has caused many business owners and residents to practice water-use reduction.

Athletic club fitness leaders are doing the same. EcoLab’s Aquanomic Laundry Program is reducing water usage in the wash cycle by 40 percent. Watch this two minute video to learn more: http://video.ecolab.com/videos/lodging

9 Steps to Cleaner, Whiter, Softer Towels

We all know there is more to the wash cycle than water reduction, which is why we’re bringing you ‘Nine Steps to Cleaner, Whiter, Softer Towels’ courtesy of our contributing authors Mike Mcilhargey and Adam Elkin.

Step 1: Par levels

Facilities should have a 1.5 par supply of towels to allow 24 hours rest time between use and washes.

Down time extends linen life and allows for proper wash/contact time in the washing machines

Step 2: Extra Soils

Encourage members to not use provided towels to clean shoes, training equipment, or spills.

Additional soils can cause permanent staining and result in increased reject rates however there are programs to prevent these issues

Step 3: Water Quality

Water hardness should be softened above 5 grains; iron levels above .3PPM should be neutralized in the laundry wheel.

Industry trained vendor partners can provide an onsite evaluation and make recommendations

Step 4: Time

An 8 minute wash bath is recommended to allow detergents to emulsify soils and bleach out stains during the contact time.

Step 5: Temp

90 degree with low temp soaps or 130 degree with traditional soaps is recommended to:

Active chemistry and emulsify body and spa oils, tanning lotions, and sun screens

Step 6: Mechanical Action

Proper load levels in the laundry machine is necessary to drive soils out of the towels

Over loading reduces soap and temp efficiencies in the laundering process

Under loading can cause machine damage and increases utility costs

Step 7: Chemical Action

Balanced chemistry is a key factor in protecting your towel investment and maximizing clean, white and soft results.

Step 8: Procedures

Proper handling in the “linen flow” process from dryer to member and back to the laundry machine is part of a successful towel service and should be evaluated by industry trained vendor partners.

Step 9: Dry Times

Over drying of towels can dramatically reduce linen life and overall softness:

160-180 degree for 20-25 min
5 min cool down

John is donating $500 to the nonprofits you vote for each quarter this year!

We’re accepting submissions for your nonprofit nominations. Selections are based on your story: Tell us why you think your nonprofit nominee deserves to win, how they improve their community, and the impact they have made on your life.

We’ll select the most compelling stories for you to vote on next month! Remember, this is the first of four donations John will be giving this year, we encourage you to submit a nomination each quarter!

Send Us Your Submission Here

Cleanliness, Message From John, Operations

February 2015

Club Cleanliness a timely subject. This year more than ever.

Colds and flus are wrecking havoc on everyone–even more with our seniors, which John recently experienced firsthand. Proper disinfection has always been a crucial piece of the cleaning puzzle, particularly in health club facilities. In fact, John recently contributed to CBI Magazine’s “Cleanliness is key to Healthiness” feature (You can see a digital version of CBI Magazine in it’s entirety by clicking here, the Cleanliness article is on page 64, you can enter the page number to go directly to the article) which he touches on in this month’s edition of the SoapBox.

A message from John…

I recently learned firsthand how quickly super bugs and pathogens can get out of control. My mom resides in an independent living facility where they try to keep up on cleaning and disinfecting. But once several residents came down with a cold and flu bug, there was no way to prevent the number of illnesses that occurred.

My mom ended up in the hospital and at 85 years of age, there was a day or two where we didn’t know if she would recover.

There is good news though. I work with a number of regional and national janitor supply companies that have the products and knowledge to help keep your club clean and sanitized. Making sure you have a strong relationship with a trusted janitor supply rep is one of the most important ways to lower your chances of being a gateway for transferring pathogens to your members. I encourage you to dialog with a trusted janitor supply rep, they typically are very knowledgeable and their advice is free. If you need help on finding a rep, let me know, I have a huge network of qualified people that I can recommend. Most important, besides keeping your club and equipment clean and sanitized, encourage everyone to wash their hands, use non-alcohol foaming hand sanitizers and if your budget allows, provide antiseptic equipment wipes.

If you want to know how clean your club is, use a portable, battery powered ultraviolet light which allows you to actually see the pathogens and other not so nice things in your facility. Seeing is believing. I have an inexpensive unit available if you are unable to source.

As to mom, she is on the mend. Each day she becomes stronger and in several weeks, we look forward to having her back to being normal. Enjoy the article from CBI Magazine (don’t forget the Cleanliness article is on page 64) and let me know how I can be of assistance to you and your facility. Be well my friends and lets make life fun and bring happiness to everyone we come in contact with. John

Operations

January 2015

Bill McBride is an icon in the health club industry.

If we were to list all the accomplishments he has earned working with a number of prominent athletic clubs, we wouldn’t have time for anything else!

Co-Founder, President & CEO of Active Sports Clubs
Founder, President & CEO of BMC3
International Presenter
Industry-recognized expert in retention, club operations, and more

Areas of Experience:

Sales and Marketing
Leadership and Management
Member experience
Operations

A message from John…

Over the years I’ve worked with Bill on assorted projects and have enjoyed every moment we were together. Bill is very approachable, personable, fun, well informed, likes a good cigar and glass of wine and has insight in areas we don’t even know exist.

