The serial health club and sports entrepreneur speaks to Steph Eaves about creating a brand new adventure park concept and what he learned from his years in the health and fitness industry
By Steph Eaves | Published in Health Club Management 2017 issue 6
When you talk to David Lloyd about his latest venture, you can have no doubt as to why he’s been so successful in business. At the first mention of his new adventure parks concept, Lloyd’s face lights up, and it’s clear that he’s never lost his passion for turning ideas into reality. In fact, it’s no wonder that his latest idea centres around play and adrenaline – it’s obvious from his enthusiasm that his inner child is very much alive.
The man who created and then sold David Lloyd Leisure, a full service fitness and leisure offering with a focus on family, is now taking this same idea into his adventure parks – bringing together a wide variety of fun activities, food and leisure under one roof. Although to be more exact, over half of the offering will be roofless, as there’s a huge outdoor component to the parks.
“We’ve got 24 different activities, indoor and outdoor, from climbing walls to ninja warrior races, to zip lines, to gliders, to bouncy castles and mini golf,” Lloyd enthuses.
“I’m very excited about it because I’ve got a young family, and at weekends you’re always thinking, where the hell can I take my five year old? These parks are going to be 60,000sq foot indoor and about 1.5 acres outdoor, and it’s a day out for the family – a whole day out – you can stay as long as you want.”
Family fun Lloyd came up with the concept while dabbling in trampoline parks. After coming across an indoor activity centre in Florida called Planet Air and looking back on what he had learned from his leisure clubs, he realised that the way forward was an all-inclusive offering, rather than a specialised one.
“I thought, trampolines are great, but it’s going to change. My health clubs started as just tennis and that was the mistake I made. But now they have everything. We called them a sporting city under one roof. So this is an activity city under one roof.”
Importantly to Lloyd, the parks will provide lots of opportunity for guests to see what’s going on around them.
“I believe in keeping things open plan – that’s what changed health clubs and sport, really,” he says. “If you see someone at the club playing tennis, you think, ‘oh, I must try that”, whereas if there’s a wall, you never see it. So if you see everything, then you want to try everything.”
The adventure parks will also feature barbecue pits, where families can choose their own pre-marinated meat and cook it themselves. Lloyd believes this, plus the huge variety of activities on offer will help kids to be healthier. “Everyone is getting obese these days,” he says. “We have to make sure kids get the activity they need to stay healthy. And the way to get kids active is to make them enjoy it.”
A big part of keeping up this enjoyment all year round, explains Lloyd, is the outdoor offering.
“Any indoor activity in Britain – like bowling or trampolines – dies in the summer, because us British people don’t mind getting a little bit wet, and as soon as summer comes, we want to be outside. So having the outdoors with the barbecues and the zip lines, etc, is very important.”
Passion and people Lloyd is confident that this new venture will be a success, and with good reason. In 1995, 13 years after he opened the first club, David Lloyd Leisure was sold for a reported £200m. Lloyd says that he learned some important lessons from the years he spent building up the leisure clubs, particularly about the need to be adaptable.
“Whatever you do, you will make a mistake,” he explains. “Maybe one or two, maybe three, but you will. Because although you believe you’ve done all your demographic profiling, you will get it wrong, and then you have to be brave enough to change it quickly. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong – you’ve got to change, you’ve got to put something else in.”
Another thing that Lloyd believes has been key to his success is giving everyone involved a sense of ownership, through share options and a high level of responsibility. He says: “I told all my managers at David Lloyd Leisure – and it will be the same at the new adventure parks – that this was their club. They know their customers better than me. I’m not going to dictate, as long as they stick to the margins I’ve given them.”
Above all else, says Lloyd, the key to success is simply to have a real passion for what you’re doing and to keep enjoying it.
“I just think if you enjoy something and you believe in it, and you pick the right people, then nine times out of 10 you’ll be successful. I love vision – seeing it and then making it happen.
“I’ve always been a great believer in family entertainment, I just think it’s so important. And we’re going to need it more and more in my opinion.”
