OH! Magazine - Australian Version November 2013 (Australian Version) | Page 30
MEET AN
EXPERT
Tell us about your day job
After 14 years as a gym instructor, gym
manager and owner, I found myself being
asked to guide other gyms on how better
to grow their memberships. I found most
gyms were well equipped, offered good
hospitality and great value but still way too
many people were buying a membership
and not using it enough to keep it going.
Everyone needs regular exercise but many
struggle to make it a way of life, so in
1995 I developed a program called
Face2Face Fitness (www.retentionf2f.
com) that takes members through a stepby-step process to help them make the
most of their chosen club and achieve
lasting results. Another 18 years on and
now Face2Face is available in health and
fitness centres around the world and my
‘day job’ is to continually fine-tune that
system, then travel the globe to teach our
partners and their teams how to make the
most of the program.
What do you love most about your life
right now?
I am absolutely living my dream. First and
foremost I have an amazing wife, Jacqui,
who supports me 100 per cent and brings
meaning to all we do. We also have an
incredible eight-year-old son Benjamin,
who we are immensely proud of. Thanks to
my belief and understanding of fitness I
enjoy excellent health and tackle any
challenge without fear or hesitation. I have
the best job in the world combining all my
favourite things; I get to help millions of
people enjoy a better quality of life, I get to
30
ISSUE 4 ( OH! MAGAZINE )
Name: Paul Brown
Expertise: Exercise Adherence
Paul Brown is the brains behind
Face2Face Retention and the innovative
50 Sports in 50 Weeks project – which
you, your family, your friends and your
colleagues can all become involved with!
work with the most professional
health club operators in the
world
and
develop
their
dedicated staff through our
training programs, and I am
regularly invited to speak
at the world’s most
prestigious health, fitness
and business conferences,
which also exposes me to
other inspiring leaders and innovators.
Along the way we visit so many excitingly
diverse countries and cultures, which has
really opened up my appreciation for
humanity and what we are all capable of
when given the chance.
What’s been your biggest/best life
lesson to date?
When failure is accepted as a lesson,
success is inevitable. Whether it be a
health and fitness goal, such as weight
loss, a business goal such as succeeding
in your own enterprise or simply trying to
make it work in a personal relationship,
life does not always go the way we want it
to. Each set back can also be a gift and a
guide to striving forward, and when you
see it that way and really look for the
lessons, you are far more likely to make
better choices and invent more successful
strategies, which increases the likelihood
of turning your dreams into reality.
Tell us about your ‘50 Sports in 50
Weeks’ project
Our health is our greatest asset and sport,
recreation and exercise are all essential
ingredients to a healthy life, but sadly these
seem to be taking a back seat as lives get
busier and technology becomes the leading
form of entertainment. We want to get the
world off the couch one sport at a time and,
hopefully, educate and inspire these and
future generations to adopt and maintain a
long, healthy and active life. So, next year
my family and I (wife Jacqui and son
Benjamin) will kick off our journey to
experience and learn about 50 Sports in 50
Weeks. Every week we’ll participate in a
different sport and provide ways that people
of all ages and from all walks of life can keep
active, live better, strengthen their family
and community ties, and put the fun back
into sports and exercise. People from all over
the world can become involved by registering
at www.50sports.org