The Club Insider Archives: September 2025
The Industry's Best Friend, "Uncle" Rick Caro Passes Away
Richard "Rick" M. Caro, Jr., 79, of New York City and Sarasota, Florida died suddenly on August 31, 2025 at Weill Cornell Hospital. Rick spent his last day doing what he loved; attending the U.S. Open, which he had done every year for the last 71 years (asterisk for 2020 due to COVID) and having dinner at home with his adoring wife of 24 years, Susan Denison, whom he loved passionately and unconditionally. Rick was a Co-Founder of the Health and Fitness Association into whose inaugural Hall of Fame class he was inducted earlier this year. He was the President of Management Vision, providing consulting services for over 1,900 clients in the health and fitness industry. In addition, Rick served on many for-profit and not-for-profit boards.
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What I Learned from Rick Caro
By: Frank Guengerich
Frank GuengerichThe global health and fitness industry lost one of our most precious friends this month, Rick Caro. I've known Rick for decades, and he was a mentor, colleague, resource and friend. He was always willing to share his insights, share a smile and talk to anyone that approached him. Unpretentious, yet so highly skilled and intelligent. Rick will be badly missed. He impacted our entire industry and thousands of people along the way. Icon status. For me, Rick was one of the very first people to make an impression on me when I was very early in my career as a General Manager.
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Why is Teaching Soft Skills so... Hard?
By: Jeffrey Pinkerton
Jeffrey PinkertonOur oldest son was 17 and had his first job interview. The night before, I helped him practice and prepare. We talked about what he was going to wear, some of the highlights of his resumé and the importance of making a great first impression. I reminded him of the things we had discussed in the past, often in the context of meeting new teachers or new coaches: make eye contact, smile, give a confident handshake, speak clearly and show enthusiasm. Then I said, "Just for fun, let's practice how you are going to walk in." It was, in fact, not fun.
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Skincare as the Next Revenue Stream
What Gyms Can Learn From Cosmoprof North America 2025
By: Nancy Trent
Nancy TrentCosmoprof North America 2025 wasn't just a beauty show; it was a crystal ball into where wellness and skincare are headed next. For fitness facilities looking to expand retail offerings, the insights from this year's event highlight a major opportunity... Skincare is no longer a luxury add-on; it's becoming a core part of self-care, recovery and performance. The show floor buzzed with everything from biotech-powered serums to culturally rooted rituals reimagined for today's wellness-minded consumer. While aisles were packed with beauty staples, the real story was in the products reshaping the conversation around skin health, recovery and active lifestyles.
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Workout Anytime Teams Up with Viral Baseball Star Kyle "KJ" Jackson to Inspire Fitness Journeys Nationwide
ATLANTA, GA - Workout Anytime, a leading 24/7 premium fitness franchise dedicated to making health and wellness accessible for all, has launched a social media collaboration with viral baseball star and influencer Kyle "KJ" Jackson. The collaboration is part of "The After," a system-wide initiative designed to encourage members everywhere to celebrate the mental and physical benefits of completing a workout.
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Health & Fitness Association Launches The HFA Show 2026 Registration and Announces First Keynote Speaker
BOSTON, MA - Registration is now open for The HFA Show 2026, to be held March 16 - 18 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, where entrepreneur Jesse Itzler will headline as one of three keynote speakers. The full education agenda, along with the names of the additional two keynote speakers, will be released in the coming weeks. More than 400 exhibitors are expected, and a list of 2026 exhibitors will be made available soon.
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Health & Fitness Association Announces Strategic Reorganization to Drive Industry Growth
WASHINGTON, DC - The Health & Fitness Association (HFA) announces a strategic reorganization that reflects the Association's successful growth and strengthened position as the voice of the industry. Building on recent momentum, HFA is expanding its leadership team and investing in organizational capacity to sharpen its focus on advocacy, research and education.
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Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Services and Fusion Fitness Announce Partnership
AMARILLO, TX - Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Services (HWLS) announces they have formed a partnership with Fusion Fitness 24. Fusion Fitness 24 has clubs located in Fruitland, Idaho; Payette, Idaho; and Onterio, Oregon. Fusion Fitness 24 is owned and operated by Todd Stice and the Stice family.
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Norm's Notes for September 2025
By: Norm Cates
Norm CatesHello Everybody! This is your Club Insider Founder and Tribal Leader Since 1993 checking in with our 381st monthly edition of this 30+ 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!
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