Growing up, Steve Nero was taught to have a humble approach to achievement and learned the value of hard work. He was also raised with the idea that life is not just about money but also about meaningful work and making a difference in the world. From this, and from his journey in life, Nero has learned that a group of people with a shared vision and a common goal can affect change that is greater than the individual. Text: Kirsten E. Silven
Five years ago Steve Nero decided to make a change. After 12 years at ADAC Laboratories, a medical imaging company in Silicon Valley, he left his position as their executive vice president and joined the team at Star Trac, becoming president of one of the health club industry’s leading manufacturers of fitness equipment. His reasons for doing so will no doubt resonate with many club owners: “I didn’t just want to take a job to receive a paycheck. I wanted to be involved in an industry where I could impact the lives of people,” Nero says of his decision to enter into the health and fitness arena. And after spending time with him discussing his philosophies and what drives him – both in business and in life – this sentiment comes as no surprise.
At ADAC Nero had played a part in the dramatic improvement of imaging capabilities by pioneering the use of PET scans for a number of ailments, including lung and colon cancer. Upon meeting with Star Trac and attending IHRSA’s trade show, he immediately recognized the same energy, passion and commitment that had been present when he began working with ADAC, and knew he wanted to be a part of it. “I had worked out on Star Trac equipment for a long time,” he says, “but their passion and commitment to helping others and making a difference in the world really got my attention.”
When asked about his transition into the health and fitness industry, Nero talks about the similarities more than the differences. “This industry is remarkably similar because I’m still with a company that supplies equipment that is ultimately meant to improve the health and fitness of the user,” he shares. True, the “user” has changed from the patient to the exerciser, but Star Trac has faced many of the same challenges that Nero tackled at ADAC, especially when it comes to marketing. “We bypassed the physicians and marketed directly to the patients in an effort to educate them about how technology could help them improve their health,” he says. This brilliant tactic worked to everyone’s advantage over time because it created an increased demand for the equipment, prompted the medical community to offer the new technology in more locations and allowed patients to be proactive and address their own health concerns.
“I understand the challenges that a large corporation or organization faces when they attempt to modify their infrastructure to address the needs of a larger market,” Nero says, adding, “It was necessary for ADAC to bypass the physicians and go directly to the public to create awareness about our products and how they could help, just as it is necessary for Star Trac to take some of the burden away from club owners and go directly to the consumer.” This way the company can reach both members and non-members, creating awareness about the many benefits of an active lifestyle. The idea is to drive more people to take action and seek out ways to get fit, and as Nero points out, joining a health club is one of the best ways to accomplish this. “We really view it as one of our responsibilities as a manufacturer of fitness equipment,” he says.
THE FOCUS
So, how does Star Trac plan to get more people interested in an active lifestyle? The answer is both remarkable and multifaceted. First, the company is always looking for ways to improve their products by trying to determine the needs of the user and figuring out creative ways to meet those needs. To do this, Nero and Star Trac recognize that many needs are actually latent needs, meaning the person who is exercising might not even recognize that a need is not being met. To combat this all too common phenomenon, Star Trac has a team of engineers who spend a lot of time observing people while they work out on the equipment. One example of how this plays out can be found in the evolution of their stationary recumbent bikes. Through observation, Star Trac’s engineers learned that, while recumbent bikes seemed to appeal to de-conditioned users, many people were only using them for ten minutes at a time. They also observed that most people read while on the bikes, and that many de-conditioned and senior users were struggling to lift their legs up and over the bike when getting seated. The solution? Star Trac developed recumbent bikes that offered arm rests to support the arms of users while they read, and also added a walk-thru feature so anyone could get situated on the bikes without a problem. These simple modifications increased comfort and usability, allowing users to stay on the bikes longer and increasing the likelihood that they will achieve their desired results – which can increase member satisfaction and retention. “By never accepting the status quo as the ultimate level of achievement for anything, we can better meet the needs of health club members and the general public,” Nero says.
Education can be viewed as another main ingredient in Star Trac’s recipe for affecting positive change in the world via health and fitness. Nero points out that more people think about joining a health club or go into a health club without becoming a member than those who take the next step and become members. Star Trac believes that education through various forms of outreach is one way to touch these individuals. “We can’t always cause the lightening bolt of inspiration that gets someone to act, but we can lower the barriers that prevent action, improve the experience and improve the results,” Nero says. Since around only 15% of the population are currently health club members, both manufacturers and club owners have a vested interest in reaching out to those who aren’t, because it will grow the market for everyone. “We are all trying to come up with compelling ways to motivate more people to want to work out and to keep them working out, which we need to do for a multitude of reasons that have nothing to do with profitability,” Nero says.
