When Talwalkar Better Value Fitness and David Lloyd Leisure (DLL), UK, joined hands for a joint venture in India, it also brought Hazel Geary, COO of DLL Talwalkars Club to India in 2016. An ex-Management Consultant with IBM Global Business Services and Envision Retail, Hazel holds a master’s in Mechanical and Design Engineering from Newcastle University. She also worked at Nissan as a Manufacturing Engineer in her earlier years. A fitness and sports fan, Hazel is never shy of trying out new fitness concepts and is in sync with the latest trends and fads
"When I speak to many busy people they can talk to me about their favorite TV shows that they spend up to five hours a week watching, but yet they tell me they don’t have time to workout. So, we need to help change people's mindset by educating them about the positive benefits of exercise and we also need to make exercise fun”, said Hazel Geary, COO, DLL Talwalkars Club Pvt Ltd, Pune.
She relocated to India in April 2016 and is responsible for the entire business pursuits of the first DLL Talwalkars clubs site in Pune, which encompasses the design, construction and operations of this unit. Besides, Hazel is also working to identify additional business opportunities across India for growing the number of their clubs. Her association with David Lloyd, UK, started in 2010 where she was a regular gym member but, gradually transitioned from being a consultant in the retail sector into the fitness and lifestyle sector. She donned multiple roles within DLL and in her previous role as Business Development Director, she was responsible for identifying new concepts and innovations for enhancing member experiences while adding value to their membership.
On India’s fitness ethos, Hazel said, “Fitness in India is developing very quickly and there is a rapidly changing mindset that goes along with it. What is very noticeable is that most advertising for gyms in India still focuses on bodybuilding, with all imagery showing very large muscular bodies of both men and women. This means that when you speak to consumers they are often wary of the gyms because of the perception that this advertising creates and can be seen as intimidating. The change though is that slowly consumers are understanding that fitness is more than just about creating muscular bodies, that it is about wellness and overall health along with the aesthetics.”
A mother and an avid sportsperson, Hazel said, “I am not as fit as I was before I had my daughter. I’m very active though and have managed to keep doing regular exercise so whilst I’m not at my peak fitness I have been able to maintain a good level, which I think is really important for my overall health-both physical and mental.”
Hazel makes sure that she exercises a minimum of four times a week for at least half an hour. However, she prefers to do more when she can. “I do a mix of cardio workouts and strength training and then also try and do active things during my leisure time like hiking.”
“Fitness has changed massively for me in the last year since my pregnancy. I am such an advocate of the positive power of exercise that you would still find me in the gym up until the week, before my daughter was born. Although I am not doing such intense activity as before, I now make sure I schedule time in my diary for exercise as it is important for me that the whole family stays fit and active. My exercise time is my ‘me time’ and we also look for ways to do active things together as a family.”
“I am such an advocate of the positive power of exercise that you would still find me in the gym up until the week, before my daughter was born. Although I am not doing such intense activity as before, I now make sure I schedule time in my diary for exercise as it is important for me that the whole family stays fit and active. My exercise time is my ‘me time’ and we also look for ways to do active things together as a family”
With flexible work modes and global zones, Hazel and her team work around the challenges of getting corporate employees to stick to their fitness regimes. “As a lot of our members are busy individuals we ensure that our timetable has a range of activities throughout the day and week to suit all lifestyles and schedules. Our group exercise classes start early in the morning, run throughout the day and late into the evening to ensure that whatever your schedule, there will be a class that you can join.”
Many corporate employees work around different working hours, locations and schedules, and likewise, Hazel’s DLL team have made available a dedicated business lounge with desktops and free Wi-Fi. “This means that executives can work-out in between meetings and conference calls, fitting fitness into their busy lives.”
“Many busy professionals now have hours that are not as fixed as they were previously and therefore committing to come at a certain time and day each week is very difficult. This makes planning awkward and booking sessions for classes or personal training traditionally very difficult in some gyms. We make things as flexible as possible for our members whilst encouraging them to come as often as they can. Some examples of the things we do are to help include an app to book classes, personal training or other coaching sessions which allows busy executives a quick and easy way to schedule fitness into their lives.”
They also organize family fitness regimes to motivate their clients. “We also know that weekends are precious for working families, so we schedule our activities such that there are plenty of activities for our families to do together to keep fit or, separately with the kids who can engage with our DLT kids’ activities with parents spending time in the gym or studios.”
Hazel and team believe in the uniqueness of each of their members, on their personal goals and their busy schedules. “We ensure that when joining our club, we give them a range of different options to help them maximize their membership, enjoy all of our facilities and products and tailor their experiences to what suits them. Our service team regularly follows up with our new and existing members to ensure that they have access to everything they need, and we also schedule regular complimentary reviews with our members to keep them motivated in achieving their goals.”
On the impact of new age scanners like Boditrax (Bioelectric Impedance Analysis machine) that passes an electric current through you to give a comprehensive breakdown of your body composition, Hazel said, “We often judge our health or our fitness by looking in the mirror or standing on the bathroom scales and checking our weight. Unfortunately, this only tells a small part of the story of our health and fitness. Boditrax goes much deeper and gives a clearer understanding of your overall physical well-being by giving accurate and concise measurements and then allows you to track this over time.”
By Sangeeta Ghosh Dastidar
