Fitness entrepreneur and ‘contrarian’ Mel Tempest receives special industry communication and marketing award

The remarkable promotional activities undertaken by Mel Tempest, founder and host of the Gym Owners’ Business Podcast and FITREC Global Ambassador, have been recognised by Australasian Leisure Management with the announcement that she will receive a Special Award in the 2018 Leisure Industry Communication and Marketing Awards.

Originally nominated in the Social Media category, Australasian Leisure Management Publisher, Nigel Benton explains “Mel’s remarkable and wide-ranging communication and marketing activities extended across so many areas that it became clear to the judging panel that her activity could not be contained by a single award.

“Hence, we have announced our first ever Special Award.”

The Award takes account of Tempest’s wide-ranging activities including the imaginative ways in which she markets the health club that she owns, Ballarat Body and Soul 24/7 Gym.

In a city of 101,000 with more than 80 fitness facilities, a number that has grown from 10 competing facilities when Tempest opened her gym in 2003, since 2010 she has used Facebook as a main marketing focus with 75% of the facilities sales now driven by the social media channel.

During a single month earlier this year, the club had a reach of over 20,000 while recording 58,747 views of its videos.

In the past year, Tempest has also financed and launched the Gym Owners’ Business Network and Podcast – a platform that aims to educate professional club owners globally through resources ‘by gym owners for gym owners’.

Launched in June 2017, there are now more than 62 episodes of the podcast which, hosted by podbean, is available across eight platforms. To date, it has attracted over 280,000 hits.

Explaining the creation of the Network and Podcast, Tempest explains “I believed there was a desperate need for education and knowledge that was free as to many club owners were getting left behind in an industry that is changing faster than we can imagine.

“We need to collaborate more and I see the podcast as a way of sharing my knowledge and the knowledge of leaders throughout the world.

“The gym owners’ website is a web site I financed myself again as a tool for club owners to visit for programming, download business information or contact suppliers.”

Tempest is also an advocate for change in the way Australia’s fitness professionals are registered and for the fitness industry to be more active in combating obesity.

Commenting on Tempest’s activities, Benton added “what Mel achieves as a just one person is remarkable and her high energy approach coupled with her passion for the fitness industry has to be recognised.

“A self-described ‘contrarian’, Mel will be the first to acknowledge that she is a disruptor in the fitness industry – something that is not to everyone’s liking. However, her dynamic approach, technological awareness and level of achievement in her communication and marketing activities cannot be ignored and it is appropriate that she gains recognition for this."

The Leisure Industry Communication and Marketing Awards acknowledge how the leisure industry - covering aquatics, attractions, entertainment, events, fitness, parks, recreation, sport, tourism and venues - communicates how it entertains, enriches and improves quality of life as well as how it engages with consumers to generate business success.

Awards are being announced and presented in a series of one-on-one meetings over the coming weeks.

Images: Mel Tempest (top) and Tempest with Paul Brown and Dennis Hosking at the recent Asia Fitness Conference in Bangkok (below).