A lot of people had written off the new Body Power: Fitness Trade show in 2018 without visiting. It’s changed its name from LIW (Leisure Industry 'Week'), and they said it has changed too much, was not aimed at them anymore, or just that they were too busy to attend the event in 2017.
We found it to be as useful as ever, meeting with lots of our business partners, a few customers, and several promising new introductions.
Change is inevitable, and generally, a good thing. The exhibition space felt much more varied than the last couple of years, with less kit, and more product and innovation aimed at the smaller gym or PT studio. This also reflected the delegate demographic; while there were attendees from the public sector, they were far outnumbered by independents, looking to learn and develop. The was a big focus (certainly in the pre-show comms) on the education streams, and in general these were very good. The inflatable seminar ‘tents’ raised the profile of each stream, and provided a little soundproofing against the exhibition noise outside. Panel debates (e.g. Rob Beale, Steve Miller, et al) were really interesting and engaging, but other sessions that showed 5 minute videos of photos of people at IHRSA left the audience a little cold.
Hats off to PureGym, who ran a full education stream, and brought many of their PTs (250+?) for 2 days of conference, education and networking. A great opportunity for them all – why don’t more clubs take this approach?
A big shout out to Workout magazine for hosting a great VIP lounge – good (strong!) coffee, a conducive meeting space, and a surprise drinks reception with beer and cocktails at the end of the day on Tuesday! Cheers Tony & team!
For GGFit, The BP: Fitness Trade Show is a great opportunity to catch-up with key industry partners and players. We’re not sure if the new name fits, but it’s more accurate than LIW.
What did you think of BP: FTS 2017, please leave your thoughts or responses in the comments below…
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