DAVID LLOYD’s path through sport and leisure
1965 Won both singles and doubles titles at Junior Wimbledon, aged 17
1981 Retired from professional tennis with a career high of 128 in world singles rankings
1982 Founded David Lloyd Leisure Clubs – family-orientated, with an emphasis on tennis
1992 David Lloyd Leisure floated on the London Stock Exchange
1995 Company acquired by Whitbread for £200m. David Lloyd appointed captain of the British Davis Cup team
1997 Created Next Generation Clubs with son Scott. Later acquired by London & Regional and Bank of Scotland, along with David Lloyd Leisure for £925m
2015 Launched MegaJump trampoline parks with entrepreneur Mitchell Tillman
2017 Announced new adventure parks concept
HIP marketing director David Dean
HIP CEO Martin Helme
Lloyd has always had faith in the family market – his eponymous fitness business has families at its heart
David Lloyd playing at the
Dewar Cup in London in November 1976 Credit: PA S&G/S&G_Barratts/EMPICS Sport
Following a hugely successful event last year in Split, Croatia, W3Fit EMEA, is heading to
the Chia Laguna resort in Sardinia from 8-11 October.
[more...]
In the dynamic world of indoor cycling, Schwinn has consistently been at the forefront of
innovation. Now, we proudly present the Schwinn Z Bike, the culmination of our legacy of
excellence. [more...]
The serial health club and sports entrepreneur speaks to Steph Eaves about creating a brand new adventure park concept and what he learned from his years in the health and fitness industry
By Steph Eaves | Published in Health Club Management 2017 issue 6
When you talk to David Lloyd about his latest venture, you can have no doubt as to why he’s been so successful in business. At the first mention of his new adventure parks concept, Lloyd’s face lights up, and it’s clear that he’s never lost his passion for turning ideas into reality. In fact, it’s no wonder that his latest idea centres around play and adrenaline – it’s obvious from his enthusiasm that his inner child is very much alive.
The man who created and then sold David Lloyd Leisure, a full service fitness and leisure offering with a focus on family, is now taking this same idea into his adventure parks – bringing together a wide variety of fun activities, food and leisure under one roof. Although to be more exact, over half of the offering will be roofless, as there’s a huge outdoor component to the parks.
“We’ve got 24 different activities, indoor and outdoor, from climbing walls to ninja warrior races, to zip lines, to gliders, to bouncy castles and mini golf,” Lloyd enthuses.
“I’m very excited about it because I’ve got a young family, and at weekends you’re always thinking, where the hell can I take my five year old? These parks are going to be 60,000sq foot indoor and about 1.5 acres outdoor, and it’s a day out for the family – a whole day out – you can stay as long as you want.”
Family fun Lloyd came up with the concept while dabbling in trampoline parks. After coming across an indoor activity centre in Florida called Planet Air and looking back on what he had learned from his leisure clubs, he realised that the way forward was an all-inclusive offering, rather than a specialised one.
“I thought, trampolines are great, but it’s going to change. My health clubs started as just tennis and that was the mistake I made. But now they have everything. We called them a sporting city under one roof. So this is an activity city under one roof.”
Importantly to Lloyd, the parks will provide lots of opportunity for guests to see what’s going on around them.
“I believe in keeping things open plan – that’s what changed health clubs and sport, really,” he says. “If you see someone at the club playing tennis, you think, ‘oh, I must try that”, whereas if there’s a wall, you never see it. So if you see everything, then you want to try everything.”
The adventure parks will also feature barbecue pits, where families can choose their own pre-marinated meat and cook it themselves. Lloyd believes this, plus the huge variety of activities on offer will help kids to be healthier. “Everyone is getting obese these days,” he says. “We have to make sure kids get the activity they need to stay healthy. And the way to get kids active is to make them enjoy it.”
A big part of keeping up this enjoyment all year round, explains Lloyd, is the outdoor offering.