EXPECT DIFFERENT
The reasons, of course, are referring to the global obesity epidemic which Nero prefers to call the inactivity epidemic. Instead of viewing this issue as a depressing fact of life, Star Trac sees it as a rallying opportunity for the health and fitness industry to join forces and simultaneously reverse obesity trends while increasing membership and overall participation in physical activity. “Many people don’t know this, but the second half of our company name is actually an acronym for Taking Responsibility to Activate Communities,” shares Nero. To this end, Star Trac has come up with a new approach to community outreach through their Expect Different initiative. “We don’t really view other manufacturers as competition,” says Nero. Instead, the company views everyone in the health and fitness community, as well as the entertainment industry, the healthcare community and the educational community, as potential partners in the global fight against obesity. With such a large percentage of the population currently not focusing on fitness, the thinking is that by generating greater public awareness, more people will decide to get fit, thereby creating a larger market for everyone. “We as an industry can no longer afford to focus on short-term profit at the expense of long-term goals. I think this is something people have been searching for because they are rising to our leadership challenge,” Nero says.
It’s also important to mention that the Expect Different initiative isn’t just about outreach. It’s about building a community that focuses its efforts on increasing the number of people who participate in an active, healthy lifestyle. “We really believe that you have to not only create awareness for people through outreach, but once they enter into the fitness community they need guidance, education, credit (affirmation) and accountability. That’s what really improves the experience and the results,” says Nero. Having support helps people transition from just participating to making an active lifestyle a habit. First comes awareness, then guidance on what to do, then education so they understand how to do it, then credit for having done it successfully, then finally accountability to someone or some program to keep them motivated. According to Nero, these basic principles are the same ones that make Spinning classes so successful and they are also at the heart of what Star Trac is working to translate onto the cardio and strength floor through their new products.
While Star Trac is happy to launch the Expect Different initiative and will even spearhead it for now, Nero is quick to state that he hopes it will ultimately serve as a community of leaders who work together and pool their resources to affect a positive change in the world. Star Trac has been hard at work to forge the way, and has already partnered with Shaquille O’Neal, The Biggest Loser and Hansen Beverage Co. to name only a few. “We are finding that the obesity issue resonates with a lot of people, even beyond our industry. They want to participate and drive change.” says Nero,
In fact, we can all expect to hear a lot more about the Expect Different initiative in the near future. Plans are already in place to spread the message of fitness and activity to a much wider audience in some surprising ways, including the use of celebrity, community events, national events, school programs and, of course, additional partnerships. “Together we want to create a vision that will lead to a transformation in the world. It’s important to stress that Expect Different is not a proprietary effort – it can’t succeed if it’s just Star Trac,” shares Nero.
For those interested in getting involved, Nero encourages club owners to visit the website www.expectdifferent.com and to use it as a tool to reach out to members and potential members, making them more aware of the need to take responsibility for their own health and wellness. Nero understands that, while health clubs can be a great vehicle for spreading a message, they can sometimes have difficulty driving change because of the many practical concerns associated with running a fitness facility. As a leading manufacturer, Star Trac is determined to help the clubs address the many potential members out there who are de-conditioned and in need of a catalyst for change. By launching the Expect Different initiative, the company wants to create a vision of change in the world that is not Star Trac centric. There is no self interest behind it, although the company undoubtedly recognizes that more people working out will eventually mean that more people are using their equipment, but it also means more people are getting active and fewer people are succumbing to obesity.
THE FUTURE
This win-win approach is true to the core values of both Steve Nero and Star Trac. Committed to providing products to help mold lifelong habits for health and fitness, they believe that the experience members have on their machines is instrumental to their success in reaching health and fitness goals. “I believe we need to turn fitness into a habit by changing the way people view activity,” states Nero. “At Star Trac, we are very fortunate to have ownership that wants to build a company that makes a difference in the market and the world. They are not just interested in making a fast buck. We all want to have meaningful work, and we do not try to maximize profitability at the cost of everything else. Our management really buys into that philosophy.” To Nero, continuous improvement is essential, and he’s always trying to figure out ways to improve. However, he also realizes that it’s impossible to do it all at once, so instead of constantly worrying about what he’s not doing, he focuses on making little improvements from day to day.
When asked about the future of the industry and where he thinks it’s headed, Nero says that, although there will be challenges associated with the ever-changing times, he sees a shift occurring in the reasons people decide to work out. Although vanity has motivated many people to work out in the past, he thinks the industry can expect to see more members joining who are more concerned with the health benefits that come with an active lifestyle. With this, Nero also sees the possibility of an increased opportunity for clubs to reinvent themselves in niche markets that serve specific demographics, thereby meeting the needs of more people. “Since the cost of healthcare is undoubtedly going to be one of the biggest economic challenges over the next 50 years, who better to take on the role of getting people to be more active than those involved in the health and fitness industry?” he asks. These days, Star Trac is actively signing several high-profile alliances for the Expect Different initiative. The newest alliances are Dr Oz’s Charity: Health Corp and IHRSA. This new alliance is already planning a industry first event in March of 2009, to raise money and bring attention to the need for everyone to get involved in the obesity fight. The company is also continuing to blaze a trail among fitness equipment manufacturers by launching revolutionary products like their interactive eSpinner bike. The eSpinner embodies Star Trac’s philosophy of enhancing the experience of users, and has extended the Spinning experience beyond the group cycling room and onto the cardio floor. As for Nero, he says that one of his greatest accomplishments was overcoming the “What’s in it for me?” syndrome that so many of us fall into. “My journey in life has taken me to a place where I am older, married with children, and realize that family, friends and making a difference in the world means everything.”
