Norm's Notes for April 2025
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Norm Cates
■Hello Everybody! This is your Club Insider Founder and Tribal Leader Since 1993 checking in with our 376th monthly edition of this 32+ year running club business publication I refer to as: A Labor of Love! I'm very thankful that you've tuned in again for this iteration of Norm's Notes, as I proceed on my keyboard with my longtime habit of "Telling-It-Like-It-Is!" I'm really happy that you're reading this edition, and I want to THANK YOU ALL for sticking with us every month! As usual, we have a bunch of health and fitness club business news, so please read on!
■Is AMERICA a GREAT COUNTRY, or WHAT!? Hmm... hmm... hmm! And, as usual, let me start these Norm's Notes with my normal monthly salutation to you all: GOD BLESS AMERICA and GOD BLESS YOU, YOUR FAMILY and YOUR BUSINESS!!!
■Big news right here in Atlanta, as our friends and long-time C.I. Advertiser, Workout Anytime, announce a new Owner and CEO. JERRY PUGH is his name, and you can read all about it in the Press Release on Page #3. Please also check out their Ad on Page #24. Congratulations to my friends, JOHN QUATTROCCHI and STEVEN STRICKLAND, and Stay Tuned Folks!
■Sad news from our friend, EDDIE TOCK, CEO of REX Roundtables, as he informed us that REX Founder, WILL PHILLIPS, has passed away. Please see the full news item on Page #18. MAY WILL PHILLIPS REST IN PEACE.
■Unfortunately, we have more sad news, this time out of Baltimore. If you've spent any time commuting around the Baltimore area, chances are you've heard of BRICK BODIES, the local family-owned health club chain that was founded by VICTOR and LYNNE BRICK before handing the reins to their daughter, VICKI BRICK as CEO. I'm sad to report that Vicki has passed away after a battle with ovarian cancer. MAY VICKI BRICK REST IN PEACE.
■MARCO FIORINI has been named President/CEO of the Cincinnati Sports Club (CSC) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Marco began his career with the club in August of 2013 as the Risk & Security Director. He was promoted to Operations Manager in June 2015 and became the Interim General Manager in March 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic. He completed Xavier University's Executive MBA Program in December 2020 and was appointed to General Manager in 2022. The club continues to enhance the member experience each year with continual improvements. In 2024, the EGYM smart strength training system; recovery area, which includes a dry sauna and three cold plunge pools; and a new boutique exercise studio featuring 40 HIIT classes, were added. Still on the horizon for 2025 are: an adult bar/lounge and co-working space for the indoor pickleball viewing area, as well as a new pro-cushion surface for the outdoor tennis and pickleball courts. The Cincinnati Sports Club team will continue to build on the 35-year success of the constantly improving, reinvesting and growing locally and privately owned single location club that sits on an expansive 16-acre campus. Be sure to check out the January 2015 Cover Story Classic on CSC at www.clubinsideronline.com/archives. Congratulations Marco Fiorini and our friends at CSC!
■Myzone has made another significant addition to its team as it prepares for a new phase of growth and expansion. JO WALKER has been named Head of Brand and Communications, bringing a wealth of experience in fitness and wellness within the SaaS sector. Walker has held marketing roles at Xplor Technologies and EverCommerce and most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer at BOX12. Her expertise in building brands and driving data-driven strategies means she is well placed to help shape Myzone's next chapter. Reporting to Global Marketing Director, TOM DAVIES, Walker is the latest in a series of key appointments made by the leading wearable fitness technology brand, aimed at driving product development and business growth. Congratulations to Jo Walker and the Myzone Team.
■Folks, I felt Y'all would appreciate the following item I discovered in the April 13th Edition of The Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper, and I quote it exactly: "GOOD FRIENDS ARE WELL WORTH THE EFFORT by BARTON GOLDSMITH, PhD. If you are feeling low and can't bring yourself to go anywhere, pick up the phone and call a good friend. It will make you feel better about your life... and yourself. Hearing the voice of someone you care about and spending a few minutes getting involved in their world can give you a new perspective on life. Friendship is highly underrated! It can make a difference between a life of joy and one of depression. For someone with acute anxiety, however, making friends can seem next to impossible because the fear that comes with anxiety can cripple you and make you incapable of reaching out to someone else. To get past this, try these tips:
- Get in touch with an old friend. Knowing that you can call and count on someone being there for you can be empowering and a great comfort. If there is no one in your life like that at the moment, think back to who has supported you in the past. What happened to those people? Maybe it is time to rekindle those relationships, and you can do it from the privacy of your home simply by sending an email or a text. It doesn't have to be long or dramatic... just a quick "Hello" can begin the reconnection process.
- If you want to have a friend, learn to be a friend! Giving what you want to receive is the best way to show someone how good a friend you can be. People usually like us because we like them. So, let another person know that you would like to be friends. By establishing that you are friends, you will let the positive emotions sink in.
- Be around people who don't judge you and who support you. Having others in our life who accept you for who you are is important. Feeling judged can be painful.
- Share what's going on in your life. You will feel stronger in just knowing that someone really understands you. The best friends are good listeners. When you've received confirmation that what you are dealing with is real and that your emotions are appropriate to what's happening, you will feel better about yourself."
■Folks, not very often do I write about my private life in these Norm's Notes. Today's different. Let me explain to you WHY. As I type this, it is Sunday, April 6, 2025, and I'm going to tell you all about an amazing experience my wife, ILENA, and I, had last night... this is an experience that will live with us forever. This was such an amazing experience that it's even made me want to tell y'all about it! And, at the same time, I'm tipping My Black Cowboy Hat to the entire family of my long-time friend, the now late J. CLARKE DAVIS. Let me also add that I'm writing this Norm's Note, even though it is NOT about the club industry, because J. Clark Davis was one of the most amazing human beings I've ever known. Clarke was a long-standing member, along with me and about 50 others, of a group called The GREAT CHARACTERS of ATLANTA. I inherited the stewardship of this group long ago from a good friend of mine when he moved to Costa Rica to live. He was the former Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper's daily lifestyles columnist, the now late, RON HUDSPETH. Today, this Norm's Note is not just to remember and honor our great friend, J. Clarke Davis, it is to be very sure that everyone in Clarke's Family knows what a TRULY AMAZING and WELL-DONE CELEBRATION OF LIFE they produced for him last night! So, congratulations to all who were involved in the preparation and production of this very special and truly great event! MAY THE ONE AND ONLY J. CLARKE DAVIS REST IN ETERNAL PEACE.
■One more item about Clarke's special event I just mentioned. There was a terrific company called LUXE BOOTH ATLANTA videotaping comments by Clarke's friends at his Celebration of Life. Check out www.luxebooth.com.
■JUSTIN and I want to THANK YOU for reading Club Insider! We appreciate you being with us. And, in particular, WE VERY SINCERELY APPRECIATE ANY and ALL SUPPORT OF OUR ESTEEMED Club Insider ADVERTISERS! PLEASE DO BUSINESS WITH THEM and WHEN YOU DO, PLEASE TELL 'EM Club Insider SENT YOU! THANK YOU ALL!
■God bless our troops, airmen and sailors worldwide and keep them safe. Thank you, Congratulations and Welcome Home to all of our troops who have served around the world. God bless America's Policemen and women and Firemen and women; keep them safe. Finally, God bless you, your family, your club(s) and your members. God Bless America! Laus Deo!