“Any indoor activity in Britain – like bowling or trampolines – dies in the summer, because us British people don’t mind getting a little bit wet, and as soon as summer comes, we want to be outside. So having the outdoors with the barbecues and the zip lines, etc, is very important.”
Passion and people Lloyd is confident that this new venture will be a success, and with good reason. In 1995, 13 years after he opened the first club, David Lloyd Leisure was sold for a reported £200m. Lloyd says that he learned some important lessons from the years he spent building up the leisure clubs, particularly about the need to be adaptable.
“Whatever you do, you will make a mistake,” he explains. “Maybe one or two, maybe three, but you will. Because although you believe you’ve done all your demographic profiling, you will get it wrong, and then you have to be brave enough to change it quickly. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong – you’ve got to change, you’ve got to put something else in.”
Another thing that Lloyd believes has been key to his success is giving everyone involved a sense of ownership, through share options and a high level of responsibility. He says: “I told all my managers at David Lloyd Leisure – and it will be the same at the new adventure parks – that this was their club. They know their customers better than me. I’m not going to dictate, as long as they stick to the margins I’ve given them.”
Above all else, says Lloyd, the key to success is simply to have a real passion for what you’re doing and to keep enjoying it.
“I just think if you enjoy something and you believe in it, and you pick the right people, then nine times out of 10 you’ll be successful. I love vision – seeing it and then making it happen.
“I’ve always been a great believer in family entertainment, I just think it’s so important. And we’re going to need it more and more in my opinion.”
DAVID LLOYD’s path through sport and leisure
1965 Won both singles and doubles titles at Junior Wimbledon, aged 17
1981 Retired from professional tennis with a career high of 128 in world singles rankings
1982 Founded David Lloyd Leisure Clubs – family-orientated, with an emphasis on tennis
1992 David Lloyd Leisure floated on the London Stock Exchange
1995 Company acquired by Whitbread for £200m. David Lloyd appointed captain of the British Davis Cup team
1997 Created Next Generation Clubs with son Scott. Later acquired by London & Regional and Bank of Scotland, along with David Lloyd Leisure for £925m
2015 Launched MegaJump trampoline parks with entrepreneur Mitchell Tillman
2017 Announced new adventure parks concept
HIP marketing director David Dean
HIP CEO Martin Helme
Lloyd has always had faith in the family market – his eponymous fitness business has families at its heart
David Lloyd playing at the
Dewar Cup in London in November 1976 Credit: PA S&G/S&G_Barratts/EMPICS Sport
Improving physical strength and fitness, mental health and confidence are the main reasons
for joining a health club, while cost, time and motivation are the main reasons for leaving.
Planet Fitness has announced the repurchase of 314,000 shares at a rate of US$20
million. The
Class A common stocks were repurchased and retired, using cash.
Xponential Fitness today indefinitely suspended founder and CEO, Anthony Geisler, saying it
had been notified on 7 May that the company is facing a legal challenge by the United States
Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
Fast Fitness Japan, master franchisee of Anytime Fitness in Japan, has acquired Eighty-8
Health
& Fitness, giving the company master franchisee rights to Anytime Fitness in Germany.
Peloton Interactive Inc is believed to be working to get its costs under control in a bid to align
with the expectations of private equity investors as it considers de-listing.
Having good levels of cardiorespiratory fitness cuts disease and premature death by 11 to 17
per cent according to new research from the University of South Australia.
Barry’s – known for its HIIT workouts combining treadmills and weights – is
thought to be looking at strategic options, including taking on a new backer.
The Bannatyne Group says it has officially bounced back from the pandemic, with both turnover
and profits restored to pre-2020 levels in 2023, according to its year-end results.
Following a hugely successful event last year in Split, Croatia, W3Fit EMEA, is heading to
the Chia Laguna resort in Sardinia from 8-11 October.
[more...]
In the dynamic world of indoor cycling, Schwinn has consistently been at the forefront of
innovation. Now, we proudly present the Schwinn Z Bike, the culmination of our legacy of
excellence. [more...]