All the items mentioned above are Bill’s “life work”. He is committed to making a positive difference in people’s lives through a profitable fitness/preventative wellness delivery system. He sees the positive impact this industry can play on the quality and longevity of our population.

Bill McBride’s Nuggets of Wisdom…

When John asked me to write for {the} Soapbox, I was honored…Working together makes everyone better and John with the Petra team has made BMC3 and Active Sports Clubs better.

I’ve always believed that if you have a high attention to detail on all of the small things, you will usually have the big things right as well. Focus and attention to detail are cornerstone principles for operating clubs at the highest level. Retention is all about the “touch points” our members have with our clubs. Poor retention usually isn’t the result of one thing, it’s “death by a thousand cuts”.

Towels & Locker Room consumables aren’t commodities; they are true differentiators to the brand.

One of the biggest impact items a club can do is have great lobbies and great locker rooms. The locker room is the personal space for our members. It’s where they store their stuff, sit, get undressed, shower, get ready and generally “sort them selves out”.

The attention to towels being clean with no tatters or stains, folded neatly (Tri-Fold with band visible recommended), the presentation of amenities and dispensers, the quality of the liquid products and the contentiousness of the club towards the environment all play significant roles in positive touch points with our members.

A great exercise is to have your team walk through your property and write down every conceivable touch point. Start from the exterior of the building and work through every conceivable touch point.

Parking Lot – clean, safe, well lit
Entry – windows, doors and handles clean with organized communications
Lobby / Desk / Travel Path
Locker Room entry / Inside & outside of lockers
Scales / Blow Dryers / Curling Irons / Ironing Boards / Etc.– All working and clean
Carpets clean – any tatters or strings trimmed
Walls clean without scuffs
Fitness Center / Fitness Equipment spotless (detailed not just clean) including cup holders and steps
Studios spotless with equipment stored/staged neatly
Wet Areas / Pools – clean with everything organized (hooks for towels/keys/Etc.)
Member spaces clean and welcoming
Offices immaculate and professional
Staff in uniform
Clean Stations available and neat (Hand Sanitizer with Wipes) throughout the club

You get the idea… every touch point

Have your team do this exercise independently, compile the lists into one and do a team walk through discussing all the individual ways your members interact and experience your club. This drill will be eye opening and educational for the team on looking at the club in a much more detailed fashion.

If you’d like to learn more about this topic or any other topic on Club Operations, Sales, Retention, Management, feel free to reach out to me via email or check out our website.

Bill McBride, President & CEO
50 Crestridge Court, Danville, CA 94506
(415) 299-9482
BillMcBride@BMC3.com
Bill.McBride@ActiveSportsClubs.com

Towel Service

December 2014

Welcome to the inaugural issue of John Mickelson’s soapbox!

Lets get busy and start with a facility right here in the Reno area.

St. Mary’s Center for Health & Fitness,
Wellness Center Owned and Operated by St. Mary’s Hospital

Loren Beccard, Facility Engineer

Key Issue: Towel Service

Towel Service is a huge responsibility in their operation. They have between 1500-2000 member usages per day, their towel usage is huge, with the washers and dryers operating from opening till closing.

As you might have heard, Nevada and California are in the middle of a “history making” draught. Water is as precious as gold or silver and water municipalities are ever raising their water rates. Loren’s task was to reduce water usage, improve cleanliness of towels, make sure the towels are soft to the touch, find a way to extend the towel life expectancy and lower laundry chemical expenses.

Working with the folks from EcoLab, samples of Petra towels were sent back to their research lab for testing and research. Results from their research allowed Loren to produce a protocol that accomplished the following:

Reduce wash water by almost half
Increase the cleanliness of the laundry, also able to remove make-up and shoe polish versus conventional laundry systems
Adjust drying procedures so towels were never overheated eliminating the crispy feel of the towels
Proper cleaning and drying protocol increased the towel life expectancy by 20% – 25%
Implementing the above protocols provided a total dollar savings of about 20%

The towel system has reduced my replacement cost from almost $20,000 per year to just above $10,000 ….along with reducing wash temperatures …measurable energy savings from not having to heat the reduced wash water” adds to the savings.

We hope you have found this brief expose’ of interest. Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact Loren Beccard at LBeccard@primehealthcare.com or feel free to e-mail and I’ll be happy to assist.

Message From John

Home of the SoapBox

Welcome to the online archive of John’s SoapBox.

Featuring the leaders in health and fitness club management

A Message From John…As many of you may know, I publish a monthly blog in which I feature the leaders in health and fitness club management. Since my entree into the industry back in 1984, I’ve had the good fortune to cross paths with many knowledgeable, fun, passionate, motivated and caring people.

These special people have changed the lives of their member’s and now via the SoapBox, we have a way to honor them and share their stories.

We hope to share with you what peers in our industry have found to make their operation work better and more efficient. Continue reading “Home of the SoapBox” →